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Barkley Sound, West Coast Vancouver Island

6K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  Michael Bailey 
#1 ·
I just finished a month long trip in the protected waters of Georgia Strait, Desolation Sound, Discovery Islands, Gulf Islands, and the San Juans. This was double handed (my wife and I) on my Pearson 28-2. We had a great trip.

I have plans for another 3 week cruise in September and am trying to decide where to go. I've been to Barkley Sound before (paddling the Broken Group Islands) and had a great time there, so I'm tempted to go back. This would likely be solo.

I know that it's much different going on the ocean coast. I also know that I'd be fighting prevailing winds for a couple of days to get there. I will have the flexibility of time to wait for good weather though, and there are places to hide should I need to.

I'm interested to hear stories from others who have done this trip in smallish coastal boats and how it went for them.

My alternative is to stay in the relative safe waters of the San Juan and Gulf Islands. A really enjoyable place to spend 3 weeks, but I have a bit of a thirst for adventure.
 
#3 ·
We took our 32' Islander up the west coast of Vancouver Island last year in June and had a great trip. We went mostly straight up to Tofeno, up into Clayoquot Sound, and back down through Barkley Sound. it was a great trip.

If the weathers good, the west coast isn't a bad place, I *think* you should be fine in September, but I'm sure more locals will chime in soon with more details on that.

Going out the straight can be a slog since you are going into the tides which makes them seem to change faster, so you get less of a push then when your coming back. Plus your into the winds as you mentioned, but that all just means coming back is easier then going out. Expect short steep waves at the end of the straight, especially as the tide turns to a flood.

Going into Tofeno was a bumpy and wet ride, confused seas coming from multiple directions as the swells changed. Not enough wind to keep the boat stable so we where rocking around good, and it was raining. :rolleyes:

We weren't as prepared as we should have been in the foul weather gear department, and everything I had was wet by the time we came in, except one pair of jeans and a tee shirt. Lucky Tofeno has laundry at the marina. We where thinking of anchoring out, but easy access to dry cloths was well worth the marina fee and odd space we had to dock in, plus a nice guy with a heater on his boat invited us over for a hot cup of tea. What a wonderful cup of tea that was!

The rest of the trip was idealistic though, a little rain but mostly at night, and not the rough waves we had going up. Had a great sail back down from Barkley to the straight with a steady 15kts on the beam and smooth seas.

I know there's lots of issues with fog in July and August, hence why we went in June (And we don't have radar) but I think it's clearing up by September.

I also know the rule of thumb if your sailing south is leave the PNW by mid September, so I assume the weather would still be decent up there for a while, but I'm just guessing. Hopefully one of the locals will chime in and help you out soon. :)

Unless someone else knows otherwise, I would think that would be a great trip in September.
 
#4 ·
Thanks IslanderGuy, this is helpful stuff.

I've been up there for the fog in August twice (it's called Fogust for a reason), but was hoping that would clear by September. I'll double check on that.

Where did you clear customs on your crossing? It looks like if I clear on the West Coast that I'd need to clear in Tofino.
 
#5 ·
We just did that trip at the end of June. 31 foot full keeled sailboat.
We really had to consider the currents in the straight as we only motor around 5 knots and they can easily run 2-3 knots in places, more in the Race Rocks area.
The winds generally build in the afternoon from the west, so we made early starts, which also worked with the currents at the time.
Victoria to Port Renfrew was about 10 hours, Port Renfrew to Ucuelet was about another 10 hours motoring, winds were light for us and we made port before they picked up.
Port Renfrew is a nice midway stopping point but there is not much there and the anchorage is fairly open and can be rolly if the swell is coming in. Holding is good.
On the return trip we had light winds from the SE.....so much for the fun downhill run home.
It is beautiful there as you know and Bamfield, Ucuelet and Tofino are lovely places to spend some time. And it should still be nice in September, just keep in mind you will have less daylight for the longer legs.
Hopefully you will also hear from others with more experience.
Regards,
Tanya
 
#6 · (Edited)
A friend pointed me to this great resource:
West Coast of Vancouver Island: The Windward Route | Voyages North

The tides don't look great for doing this in Sept 2013 (the big ebbs are in the middle of the night during both spring tides). I'm considering putting this trip on hold for a year or two, which will give me more time to prepare.
 
