BARRACUDA SURFBOARDS VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA WWW.BARRACUDASURF.COM
EDITORS Fraser Murray, Becky Murray
PUBLISHER Nimmo Bay
ART DIRECTION / DESIGN Gillian Page
PRINTED BY Hemlock Printers www.hemlock.com
COVER IMAGE Jeremy Koreski
CONTRIBUTORS PHOTOGRAPHER Jeremy Koreski WRITER Caitlin Hedley
CONTRIBUTION ENQUIRIES heli@nimmobay.com
FREE TO DIVE : a breathless pursuit for adventure
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ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES info@nimmobay.com
GETTING THE SHOT : in the hands of Jeremy Koreski
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@nimmobayresort www.nimmobay.com
DEBORAH : a pioneering spirit
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©2017 NIMMO All rights reserved. This is an annual publication. All material in this magazine may not be reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any form without the written permission of NIMMO.
A FEAST, FORAGED : as nature intended
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Printed in Vancouver, Canada on FSC Recycled, Green-e Certified paper.
The stories in this issue reflect the opinions of their respective authors / interviewees and not necessarily those of NIMMO MAGAZINE or the editorial team.
CONTENTS | 03
FREE TO DIVE : a breathless pursuit for adventure WORDS: CAITLIN HEDLEY / PHOTOGRAPHY: JEREMY KORESKI
BUT MAN HAS ONLY TO SINK BENEATH THE SURFACE AND HE IS FREE. - JACQUES COUSTEAU
B
elow the surface of the water lies a vast world of unknown territory and untouched beauty. This is a world for the curious, the thrill seekers and those wanting to learn more about British Columbia’s magnificent, yet fragile ecosystems. Freediving is a natural and serene way to explore the depths of the underwater environment with no equipment and minimal impact. Freediving, also called: apnea, a Greek word meaning ‘without breathing,’ has a rich history and has been an important livelihood in many cultures for thousands of years. Before becoming a sport and recreational activity, freediving was used for gathering food and other resources required for survival. Today, the increased popularity of freediving appears to match current trends as people seek new and innovative ways to connect with the natural world around them. Freediving is not simply about how deep or long you can go on a single breath. Before diving below the surface, the practice of relaxing the muscles and becoming highly aware of your breath, as it becomes less automatic and more selfregulated, is paramount. Freedivers must have the right attitude and pay attention to the limits of their body and
FREE TO DIVE | 05
mind, knowing the risks. Freediving is as fascinating as it is demanding, requiring education and experience. When people consider freediving, they tend to think of tropical, warm water environments. However, B.C.’s cold temperate waters are amongst the richest and most diverse on the planet, with over 25,000 kilometers of Pacific coastline. It is no wonder that B.C. is a renowned diving destination. Canada’s West Coast gives those pursuing underwater adventure more than enough reasons to take the plunge, with scenic ocean free-dives and fresh-water exploration. The Great Bear Sea is one of the most productive cold-water regions on the planet. With a carpet of life and striking colour, this is a freediver’s paradise. Crabs, sea urchins, starfish, anemones, fish, elegant coral and giant sponges are just some of the life you will observe when peering in on the world below. B.C.’s magnificent kelp forests shelter a greater variety and higher diversity of plants and animals than almost any other ocean community. This is an ecosystem flourishing with life, an undersea garden where all species are competing for prime real estate. British Columbia’s uncharted alpine region offers an otherworldly diving experience, accessible only by helicopter. The pristine, glacier-fed water is a unique frontier. Slipping into the crystal-clear water, extending more than 30 meters below, a sense of unknown washes over you. The silence is overwhelming and time slows down. Alpine lakes provide a barren landscape of chiseled-cliffs and crevices, formed by glaciers thousands of years ago. The turquoise water may look tropical at first, but the snow-capped mountains surrounding the lake quickly remind you of the cold, alpine setting. At its essence, freediving is the act of being underwater and in your element, as you descend into the reflective spaces of another realm. Today, there is a heightened awareness of the fragile state of the planet, and with that an increased curiosity to explore the world above and below the surface.
