Vancouver Island Circumnavigation...

The 14 Day Route Counterclockwise...

Pre Trip and Preboard - Thursday, 24 September - Toronto to Nanaimo

Today I travelled from Toronto to Nanaimo by air - an uneventful trip that I seem to have done now many times.

The limo driver in Nanaimo knew that NYC had moved and drove me down to the front of the laundry building. There I met with Ian, Shari, Lorraine and Paul - it seemed as if everyone knew me without the prolonged absence that had been the case since last fall. I had to sign some papers for Lorraine and made the final payment to the course.

Ian then outlined the program for the rest of the day - receive and store all the provisions, checkout and inspection of the boat and high level briefing of what was in store for the next 2 weeks.

Day 1 - Friday, 25 September 2015 - Nanaimo to Tribune Bay (Hornby Island) - 40.0 nm

 After a morning of further preparations, crew member introductions and briefings, we gathered in front of the office computer to review weather models and forecasts for the purpose of determining the route to take around Vancouver Island - either clockwise or counterclockwise. It was a toss of the dice decision as the decision was not to be an obvious one. The goal was to ensure a following wind along the west side which at this time of the year is usually the prevailing condition - a northwest wind. To make a call as to what would be in the forecast a week ahead is always an inaccurate scenario. Given that going north (counterclockwise route) represented new territory for most - this appeared to be the direction of choice.

The crew of Belle Serena would consist of Tracy and Tyler from Victoria, Andy from Calgary and Ian our instructor from NYC. Hartaro with Paul as instructor would be our buddy vessel for the trip.

Hoisting the dinghy onto the foredeck and checking that we had all required charts -  all was ready to go.

Departure came about shortly after noon with the evening targeted destination to be Tribune Bay on the south side of Hornby Island. I was delighted to finally be able to go there by sailboat given the many times that I had been there on family vacations up on the bluff.

Tracy at the Helm

The entire leg was done under motor due to calm conditions. It was an easy run without any obstacles other than dodging a few islands just outside of Nanaimo. I was on NAV duty for this day and elected to impose a new take on variation impact in order to take us directly into Snake Island on the start. A quick course change got us back on the right direction without mishap. As Ian professes - one is always navigating (or should be).

We arrived and dropped anchor about 7:30pm after checking depth and tidal range for the night, prepared dinner, had a beer and wound down the evening for an early sack time.

Day 2 - Saturday, 26 September 2015 - Tribune Bay to Campbell River - 64.0 nm

 

With an early wakeup and breakfast we managed an 8:00am departure. Given the northwest wind in the forecast down the Strait of Georgia we decided to head out Southeast via St. John Point and Flora Islet before turning northwards. Winds were fresh once around the corner and we had a great sail beating northwards. We made fairly good progress to our planned destination of Campbell River but early in the afternoon we dropped the sails and motored the rest of the way to Campbell River to ensure an arrival in daylight.

The early day's sail was well received by all as we were tacking across nearly the full width of the Strait between Texada and Denman Islands. With more freshening of the wind we had put in the first reef for better flatness. I was on HELM duty that day and asked for a second reef because of the increased weather helm - but the crew wouldn't obey! More on that later.

Looking Back on Hornby and Denman Islands

It was fun to be going around Hornby and Denman from the water side as they were both very well known to me.

We started our Celestial Navigation work today and the lesson gained for me was that one didn't need to have a shoreless horizon to get a sight - a few miles off shore and no significant breaks in the shoreline was all that was needed - thanks Ian!

A Quick Review of Sextant Details

The approach to Campbell River was very straight forward and after a wind shift we gained some help by putting out the headsail and motor sailing until the wind direction became a disadvantage.

Approach to Campbell River

Coming into Campbell River would represent my first exposure to docking with a strong tidal stream to be contended with. I had to crab walk the boat in above the current in order to get through the navigation buoys at the marina entrance. Tyler provided terrific piloting instructions with his familiarity of the marina. Hartaro were already docked and helped with our lines as we came in.