#7 ·
Our experience has been from Campbell River north. We have, however driven to Ucuelet
and Tofino. You might consider driving and going out on a charter fishing boat. I am sure the skipper would be glad to share info about that and surrounding waters with you. Our favorite time was mid August to early September, for the big northern Coho salmon. Bring some fishing gear with you, great fun. :D

Paul T
 
#9 ·
I've been out that way twice, for a couple weeks each time. It was on a 76ft megayacht though.... so a little different that what you're planning. :eek:

Clearing customs is something to plan. It would be nice to launch from Neah Bay and go up north, but I don't think that's feasible. More likely you'll be clearing in Victoria and staying close to the north side of the straits. Port renfero and Sooke are good places to stop. Plan your trip around the corner with the tides but take caution because an ebb and an onshore wind will create ugliness at the corner. Give it a wide berth.

There IS a lot of fog up that way in September. If you don't have radar and you postpone your trip, I would consider investing in radar before you go. We had it move in on us and sock us in very quickly both time we were up there (july and september).

Study the chart of the broken group carefully. While it is a haven for kayakers, there are only 2 or 3 anchorages in that group for a sailboat. The nearby towns are fun though, the fishing in the area is AWESOME and just north is Hot Springs Cove which is worth visiting. It's a hot spring that flows down several rock pools and mixes with ocean water. Each pool is cooler than the one above.

Would you consider sailing at night on the way up? It makes the ships easy to see unless there's fog. If there's fog at night (which there often is) you're screwed. :)

MedSailor
 
#10 ·
I have been Barkley Sound about 10 times. Once I came up Juan de Fuca, the others were part of an around Vancouver Island.

You will need to clear customs in Victoria.

Sooke is possible stop on the outbound trip. There are some marinas just as you enter the harbour. If you wish to go into the basin, do so on a high tide.

Port Renfrew has a new marina that MIGHT be able to take small shallow draft boats. I have anchored during an engine electrical failure. Would not start - whole other story.

As the wind tends to die at night I did an overnight trip. Stay out of the TSS.

Once in the sound you can get moorage at:

Bamfield - neat little town, no services at the government dock

Ucluelet - Small Boat Harbour: showers, laundry, power, water, provisions and restaurants ashore.

or at the Port Alberni Yacht Club (Robbers Passage): $1.00 per foot, showers $2.00, iffy water.

Anchorages
- Effingham Island: a little exposed, somewhat deep
- Joe`s Bay: watch the reef to starboard in the north entrance :(
- Nettle Island: deep, lots of room to swing
- Pinkerton Island: a little too much current for my liking

There are more anchorages but I have not had a chance to check them out.

I also do the return trip at night. Leave early afternoon and have breakfast in Victoria.

I have not been to Tofino by boat.

Hot Springs Cove is a day from Ucluelet.

More than happy to answer any questions.

Jack
 
#11 ·
I've done the trip twice, both early in the year so can't comment on frequency of fog in Sept. I see you've put the trip off for a bit, I would recommend earlier in the year for the longer days and less fog. The only difficulty is the long distance between Sooke and Bamfield, we try to time it to take advantage of a long ebb starting early in the AM, and hope for light winds in the afternoon. We motor at 6.25 knots and I think it took about 12 hours (I don't like Pt. Renfrew, anchored there on one return trip to cut the trip in half but pulled the hook an hour later because of swell, exposure and continued to anchor at Sooke just inside the light). This is one of the great trips of the PNW IMHO, and everyone should do it at least once, a bit challenging but well worth the effort.
 