TOP ocean free dive / box crabs
MIDDLE Adrien and Sarah arrive at a glacier lake by helicopter
BOTTOM Sarah braves the cold of the glacier lake
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FREE TO DIVE | 07
GETTING THE SHOT : in the hands of Jeremy Koreski WORDS: CAITLIN HEDLEY / PHOTOGRAPHY: JEREMY KORESKI
J
eremy Koreski grew up in Tofino, a remote town at the end of a long and winding road on Vancouver Island’s west coast. Growing up in a small town by the beach, it was only natural for Jeremy to appreciate nature and life by the sea. His dad was a fisherman and oyster farmer, so from the start, Jeremy was in and around the ocean, splashing in tide pools, out on the boat or catching a wave. Tofino offers an inspiring landscape with endless beaches, majestic forests, and abundant coastal wildlife. Jeremy’s interest in exploring came from growing up in Clayoquot Sound, with parents that were always taking him and his siblings on outdoor adventures, camping, and hiking. At the age of 12, Jeremy’s dad gave him his very first camera, a Canon AE-1, and it wasn’t long before he discovered his passion for photography. It all started with Jeremy taking photos of his friends surfing, skateboarding, and fishing. Using good old-fashioned film and self-taught editing skills, Jeremy fine-tuned his craft, as he captured the life and culture of Canada’s west coast. After school, with a desire to travel, Jeremy took off to experience the bigger world. It didn’t take him long to realize how special Vancouver Island was and he returned home inspired to capture and share the beauty and stories of the coast that he felt so passionately about. The West Coast’s rugged and challenging terrain encouraged Jeremy to push the limits to get “the shot.” From diving with dolphins, swimming with salmon, battling winter waves, and hanging out of a helicopter with the door off getting a bird’s eye perspective, Jeremy will
story continued on page 20
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GETTING THE SHOT | 11
I’VE JUST ALWAYS LOVED THE JOURNEY AND THE SIMPLE ADVENTURE OF GETTING THERE
go the extra mile and beyond for his photos. For Jeremy, engaging with the elements that Mother Nature throws at him are all a part of the process. Jeremy’s connection with the natural world is distinctly expressed in his captivating images.His eye in the editing process is just as big a part of defining his style as when he is looking through the viewfinder. The images that Jeremy ends up showing are what set him apart from other photographers. Jeremy’s photos have appeared in surf, outdoor and travel magazines all over the world. In 2015, Jeremy published his book ‘This is Nowhere,’ a compilation of his best photos, showcasing the love for his home, its unspoiled beauty and his desire to help preserve it for future generations. His book demonstrates that wild “nowhere” places have an immense value and that they require our protection.
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Throughout his career, Jeremy has had numerous wildlife encounters, many in the Great Bear Rainforest. He has had unforgettable interactions with Grizzly bears and their cubs and has swum with 15,000 to 20,000 salmon up a river. Jeremy believes that salmon are some of the most inspiring creatures alive. Through up close experiences with them, and other wildlife, Jeremy has realized “that we need to do more to protect the natural world.” As an explorer, adventurer, and photographer, Jeremy loves the journey, discovering new places, and being outdoors. Through his work, he hopes to inspire people to do the same and to consider their own relationship with nature. He believes that the more you go outside, the more you feel connected to nature and the more you will want to protect it.
