Estevan Point, West & East Clayoquot Sounds

1. Hot Springs Cove

2. Bacchante Bay

3. Ahousat

4. Tofino

Hot Springs Cove, Monday, August 24 and Tuesday, August 25:

Next morning, after a night of the boat roiling from Pacific swell in the anchorage, we left at around 7:30 a.m. to round Estevan Point.  

 Waking early and getting the boat under way from Gertrudis Bay. The boat with the light is a fishing boat that arrived in the middle of the night and was leaving at the same time with us.

Nootka Light station on the edge of Friendly Cove at sunrise.













This passage turned out to be the roughest we’ve experienced to date. It was fifteen miles south to Estevan Point.  The 4 – 6 foot Pacific swells were on our starboard beam with NO wind (right side, at ninety degrees to the boat).  With no wind to sail, we motored through roiling seas southward until 
we could change course ninety degrees heading east to Hot Springs Cove. 

Estavan Point lighthouse.

Threatening fog which dissipated before we rounded Estavan Point. 














Completing the last of the five major passages, Estevan Point, left us with a sense of relief.  There’s lots of preparation that goes into each passage:  Listening to forecasts, downloading weather reports, examining charts, selecting courses of sailing, discussing the merits of each, and then making a decision or starting the process again because something changes. 

While we DON’T have lots of confidence in the overstated and often wrong Canadian weather forecasts, we do trust Sailmail forecasts and even more so, our experience.  We’ve been cautious with each crossing and very weather fortunate, making each of these crossings safely.  

Hot Springs Cove is considered the re-entry to civilization after a counter clockwise circumnavigation down the west side. The springs attract hundreds of tourists from Tofino arriving on float planes and whale- watching boats.

The first afternoon we arrived there was at least ten to twelve float planes and the same number of whale watching boats arriving and departing. Busy

The town at Hot Springs Cove. Note the cell tower in the back ground, connectivity at five bars.

The bed and breakfast boat with two tall ships in the back ground

We counted at least a dozen planes and boats entering and leaving each day. With four - five passengers per plane and at least ten per boat, a lot of people hike the 1.5 mile trail to soak in the sulfur Hot Springs.

In the center of the cove is a barge bed-and-breakfast with kayakers and sea planes dropping off guests.  The Copper River Café barge at the dock which heads the trail to the Hot Springs serves goodies before or after the trek.   The nearby small town, which we didn’t know about, has a powerful cell tower and gave us good coverage – a first in three weeks!  It was a bit of shock after twenty two days in quiet coves to experience the noise and hustle-and-bustle of this busy tourist attraction.  We realized we’d had very limited contact with much of anyone, let alone this much-organized humanity.

The Hot Sulphur Springs were well worth the visit. There are three pools with starting temperatures from about 130F to 90F.  The mile-and-one-half walk along a boardwalk that has the names of people’s boats’ carved in them made the walk memorable.

 On the board walk

 On the walk to the Hot Springs

Andante is an Island Packet sail boat the same as ours. The owners are David & Kathy Reed who circumnavigated in 2000 & 2002

Tree Pose


















If you arrive on a private boat, its best to go to the pools very early or late to avoid the tourists. We did neither and went just before mid-day and somehow missed the majority of the morning and afternoon groups, and had about an hour of relaxed soaking time to ourselves.  

Three levels of Sulfur Hot Spring. 130 F, 110 F, 100 F. 

Soaking in the 100 degree pool















After the walk back to the dock we spent some time at the Copper River Café watching the world go by, enjoying a walnut-chutney wrap and blackberry pie.  It’s the small things, right? 

Was a great place to kick back with a beverage of choice

Bacchante Bay - Ahousat, Wednesday, August 26 and Thursday, August 27:

Ready to return to a quiet bay, we took some last-minute pictures as we left Hot Springs Cove, heading for Bacchante Bay, the next stop enroute to Tofino.

A quiet anchorage away from civilization, there are pictures of this inlet in several Pacific NW magazines. It has dramatically steep and high tree covered cliffs, waterfalls and a creek that can be kayaked when there is rain.  Sadly, this year there’s been no rain, but it was a great location for a quiet day.

Entrance to Bacchante Bay 

The spec in the distance is Tuamotu at anchor. This is a big bay with very steep side, very dramatic.