A terrific dinner and beer were had at the local pub before an early bed time as we had already decided to get up super early the next day so that we could catch the beginning of the ebb through Seymour Narrows. We felt that getting the early part of the ebb would give us a nice ride through and into Johnstone Strait.

Day 3 - Sunday, 27 September 2015 - Campbell River to Burial Cove - 64.1 nm

We got up at 4:30 am, had a quick breakfast (I was on GALLEY duty today) and quickly got underway towards Seymour Narrows. The ebb was starting to build and once inside the narrows saw the whirlpools starting to form. Before we knew it Tracy was having fun helming us through a few twists and turns with our boat SOG being seen to be 16 Knots!!! Yeehaah!

When you are on GALLEY duty - you have first rights on music - so it was a good day to indoctrinate the crew with my favourite music choice, namely Mark Knopfler.

A Calm Day on Johnstone Strait

It was an easy passage through Johnstone Strait - no wind and ebb tide in our favour until about 1:00pm. We caught sight of our first whale blow just past Chatham Point - believe that it was a Minke. Our destination was originally intended to be a small cove on the north side of Helmcken Island but we had been making such good progress that we elected to keep on going and anchor in Burial Cove at East Cracroft Island - something new for Ian and we were happy to give it a go.

Hartaro Up Ahead...

The scenery all the way along Johnstone Strait was amazing. Very little inhabitation visible as the Strait is notorious was vigourous conditions of wind and tide and all of the little towns and villages were tucked away in well protected coves and harbours.

Another day of taking sights when we had a good distance from shore and another new lesson for taking sights - you don't need to have a cloudless sky to be able to get a sun sight - if the sun is visible within the clouds, you can get a sun sight. Once again, thank you Ian!

It was a small cove, we had a plotting lesson in the cockpit, and once Hartaro arrived had them raft up to us given that Belle Serena had fairly solid ground tackle.

Day 4 - Monday, 28 September 2015 - Burial Cove to Port Hardy - 56.2 nm

I was on NAV duty today - plotted out a fairly easy run up Johnstone Strait after leaving Burial Cove via Havannah Channel and after getting past Malcolm Island had our first open view of Queen Charlotte Strait and the Pacific Ocean beyond.

The wildlife sighting of the day, near Malcolm Island, was a small pod of Dall's Porpoises that decided to have some fun and swam with us crisscrossing our bow for about 10 minutes. Ian caught it all while standing up at the bow.

Rafted Up with Hartaro at Burial Cove

Along the way to keep things interesting - took some sun sights through the clouds and a few running fixes. Ian had challenged us as navigators to provide fully documented navigation via chart and log - an acoustic approach rather than relying on electronics. Of course we used GPS as backup but the primary navigation was via compass and chart. It was fun and more rewarding too.

We arrived in Port Hardy around 5:40pm - took the opportunity to get some provisions (including beer and wine), got some milk that should have been good until the end of October but ended up being bad when we had some a couple of days later.

Day 5 - Tuesday, 29 September 2015 - Port Hardy to Winter Cove - 80.8 nm

One of the many tasks to manage on a boat are engine hours. Ian like to refuel every 30 hours even though the tank holds much more. This is to keep one from getting to the bottom of the tank and stirring up the sludge that may have settled. So on departure we all refueled at the fuel dock.

Port Hardy in the Morning Fog

As we entered Goletas Channel, we had a bit of fog which burned off fairly quickly to further reveal the amazing scenery of the islands along the way.

Heading Up Goletas Channel with Hartaro

Our NAV team had scheduled a fairly late departure in order to catch the ebb at Nahwitti Bar but more importantly to catch the turn while going through Scott Channel later in the evening. Being on HELM duty I was a little concerned with taking on the bar at maximum ebb but was assured that with no wind on tide it would not be that difficult.

As we approached the bar, one could see the Pacific swell coming in, building up over the bar as the bottom depth decreased. It was quite visible from a distance and I felt that this could be very interesting as the crossing approached.

