Denman Hornby Canoes & Kayaks Ltd.

Nothing gets you closer to West Coast nature like paddling. Experience the tranquility of travel by kayak, canoe, or stand-up paddleboard in the calm waters around Denman and Hornby Islands and take away memories that last a lifetime.

Since 2003, family-owned and operated Denman Hornby Canoes and Kayaks Ltd. has specialized in providing lessons, rentals and custom tours designed to match the unique aspirations of their guests, as well as accommodation and home-cooked meals on request.

Launching from the West side of Denman Island on Lambert Channel, visit Chrome Island Lighthouse, Eagle Rock, Sandy Island Provincial Marine Park, or Hornby Island. Explore inlets, peek into a cave, meander through rock formations at high tide and examine the captivating intertidal zone at low tide.

Bring your camera to capture ocean views and abundant wildlife like Bald Eagles, Harbour Seals, Stellar Sea Lions, and maybe glimpse Orca and Humpback whales.

No experience necessary and all ages welcome! All tours are custom and therefore accommodate the individual needs of your group.

Book ahead to reserve your adventure! Email melodie.tancon@gmail.com

 

250-335-0079 or 250-702-0530

For same-day rentals, try texting 250-335-0079.

Service Rates

Prices Include Taxes. The Teen/Child discount applies only with a full price adult. Cash, cheques and e-transfers. A 50% non-refundable deposit will confirm your booking. All prices include tax.

Kayak Tours

• ½ day (4 hours) Adults: $125; Teen $85;  Child $65
• Full Day: Adults: $160;  Teen $110;  Child $85

Lessons

• 2-hour Kayak Lessons: Adults: $90; Teen $65;   Child $45

Learn to paddle! Introductory lessons cover basic paddling strokes and safety on the water. More advanced paddlers will benefit from our advanced lessons covering technique improvement and new strokes, as well as practicing rescue techniques. Book well-ahead for more advanced skill training, like wet exits and rescues.

Whatever your ability or fitness level, our experienced instructors will tailor a lesson to your specific needs.

• Advanced Rescues: Practicing rescues is a great way to get to know yourself and the kayak, and to be familiar with wet exiting the kayak so that if it occurs in a real-life situation, you are prepared with the skills to rescue yourself or another. You will learn 2 self rescues and 3 two-person rescues. Half wetsuits provided if needed.
• Strokes and Edging: You will learn a variety of strokes to aid in maneuvering and turning your kayak, including pulling and sculling draws to move your boat through the water sideways, forward and backward sweep strokes, and several different strokes to aid in turns. You will also learn how to lean your boat on edge, a crucial skill in maneuvering your kayak.
• Rolling a Kayak: Skilled instructors will take you step-by-step through the process of completing a roll and will be in the water assisting your attempts. Rolling is a difficult skill that is very technique based, and may not be achieved by everyone, especially in their first attempt. Instructors will do their best to help you achieve your roll or get you to a point where you can continue working on your technique yourself.

Custom Children’s lessons are a specialty.  Your child or grandchild will get a dry land lesson in our child’s kayak.  This is not a big wide boat that makes it difficult to paddle, it is a mini kayak in scale!  We will plan this when the tide is high in our natural paddling bay.  Kids learn a variety of strokes to confidently menoeuvre the boat in shallow water near the shore.  This lesson leads into a longer paddle along the coast in Lambert Channel. Introductory hour log lesson is $50.  Second child is $40.

 

Kayak Rentals

• Single: Kayaks ½ day $50; Full day $70;  24 hours $80
  Multiple days $80 for the first 24 hours and then $50 per day or part day after that.
• Double Kayaks: 1/2 day $80;   Full day $100;   24 Hours: $110
  Multiple days $110 for the first 24 hours, then $80 per day following

Canoe Rentals

• ½ day $50;   Full day $70;  24 hours $80
• Multiple days $80 for the first 24 hours, then $50 per day following

SUP Rentals

• ½ day $50;  full day $70;  24 hours $80

 

All our Kayak, Canoe and SUP rentals include:

• Dry land lesson, including safety and paddling technique
• Nautical chart
• Safety gear
• Waterproof box for your cell phone
• Ask us if you need watershoes, dry bags, etc.
• Ask other rental companies if they include any of this!

Additional Equipment Rental:

• Some camping items available for rental to help you out, please e-mail to inquire about specific items you require.
• Custom boat pick-up / drop-off starting at $20.

 

What to bring: Shoes/closed toed sandals you can get wet, camera, water bottle, food, warm clothing (wear layers), hat, sun screen, bathing suit, towel, glasses strap, cash (if you plan to paddle across Lambert Channel to Hornby Island to purchase food).

Provided: PFD’s, spray skirts, paddles, gloves, pumps, floats, dry-bags, waterproof hard cases for phones and wallets.

For purchase: Selection of pocket energy snacks to keep you going during your adventure.

 

Welcome to Denman Island 1/2 day or full day tours

This is the perfect way to welcome you to Denman whether you have just moved here, have guests new to the island, want a fun filled day for your grandchildren or have found our special gem for the first time and want the locals to show you around.  Our custom day or half day is designed after speaking about your special interests and activity levels.  A day trip may include a walk to one or two of our beautiful beaches or look out’s, a swim at the beach and or lake, and introduction to stand-up paddle boarding and a kayak lesson in the bay in front of our home and a picnic lunch or dinner.  Trips can begin later in the day to catch the sunset out on the water.  Photos can be included with your experience.  We have a passion for helping you create memories that last a lifetime.

