Circumnavigating Vancouver Island is not exactly like
circumnavigating the planet. It is, however,
a significant journey in a small boat and a certain amount of planning is
required.
The following is the ‘Cliff Note’ version of the trip which
should help: A) Those with ADD-type
personalities who want the info and highlights fast; B) Those who have a low-level
of interest but are trying to be interested (perhaps a spouse or reluctant
partner); and C) Those with limited time to read the whole Blog.
The
Trip
Vancouver Island Victoria-to-Victoria is a 600-mile circumnavigation. The route we did on our trip, starting in
Seattle, with side trips to Desolation Sound and The Broughtons and five major
inlets, was 1,200 miles 82 days and stops at 53 different locations. Of those
stops, 33 were one-night lay overs.
This was our first big boat adventure. Looking back over the trip, knowing what we
do today, we probably would not do it much differently. We wanted an “Overview”
journey, but one of discovery: Time to
see and meet the people and meander based on what people suggested we not
miss. Flexibility and the ‘meander’
factor were critical components to keeping the trip interesting for both of
us.
Fuel
Although not necessary, we fueled up whenever fuel was
available. We discovered there were
plenty of fuel stops on both the East and West Side of the Island, largely to support
literally hundreds of fishing boats. The pleasure cruiser – particularly
sailors – are rare on the West side, but we had no problem obtaining good
fuel. In some locations, however, fuel
is expensive and in others very expensive. At our home port in Poulsbo, WA, we
paid $2:40/gallon (diesel). In Tahsis, on
the West side of Vancouver Island, we paid $5:21/gallon (translated from liters).
We have a 500-600 mile range with our fuel capacity, so filling up in Port
McNeill or Port Hardy at $4:50/gallon then again in Tofino at $4:10/gallon
would have produced a more economical fuel plan.
Lesson
learned: Plan
your fuel stops based on your fuel capacity.
Generally, fuel was cheaper on the East side than the West side and
generally, the bigger the town, the cheaper the fuel. One notable exception, fuel is cheaper in Port
Hardy than Port McNeill
Water
During this trip, all Vancouver Island and the small
islands we visited were on some level of water restriction due to severe
drought conditions. Watering yards, plants, washing cars & boats was
prohibited. Filling our water tank (180 gallons) was never restricted. All the water that is available, however, you
may not want to put in your water tank (much less drink). At Echo Bay, for example, the water comes
from a lake filled with tannins from the nearby trees. It was a brown color and
had a slight smell to it. The Canadian
water authority said it was OK to drink provided the water was first
boiled. We chose not to fill up here and
to risk having our water tanks contaminated with brown water refuse.
It’s advisable to always run the any water you’re
onboarding for a while before putting the water hose in the tank and to use
some type of filter on the water hose you are filling your tanks with.
Tofino was the only place to charge for water one Loonie (Canadian
dollar) for 15 minutes. This was supposed to give the customer 100 gallons of
water. The reality turned out to be
about 30 gallons. We were also advised before we put our coin in the meter to
make sure all the other boats had their hoses turned off or you would be supplying
someone with your water.
Lesson
Learned: Conserve your onboard water, but you shouldn’t
have to be miserly with it. Make
informed choices about the water you’re getting by asking the locals at the
marina or in town. Take showers at the
marina when possible and use the onboard water for cooking and personal hygiene
conservatively.
Food
The major towns - Sidney, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Comox,
Campbell River, Port McNeill and Port Hardy - all had plentiful grocery stores
with lots of selection. Fresh produce
was generally available, but ASK what day it arrives. At Port McNeill, Thursday was the day, so
that’s when we did our shopping.
After Port Hardy there were no major grocery stores
until Tofino and southward (Ucluelet, Sooke & Victoria, excluding Bamfield).
The small towns on the islands of Desolation Sound and The Broughtons, and the
inlets on the West side of the Island had very limited inventory, in spite of
what the Cruising Guides tell
you. If you run out of food you will
find something to get by but probably not what you were looking for. ADAPT!
Make something great out of what you find! Be adventurous!
We found food on the trip to be expensive the further north
we traveled and particularly on the west side. Fresh fruit and vegetables, if
available, had the greatest price differential to Seattle. An example would be
a bag of chopped lettuce, $1:99 at Trader Joe in Seattle, $5:99 in Tofino. The
smaller community the bigger pricing surprises.
Salmon, however, was cheap! A
whole side of salmon was $8 in Port Hardy.
The time you take to circumnavigate obviously dictates how
you provision the boat. If it is the typical ten days to two weeks on the west
side then it will be less of an issue. For us it was over a month so it was
longer in time between provisioning points, this took more planning.
Lesson
learned: A well-stocked pantry before you leave is a
godsend. Make or find space for canned
staples, cereals, grains and spices. If
there is a particular food item or treat you like, including coffee, bring
enough to last the whole trip. Finally, adapt and use what you DO find. It’s unlikely you’ll starve.
