Day 9 | West Side of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Winter Harbour to Columbia Cove

Around Brooks! This is one of the more significant milestones of the trip around Vancouver Island, and the weather has not been particularly cooperative this year. Wind this morning looked ideal. The forecasts called for single digit speeds and the early morning observations at Solander Island and Quatsino Lightstation backed that up. Our concern, though, was the swell. The wind has been blowing for several days and it continues to … Read more

Circumnavigating Vancouver Island Flotilla | Day 11 | North Harbour to Columbia Cove

We’d departed North Harbour between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. for the trip around Brooks Peninsula. It’s not a particularly long trip—about 36nm—and the forecast didn’t look like morning would be any calmer than afternoon, but we wanted to leave ample time for exploring Columbia Cove once we arrived. Crossing the mouth of Quatsino Sound was the bumpiest part of the day. No wind, just some confused swells. We motored through … Read more