• ½ day (4 hours) Adults: $125; Teen $85;  Child $65
• Full Day: Adults: $160;  Teen $110;  Child $85

Introduction to Denman Island

Custom tours may include walking to local island gems, swimming and a shorter introduction to paddling.

 

Booking, Refund and Cancellation Policy for Tours and Rentals:

A 50% non-refundable deposit by e-transfer, cheque or cash is required at time of booking to ensure guide and or equipment availability for your group and date(s). This deposit will be returned in full if either A) or B) circumstances arise:

A) In the event of unsafe weather conditions, as determined by Denman Hornby Canoes and Kayaks, we will seek to reschedule. If this is not possible, your deposit will be returned in full.

B) If we need to cancel your booking we will return your deposit in full.

If your plans change after booking we will do our best to accommodate a reschedule request; however, this may not be possible due to guide and equipment availability and the 50% deposit will not be refunded.

 

Paddler’s Hostel

The Tancons home at 4005 Denman Road, offers simple rooms with comfortable beds and a hot shower and also welcomes tenters. Home-cooked meals with local ingredients are also an option!

* New This Year: All Denman Hornby Canoes and Kayaks Ltd. accommodation comes with a half day boat or bike rental per night booked.

Please email denmanpaddling@gmail.com

to book.  Last minute, try texting at 250-335-0079

Check us out on Air B and B and then book directly with us please. 

• We are able to welcome children 10 years and up.
• Quiet, well behaved dogs who do not use furniture are welcome with a pet fee of $50

Paddler’s Hostel Private

Private accommodation with cooking facility, indoor or outdoor shower and toilet plus ½ day boat rental

• Single Private $100
• Double Private $160
• Triple Private $210

July and August Friday and Saturday’s plus long weekends add  $10 per night.

 

*Due to Covid we are not offering the shared option this season.

Paddler’s Hostel Shared

Shared accommodation with cooking facility, indoor or outdoor shower and toilet plus ½ day boat rental

• Single Shared $70

July and August Friday and Saturday’s plus long weekends add $5 per person

 

* We can often offer a work trade arrangement for accommodation and paddling.  Please E-mail us about the skills you can offer and the dates you would like to join us.

 

About Your Guides

Experienced paddlers, teachers, and parents, the Tancon family provides a welcoming, safe, fun, and memorable water experience for their clients.

Melodie Tancon is a certified kayak guide and canoe instructor, previously working in outdoor education at Strathcona Park Lodge. She enjoys and has experience teaching children from Grades 3-12 and seniors, and is passionate and knowledgeable about the local environment and wildlife.

Mario Tancon grew up on the coast in nearby Campbell River, where he worked on and around boats of all types.  He has extensive local environmental knowledge to share and is inspired by the fresh local produce and farms to create delicious meals.

Chelsea Tancon was an elite university volleyball player, learned to hand roll a kayak at age 12, and is a First Responder. Her childhood stories of the islands combined with her science background make for interesting paddling conversations.

Nick Tancon is a certified canoe and kayak guide and took the Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training (COLT) program at Strathcona Lodge. Nick is studying physical literacy at university in Calgary, and has experience working with children, including children and adults with special needs.  Nick also provides SUP/Paddleboard tips and can lead overnight paddling trips.

Marco Tancon keeps all the gear clean and can set you up for equipment rental and provide paddling tips on and off the water. He is a certified life guard and trained swim instructor, and a real people person who can relate to guests of all ages and abilities.  He is currently studying education at UVIC.

 

Customer Comments

“Thanks Melodie and Marco for such a great afternoon on the water last Thursday.  It was a perfect day to paddle, I loved seeing the wildlife and another view of Denman and Hornby. You were wonderful hosts and I look forward to paddling with Denman Hornby Canoes and Kayaks Ltd. again on another visit.” ~ Donna Richmond BC

 

“So much fun!!!! Melodie was a pro and so easy going and easy to talk to! Thanks for an amazing experience in an even more amazing place.” ~ Kayla D.

 

“While I was kayaking yesterday, I saw 4 otters! They were so funny!  Kept popping their heads up to look at me and then ducking down and making the funniest noises, like they were arguing or something….and then they would pop up again, 4 heads from behind the rock shelf in the water. And I wanted to compliment you about your daughter….she is a wonderful woman…confident, beautiful, funny, strong, intelligent.  We so enjoyed our paddle with her.” ~ Michelle M.

 

“We are grateful for the kayaking recommendations from Melodie when we met. We ended up staying an extra day and paddled to a beautiful sandy island where we enjoyed swimming, hiking, and sleeping under the full moon. Thank you Melodie! ~Jennifer C.

 

“We rented a kayak while we were staying in Melodie’s cabin on Denman, and I highly recommend it! This was an unforgettable experience, one of the best memories from our vacation: sunset, mirror-like water, wine… Melodie is a great instructor and she’s very professional: she showed us everything from getting into the kayak to getting out, and gave us a lot of other useful tips. If we ever happen to be on Denman again, we would definitely return for some paddling! Thanks a lot, Melodie!” ~ Sofia P.

 

“We took our two teenage girls on a half-day kayak tour around Denman Island with Nick! We had a blast! Not only was Nick informative about the island and landmarks in the area, he also made us feel like our safety was his number one priority. The sights at sunset were breathtaking! Melodie was wonderful to communicate with! Would highly recommend this company if you’re thinking of getting out on the ocean while visiting Denman.” ~ Erin Patrick