Mike Sharko and his team were able to pull our boat, make the repair and all in an extremely…read morehospitable, quick and kind fashion! Good old hard work and going the extra mile say it all here! Thank you Mike!

We are visiting on our boat, on the way to Desolation Sound, and our dinghy outboard malfunctioned…read more After checking with a few places in Comox and Campbell River, we were unable to find anyone who could help us in less than a week, until we got referred to Mid Island Marine. We took the outboard in first thing on Monday, after a call to them on Saturday, and they looked at it first thing, and repaired it within an hour! A happy resolution to allow us to continue on our trip. The owner also showed us some winter maintenance techniques, not in the manual, to hopefully avoid future problems, even though it had received meticulous care, which didn't include the secret steps to insure it would function well come spring. Thank you Mid Island!!

From the owner: Bring your inboard or outboard motor watercraft to Mid Island Power & Marine in Campbell River. We…read moreprovide maintenance and repairs, offering new and used parts. Call us for an estimate today.

We had an amazing experience spending the day with Keith and Diane! Firstly, what a delightful…read morecouple and what a beautiful boat. Keith is a knowledgeable and calm captain. He was able to teach and encourage our mostly novice group of five about how to stay safe on the water, how to find the fish and most importantly how to set the hook, fight the fish and successfully land the fish in the boat. He was so patient with my 87 yo father in law with dementia! Diane has such a bubbly personality and quickly made everyone comfortable. She gave us great tourist tips including Oyster River Potholes for swimming and Willow Point Reef for viewing starfish, anemone and urchin at low tide. Diane kept us well fed and hydrated with her tasty home smoked salmon, salmon salad sandwiches and a cooler full of drinks. During our five hour trip, we were able to quickly catch our limit of chinook and then enjoy fishing for coho and ling cod. Our cooler was full and dinner that night was delicious! We will definitely be returning!!

This review is being written primarily for Americans interested in a truly once-in-a-lifetime…read moreexperience in British Columbia. As Yelp is not as big as Trip Advisor up in Canada (but is king here in the U.S.), I am hoping this review will spread the word in the States about this truly unique experience. This past Labor Day weekend (8/30/2019), my girlfriend and I had a truly unforgettable experience on a nighttime Bioluminescence kayaking tour lead by Greg Rushton, owner of Metta Eco-Experiences. Greg is a fantastic tour guide. He is very personable, talkative and enjoys sharing his passion/knowledge for the human need for nature both physically and emotionally. He put us at ease immediately with his warm personality and made us both feel comfortable navigating in a kayak in the dark (or what soon became dark after our push-off from shore). Greg has decades of experience as a kayak and nature guide, having explored nearly every inch of of the surrounding inlets, coves and straights via boat. In addition to the Bioluminescence tour, he also does nature walks in the area, fire building tutorials and multi-day kayaking adventures (see his website). The Bioluminescence tour, however, is NOT TO BE MISSED. Words simply cannot do it justice. When we pulled up to the Back Eddy (a restaurant and launch spot for boats where Metta is based) after a long day of flights, ferries and driving, we were not even close to prepared for what Greg had in store for us. The glowing effect that is bioluminsence is caused by a chemical reaction inside certain types of organisms that have both luciferin and luciferase or photoprotein. This is typically found in tiny micro-organisms like plankton or bacteria, but can also be found in fish and jellyfish. The bioluminescent effect only occurs in certain oceanic waters that are protein rich, which is why it is more rare to find. The water in the bay on which Egmont is situated, checks all the boxes. The result of this chemical process will amaze you. Once we were out on the water and began observing how the ocean began to glow and glitter at our touch, we were filled with child-like wonder and giddiness. When fish swam under and around our boat, you could actually see a glowing streak in the water where they had been due to the billions of bioluminescent plankton floating in the protein-rich water. You will hardly believe your eyes!  Nature is truly incredible! What's more is Greg took us to a part of the bay where seals often feed and we were able to see it swimming under our boat in the dark. So incredibly cool! I cannot recommend this experience highly enough. It truly took us by surprise and was unlike anything we've experienced. I hope you will all find your way to Egmont, B.C. to try this with Greg! You can book directly through his website or via AirBnB Experiences. I hope this was helpful!