GETTING THE SHOT | 15
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LOOKING BACK, MAYBE WE WERE CRAZY GOING OFF INTO THE WILDERNESS
DEBORAH : a pioneering spirit
WORDS: CAITLIN HEDLEY / PHOTOGRAPHY: JEREMY KORESKI & THE MURRAY FAMILY ARCHIVES
P
acking everything she could carry, Deborah Murray and her two young boys flew to Sullivan Bay, where Craig Murray was waiting with a skiff to take them to Nimmo Bay for the first time. “Looking back, maybe we were crazy going off into the wilderness, but I was excited and eager to begin this new adventure with our family,” recalls Deborah. Deborah, a mother of three, fearlessly raised her family and started a business with her husband on British Columbia’s coast, in the Great Bear Rainforest. Not only did it take hard work and determination, it took a vision and the love of a family. Deborah is a pioneer with a courageous spirit that sparked well before she arrived at Nimmo Bay. Deborah Davis was born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on Canada’s Atlantic coast. Her yearning to explore the world started at a young age. In 1971, at the age of 19, she set off on a European adventure, penniless, working her way through six countries, touring on a two-stroke MZ motorbike. Finding work in France during the busy grape harvest, she says that “they fed you wine for breakfast!” This was where the police caught up with her, not because she had done anything wrong, but because she hadn’t phoned home in seven months and her parents were worried about her. From hospital kitchens to farms, being hoisted up 20-feet in a bucket truck to trim hops in England or mucking out pens on
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YOU JUST DID WHAT HAD TO BE DONE
a pig farm in Denmark, Deborah’s stories from her European tour paint a picture of a determined, hard-working trailblazer with a thirst to experience the wider world. In 1973, back home in Canada, she attended the University of Guelph for two years, earning a diploma in agriculture and trying her best to settle down. However, life had other plans for Deborah and the call of the open road was strong. In 1976, she and a friend, Joanna, hitchhiked their way out west, eventually finding themselves in the small harbour town of Port McNeill, on the north-east side of Vancouver Island. Upon their arrival in the small town, they came across the Dalewood Hotel with a flyer pinned to the door, “Waitresses Wanted, Board Provided.” They quickly took the jobs, knowing they would at least have a place to sleep for the night. On Deborah’s first morning at the Dalewood, she served Craig Murray a cup coffee and really, as they say, the rest is history. She was the new girl in town and Craig liked what he saw, as he says, “that was the best cup of coffee in my life.” One day, shortly after, Deborah was washing dishes at work and Craig walked in, announced that he was quitting his job and was going to start a business. Oh, and that Deborah was going to marry him. Deborah said “ok,” moved aboard Craig’s sailboat, quit her restaurant job and started working for the local logging company, strapping logs onto the trucks; it was tough work, but it paid well. The arrival of their two boys, first Fraser and then Clifton, reinforced the importance of family and wanting to keep the family together. Craig’s idea of a fishing resort was
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taking form. In 1980, nine months after Clifton was born, Deborah spent the summer at Blue Fjord Lodge in Hakai Pass, learning about the lodge industry and the tricks of the trade. That same summer, Craig discovered Nimmo Bay for the first time. It had just what he was looking for, a swift running stream with a waterfall. He had also located the float house that would eventually become the lodge. That fall, Deborah went back to work at the log sort, but was having problems finding good day care, with Craig living at Nimmo Bay. One day, over the marine radio, Deborah declared that “one of us has to quit our job.” Craig replied, “you’re right, and it won’t be me.” And just like that, in 1981, Deborah found herself in a tiny float house with no electricity, surrounded by open water and roaming wildlife. Kerosene lanterns, a small wood stove and persistent, thieving martens quickly became her reality. Craig and Deborah were broke and unemployed, yet excited to see what this chapter had in store for their young family. The next big project was to get the small hydroelectric system in place and running. Both Deborah and Craig had agreed that the lodge had to fit into the ecosystem and that it would run on green power. This was no small feat for the Murrays and everyone had their nose to the grindstone. First, a dam had to be built above the waterfall and concrete thrust blocks poured. Deborah would trek up the mountain with a bag of cement on her shoulder, a shotgun on her back, and a baby on her chest. With a pickaxe and shovel she dug the ‘tail race,’ a three-foot
DEBORAH - A PIONEERING SPIRIT | 19
