OAK  BAY CRUISING CLUB
oakbaysail@shaw.ca     Tel: (250) 216-6866
Van Isle Circumnavigation August 2010 -itinerary info and links to places along the way
We are taking a spot messenger along with us to send location and OK messages. You may have received a test message from my home location in Victoria. Please let me know the email address of the person you would like these messages delivered to while en route if different from yours.

General information link here - interesting!

Probable Itinerary
We plan to depart Oak Bay Marina at about 9 am on the 4th August. The boat we are using this time is "Cantina" - she is on dock F21.
Our first planned stop is Montague Harbour - a comfortable 25 miles away, ideal for a 'shake down" first leg.
The next day we are heading for Nanaimo. Check out Dodd Narrows currents  on the 5th August to decide on the right time to transit the narrows. We should aim for  a transit close to slack. preferably  low slack as the  following  flood current will help us up to Mark Bay in Nanaimo, where we will visit the "Dinghy Dock Pub".
The next leg towards Comox is a bit longer (50 miles) so a fairly early start from Mark Bay is recommended.. 8 am? We plan to anchor in front of Comox marina, although we have the option to visit Hornby Island, Tribune Bay, for an overnight stop if the wind direction is OK.
On Saturday, we have the opportunity to visit the east side of Quadra Island, e.g. Drew Harbor.
This is a pleasant deep water anchorage with access to walking a nice beach and walking trails on Rebecca Spit.
On Sunday we are due into Campbell River, Discovery Marina, to drop off David :( and do some reprovisioning.

Onwards! Now we plan to leave Georgia Strait (of the Salish Sea) and head North into Johnstone Strait.
But first we have to negotiate the Seymour Narrows currents.
Seymour Narrows tends to keep the average cruising sailor within the confines of Georgia Strait. "Lets turn right and head for Desolation Sound" they say. Remember the famous "Ripple Rock" explosion?
The best time to transit the Narrows is very close to slack, preferably turning to ebb (remember, Johnstone Strait ebbs to the North),  However the timing is not always convenient! What are our options?

Having safely transited Seymour narrows we enter  Discovery Passage leading to Johnstone Strait. Now it gets interesting! If we are with the ebb, it will be easy going, if the flood is beginning we will have to work a bit harder to get up to Chatham Point. After rounding the point, we can make life a little more interesting by heading off the Strait into Mayne Passage past Blind Channel resort, and anchoring behind Cordero Islands. So often we are so busy heading somewhere in a hurry, we miss these quiet anchorages.
Next day, Tuesday 10th, we can head off down Chancellor Channel and Wellbore Channel to find another quiet anchorage in Forward Harbour. There is a nice beach and walking trail to satisfy exercise needs! On the way up Wellbore Channel we have to judge the currents in Whirlpool Rapids!
Departing Forward Harbour, we head down Sunderland Channel to rejoin Johnstone Strait, to continue on towards Robson Bight, summer home of a number of Orca Pods. If we are lucky we will say hello! We plan to overnight first in Port Harvey on the way there to be nearer to the bight in the morning.
We continue from Robson Bight to visit Alert Bay and/or Port McNeill for reprovisioning and R&R before heading up Goletas Channel towards the Pacific and Cape Scott.
(Neat link to the lighthouses of British Columbia - we will see some of these - tick them off along the way!)

Next - the Pacific via Nahwitti Bar :) (here is one person's method) (another story here).   We will write our own story!
Normally we will overnight in Bull Harbour, not far from Nahwitti Bar, and wait for ideal conditions - weather/current etc. We are looking for high water slack really, with the subsequent ebb current helping us down to Cape Scott, preferably with an Easterly or light Westerly wind. (Nahwitti Bar turns to ebb 20 mins before HW in Alert Bay,  ie 15th August at  5.28 am!).
After successfully approaching and rounding Cape Scott we can head South to Quatsino Sound and  Winter Harbor.
After overnighting in Winter Harbor we can discuss our options for heading further South and the exploration and rounding of Brooks Peninsula,  the "Cape of Storms", but hopefully not at this time of year! (check out the videos in this link!!!!!)
Options include Klaskish Inlet, Checleset Bay, Zeballos, and Tahsis. After Tahsis it's maybe a lunch stop in historic Friendly Cove and an afternoon run to Hot Springs Cove! After overnighting in Hot Springs and perhaps lingering for a day (?) we can visit either Tofino or Ucluelet (for fuel) on the way to Bamfield. We then make an early start to run the 95 miles past Cape Beale and down Juan de Fuca Strait to Oak Bay.
As you can see, we have a number of options when going down the West Coast of the Island - an unforgettable cruising ground! The route could be weather dependent, may include some night sailing and could also include some navigation in fog! All good experience though.
If there are any places you would particularly like to visit that are not mentioned here, let us know, this is your cruise!