Airship

Barkley Sound | West Side of Vancouver Island

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The most challenging part of cruising on the west side of Vancouver Island is weather. The typical summer weather pattern is calm, cool mornings followed by clearing and warming in the afternoon. Fog is frequent. As temperatures climb, a northwesterly breeze fills in and conditions can get rough. By September, this pattern is more often disrupted by cooler, cloudier, wetter weather and moderate winds from the southeast. When Environment Canada … Read more

Tofino | West Side of Vancouver Island

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Approaching Tofino is a bit overwhelming after weeks in the wilderness. Boats—tour boats, fishing boats, skiffs, seaplanes—zoom this way and that. Shoals dot the waterfront. Current runs to four or five knots. We tried hailing the harbormaster at the public docks to no avail. When we looked at the largest facility, 4th Street, the place seemed full. Boats, mostly much smaller than ours, rafted two or three deep. We continued … Read more

Bottleneck Bay and Bacchante Bay | West Side of Vancouver Island

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From Hot Springs Cove we went into Clayoquot Sound. Clayoquot Sound is best known for Tofino, the town at its center, but the inlets, channels, and anchorages are wonderful cruising areas. Our first anchorage was Bottleneck Bay in Sydney Inlet. The bay gets its name from the narrow entrance channel, which looks a little intimidating at first. We found at least 25 feet of water mid-channel and current doesn’t seem … Read more

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