deep, two-foot wide ditch. The whole family was up on the hill those days, the children were protected from the wind and rain under a plastic tarp, eating cookies and building frog forts. It wasn’t until the following year that Deborah christened the new hydro system by starting her wringer washing machine for the first time. The light bulbs f lashed on and the sound of clean power was finally heard at Nimmo Bay. In the beginning, as bookings slowly trickled in, it became evident that one of them would need to find a job. Craig, resourceful as he is, came home one day and announced that he had found one— for Deborah. Hopetown village, on Watson Island, was looking for a teacher to teach provincial correspondence courses to the local children. Deborah took the job and travelled back and forth daily,
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15 minutes on a good day, longer on foggy days, with Fraser aboard the 16-foot Hourston Glascraft speedboat. Deborah cooked and cleaned for their guests and her family. Georgia, the youngest of the Murray children born in 1984, would often be strapped on Deborah’s back as she worked away in the kitchen or picked berries for dessert. Deborah tells of a tradition she started during the season, in which she would take a running dive off the dock and into the ocean after every guest meal. “ The perfect remedy for cooling down,” she explains. Deborah is a fabulous cook, smoking her own fish and meat, and crafting delicious meals in the middle of nowhere. They lived off the bounty of the sea, with fresh salmon, crabs, prawns, and clams. Adding her special touch, Deborah was the front-runner
FAR LEFT Deborah, wielding an axe
LEFT Deborah and Fraser
RIGHT Holding a “Nimmo Bay Yacht Club” flag
FAR RIGHT Deb, Fraser, baby Georgia and helicopter pilot Peter Barratt
for Nimmo Bay’s leading reputation in coastal cuisine. “We had many things to do before all the comforts and some of the essentials were in place, but our first guests loved it,” recalls Deborah and says that “it was our attitude that won them over.” It was hard work at Nimmo Bay, but Craig and Deborah also made time to enjoy fishing and exploring with their children, catching crabs and prawns, and appreciating the beauty of the wilderness they now called home. One day, she was tending to her garden and noticed three black bears on the back deck. Brave as she was, Deborah took a broom and shooed them off the deck and back into the forest. “You just did what had to be done,” she says. Deborah fondly reminisces about days she would canoe up Big Nimmo with Fraser, Clifton, and Georgia, enjoying a picnic and picking
huckleberries. If the children started to fidget or misbehave, she would just tap them on the head with the paddle, reminding them to not tip the boat. Deborah instilled in her children that “the way you do anything is the way you do everything,” and she certainly practiced what she preached during those early days. Craig and Deborah boldly decided to make their pioneering lifestyle a reality, raising a family and growing a business in the wilderness. Deborah would have done just about anything to keep her family safe and the lodge afloat. With her wild heart and warrior of the woods attitude, she found herself in a place no one had ever been before, building the foundation of Nimmo Bay one dream at a time.
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A FEAST, FORAGED : as nature intended WORDS: CAITLIN HEDLEY / PHOTOGRAPHY: JEREMY KORESKI
T
here is something deep down satisfying about foraging for your food. From the mighty forests to the ocean f loor, imagine a dining table running the coast of B.C. and the exceptional feast it would yield. From walking through the woods searching for herbs, earthy mushrooms, and juicy berries to getting on the water and pulling up the catch of the day, the path to foraging is an inspiring and rewarding journey. Foraging edibles from the land and sea is an age-old tradition, one steeped in history and lore. Coastal First Nations have been successfully harvesting food for thousands of years, offering their celebrations of gratitude and respect for the land and sea which provides for them. The Pacific coast is blessed with
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an abundance and diversity of wild species. Today, harvesting nature’s edible bounty, bringing the wild into the kitchen and onto the table, is becoming more important as more people consider where their food comes from and how it is prepared. The chefs at Nimmo Bay Resort have a strong connection to the natural world around them. The wild landscape of the Great Bear Rainforest offers inspiration and a canvas to create nourshing, beautiful food. Using local ingredients as well as fresh food, thoughtfully sourced from the land and sea, meals are unique experiences. Wild edibles provide exciting ingredients and new opportunities, as the colours, textures, flavours, and aromas of the earth and ocean are brought into the kitchen.