#12 ·
I've read that I can clear customs at Ucluelet or Tofino if I wanted to cross from Neah Bay, has that changed? The link that I shared above recommended that approach and was updated in the last year.

We don't have radar. Delaying until next summer does give me time to prep that boat with radar and work on my high wind sail inventory. I knew fog was a serious problem in August, but didn't know how bad it would be later in the year. The boat that we go on could change between now and then, a friend who is interested in this trip is looking at boats one size increment larger than my own and may end up with something a bit better setup for this trip (including radar).
 
#14 · (Edited)
We clear customs at Oak Bay (just east of Victoria) because it's convenient for us from the San Juans and that allows us to stop wherever in case of bad weather. The customs dock at Bamfield where we used to clear is closed but Ucluelet isn't much further west and would be the best if crossing from Neah. Radar is a requirement as far as I'm concerned on the west coast of Van. Is. You can get fog or heavy rain any month of the year and it's not a forgiving area like inside.
 
#16 ·
The NEXUS pass doesn't help either. American boats still have to go to one of their ports of entry. The NEXUS pass DOES sometimes allow american boats to clear back into america by phone. Not much help for your trip, because if you're headed for Neah Bay and they say, on the phone call, "you need to proceed to Port Angeles without stopping" you're going to be in for a crappy trip.

I'd have to agree about radar being pretty much a requirement. Basic ones are cheap nowadays.

MedSailor
 
#17 · (Edited)
Its been a while since I have been out there.
Hot Springs Cove is worth it. I went in the spring,
September the Jaun De Fuca and the west coast are still prone to fog.
Boat was a 42 Maple Leaf we sailed to Bambfield from Vic was about a day and a half. to windward. Not much there there was a gov dock and pub.
Ucculet is a nice stop, for Food at Co Op, water and Beer. Marina Dock.
A full day from there up to the Hot Springs Cove.
Did Neah Bay to Roche Harbor in June after coming up from Portland.
There's not much in the way of options after Sook, Port Renfrew looks very exposed but there is a gov dock.
Contemplating going out there again soon may be end of august begining of september Fishing is good by August.
more likely I will head up the inside.
Just puttering about in the San Juans just now its quite nice but rather pricy if you stop in anywhere
 
#18 ·
The government dock at Port Renfrew is a fixed dock. Been there twice.
 
#20 ·
I know this is an old thread, but it comes up in a Google search for "Ucluelet customs", so just want to set the record straight - what jackdale said about Ucluelet not being listed as a port of entry on the CBSA website is correct, but that does NOT mean it's not a port of entry. To be clear, Ucluelet IS a port of entry and customs dock at the "52 Steps" dock. The CBSA website is lacking / not updated / incomplete documentation.

I talked to 4 customs people - 1 at Canadian NEXUS, 1 at CBSA main line, an RSPN customs officer at Ucluelet, and that customs officer's manager at Ucluelet. All confirmed Ucluelet is a customs port of entry. The reason for so much paranoia in verifying is it would really suck to go all the way to Neah Bay -> Ucluelet only to have to turn around and do the straits again, twice! And as far as I can tell there is currently *no* official record on the Internet of Ucluelet being a port of entry. So I'm going by the verbal authority of these 4 agents and have written down their agent #s.

The CBSA really should update their website, because having an undocumented port of entry is really confusing and leads to a lot of phone calls.
 
#21 ·
Another old thread here but here's my two cents. We have cleared at Victoria. It is a lovely city. Lots of good restaurants, culture and of course, Buchart Gardens. Wait for a good weather window and head out before dawn to give you plenty of daylight underway. We have gotten ourselves in heavy fog with plenty of wind and fishing boats all at the same time. Good working radar is wonderful just then. Lots of pinnacles near shore so stay out a bit. We have had such fun up there though. Bring a good dinghy with a good strong motor for exploring!
 
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