Repair
Parts
It’s critical to carry ALL
maintenance parts, including oil and water filters, together with some basic
repair parts. Purchasing any part once underway is not always convenient or possible
in a timely fashion. If the store does have them they will cost up to 50% more
than Fisheries Supply in Seattle. The positive news regarding spare parts is
that Vancouver Island vendors are geared up for 48-hour delivery from Vancouver
outlets. We put almost 250 hours on the
engine so changed oil twice. We carried
parts for six service points. We also carried all fuses, water pump kits and a
few electrical parts and an extensive tool kit.
Lesson
learned: Using
your boat only on weekends or the annual two- or three-week boat vacation (no
matter where you go) is drastically different than being underway and living on
your boat for three months, 24-hours a day. From electronics to the toilet, everything is
working harder and stuff is going to stop working or break; it’s going to
happen.
Navigation
The boat is fitted with an electronic chart plotter,
integrated radar and instruments. All electronic charts were updated before we
left. We also had an IPad with INavX charting which had all US charts which are
free and Canadian charts which were not. The Canadians require a boat to carry
all paper charts for the route you are traveling. For us, this would have cost over
$1,200 for new charts. Friends, fortunately
loaned us their charts having used them on a like trip a few years earlier.
Cruising guides were invaluable on this trip, giving us information
to help in trip planning and researching the next day’s destination. We found no one Guide did it all. We primarily used Waggoneers for the overview, phone numbers, restaurant’s a little
history of the destination. Don & Renee Douglass’ Cruising Guide for detailed information and navigation, and Pacific Yachting Guide for the West Side for arial pictures to
help with the overview.
Lesson
learned: We didn’t have or need AIS for this trip. Your
cell phone is going to be useless (no cell towers on the West side), so your
phone-based navigation apps WON’T WORK. To better understand the area we were
visiting, it would have been helpful to have had a Rand McNally road map of the
area. We enjoy walking and hiking, so a
trail and hiking guidebooks would have been great to have along.
Anchorages
For the entire trip we found the bays and inlets we
anchored in to have very few boats. At times we were the only boat in a very
large bay - something you don’t get to experience every day. This was true for
both East & West sides. On the west side north of Tofino this was
particularly true due to the remoteness of the coast line. Leaving Port Hardy
to Bull Harbor on the north east corner of the island until we arrived in
Tofino we saw only half a dozen cruising boats (but lots of fishing boats). We
are unsure if the low number of boats was due to the time of year we started
our trip or it is always like this.
The Cruising Guides
were invaluable for familiarizing us with what the next day’s destination was
going to be like. We found that they were very accurate in their navigational
details, but often times oversold amenities of the town. Read the Guides and then trust your eyes and
instruments when entering a channel.
Charts don’t always have the most current info and some details, like a
rock, might actually be missing.
Lesson
learned: Just
because the Chart – paper or electronic - shows a clear waterway, be
cautious. In every narrow channel or
entrance act like the chart is wrong. Go
slow! Also, ask locals if there are
things to watch out for. Fishermen will
tell you about those hidden hazards that aren’t marked. Most anchorages are
typically deeper than the Puget Sound so the windless gets to works a lot
harder. Make sure you’ve got adequate
chain and rode. We carried 250’ feet of
chain and 150’ of rode and this was enough for the conditions we encountered.
Marinas
We spent nights at sixteen different marinas for a total of
thirty nights. This was more than we thought we would and it was more than
initially planned. We spent time in these different towns for a variety of
reasons. Food re-supply, waiting for weather or parts, washing clothes, and
getting a long walk in to learn about the town and just a change of pace.
The marinas had a wide range of amenities from just a place
to tie up like Winter Harbour or Walter’s Cove to a full-service marina like Sidney
or Victoria. There are also generally three types of marinas: A federal, city and private marina. In most places, the federal marina is usually
where commercial and local fishing boats tie up.
In Zeballos and Tahsis we went to a marina because the
water was deep and nowhere we felt it was safe to anchor. We went to Ladysmith to
have the SSB tuned and to learn how to use it before getting to the West side
of the Island where we knew we’d need it.
In Sidney and Campbell River we were waiting or searching for spare
parts. At Port McNeill, Port Hardy,
Tofino and Ucluelet, we took extra days to wait for improved weather before
embarking on the next leg of the journey.
At Echo Bay in the Broughtons, we spent the night at Pierre’s
Resort to attend the Saturday night Pig Roast which is a very well attended
event, although I don’t think the pig enjoyed it. We also made a trip to
Moutcha Bay Resort which wasn’t on the trip plan so we could use a Satellite
phone to call our grandson on his birthday.
The majority of grocery stores in the major towns we
visited would deliver to the dock for free or a minimal charge. Some of the
grocery stores on the West side remote locations would bring in a grocery list
of items from the East side towns if given 24 to 48 hours’ notice but we didn’t
use this service to know how well it works.
