Vancouver Island Flotillas 2018

West Side of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Days 19-20-21 | Bamfield to Sooke Harbour and Victoria

by

Bamfield to Sooke Harbour is a long cruise–about 73nm. The forecast was wind light, becoming west 10-20 knots in the afternoon, with some fog. We left Bamfield at first light…about 5:30 a.m. The sky (and thus, the water) turned bright pink as we headed out of Trevor Channel. Amazing!  There was a thick fog bank out toward sea, but our cruise was clear and gorgeous! We arrived in Sooke Harbour … Read more

West Side of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Day 18 | Effingham Bay to Bamfield

by

Airship left Effingham Bay a bit ahead of the group (around 10:00 a.m.) for the 9.5nm cruise to Bamfield. It was foggy leaving Effingham Bay, but it eventually cleared as we got closer to Bamfield. We had reservations for everyone at the government dock on the west side of Bamfield, but there’s no full-time harbormaster to direct boats where to tie up. We thought it would be nice to have … Read more

West Coast of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Day 16-17 | Joe’s Bay to Effingham Bay

by

We left Joe’s Bay around 10:00 a.m. and cruised the very short distance (less than 4nm) over to Effingham Bay. Most of our flotilla went right in and anchored, while Airship went out to Meares Bluff to do a little fishing. Meares Bluff is right around the corner from the anchorage, and since there were quite a few sport fishing boats with lines in the water, there was at least … Read more

West Side of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Day 14-15 | Ucluelet to Joe’s Bay

by and

We left Ucluelet and cruised the short distance (11nm) over to Joe’s Bay, just north of Turtle Island in the Broken Group. Unfortunately, we had one boat fewer than normal. Throughout the trip, Mana Kai (a Kadey Krogen 44), has been experiencing intermittent engine problems related to the suction control valve on the common rail system. No amount of fiddling with filters or resetting computers has fixed the issue, and … Read more

West Side of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Day 12-13 | Tofino to Ucluelet

by and

We left Tofino in the morning and headed for Ucluelet. The sky was mostly gray but not foggy. Wind was light, with a low, lazy westerly swell and light chop on top, making for a very pleasant cruise. The biggest challenge was avoiding crab traps—hundreds of them, and several crab boats actively fishing! We arrived in Ucluelet by about 11:00 a.m. and got space in the Ucluelet Small Craft Harbour. … Read more

West Side of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Day 11 | Hot Springs Cove to Tofino

by

Our original plan for the next few days was to cruise to Quait Bay tonight (in Clayoquot Sound), then continue to Ucluelet (in Barkley Sound) tomorrow. We’d stay for two nights so people could take a day trip by bus to Tofino. Tofino is a hugely popular tourist destination, but it’s difficult to visit by boat. Last summer when we visited it was quite tricky due to the swift currents, … Read more

West Side of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Day 10 | Yuquot (Friendly Cove) to Hot Springs Cove

by and

We were pleasantly surprised when we awoke to…no fog!! We left Yuquot at 6:00 a.m. and headed for Estevan Point. Environment Canada predicted variable winds 5-15 knots. Windy showed southeast winds in the 10-15 knot range, a little worse but we didn’t think it would be too bad. Best of all, the weather reporting station at Estevan Point showed southeast winds of just six knots. Airship left a little earlier … Read more

West Side of Vancouver Island Flotilla | Day 9 | Tahsis to Yuquot (Friendly Cove)

by , and

Some of our group went into town for a tour of the salmon hatchery. There were no fish there at this time, but the community is quite proud of their volunteer-run hatchery and it really showed. After the hatchery tour, we got on our way and headed for Yuquot/Friendly Cove. As we got further out of the inlet, the fog cleared and we even got some bright sun for a … Read more