Well - it did get bumpy and we definitely knew when we were over the bar. There was no preferred course to take as the mounding swell was everywhere. The bumps and thrashing increased and in about 30 minutes as the bottom depth increased, it was over.

As came about a number of times - the security of relying on electronic navigation was not guaranteed of correctness - the same could be said now of paper charts. To our chagrin a 1.2 metre cover on the bar was NOT shown on the paper chart but was clearly visible on the Navionics digital chart. Which was right?

After a bit we were soon to be approaching another infamous navigation mark - namely Cape Scott and Scott Channel. Night was falling on us and we had already implemented our watch system that would take us through the night and our planned Winter Harbour destination sometime mid morning.

It was a clear night and after rounding Cape Scott had a great view of the moon and stars. It would end being the best night available to get moon and star sights. As the night progressed and a land breeze developed, we had a great downwind sail - most of it being wing on wing - that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. One of Ian's many mantra's was that if the sailing ever gets below 3 Kts., we would turn on the iron spinnaker.

As is the case with land breezes, it changed direction and then diminished to barely anything as we continued down the coast to Quatsino Sound. The entry into Quatsino Sound was well laid out by our NAV team but was nonetheless an interesting experience. There were few opportunities for 2 way fixes and most of the turns were made with a 1 way fix on Kains Island Light while backed up with a GPS fix. The final legs up Forward Inlet and Winter Harbour were made entirely by the Navionics navigation package as there was absolutely nothing that one could take a fix on due to the darkness. Even Ian on his complete reliance on paper charts and fixes as his principal vehicle for navigating had to rely on the electronics.

At 3:00am we finally arrived at the Public Dock and after snugging down quickly turned into our beds. It had been a long and tiring day. 

Day 6 - Wednesday, 30 September 2015 - Winter Cove

It was deemed that today would be a day of rest with a stayover in Winter Harbour given that we had made good progress over the last few days. Today would also be Day 1 of Paul's Weather lecture series.

Boardwalk in Winter Harbour

While everyone went via Hartaro to tour the Kains Island Lighthouse, I elected to catch up on some Celestial Navigation reading and a walk around the very sleepy and not too much happening village of Winter Harbour. There is a local store here but its hours was only 2:00 to 6:00pm with all of its provisions coming from Port Hardy some 2 hours away by road.

Belle Serena on the Government Dock

After the weather lecture, plans were made to make for Queen Cove the next day which would also entail rounding Brooks Peninsula and a night time arrival.

Day 7 - Thursday, 1 October 2015 - Winter Cove to Queen Cove - 74.0 nm

I was on GALLEY duty but had lots of help from Tracy. We left Winter Harbour at a comfortable 9:30 am. Sailing was again downwind and wing on wing. We had rigged a gybe preventer to keep the headsail filled as we were sailing by the lee with the main. Later in the day we had a brief sail with the cruising chute up to give us a double upfront.

Leaving Kains Island Lighthouse Behind

Tracy, Tyler and Ian Looking Ahead to Brooks Peninsula

Rounding Brooks Peninsula was a great experience as Brooks is another notorious coastal element that can be more than a handful in challenging weather. For us on this day it was fairly benign. The following swell which was not too high, was continuous throughout the day. Before the trip I had nervous thoughts about getting seasick - but it was not to be.

Brooks Peninsula with Solander Island

The day started out as overcast but as it went on cleared and exposed the amazing emerald green coastline. The views of the coast from the water were spectacular.

Below Brooks Peninsula with Kyuquot Sound Beyond

We had a very clear sky for our sun sights and meridian passage so we ended up doing a classic Sun-Run-Noon-Run-Sun sight reduction on the day.

As we approached Gillam Channel in the dark - the helm work became a challenge as the swell moved the boat around a lot and it was hard to keep the boat moving straight with the long intervals between light flashes. The lights were constantly moving from left to right as the boat was being oversteered and corrected.

The Navionics package did not show the light on Double Island - which was our principal navigation light on entering Gillam Channel. Once past the light, it was once again total reliance on GPS as there was nothing visible the rest of the way in to Queen Cove.

