Laura Domela 
With just 2.5 hours to travel today we didn’t rush out of Nuchatlitz this morning, which turned out to be extremely beneficial. Last night at about 1:30 a.m. (and again at 4:30 a.m.), we heard wolves howling over on shore in what sounded like a new meal celebration, but it was too dark to see anything. Laura went out into the cockpit of Airship and recorded what we were hearing … Read more
We left Walters Cove about 6:30 a.m. for the 24nm run from Kyuquot Sound to Esperanza Inlet. This route leads around Tatchu Point, and while it’s not as significant a headland as Brooks Peninsula, Cape Scott, or Estevan Point, it still deserves respect. Environment Canada called for 15-25 knots of northwesterly wind and 1-2 meter seas. Windy showed the wind would come, but not until later in the day, hence … Read more
Airship left the Bunsby Islands first, just before 8:30am for the 10nm cruise over to Walters Cove. There was no rush to arrive at Walters Cove early, but we were hoping to find space on the public dock, and with one lead boat in first, we’d be able to help the rest get settled. The sea was calm, the sky clear, and we had hardly any wind. It was a … Read more
Life is good south of Brooks Peninsula! We awoke to a warm, sunny, calm morning. We only had a few miles to travel today, and although Checleset Bay is open to the ocean, the swells were gentle. We had a relaxing, short 9nm cruise over to the Bunsbys, so no one really rushed out too early this morning. Once in the Bunsbys, we all anchored in Scow Bay. The Bunsbys, … Read more
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
The meteorologists called for another stormy day today. They were right. The rain began falling around 9:00 a.m. and didn’t let up for more than a few minutes all day. Although the wind didn’t make it into North Harbour or Winter Harbour, the reports from Solander Island weren’t encouraging. Sustained winds in the 30s, with gusts near 40. A good day to stay off the ocean. Since our progress has … Read more
The weather for rounding Brooks Peninsula continues to be problematic. Today looked like a relatively light day of wind, but tomorrow it’s supposed to be blowing from the south (again) at 30 knots or so, possibly making Columbia Cove (one of our favorite anchorages) uncomfortable. So even if we were to go around Brooks today, we’d have to find wait somewhere for a couple more days before backtracking to Columbia … Read more
This morning we moved from Varney Bay over to Kokwina Cove, just 3.5nm away. We had little information about Kokwina Cove, so yesterday after anchoring the big boats in Varney Bay, we dinghied over for a look. Since it sounds like we’ll be waiting out some stormy weather tonight, we wanted to be as tucked in and protected as we could be, and Kokwina Cove seems to fit the bill! … Read more