The next day we transited the “You Better Pay Attention!” route of Sulphur Passage. It’s a veritable maze of rocks and islets and must be passed at slack or close-to-slack high tide to avoid the four-knots of current. For all its navigational challenges, this is a very pretty route between Bacchante Bay & Ahousat.  We were glad we had updated charts to guide us through the rocky maze!

Entrance to Sulfur Passage. Make sure you consult the Cruising Guides.

Very twisty rout through the pass












We arrived in Ahousat after lunch and anchored at the head of Matilda Inlet. Ahousat is the home of the First Nation’s Marktosis Tribe.  They welcome visitors to their village and there are no landing fees. After anchoring we took the dinghy ashore to see the sulphur pool and nearby beach.  After Hot Springs Cove, the water felt tepid and it was in standing water rather than flooded by a stream.  We passed sitting in it, rather hiking out to beaches of White Sand Cove.  Following a well-marked, sometimes swampy trail through the woods, after about 1.5 miles, we were greeted with fantastic views across Russel Channel towards Tofino which was nine miles away.  We gathered some shells and sand dollars and returned to the dinghy to go check out the town.

Ahousat marina and fuel dock

The hot baths which were not actually hot. Tepid baths would have been a better title.
Tuamotu at anchor in the back ground 

 Trek through the woods

Sand dollar hunt on the beach













The Ahousat General Store, like most of the off-the-grid stops, had limited but essential canned supplies. The produce was nil, but we did purchase coffee and some very expensive creamer.  We ate at the restaurant, which was operated by the General store, and enjoyed having a prepared meal and shared a piece of apple pie with maplenut ice cream.  Yes!  One of the benefits of getting closer to civilization is ice cream!  Satisfied, we went back to the boat knowing Tofino awaited us the following day.

General store, restaurant and ice cream.

Tofino, Friday, August 28 – August 29:

Tofino felt like Wow!  We have finally arrived!  It was Day 67 of our circumnavigation. Arriving here was a milestone:  A journey not to be rushed but a goal achieved. It seemed to have arrived very quickly. Neither of us was quite ready.  This trip has been much more than we imagined it to be.

First indicator of civilization. A Kayak tour group.

Arrived at last!!













The last time we’d been in Tofino was at least fifteen years earlier.  Today, Tofino is a seaside tourist resort with whale watching, fishing & kayak tours. It has restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and very importantly a HUGE grocery store with fresh vegetables, fruits and many, many choices.  It also has good Wi-Fi and internet access – better than that which we’ve experienced in more than a month.  These feel like great benefits having been without them for a period of time.

Sensory overload. Most of the store on the west side have very limited supplies. Tofino was the beginning of civilization when it came to choices.

 Main street Tofino. Notice it is not a dirt road.

An oasis of coffee and connectivity.

We tied up at the 4^th Street Wharf, a fishing marina with minimal protection from the weather. All the slips were full so we tied up to a boat on the outside edge of the marina.  During the night the advertised storm arrived with its 40 knot winds from the south. This was probably the first time in our experience the Canadian forecast was correct and we experienced a rough night and morning.

In the early hours I heard a noise.  When I looked out, our dinghy, which was tied behind us, was pasted vertically to the back of our boat!   What a wind!  We also saw an anchored power boat dragging anchor. We couldn’t get to them but asked a passing fishing boat to go and check on them.  Ironically, the boat’s name is “Our Serenity.”  They later pulled into a dock space not far from us.

Tofino Harbour Authority. A very unprotected marina in a blow. And we had one. 

Sunset from the marina

We are seriously hoping this is not a long-term weather change as we enter week nine and continue our journey by heading to Barkley Sound and the Broken Group.

Esperanza Inlet & Nootka Sound & Tahsis Inlet

1.Queen Cove

2. Zeballos

3. Tahsis

5. Bodega Cove

8. Moutchat Bay & Resort

* Gertrudis Cove (At the work Yoquot)

Sat 15^th to Mon 24^th August

Blue Lips Cove – Zeballos:  Friday, August 14 – Sunday, August 16:

As we departed from Blue Lips Cove at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, we realized the days were getting noticeably shorter:  Sunrise this morning was at 6:10, an hour-and-ten minutes later than the start of the trip in June. We also noted with a sense of longing that the sun was setting much earlier too!