Not all marina laundry facilities are created equal. Most
of the East side, marinas had very nice facilities (expect to pay $5 - $7/load)
while on the West side and out on the islands of Desolation Sound and the
Broughtons it was mixed. For this reason
we would occasionally use the laundromat in town. Whatever the laundry plan
just make sure to carry plenty of Loonies (Canadian dollar coins); you will
spend a lot of them.
When checking into the marina, you will be asked if you
want to plug into power. Most have city services and the pricing is generally around
$5, similar to the Puget Sound. In the more remote locations the power is
generator driven and can cost as much as $25 per night!
Lesson
Learned: In all probability anyone doing this
circumnavigation is going to spend more time in marinas than planned. We knew
we would use marinas for all the usual reasons listed above but underestimated
the weather wait time. Moorage is one of the bigger costs of the trip costing $40
to $70 per night and for the resorts up $90 per night. The good news was we had a very favorable exchange
rate (about 25 – 30 percent). The break
at each of these stops was well worth the money and time spent but we did
notice that after three nights we were really ready to move on.
For a full list of marinas and cruise itinerary click on
the link in the sidebar of this Blog called “VI Itinerary”
Communication
For us communicating with friends and family, including grandchildren,
was a big deal. Cell phone data plans were not only expensive, but
inadequate. We don’t make many phone
calls so we purchased a plan feature (AT&T) that enabled us to send
unlimited text messages for $60 a month. We could generally use it on the East side in
the major towns, it worked fine. Once we
were away from these locations we had sketchy to no connectivity. The west side
of the island had even less cell coverage. We depended heavily on the two
onboard radios, VHF for short range and SSB for long distance email and
weather. Additionally we used a GPS satellite transmitter called Spot
(findmespot.com) to daily let family and friends (10-person maximum) know where
we were and that all was well.
One of the means of communication we had planned on using
was the internet. All small towns
advertised internet service at the marinas (for a fee) or “free” at the local
coffee shop. This turned out to be high-speed
dial up, not the high-speed fiber-optic cable service we’re accustomed to
having at home.
From Port Hardy to Hot Springs Cove just north of Tofino we
had dial up type connectivity in the towns we visited and that’s if we could
get connected. This section of the Island represented 20 days of being off the
grid: A length of time we hadn’t anticipated
being out of touch with family. We knew
that communication was going to be a challenge but didn’t fully grasp that the
cell coverage and internet would be so limited.
Lesson
learned: The SSB
radio became our work horse for communications. The Spot worked well for giving
people a daily location. Its weakness is
that it’s not a two way communication device. Satellite is the way to go. Delorme, a competitor of SPOT, has a device
called InReach but provides two-way
text via satellite. The monthly subscription is comparable to the cell text
package we bought.
Weather
I once went to an offshore presentation and one of the
audience members asked the presenter what was the most important piece of
equipment on the boat. His answer was, “Whatever it is that keeps you awake at
night.”
For me, that would be weather and the ability to get
accurate reports. There are some incredible weather apps that you can down load
to your IPhone or IPad. They have more information than the average boater
could ever use and some even provide modeling capabilities. No cell or
internet coverage, no weather apps.
We listened to the weather every evening and again in the
morning before we pulled anchor using the VHF radio. This was sometimes
difficult on the North West side of the Island due to the location of the
mountains and transmitting station. The SSB gave us the capability of down
loading a weather report for our location and we used this service for the
entire west side.
We found two things to be true: (1) The Canadian weather reports are often
times inaccurate and overstated; (2) The Cruising
Guides state that the weather on the west side always comes from the North West blowing the boat down Island. Our
experience on this trip was the wind almost always blew from the South East and
was on the nose of the boat.
Lesson
learned: When off the grid, we need an
additional weather source to support the VHF- and SSB- generated information.
Sirius radio offers not only music and news it also has a weather package and
the system is a subscription Satellite based service.
Safety
This doesn’t fall into what keeps you awake at night
because from a safety point of view everything could keep you awake. To enhance
our onboard safety, carried two radios -VHF & SSB - both of which have automatic
transmit capabilities and a Spot and EPERB. The
SSB can transmit on three frequencies simultaneously by just lifting the red
cover and pressing the button. Spot and an EPERB are both Satellite-based
emergency transmitters. We also carried a sea anchor which is like a large
parachute on the end of 600’ of rope and a six-person life raft. We
also carried a medical kit approved for being within 24-hours of medical
assistance.
Lesson
learned: This equipment is like the airbag in your car.
You most likely never think about them, are happy you have them, and never want
to see them deployed. The above safety list falls into the same category. Do the things that won’t put you into a
position of needing them.
Overall
For us this was an epic journey giving us lasting memories
of one of the most impressive cruising grounds on the planet. From a boat, we
had the opportunity to see a part of the North West in a way that few people
do: islands, mountains, small inlets and
towns. We saw fishing communities and a
life style on the Island we never knew existed until this summer trip. We also discovered we really enjoy long-range,
long-term cruising, and would really like to have another trip of this type in
the future. Yes, my wife agrees.