Finally arriving at 10:30pm, we anchored and watched as Hartaro came in slowly through the dark and fog. With the help of our searchlight they made their way in and rafted up to Belle Serena.

Day 8 - Friday, 2 October 2015 - Queen Cove to Bodega Cove - 24.7 nm

After arriving in the night before through light fog, it was amazing to see where we had ended up in the bright sunshine of the morning. Of course nothing looked the same - what appeared to be perilously close the night before was expansive and what was the concern in the light of day.

Queen Cove in the Morning

After a hearty breakfast we made preparations to head inland towards Tahsis through the Tahsis Narrows. I was on NAV duty today - nothing extreme, just stay in the middle of the channels for the most part.

Hartaro Preparing to Leave

More sights enroute - Sun and even a morning Moon sight. Also a number of Gray Whales were spotted a number of times in the inlet. Wind was light but enough to get the sails up. We wouldn't be travelling far today so there was no hurry.

Esperanza Inlet

Heading south in Tahsis Inlet just past Tsowwin Narrows we spotted some Sea Lions that appeared to be quite agitated. No wonder why - just 100 metres away was a small pod of Orca, possibly their dinner was in sight. The Sea Lions tore away northwards and we had a keen eye out for the Orca who would surely be on to them. The Sea Lions were thrashing around every which way and we thought for sure that the hunt was on. After a bit with no Orca in sight, further up the inlet we finally saw their dorsal fins - but they were swimming away from the Sea Lions. We were sure they would not have passed up on the Sea Lions unless they had already had their fill on someone else. Some very lucky Sea Lions today as they swam furiously towards shore to haul themselves out of the water and to safety. There had always been the thought that if the Sea Lions were targeted that with out two boats hovering nearby that we might have been used as a sanctuary to escape the Orca.

Our destination for the night was a small anchorage in Bodega Cove. We had to navigate a narrow pass through Princesca Channel to get there. The cove was pristine in its natural beauty. A great spot to park for the night.

Day 9 - Saturday, 3 October 2015 - Bodega Cove to Hot Springs Cove - 38.8 nm

Got up to a sparkling, clear blue sky day for my HELMing duties to Hot Springs Cove destination. The air was cool and crisp and every moment spotted in the sunshine helped to get things warmed up. It was an uneventful passage southwards past Critter Cove and Friendly Cove until out past Estevan Light. As the sea bottom shallowed out a bit the swells increased. The inshore scenery was rugged and fantastic. Not a lot of inhabitation out here.

Nootka Lighthouse

Just past Estevan Light we encountered a ship. the Reuben Lasker, a NOAA vessel doing surveys and research offshore for a while. We had made radio contact to satisfy our curiosity. More moon and sun sights today - in fact I had such a tight plot that I could hardly contain myself. It became the basis for my sign-off from Ian on the Celestial Navigation component for the course.

There wasn't enough wind to get the sails up today so we continued southwards by motor until Hot Springs Cove where we tied up to the Park dock fro the night.

After our Diesel Engine lecture from Ian and a verbal altercation from an incoming float plane pilot - we headed ashore for a beautiful hike through the forest along a well maintained boardwalk to the Hot Springs.

On The Boardwalk to the Hot Springs

The Springs were quite warm, even in the lower pool where we ended up. The upper pool would have been too hot for me. All kinds of natural scenery out towards the cove to be seen from sitting in the pools - including a good number of folks that wore nothing at all as they sat and clambored about.

Looking Out from the Hot Springs

It started to get dark so we all headed off down the boardwalk back to the boat. The walk back was quite refreshing after the pools - it was a fun thing to have done.

Day 10 - Sunday, 4 October 2015 - Hot Springs Cove to Ucluelet - 45.3 nm

At first it was thought to get to Bamfield for tonight but on consideration due to a better Grocery Store scenario in Ucluelet - this would be our destination. We got a bit of downwind sailing in but it was quite light and the sails were not up that long.

