A secluded spot off British Columbia offers surf with 'soul'

A bald eagle soared overhead and a curious seal poked its head out of the water, about 20 feet from where I was resting on my surfboard, waiting for The Perfect Wave. Jeremy Philips, our instructor, was giving my husband a few tips on how to spot a good wave and how to swiftly pop up onto his surfboard at The Perfect Moment.

I was trying to listen, but I admit I was distracted by the views: In front of us was a sprawling beach covered in smooth, round stones that were so polished by the ocean, they looked as if they had been crafted with an artist's touch.

Mountains dotted with patches of snow and ice rippled away into the distance and a creek slipped out of the woods -- a dense forest of ancient spruce, cedar and yew trees -- and spilled into the ocean. And behind us, well, there was nothing but thousands of miles of open water.

"Storms brew in New Zealand and Antarctica and create big swells that end up here," Philips said, explaining how and why British Columbia is so blessed with good surf.

We had gone to one of the most rugged and remote areas of the province to learn how to surf: the exposed west coast of Nootka, a small island off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Here, Clay Hunting and Silvi Rautter, co-owners of Tatchu Adventures, run a wilderness surf camp for beginner-to-expert surfers, who come from around the world, April though October, to catch waves and improve their skills.

There is little here except two tree houses, a small lodge, a cedar sauna and miles of empty coastline. Occasionally, a hiker wanders along the beach (the 22-mile Nootka Trail follows this coast), Hunting's "neighbor" Pat stops by (her house is in the woods, barely visible, about a quarter of a mile away), or a fishing boat slips past. Otherwise, there isn't another soul on water or land, as far as the eye can see. That's no surprise, because getting here was a real adventure.

We drove from Victoria to Tahsis, a seven-hour trip that took us through picturesque communities along Vancouver Island's east coast and then west through Stratchcona Provincial Park -- B.C.'s oldest and largest park, where we saw the Comox Glacier and several bears -- and along a windy dirt logging road that crosses several mountain passes and has grades of up to 15 percent. Eventually, we reached Tahsis, a tucked-away village with 500 residents that's surrounded by the Rugged Mountain Range.

From Tahsis, Tatchu Adventures took us on a one-hour ride by Zodiac down the fjord-like Tahsis Inlet to the eastern side of Nootka Island. It was another 45-minute four-wheel drive across the island to reach the Beano Creek Eco Surf Village.

The surf camp hosts an average of eight, but no more than a dozen, people at once. We happened to be the only surfers when we were there in mid-July.

Tatchu Adventures offers four- to seven-day surf packages about seven months of the year. The best time for beginners is July through early September, when the waves are smaller. Intermediate and advanced surfers should shoot for September and October or April to June, when the surf kicks up and offers more challenging waves.

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