Exiting Blue Lips Cove's 60' wide channel. Pat watching for anything that was not on the chart. 

Travelling down Kyuquot Channel and out into the Pacific

In making this passage to Esperanza Inlet, there’s an inshore route south through Clear Passage or an offshore buoy route.  We opted to go offshore three to four miles, hoping for fewer rocks knowing we’d get Pacific swells.  We had a smooth, uneventful passage with no wind.

We dropped anchor early afternoon in Queen Cove in what the Cruising Guides refer to as a well-protected anchorage.  We’d hoped to see whales or seals, but not even those were part of our day.  While the forecast was for northwesterly winds at 15 knots, we had southerly wind at about 5 – 8 knots.  Our trust in Canadian forecasts continued to decline.

Queen Cove is the only anchorage that we felt was oversold.  It was open to sunshine, but we didn’t feel it lived up to the descriptive adjectives used in the Guide.  Its real function is a rest point before moving on if you are travelling south.  We had planned two nights but opted to do just that and next day travelled to Zeballos, the homeport of Noranna and the welders who had shared salmon with us at Bull Harbor.

At anchor in Queen Cove what was supposed to be a very protected anchorage. It wasn't protected from a southerly wind which is what we got. A better choice would have been Nuchatlitz which is a Marine Park and has great kayaking 

Exiting Queen Cove and passing an abandoned Indian village.

Zeballos is a small logging and fishing village located at the head of the Zeballos inlet.  It has high, steep sides and incredible views traveling up the inlet. The town, like many on the west side, has been through a lot of change over the years. In the 1930’s - 1960’s, Zeballos was very involved in gold and iron mining.  However, the last iron ore mine closed in the late 60’s due to operating costs. Hobbyists still successfully pan for gold but it is no longer commercially viable.  The town was over 5,000 people at its height but today has less than 200 permanent residents most of which are fishermen or retirees.

Zaballos at the head of the bay

 This is another fishing town so we got to share the marina with the fleet

Once at the head of the bay the marina is the only option for tying up. The bay is 400' to 600' deep

Zeballos, like many of the small communities we’ve visited, went out of its way to make visitors feel welcome  It’s proud of its heritage with signage explaining various building around town and a town “ambassador” who also served as Museum curator, who did the “meet and greet” of visitors.

 Main street of Zaballos

If you run into the town "ambassador" she will open up the museum for you regardless of the time of day 

 Marina office in town. Good luck finding it open. However they will find you before you leave to pay.

The cliff behind the town is what is termed a Seismic Zone. The school was moved to a different location because of this.
















The Post Office a roomy addition to the Post Mistresses’ residence, is the unlikely meeting place for locals to get together, have coffee or tea and catch up on what’s happening in and around town.  Zeballos is a funky town with a Wild West feel and was well worth the visit.  We were sorry we only spent one night in the town, sharing the marina with mostly fishing boats.

Tahsis, Monday August 17 and Tuesday, August 18:

We next travelled a short distance to Tahsis and the Westview Marina located at the head of a spectacular inlet. The town has been through the same upheaval as Zeballos (and many of the other towns/villages we’ve visited) but with less grace. Shrinking from its hay day of three log mills and over 5,000 population, it now has about 250 permanent residents after the closure of all logging operations in 2002.  It swells to 1,000 in the summer months.  It was a bit sad walking through residential areas which haven’t been maintained knowing this has been the fate of many small towns not only on Vancouver Island but also in Washington.

Tahsis at the head of the inlet

Whales en rout to Tahsis 

 Whales

 The show continues

We always slowed down for the show

Sport fishing and a nice marina with good restaurant is the primary draw of Tahsis.   It was one of those places we were glad we visited but wouldn’t be on the list if there was a next time around Vancouver Island. The highlight of our visit were the grey whale sightings on the way in and the way out of the inlet.

We now get it. Tied up away from the majority of the fishing fleet 

 Tahsis West View Marina and Lodge

 Pat catching up on email and financials

Fishing guides cleaning the clients catch of the day. This all happens at the edge of the dining area

The church doubled as an artist coop. The other church burned down when a company was putting on a torch down roof. 

