Special Edition – One week sailing in Vancouver Island

It’s been 2 years since we returned home after our adventures on Island Girl. We have settled back into life as land lubbers and found time for several trips to explore different parts of Europe and places nearer home in England.

This summer we had the opportunity to visit America and Canada. Some friends in Canada had invited us to their son’s wedding in the Rocky Mountains. They are not sailors (yet) but they really wanted to try sailing in Vancouver Island. Were we up for it? Of course! it was an opportunity too good to miss.

We arranged a call with them and talked through the realities of life on a small boat and did not manage to put them off the the idea. We looked around for a suitable charter and found a Jeanneau 379 that suited our needs from Island Cruising.  The boat was chartered and Graham agreed to act as Skipper for the week. Our friends showed their dedication by signing up for keelboat lessons on a lake near Calgary during the Spring. Spring is not warm in that part of the world, one day they reported they were going sailing and the temperatures were around freezing (0C).

So what was it like sailing a charter boat in Canada.

We decided we were going to explore the Gulf islands. The boat Mybo lll was at Deep Cove Marina on Vancouver Island not too far from where the ferries arrive from Vancouver. We arrived late Sunday evening, found the boat and soon had the kettle on.

We could not leave Deep Cove until lunchtime on Monday due to the tides. This was not a problem as the morning was spent provisioning and familiarising ourselves with the boat. One challenge with chartering compared with your own boat is you quickly need to get to grips with new navigation aids, the equipment on the boat and the layout of the sheets, halyards and other controls.

After lunch we were ready to head off to our first overnight stop at Bedwell Harbour on South Pender Island. We cleared Moses Point just outside Deep Cove and hoisted the sails. For a brief time we managed to sail but later the wind dropped and we were forced to motor. You have to be aware of a marine reserve extending about a mile off Pender Islands to provide a sanctuary for Killer Whales. There are high fines for entering these areas but the authorities were calling some vessels on the VHF. It appeared that they had strayed into the zone and were being asked to get out. It seems fines were for repeat offenders and those who ignored instructions.  We dropped anchor and had to retreat inside as the weather had turned cold and wet. The sea was calm and after dinner, we turned in for the night.

In the morning we woke to the sounds of fog horns. The bay had low clouds but it was clear that in the main channel, the fog was thick. We waited a while to see if the fog would lift but there was no sign of this happening. We planned to go to Thompson Beach on Saturna Island for lunch and a walk. We headed off and as expected we were in poor visibility once we left the bay. With care (and some use of the fog horn) we navigated cautiously across to Thompson Beach. It was still damp and overcast so we abandoned the idea of going ashore.  After lunch the weather improved, the wind was behind us so we pulled out the genoa and sailed gently to Hope Bay on North Pender Island. Here we tied up at the public pier and after checking the depth calculations to make sure there would be enough water at low tide, stayed for the night. We took a walk up to the small community of Hope. Everything was closed.

Leaving Hope Bay we had about 10 NM to make to Montague Harbour. This was reported to get busy so we wanted to get there early. We arrived and found a good spot to anchor and put the dinghy in the water. After an hour we managed to get the outboard started and headed ashore to have dinner at the Crane and Robin. (When we had Island Girl we had an electric outboard so never had the issues of getting a 2 stroke outboard started.)

On Wednesday we were concerned about our water supply situation as one of the gauges read low when first turned on we seemed to have used more than half our water supply. We enquired at the fuel dock if water was available. No was the answer as water was in short supply on the island. Even the boats in the marina did not have access to water or showers and a berth cost 74Cad (£41.50 GBP) a night (more if you want electric). Fortunately we had plenty of water to last the week as we could see when we let the gauge settle.

Montague Harbour was a great location and we enjoyed a walk through the camp ground to the beach and the Provincial marine park.

We headed to Wallace Island the next day. This island has no permanent residents, there are a few summer homes, a camp site and boaters. I do not think there is regular ferry to the island. To me this makes it all the more exciting to visit.

We had hoped to anchor but when we arrived it was clear that this was not going to be possible we would need to anchor and tie the stern onto the rings provided on the rocks. We had not prepared the dinghy, it was still on the deck. We were extremely grateful to another boater who helped us out by taking our stern line ashore. It was not long enough to come back to the boat so he secured it with a bowline. Once we were anchored (and had lunch) we were able to get our dinghy in the water and re-attach the line properly.

Wallace Island was a holiday resort in the 1940s and 50s, the remains of buildings (and an old truck) can still be seen as you walk around the island.  This was our favourite place on the trip so we are glad we did not give up with the stern mooring. Next time we will know what to do!

Our week was coming to an end and we needed to start making our way back. We wanted to travel down the Stuart Channel between Vancouver Island and Salt Spring. The currents run quite strong in these channels so care is needed.

Before reaching the narrows we need to make a stop at Maple Bay to top up the fuel tanks. As we motored into the bay a float plane landed and taxied past. When we arrived at the fuel dock it was tied up disembarking passengers. This was another first for me, coming alongside behind an aircraft. It would have made a good story “The day I crashed a boat in to an aircraft” but no story as we docked for fuel without incident.

We made our way down the Stuart passage, the tide was running against us but we were still able to make reasonable progress to our final overnight stop at Genoa Bay. We once again anchored out and went ashore in the dinghy. The outboard engine was now easier to start so we made a dinner reservation at the Genoa Bay Cafe and headed ashore.

We only had a short trip of about 7nm back to Deep Cove and due to the tides we could not arrive before mid afternoon. We spent the morning walking up Skinner Bluff, from here you have great views over Vancouver Island. After lunch there was a reasonable wind so we headed out for a final sail as we made our way back to Deep Cove. it was probably some of the best sailing of the week. But as the wind was directly out of Deep Cove we had to motor the last few miles to arrive in a timely manner.

Back at Deep Cove we started cleaning and re-watering the boat ready to hand it back Sunday morning.

So how did the week go. We had a mix of weather but generally warm and sunny. The boat was clean tidy and well equipped. On your own boat you know exactly where things are and have things set up to your liking. We brought a handheld VHF with us, this was useful as the ships radio did not have an outside mic. If we had not had to fly we would have brought our self inflating life jackets. The boat only had buoyancy aids which are not as comfortable to wear. The biggest advantage of chartering is you can explore areas far away from home but the trip is shorter than it might be on your own boat.

After a day exploring Victoria it was time to get the ferry back to the mainland. Standing near the bow of the ferry we saw three kayaks racing across in front of the ferry. (yes 5 horn blasts were given and the ferry had to slow). I would not have wanted to be in their position they were quite close.