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First Mate’s Journal
West side of Vancouver Island Summer 2005
July 27-August 18
Our
Circumnavigation around Vancouver Island has come to an end as we motor
towards Washington. This cruise around the island was our shake
down cruise to test our equipment, challenge our navigational skills and to
see the rugged West Coast of Vancouver Island also known as the Grave Yard of
the Pacific.
The
shake down cruise was successful even with completely replacing our roller
furling. On July 27th we
received our new roller furling at Port McNeil, which took 7 days to arrive
from the States. The next step was to
assemble & install the roller furling which took most of the day to
assemble. The following day Kelly Boy
rigged his bosons chair with 200’ of line and a block & tackle system in
order to hoist himself up the 50’ mast to take down
the old system and install the new furling system. Once it was hooked up we motored out of
Port McNeil onto Port Hardy.
Putting
our new roller furling to the test, we entered Queen Charlotte Straight with
wind on the nose. Sailing into Port
Hardy around 22:00 we anchored near the public wharf. Through the sunset we spotted a Grey Whale
breeching in the distance. This is
Kelly Girl’s first sighting of a whale and it kept breeching and coming up
for air which seemed to last for 15 minutes.
The next day we explored Port Hardy, found a computer with internet,
changed the oil in the engine and planned our next anchorage to be Bull Harbor.
As
we left Port Hardy the rain came and the temperature was 63 degrees. There was 10 knots of wind from astern and
we headed out to Goletas Channel where we felt our first Pacific
Ocean swells. Taking two
hour watches on the helm allowed for rest and a chance to get dry since it
rained all day. Arriving at Bull Harbor
around 18:45 we anchored with two commercial fishing boats and another
sailboat.
Leaving
Bull Harbor in the rain at 07:30 we
encountered Orca whales about 300 yards off our bow. We watched for about 20 minutes as they
made their way past us. Another 25
miles West we found ourselves at Cape
Scott where we rounded Vancouver Island, exposed to the open ocean. Our destination was North Cove near Winter Harbor. Visibility was poor but we had a tame ocean
with a few 6 foot swells and 15 knots of wind from the North. Arriving at 22:30, well after dark we
dropped the hook (anchor) and realized we traveled 60 miles.
The
West side of Vancouver Island is very remote
with numerous mountains and thick forests.
We noticed more Indian Reservations here and towns are few and far
between. Many cruisers avoid the West Side due to it is rugged nature and remote
surroundings. More often than not we
found ourselves alone in anchorages.
The weather was mostly sunny during the month of July with temperatures
ranging from 65-75 degrees. August however was a different story. We would wake to foggy mornings and the fog
wouldn’t burn off until mid-afternoon.
The temperature was mid to high 60’s.
As
we made our way South towards Barkley Sound, we would encounter more sport
fishermen, other cruisers, kayakers and many grey whales. The towns like Tofino grew larger with
tourists rushing around in a hectic pace to enjoy their vacations. Adapting to this fast pace was mind
boggling after sailing on average 4.5 knots during the past few weeks. But we were making our way back to
civilization.
Along
the way we met other cruisers. At
Walters Cove we met Mark & Alex on Mystic, a 31’ Spencer sailboat. They loaned us a copy of the West Vancouver cruising
guide which helped us locate safe and scenic anchorages. In the mornings I check in with other
cruisers on the HAM radio and we happened to be at Hot Cove Springs where
Phil & Sandy were anchored on their boat “Eventide”, a 50’ custom
aluminum yacht. They have cruised Vancouver Island for over 20 years. At Joe’s Bay on Turtle Island
in Barkley Sound we met up with Phil & Sandy again and they introduced us
to Radek & Elaine on “Hamelyn”.
Radek
& Elaine have been living on a boat for 25 years, sailed for 5 years from
Vancouver to Australia
and now they have a business getting other cruisers ready for offshore
passages or inside passages to Alaska. Their sailboat is a 37’ Tayana which has
all the bells and whistles for an offshore passage. Many of the cruisers and local people we
met along the way were generous and friendly.
Our experience of this trip is richer in having taken the time to meet
& chat with them.
Making
our way back to Washington we are in
familiar ground as we tie up to our favorite wharf in Victoria Harbor
positioned in front of the Empress hotel.
We know how long it will take to make it back to Everett for minor repairs and picking up
the last of our mail. We will say our
final good byes and start the next chapter of our cruise towards California in early
September.
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