Excellent guides for night time bioluminescence kayaking. Had a lovely experience. Would recommend…read moreand would visit again

Review: Words cannot…read moreexpress our appreciation and gratitude for OTB Charters and most importantly, its owner, Simon Hayter. What I was told was a regular evening of whale watching and a marine tour turned into what will no doubt be the most memorable day of my life and it is because of Simon's efforts, dedication, kindness and passion for his work that this was all possible. The story: I thought I was going to get off of the ferry, head to the marina and get picked up by a chartered boat company for an evening of fun with my boyfriend. What I did not know was that my boyfriend was making behind the scenes moves with Simon to orchestrate the best proposal ever. We missed our ferry, and would not be able to make our scheduled 5 pm pick-up time. This was no problem for Simon. He rearranged his insanely busy schedule to still make our evening work. When we arrived at the marina, 1.5 minutes after our scheduled departure time and tour, Simon arrived happily and excited about the journey we were about to embark on. He made sure we were comfortable with our life jackets and where we were sitting, and was exceptionally knowledgeable about all surrounding areas. About 20 minutes into our ride, Simon pointed out a small inlet where we would be able to see sea otters. Naturally, we agreed to pull over because - who doesn't want to see sea otters! We hopped out of his boat, hiked up a small hill, and at the top I found a fire bit, barbecue, a cooler with food, tiki torches and a blanket. It was at that moment, overlooking the most beautiful sunset, that my boyfriend proposed, and upgraded to fiancé status! Simon left us on this island for a few hours so that we could celebrate, eat, and enjoy the moment and view. When he returned, he made sure we were able to safely get back on the boat and to shore. Not only was Simon incredibly professional and knowledgeable, he was able to execute a plan that my fiancé had envisioned for years. Despite several hiccups on our part (and there were many) he was so calm and willing to work with us to make sure our evening was perfect. I cannot recommend this company enough for any chartered boat services they have to offer. The boat is comfortable, the view is breathtaking, the tour guide/driver is immensely knowledgeable, and if you want a special add-on, he will certainly do his best to accommodate. Thank you Simon and OTB Charters for your part in executing the best day ever - you went above and beyond, and for that, we will always be grateful.

We had a great day on the water with Simon. My kids loved his cool boat and we had a great time…read morefishing for salmon in a beautiful part of BC. Brought home a cooler of fish for dinner too!

We just spent four days on the Whales and Wilderness Glamping tour in Blackstone Straight. The trip…read morewas super. The guides were friendly, professional and very knowledgeable. The location is stunning and the facilities were lovely. Our food was great and the team thought of everything. We saw orcas, humpbacks, dolphins and porpoises. The kayaking was also a lot of fun. I highly recommend this trip

This is one of my favorite trips! The guides are incredible. They are knowledgable and excellent…read morechefs. The wood burning hot tub is definitely a bonus, along with the large 4 man tents that are assigned to only two people. All the tents have excellent views and were clean upon arrival. I have nothing bad to say about the 4 day, 3 night kayaking trip in the Johnstone Straight. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in a kayaking with the Orcas. Another great bonus was the Hydrophone they used not only at camp, but also while out kayaking. We not only saw the Orcas, but heard them chattering under water. Absolutely incredible!!