From the marina towards down town Tahsis in the distance

Nootka Sound: Wednesday, August 19 and Thursday, August 20:

Leaving Tahsis, we headed to Bodega Cove on beautiful Nootka Island.  What a surprise!  Whale sightings abound!  The narrow inlet into a very sheltered bay which ended up being a great whale watching location from the boat.  Just as we’d entered the Kendrick Passage, we saw a grey whale spouting and later at anchor, we could see a grey whale feeding near the shore of the island opposite us. 

Tied the dinghy to the shore to whale watch

 The whale crossing the entrance of the bay we were anchored in

The whale came within 100' to 150' of the shore where we were standing.
Really cool!

Several times over the two days about mid-afternoon we were treated to the same sight, anxiously wondering if he or they would pay a visit to our anchorage in Bodega Bay.  On the second day, we took the dinghy out into the bay to watch the whale up close.  When it got to close for comfort, we found a rocky outcropping and narrow shoreline to tie up to and watch from a safer vantage point. The whale came within 150’ of where we were standing:  Our closest whale encounter to date.  The sheer size of these mammals is amazing and happy we weren’t in our dinghy for the meeting.

Moucha Bay Resort, Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22:

Our grandson, Rogan, was turning eight on August 22, and since we were unable to celebrate with him in California, it was very important to us to call him that day.  We had found out that Moutcha Bay Resort had phone and internet connections – just what we were in need of.  It ended up being half true.

The Uchuck en rout from Tahsis to Uclulet. When you look at the people you can see the boat is not that big. It was travelling at 12.2 knots

We anchored out Friday evening near the Resort behind a small island in Head Bay.  We had some protection from the forecasted 25 knot southerly wind, but luckily the forecast was incorrect.  After an uneventful night, we pulled anchor and moved into the marina.   The docks were brand new, wide, clean, and expensive.  We learned that the owner was from Seattle and the Resort was in its first season, opening April 15.

We took this picture when we were out for a walk. The Lodge was around the corner to the left. We anchored behind the small island on the left. 

The internet didn’t work as expected so Skype was not an option:  A phone call would have to do.  The phone call was made using a satellite phone, about the only truly reliable means of communicating on the west side of the Island.  While the connection was still a bit spotty, it was great to talk to Rogan.  He was having a great time with family, a trip to the swimming pool and pumpkin pie rather than cake for the dinner celebration. We really would have liked to be there.

Mouchat Resort is a unique facility having not only lovely rooms (think Salish Lodge), but also designer yurts and campgrounds.  We were impressed with the marina which reminded us of Roche Harbor in the San Juans. 

 Mouchat Lodge

The lodges Yurts

We spent one night in the marina which caters heavily to sport fishing from April 15^th to September 15^th.  There aren’t many pleasure craft that come into the inlets and we learned from one of the crew at the marina we were the fifth sailboat to visit the facility this year. It was very nice to sit in a real restaurant for dinner then breakfast:  A nice change we both enjoyed, it’s the small things.

Again out in the far 40 of the marina but away from the majority of the fishing boats. We were only the fifth sail boat to visit this year.

Gertrudis Cove and Estevan Point, Sunday, August 23 and Monday, August 24:

Leaving the beautiful docks and friendly staff of Mouchat Resort, it was again time to move on and get ready to round the last of the five major obstacles on the west side, Estevan Point.  (Note:  The five geographic crossings are Nahwitti Bar, Cape Scott, Brooks Peninsula, Esperanza Inlet and Estevan Point.)

Our jump off point was going to be Gertrudis Cove, about 14 miles from Mouchat Resort and less than a mile from the open waters of the Pacific.  We were going to spend two nights at Gertrudis, giving us time to take the dinghy to Friendly Cove a First Nation (Indian) reservation.  Nootka Lighthouse, also in Friendly Cove, offers some great views from the top and we wanted to take the tour. This ended up not being a possibility. After arriving at Gertrudis Cove and setting the anchor, we listened to the evening weather report after dinner.  The next day, Monday, was forecasted to have 15 – 20 knot northwest wind (on our stern rather than bow.) while Tuesday – Saturday was forecasted to have equal winds from the southwest.  We decided to leave the next morning, hoping for wind and following (northwest) seas.

At anchor in Gertrudis Bay with an evening view of the mountains