Day of Two Sunsets: Paddling Adventures on Canada's West Coast

Dean Reeds is a freelance journalist in St Catharines.

This book offers a wide variety of paddling stories that will appeal to
both curious landlubbers and serious paddlers.

The stories begin with Blades’s awakening interest in ocean kayaks
and carries through to full-scale expeditions where “not another human
was seen for weeks.” Along the way he relates his tentative first day
trips, his blossoming skills, and some frightening adventures. The
stories are united by their simple, straightforward style, and by the
author’s awe and respect for the ocean and the wild places he visits.

All of these adventures take place along the unique Pacific West Coast
and Vancouver Island coastlines. Blades offers a good sampling of the
area’s many moods and personalities—from idyllic paddles in hidden
lagoons to life-and-death struggles in vicious seas. Giant spruce
forests and devastated clear-cuts are brought to life from the vantage
points of his kayak cockpit and shoreline campsites.

Day of Two Sunsets won’t quench a 15-year-old’s thirst for nonstop
action, nor will it satisfy a weathered kayaker’s need for technical
information. What it will do is sustain the interest of both
groups—and of anyone else who has ever considered picking up a paddle.