Some Navigational Challenges Round Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island has a few navigational challenges around the north end of the island. They have all been written about and experienced in a way that some would never wish to experience again. Weather, tides, currents, wind and geography all come into play to create some very unfavourable and to be avoided conditions if not planned carefully or to some or all elements on your side and in your favour.

Our round Vancouver Island passage last year in 2015 yielded pretty benign conditions all around - not something that I am expecting to luck into one more time.

No. 1 - Seymour Narrows

Flood and Ebb currents can reach a maximum flow of 16 Kts through the Narrows. In fact it is said that the flow is so strong there is nothing in the channel - it has all been scoured clean through a long time ago.

Up until the 1950's it was even more hazardous, especially to larger ships, as a submerged rock called Ripple Rock was dynamited out to alleviate this very dangerous situation. Many large ships have been caught on it to catastrophic ends.

We went through it last year on Belle Serena going with the Ebb about 2 hours after Slack. The SOG registered on my GPS was 15.9 Kts. So if our boat speed was 6 Kts, the current must have been almost 10 Kts at the time of our transit!!!

No. 2 - Johnstone Strait

Conditions of strong winds and current can make this a nightmare passage to be avoided, especially when it is wind on tide. There is usually more Ebb than Flood due to the freshwater runoff from the BC mainland mountains. In fact, there are multiple layers of currents because the channel is quite deep in many places such that there could be an Ebb at a higher elevation in the channel over top of an incoming Flood current at lower levels.

There are a few places of refuge for when things kick up but far and few between. Best not get caught out unexpectedly.

No. 3 - Nahwitti Bar

At the entrance to Goletas Channel between Vancouver Island and Hope Island, the subsea conditions have a substantial rise of the sea bottom from 25+ metres on the Pacific Ocean side to 11 metres at the Bar and then falling off again to 100+ metres in Goletas Channel.

You end up with a huge inflow of ocean having to build up and thrash around as it gets over the Bar and then on into the Channel.

Crossing the Nahwitti Bar

When conditions of a strong Northwesterly wind meet a strong Ebbing tide - it is a recipe for disaster for small craft consisting of huge breaking swells. A high slack current is the only time to cross.

No. 4 - Cape Scott and Scott Channel

Cape Scott

Here is a brief excerpt from a book called 'The Fisher Queen' by Sylvia Taylor on their experience upon entering the north end of Scott Channel after rounding Cape Scott...

Suddenly, as we rounded the last bit of headland and entered the channel, we were flung into chaos - sharp erratic waves came over the bow and gunwales from everywhere.

"Christ, Paul, what's happening? I've never seen anything like this before!" I grabbed the dashboard, my heart pounding.

"I don't understand why it's so bad - it's not blowing that hard. Give me the tide book and the chart fast. The fucking loran isn't working so I'll have to use the chart. Shit, I can't let the wheel go. Tell me the fathoms in the middle of the channel."

I frantically searched the chart for the tiny lines and numbers that told us the depth. In the middle of the channel, right where we were being thrown around, the depth suddenly jumped up to 15 fathoms.

"Now find out when slack tide is," he said sharply, gripping the wheel and scanning the endless angry water.

"Slack is over, the tide has already turned and the waves are coming in against the tide. Christ almighty Paul, we have to turn around and get out of here right now."

"Jesus," he hissed. I followed his stare to a dark green wall of water rising straight up, right in front of our bow, higher than I could see above the window.

About 'The Fisher Queen'...

It’s 1981, and Sylvia Taylor has signed on as rookie deckhand on a wallowy 40-foot salmon troller. Looking forward to making money for university, she is determined to master the ins and outs of fishing some of the most dangerous waters in the world: the Graveyard of the Pacific. For four months, she helps navigate the waters off northern Vancouver Island, learning the ways of fisherfolk and the habitat in which they breathe, sleep and survive.

The politics of selling fish, the basics of tying gear, near-death experiences, endless boat troubles, the emotional perils of sharing cramped quarters—all are part of a steep and unforgiving learning curve. Taylor’s story captures the reality of life on a fishboat and documents the end of an era, a time when the fishing industry wasn’t yet marred by unchecked overfishing or hyper-regulation. Her lyrical, simple prose explores the tight-knit relationship of fishers with the west coast’s wild, untamed waters. Her memoir bursts with all the humour and hell, peace and upheaval that is the Pacific Ocean.

No. 5 - Brooks Peninsula

Brooks Peninsula is a very prominent land form that juts out of Vancouver Island in such a way as to catch all the bad weather conditions that the Pacific Ocean can throw at it. A rugged yet beautiful shoreline with Cape Cook anchoring the northwest corner and Clerk Point to the southwest.

Remember what Dave Martin said of the May 2016 passage around Brooks...

Unfortunately  the Brooks Peninsula and the Solander Light in particular brought 40 plus knots of wind and 4 to 5 meter swell with 2 ft breaking waves on the top.  Needless to say, most of my students were seasick and not much good to me, however once around we tucked into Columbia Cove on the lee side of Brooks, threw out the hook and waited for two days for things to settle down.

Weather can be bad to very bad, thereby confirming that the west coast of Vancouver Island is appropriately named the graveyard of the Pacific for all of its past shipwrecks.