With clear skies and the Reuben Lasker still offshore on our beam - we did get in a few more sights along the way. For me this leg represented an offshore glimpse onto the Etowista Peninsula of Tofino, Chesterman Beach and Long Beach - all places that we have visited on various occasions landside over the years.

A splendid drive down the coast it was.

Lone Cone on Meares Island

The approach and entry into the Ucluelet Harbour was a bit tricky - could have been a lot more interesting if it had been night. Once docked it became the mission to get to the Grocery store for a few pertinent items. My observation was that Ucluelet was doing well - clean, tidy and apparently growing. Still a lot if fish boats in the harbour.

After shopping we settled down to review our ISPA Yachtmaster Workbooks to confirm our answers that had been completed previously.

Fishing Vessels at Ucluelet

I wish that I could remember with certainty what I made for supper being on GALLEY duty. I am pretty sure it was the 'log'. My version of a meat loaf made of various things that came out pretty well and was well received by all.

Day 11 - Monday, 5 October 2015 - Ucluelet to Grappler Inlet (Bamfield) - 22.5 nm

We were deemed to be a bit ahead of schedule and could afford to take a detour through the Broken Islands Group - an archipelago of sorts with clusters of islands dotted throughout Barkley Sound. I remember passing through on an overcast day in 1995 on board the MV Lady Rose enroute from Bamfield to Port Alberni. The ship was picking up and dropping off kayakers at various locations. It was certainly a sleepy, island time excursion.

Other than avoiding a shallow rock, my NAV duties went off without issues. There was a plan afoot to have some of Tyler's CG training folks meet up with us. It was a lot less of a surprise as Ian had a different destination in mind due to anchorage issues so the plot was sprung.

Mid afternoon after a casual lunch in the cockpit - we headed towards Bamfield as our destination for the night. It ended up that we anchored in Grappler Inlet instead, which was just around the corner from the entrance into Bamfield.

Grappler Inlet Anchorage

There was a little concern about how much rode we had let out on the anchor with the amount of swing we would encounter - and the mooring buoy that was nearby. After consultation, it was deemed not to be an issue and we all hit the sack.

Day 12 - Tuesday, 6 October 2015 - Grappler Inlet to Victoria - 97.9 nm

The weather forecast had predicted a 20 Knot Southwest wind for the day and that is what we headed into once around Cape Beale. After a few tacks and with little progress made on a day where our goal was 100 nm - we dropped the sails and ended up motoring most of the way. Other than some downwind sailing later in the night, it was an easy jaunt down the coast towards Victoria.

The best part of the passage was again being able to see parts of the coast that Margot and I had hiked on the Westcoast Trail back in 1995. Places like Pachena Light, Nitinat Narrows (where there was a well populated by fish boats in full swing), Carmanah Light and Port San Juan.

Night sailing is a lot fun, the navigation needs to be precise and a bit of reliance on GPS as back up is usually the way things are.

As HELM duty for the day I took us in to Victoria Harbour for a 12 midnight arrival. This was Tracy and Tyler's home port so the piloting into the harbour was expertly done. Docking was fine expect instead of a burst of reverse on completion, I decided to use a burst of forward instead. Fortunately I was quick to correct my mistake without causing any grief to the docking line team. It had been a long day afterall.

 

Day 13 - Wednesday, 7 October 2015 - Victoria to Winter Cove - 39.5 nm

Today was the first day of rain experienced on the entire trip so far. Can't say that it diminished any part of the trip at all - it was quite pleasant actually. The task for the morning was to get to Government Street for some shopping - to get some goodies for the folks back home. Stop #1 would be Rogers Chocolates as I knew this would be well received by the ladies. I sent Margot a photo of the store being closed as a spoof - it was not well received - that I was unable to get anything.

On Shopping Duty in Victoria

It was an easy day on GALLEY duty - low key and no early starts today. Pretty soon we were off to spend the night at Winter Cove, an anchorage between Saturna and Samual Island. To get there we would be going northwards alongside a busy shipping channel in Haro Strait. We checked in to VTS to let them know we were part of the traffic and have them let us know what to expect.

