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.