Laura Domela

Estevan Point and Hot Springs Cove | West Side of Vancouver Island

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Continuing south from Friendly Cove requires rounding Estevan Point, one of the significant headlands on the west side of Vancouver Island. The forecast for today sounded acceptable—wind light, building to west 15-25 knots in the afternoon and northwest 25-35 knots in the evening. We planned to head for Hot Springs Cove, about 28nm or four and a half hours away. Given the forecast for deteriorating conditions, we planned to head … Read more

Friendly Cove (Yuquot) | West Side of Vancouver Island

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From Nuchatliz we took the inside route through Esperanza Inlet, Hecate Channel, Tahsis Narrows, and Cook Channel to Friendly Cove (“Yuquot” in the native language, which reportedly translates to “wind comes from all directions,” which we’ll get to later.) Overnight, Environment Canada changed the forecast from light winds to 15 knot south winds. Although conditions on the outside didn’t sound terrible (nor did they sound great), adding three miles to … Read more

Walters Cove, Rugged Point, Nuchatlitz | West Side of Vancouver Island

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The small settlement of Walters Cove  is in Kyoquot Sound, just eight miles south of the Bunsby Islands. We popped in and tied up at the public dock for a quick look around and to see if the small general store happened to be open. It wasn’t, but the woman we asked about the store hours was the store owner, and she opened it for us so we could do … Read more

Bunsby Islands | West Side of Vancouver Island

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The Bunsby Islands are a group of islets and islands in Checleset Bay, just seven miles south of Columbia Cove. They’re popular among cruisers and kayakers, and for good reason. Within the group there are several well-protected anchorages, lots of shoreline to explore, white shell beaches, black silty beaches, lagoons, and beautiful views out to the Pacific and back towards Vancouver Island. The short cruise from Columbia Cove was delightful. … Read more

Brooks Peninsula and Columbia Cove | West Side of Vancouver Island

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Cruising the west side of Vancouver Island requires frequent hops in the ocean. The hops are typically short—15 to 30 nautical miles—but even a few hours in rough conditions can be awful. Three headlands can create particularly rough conditions: Cape Scott, Brooks Peninsula, and Estevan Point. Brooks is perhaps the worst of all. It juts out from Vancouver Island into the Pacific Ocean like an enormous, flat, rectangular slab. Dramatic … Read more

Quatsino Sound | West Side of Vancouver Island

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Quatsino Sound is the northernmost of the five sounds along the west coast of Vancouver Island. It’s also among the most developed, with many active logging operations and several communities scattered throughout (and good cell phone service!). The run from Sea Otter Cove to Quatsino Sound was easy: no wind, lazy swell. For boaters used to cruising the Inside Passage (including us), being out in the ocean is different. Even … Read more

The Abandoned Cannery at Namu, B.C.

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We left Kynumpt Harbour and cruised four nautical miles to Shearwater, where we tied up for a couple hours to do laundry, grocery shopping, and top off the fuel tanks. The grocery store was closed for restocking until 1:00 p.m. (Our lucky day! Fresh produce!) so we took advantage of the new laundry drop-and-fold service ($20 Canadian per load) while we had a late breakfast. With chores done, we headed … Read more

Behm Canal and Misty Fjords

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We left Thorne Bay and headed for Ketchikan to catch up on laundry, groceries, etc. and to pick up Kevin and Laura’s 9-year-old granddaughter, Mijonet, for a trip around Behm Canal. The Ketchikan airport is across Tongass Narrows from town. Remember the infamous Bridge to Nowhere? Yep, that was here, and since it was never built, air travellers arriving or departing Ketchikan must take a boat a few hundred yards … Read more