My Watermark is Nitinat Lake on Vancouver Island, BC.

Nitinat Lake is a long salt lake fed through Nitinat Narrows by the waters of the great Pacific Ocean. As a tidal lake, it has waves, and the fog that sits off the West Coast of the Island generates strong winds there almost every day of the summer. My family has been going there to kiteboard since I was a little kid.

I remember this day out there when I was about 12. The morning had started out cool and foggy. We sat around our morning campfire, warming ourselves and drinking tea. Then there was this sound…the unmistakable one of a blow hole! Can you believe, a baby grey whale had gotten separated from its pod as they passed by the Narrows during their migration, and was now living off whatever the lake had to offer for the summer! Each morning, this baby whale would cruise up one side and then the other of the lake, coming up for air every 30 minutes or so.

The fog of the morning burned off eventually, and the wind began to blow. The sky was clear, and at about 3PM I headed out on the water with my kiteboard. The sun was warm on my face, and I remember feeling at ease and carefree, all my worries somehow a million miles away from my mind. My mom was kiting near me, the jellyfish were bobbing here and there, and somewhere in the lake was that cute “little” baby Grey.