Vancouver Island

A sunny day in Winter Harbor means
laundry day!

                       When did we round Cape Scott? The days have been filled and the wi-fi access has been severely limited, so the days since I’ve done a blog post have all run together. It’s been an educational and mostly fun trip down the outside of Vancouver Island. Let’s see. We left Pruth Bay on July 18, I think, which put us into Millbrooke Cove. So then we left Millbrooke Cove and made our giant leap out and around Cape Scott on the 19^th. That means we stayed the 20^th in Winter Harbor, which is where we made new friends and rekindled some old ones. Our friends aboard SV Arctic Loon—the Down family—ended up travelling with us for the next week, which made Megan very happy, as they have a daughter a little younger than she and they made fast friends. Our temporary partnership wasn’t planned—we just ended up at the same places a few times at first.

Megan and Rachael looking for
crabs in Nuchatlitz.

           First, it was the dock in Walters Cove to wait out a storm, and then Nuchatlitz Provincial Park for a walk on the beach. They missed out on our excitement. The girls had stopped to look for crabs and Joe happened to look back behind us. Suddenly he said, “Whoa there,” and pulled out the bear spray. I whirled around to see a black bear about 100 yards away from us, eating on the beach. Thankfully, it wasn’t interested and moseyed off into the grass after Joe hollered at it!  After letting all the kids play on the beach a while, both crews decided it was time to get moving. Our plan was to take the inside route to Tahsis and wait for the forecasted 25-35 knots of wind to blow through. What a lovely trip that was! We threw out the spinnaker and Kyrie charged off through Esperanza Inlet. We actually saw 7 knots on occasion! We finally had to concede defeat when we reached Hecate Channel and the wind died. We snaked through the channel and Tahsis Narrows to arrive in Tahsis Inlet. Unfortunately, there was nowhere good to anchor to weather the blow, so our stop required docking at a marina that was more expensive than we would have liked. We made the most of it, though. The marina had a touch tank full of fish, snails, and crabs, and it was all we could do to get the girls away from it to help us eat the nachos we had ordered! After laundry, showers, and using the marina’s courtesy car to refill propane tanks, it was time again to shove off.

SV Arctic Loon and SV Kyrie
anchored together in Friendly Cove.

            Our original plan was to make the run out of Nootka Sound, around Estevan Point, and go to Hot Springs Cove, but the seas in the Sound were too big and we didn’t feel like getting beat up for hours. Arctic Loon had anchored in Friendly Cove, behind the Nootka lighthouse, so we turned around to join up with them again. Ellery showed us a way to raft we had never heard of--

Mast view of Friendly Cove,
Nootka Sound. 

Ellery's view from the mast
of both boats' crews.

both boats starboard to starboard and both of us with anchors out. The cove was a bit bumpy from the swell curling around the point and wake from all the fishing boats, but we didn’t move! After the kids went to bed, Ellery and Chari joined us in Kyrie’s cockpit for a lovely evening—good conversation, a big bottle of wine, and bug zappers! The next morning, we found that we would still have travel buddies! Arctic Loon had planned to stay another day at Friendly Cove, but they had listened to the weather and realized if they didn’t leave that morning with us, they could be stuck there for a week! It was off to the hot springs.

              Ugh, that was a long and uncomfortable slog. The wind was right on our nose, so we couldn’t sail, there was a chop on top of the swell, and it was foggy. We took so many waves over the bow we needed to clean seaweed off of the front deck when we anchored.  Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we got situated and dropped the hook in Hot Springs Cove. After a slightly early dinner, we packed swimsuits and towels and dinghied ashore. The walk out to the springs took longer than anticipated—the guidebook said it was a 1.2-km trail, but it felt longer—but it was all boardwalk and among some enormous old cedars. Ramsay Hot Springs were absolutely worth the walk. They aren’t built up at all. You can follow the path from where they first come out of the rocks in the hillside, to the waterfalls, and then down to the three pools that get progressively cooler and finally meet with the surf that sneaks in through a small passage in the rocks. Just what tired bodies needed! After a much slower walk back, we all crashed out and went to sleep. 

This was the view from the hot springs pools, right out to
the entrance to Hot Springs Cove. It's a rough life....

**Look at these goofy faces. Can you tell we're tired out and turning into jello?**

                           The next morning looked perfect for another long run—this time to Ucluelet. It was 46 miles, but we knew we could stop somewhere around Tofino—the halfway mark—if it proved too uncomfortable. We said goodbye and safe travels to the Down family and got underway. What a beautiful day that was! The spinnaker was up for about six hours, and we averaged around 6 knots, sometimes surfing up to 7.5 knots! Kyrie was in her element and the winds didn’t kick up until we

Megan and her new friend,
sitting on the freezer at Walters
Cove's store

The girls from SV Kyrie and
SV Arctic Loon.

had to change our angle for the approach to Ucluelet Inlet. No matter—down came the spinnaker and up went the genoa, albeit for only about 20 minutes, but we sailed longer! Ucluelet is a cute town, with lots of artists, coffee shops, the first decent-sized grocery store we’ve seen since Prince Rupert, and an aquarium. After spending the morning wandering around Ucluelet, Joe and I came to the decision it was time to move on. We had another beautiful sail across Barkley Sound to Dodger Channel, not far from Bamfield. The wind held and just to see if he could do it, Joe kept the sail up and the engine off as we approached the anchorage. Sure enough, the wind slowed as we found a spot to drop the anchor, and after reefing the genoa multiple times to slow down, Joe dropped the hook. Good bottom! Joe was nearly jerked off his feet when the anchor set. For the first time on this trip, and only the second time ever, Kyrie’s crew sailed her on to anchor!

                           Yesterday was shorter than we would have liked. We left Dodger Channel at about 0630 in order to round Cape Beale before the seas kicked up too much. Shortly after rounding Cape Beale, we were in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. After learning a gale was supposed to kick up in the central part of the strait, we grudgingly pulled into Port Renfrew. It was only about 1330 when we pulled in, but the next nearest place to get out the wind was almost another 40 miles away. As it was, Port Renfrew was a nice place to stop. We walked around, found a playground for the kids, got popsicles at the general store, and then introduced the kids to a plate of poutine at the marina’s restaurant. French fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy—delicious treat. Levi took one bite and asked us accusingly, “Why have you never introduced us to this before?!” I think we enjoyed that treat more than the popsicles!

                           After a relaxing afternoon and evening, it was time to move on again. Despite the current being against us, Joe and I decided to leave and put some miles behind us. By 1730 this evening, we had checked in with U.S. Customs and settled at the dock here in Port Angeles. Now at nearly 2100, we've walked the town a little, found a great grocery store, and are ready to call it a night. Kyrie and her crew are back in the United States, at least for a few months!