Belle Serena on the Far Outside Dock

It was interesting to see a multi-million dollar sailboat docked nearby - an Oyster made in the UK - very well detailed and built.

Leaving Victoria Harbour in the Rain
 

We encountered some Orca feeding just off Turn Point. The clue was in the number of whale watching boats that had drawn their attention. It was hard to see the Orca for all the whale watching boats that had come to attend the feeding.

S/V Pacific Grace Underway from Winter Cove

With the proximity to the shipping channel, we motored most of the way until getting into Plumper Sound between Saturna and South Pender Island. The winds were light but we managed a bit of sail up to the Minx Reef before entering the cove.

On arrival and parked in the cove was the training vessel S/V Pacific Grace - a beautiful remake of an older sailing ship.

A quiet night at anchor - Hartaro was rumoured to have gone to Ganges.

Day 14 - Thursday, 8 October 2015 - Winter Cove to Nanaimo - 44.1 nm

I was on NAV duty passing through one of my favourite parts of the world - the Southern Gulf Islands. Our first destination was Montague Harbour to practice picking up some mooring buoys in the park. Along the way we were radioed by the BC Ferry M/V Mayne Queen that there were some Orca in Satellite Channel and low and behold just west of Active Pass we encountered about 15 Orca casually swimming along Eastwards into the pass.

It was magical - again - to see them in their natural habitat. What was even more amazing was they we had them all to ourselves - not a whale watching boat in sight on this misty morning.

Boat Passage in the Rain and Mist

After mooring buoy practice and lunch - we headed North in Trincomali Channel with our destination to be Pirates Cove for the night. Weather reports through the day were bringing up strong winds in the forecast for the next day. That started us thinking about making a late night run into Nanaimo after catching the early evening slack at Dodd Narrows. We would have some consultations with Hartaro once anchored at DeCourcey Island.

Dock at Pirate's Cove

Hartaro it seemed were keen to sail the next day and it was decided to swap a few crew that wanted to return to Nanaimo with ones that wanted to sail. So about an hour before slack at Dodd Narrows we headed out of Pirates Cove.

We made good time and got to Dodd Narrows while the last of the ebb was coming through - it was about 2 Knots - and we continued on without any fuss. It was well dark in Northumberland and other than being challenged by a Tug and barge tow of sawdust, we made a late night docking in Nanaimo again - 2 weeks after having left initially.

Post Completion - Friday, 9 October 2015 - Nanaimo

Not in any hurry to get moving today after our late arrival the evening before. There was nowhere that we were going other than our separate ways as conclusion to the passage.

Breakfast, tidying up and packing were the order of the day. Next came sign-off by Ian on Logbooks. After a few goodbyes it was off to the Buccaneer for a much needed shower, to the mall for dinner and just catching up on things until the flight home next morning.

Ian was thrilled that we had all done a lot of good work on our sights and sight reductions - even to be able to have shot the Moon which has not been done before on any of his previous passages. The signed and sealed Celestial Navigation worksheets for my very tight and accurate fixes of that day...

Moon Sight Reduction

Sun and Noon Sun Sight Reduction

and the Plot

Post Completion 2 - Saturday, 10 October 2015 - Nanaimo to Toronto

Some observations and highlights of the trip...

• - the on boat shots for Celestial Navigation was a terrific experience - including the reductions

• - wing on wing downwind sailing past Cape Scott was great

• - night sail entries to Winter Harbour, Queen Cove, Victoria Harbour and Nanaimo Harbour were truly interesting
• - orca and whales in their natural habitat
• - seeing the amazing west coast from offshore
• - spending 14 days on a sailboat with a great crew
• - Seymour Narrows, Johnstone Strait, Nahwitti Bar, Cape Scott and Brooks Peninsula - what was the fuss all about? Just kidding. We had great weather and had a pretty easy go of it all, and weather forecasts were never correct. Next time may be a completely different story.