For the last 8 years we have gone to Bates. Over the 8 years for the most part it was positive with…read morea few issues. However our 2018 year was horrible. It started even before we arrived. We got a phone call as we are traveling from Alberta to the campground, the owner informed us that for our first night at the camp we wouldn't be in our reserved and prepaid for site that we book each year usually before we leave the site for the next year. So we would spend one night and then need to move the next day to the actual site we paid for. So that was the beginning of this trip..The night of our arrival we needed some firewood for the night so I went down to the office to pick some up but the office was closed. Like I have done on multiple other occasions I pick some up and would pay in the morning. The issue was when I went down to pay for the firewood and get some change for the showers. I paid by debit the 10.00 in wood I took and got 20.00 change for the shower I was charged tax on the 20.00 in change and the wood. I let that go as well. The next night I found that a 6yr old had filled the toilet up with water by pressing on the but it was too late to ask if I could use another site to dump (the site we normally stay at only has water/power) the next morning when I got back from an appointment with my surgeon (I had my shoulder replacement done a few months ago) I stopped at the office and spoke with the owner and he reluctantly agreed to let me but for a charge of 20.00. I didn't have much choice as setting up and tearing down is challenging with my shoulder still in Recovery. The other option was to hook up and take it to Courtenay to dump. So I was in a bind to say the least. The next issue was when my 8.5 month pregnant daughter showed up and parked at our site. It wasn't an hr before she/us got told she had to park at the office. When we said she was pregnant and walking distance was an issue the reply we got was "it still needs to move". I understand why he needs parking control my issue is in how it was done. My other daughter decided to come camp with us over the Canada Day weekend. She had her own trailer and was put in the overflow. She with her dogs came to visit our site but she drove down to unload her chair,dogs and other things for our visit. The dogs were off leash for a short time and when asked were immediately put on a tie out. But again the parking was an issue for the owner. Again rude we were told she had to move. A night or two after that we had a large family in the next site that had multiple vans and cars. Not once were they told to move any of them but I was blocked from getting my truck in my site. When we were leaving I asked what did we do that he didnt want our business again, this is where things got fun....... I went over the above issues with him and had to ask him several time to let me finish what I had to say as he kept interrupting me. I told him the he might as well put up neon signs the we aren't welcome back after 8 years. At one point I had to ask him 3 times to step back and stop with the finger in my face. He was trying to make the point that he is on his sewer system so he has to charge more and I wasn't paying for a site with Sewer My point was everywhere else is 2-4 dollars and he was charging me 20.00 for 1 dump and I felt that I was being taken advantage of because I was in a bind. Keep in mind I always dumpthere for free every year but this year I didn't know till now that it was an issue. I guess I shouldn't have asked and been honest. I was shocked he got in my face I didn't think I was being aggressive. But apparently I was pissing him off because I was pointing out the price difference. I refused to pay it. As far as I'm concerned it's Compensation for being bumped out of our site the first night. The first clue for me should have been the year I got called back to work early. Bates gives a 10% discount for over a certain amount of days stayed. But the policy is no refunds for leaving early that I understand. However I was asked to pay for the 10% discount as I was no longer staying for the amount of days to qualify. But I didnt get a refund on the days not used. His attitude was oh well and definitely not one of a business owner trying to keep a happy client. This year was a sad year because we do like "our site" each year. But I can't justify giving them more of my hard earned $$ with the attitude we got this year. I'm still shocked he got in my face doing the finger in the chest thing. Wow who acts like that when a good customer is brining you issues. We would consider going back if an apology was given and a attitude change from the owner. But it would need to be one hell of an apology.

We chartered a trawler for a week to see some of Desolation Sound (a week is not nearly enough)…read more The boat was in excellent shape, gave us no concerns at all (we left a small list of minor items they needed to look at), and completely suited our purposes. Very enjoyable holiday. Strongly recommend.

We recently returned from chartering a trawler from DSYC for a week of exploring Desolation Sound…read more Every aspect of the experience with DSYC was first rate and handled with friendliness and professionalism by everyone from the front office to the dock. We opted to have DSYC provide a skipper and we included the instruction and certification. I have been through many certification programs over the years for both profession and recreation and Rick was perhaps the best instructor that I have ever had. Of course, we were concerned about having a stranger literally living with us for a week in a somewhat confined space and we realized that if it were the wrong person, it could have been a disaster. Rick proved to be a wonderful traveling companion as well as an extremely knowledgeable skipper, who not only didn't get in the way of a good vacation, he helped make it an exceptionally great vacation. If you haven't toured Desolation Sound by charter boat - you got to do this! Truly one of the best vacations my wife and I have ever had, and we have traveled all over the world. It was so great, that my wife is now trying to talk me into buying a trawler! Now guys, that's a bonus on the deal that's worth the price of admission all by itself.

5 Star Service to compliment the 5 star Scenery…read more Everything about the setting is idealic and beautiful. Provide a company could provide the essentials, the experience is already going to be great. However, Pedals and Paddles don't simple rest on the fact that they're situated at a great spot. They provided excellent service by quickly replying to my phone call, providing flexibility, offering things at no extra cost such as crocks (so as not to get your own footwear wet), among other things. Lots of equipment available and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. We had limited time in our day to return to the ferry and they even charged a half hour rate rather than a full hour which I don't think many others would do.

Awesome fun rental area in Sechelt . The place to go if your wanting to do some kayaking in Sechelt…read moreinlet . Pristine and Beautiful scenery . The staff were humble , knowledgeable and kind . Prices very reasonable . I recommend doing at least 2 hrs as it's only $15 more for the 2nd hour

We will save our longer review for Trip Advisor (we will edit to add to this one later). FIVE…read moreSTARS ACROSS THE BOARD! Actually, make it PERFECT 10s. From the moment we arrived, to the sad moment we had to leave, it was the most incredible experience. We are already planning our next visit for 2019. Ultra High-End and worth every penny.