WILD PACIFIC SALMON
“ WHOLE, GRILLED SALMON IS ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS TO COOK THE FISH.”
“Watching the plants and nature change around me is a magical experience. I am constantly aware of the items I want to use and where they stand in their life cycle,” says Rachel, Nimmo Bay’s Executive Pastry Chef. Foraging is a relationship of give and take. Harvesting from only healthy plants will ensure they continue to flourish, and embracing the attitude of a caretaker will show your respect and stewardship. Foraging captures seasonal flavours, as you harvest edibles at their peak, using them as is or preserving them for future use. With a variety of berries, mushrooms, flowers, and herbs, Nimmo Bay’s backyard is a forager’s market. Picking salal berries, red huckleberries or salmon berries with guests and “preparing a simple jelly or jam with them allows them to feel further connected to Nimmo Bay. Then, when they see the jam appear on their dessert plate, it engages them deeper in the experience,” explains Rachel. Golden chanterelles, with their elegant form, fruity smell and peppery taste, are one of the most loved wild mushrooms on the coast. “Spotting a sliver of gold in the forest and then being able to put chanterelles on the plate for dinner is the best feeling,” says Sandi, Nimmo Bay’s Executive Chef. Wild roses offer edible hips, petals, leaves, and shoots and can be used in mignonettes, chutneys, sorbets, syrups, and tea. Spruce tips are the soft, bright green new growth of a Sitka spruce tree. With their citrus notes, “spruce tip and lemon shrub make the most delicious gin and tonic you will ever have,” proclaims Hayley, Nimmo Bay’s Head of Front of House. These are just some of the distinct flavours found within the pantry of the Great Bear Rainforest.
As true as the tides, the wild seafood found off B.C.’s coast is some of the best in the world. At Nimmo Bay, the seafood is sourced from as close to the lodge as possible. The long-standing relationships with local fisherman ensures fresh off-the-boat fare. Salmon is from Johnson Straight and the surrounding mainland inlets, whereas shellfish comes from Mackenzie Sound, Kwatsi Bay, and Well’s Pass, all within a stone’s throw from Nimmo Bay.
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A FEAST, FORAGED | 25
There is nothing comparable to fresh, wild Pacific salmon. The firm, fluorescent fleshed fish is full of rich flavour. Deliciously prepared in a variety of methods, grilled or smoked are sure to tempt your taste buds. Whole, grilled salmon is one of the easiest ways to cook the fish. Cooked on the bone and in its skin, the meat remains tender and juicy. Alder smoked salmon is a Nimmo Bay tradition in which the fresh fillets are brined and smoked for over a day, sealing and preserving the flavour of this timetested recipe. With their noticeable spotted markings, the delicately sweet flavour and plump firm texture of B.C. spot prawns are a real treat. Harvested between Vancouver Island and mainland Canada, spot prawns are a wild species, caught with baited traps dropped deep onto the ocean floor. This is a technique that is gentle on the habitat and is sustainably managed. B.C.’s large Dungeness crabs are known for their succulent and tender meat. The harvest is strictly controlled, also ensuring a sustainable fishery. Seafood lovers know that when cracking into a shellfish feast, things are going to get messy. By adding butter, garlic, fresh homemade bread, white wine, and an ocean view, you have the ingredients for a quintessential West Coast meal. “The fact that we can get fresh prawns, pair them with wild mushrooms and dress them with a spruce tip vinaigrette, or the like, is the epitome of what many chefs are chasing,” says Duncan, Nimmo Bay’s Sous Chef. Foraging is looking for food at your feet and connecting people to place. “The rainforest and ocean offer us so many natural and beautiful ingredients and because of this variety, we get to create a menu that is unique only to Nimmo Bay,” explains Sandi. Just as the chefs garnish their plates with wild flower petals, the food at Nimmo Bay garnishes the wilderness experience.
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