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A must stop on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Hot Springs Cove Public Wharf. |
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A sea cave near Robbers Passage, Barkley Sound. |
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UPDATES FOR THE WEST COAST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND
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Ucluelet Docks Mismarked on Map
June 14, 2010. Steve Bird, Ucluelet’s harbour manager, called to let us know the dock configuration is backwards on the Ucluelet Harbour map (page 301). As you come into the small craft harbour, the first dock will be “B” dock, not “F.” Then “C” dock and on up to “F” dock being the last dock.
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No Diesel at Bamfield
July 21, 2009. We’ve received a report that diesel is no longer available at the Kingfisher Marina in Bamfield. Also, the phone number for Kingfisher listed on page 306 has been disconnected.
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Mooring Buoys Removed
April 6, 2009. NOTICE TO SHIPPING P-0479(2009)
WEST COAST-VANCOUVER ISLAND
Mooring Buoy recovery and decommissioning operations have concluded on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. All mooring buoys and associated ground tackle have been removed from Columbia Cove, Klaskish Inlet and Klaskino Anchorage.
Four mooring buoys remain in operation at Sea Otter Cove.
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Report on Victoria, Sooke, Port San Juan
May 29, 2008. Waggoner correspondents Vaughn Ploeger and Rebecca Earnest sent this note.
We went cruising recently in our Merit 25 sailboat – draws 4 feet or so.
This will probably be more than you ever want to know about Port San Juan and Port Renfrew. But first:
Confirming the Waggoner’s 2008 notes on entering Victoria, the Harbour Patrol is aggressively but politely contacting vessels coming and going to be sure they're aware of the traffic separation pattern and yellow divider buoys, the new requirement not to exceed 7 knots in the outer harbor (inside the breakwater), and the encouragement to stay close to the breakwater side of the entrance in order to leave plenty of room for large vessels and floatplanes.
The Harbour Authority is working hard (and cheerfully) to find a space for everyone, at least in May – we were there two weekends in a row. The first weekend was in reserved space with our yacht club for Victoria Days, the second weekend was more or less unplanned. We arrived Friday afternoon of the Swiftsure Race weekend, when the harbor is full of fully crewed sailboats.
The Harbour Authority is a little shaky in keeping the new washrooms clean and supplied, and the hours of the main public restrooms under the Visitor Center have been slightly shortened (8 a.m.-9 p.m.). This is hard on sailboats, though most power boats these days seem self-contained. The Wharf Street dock is closer to the showers and is pleasant, but in the wrong wind it's downwind of powered-up floatplanes nearby.
Sooke Inlet. We found the entrance straightforward so long as we adhered exactly to the range markers. We appreciated having the large-scale chart, once inside. Because of the "public dock" label on the chart and the desire to be fairly far inside in a southerly blow, we went to the government dock, arriving about 7 p.m. Most of the dock space was occupied by commercial fishing vessels, and there was absolutely nobody around, nor any relevant signs. So we tied up in a protected empty space and stayed aboard and self-contained. On the way out we noticed the sign for guest space at the Sooke Harbor Marina. We were too busy chart-reading inbound. We left on an ebb – the outbound course outside Whiffin Spit can be a little rough if a south wind is blowing.
Port San Juan. We entered late afternoon on a fair amount of wind and swell and concentrated on the east side, where the Douglass book and a cruising friend with a heavier boat said a couple of anchorages could be found. Because of the swell, we went deep, to the area in front of the hotel at Port Renfrew, and anchored just inside the end of the community dock. The floats are in the water only seasonally; they had expected to put them in place a week before we arrived, but weather had been unfavorable. Hence, there were only the pilings that contain the floats.
Probably it is not safe to count on the floats earlier than June 1 or the last week of May. They ("they" are the people who run the hotel) say especially if you call ahead, usually you can be accommodated. We didn't ask whether that varies by size – our boat is sometimes viewed more benignly than larger ones. Showers can be had up the road, about a 10-15-minute walk, at a campground. It's another 10 minutes to a small grocery.
The old hotel burned down three years ago. It has been rebuilt, but they don't use the space for room rentals now; they have several waterfront cabins. The first floor has a kitchen in the middle, a sizable pub with TVs at the parking lot end, and at the other end a small dining room with west-facing windows opening onto a nice view deck. The decor is restrained NW with cedar wainscoting and a few pieces of native art on the wall. Some interesting historical photos are on the hallway walls. Nice restrooms, too.
But the big attraction for us was the food. We had the seafood chowder, made on site; the duck breast dinner; the beef-vegetable soup; the (organic!) tea and coffee; the cheesecake; the beef brisket with red cabbage on rye open-face sandwich; the pork chop dinner. All were worthy of a good urban restaurant. The Lighthouse Pub was not yet open for the season, so we have no comparison locally. The hotel dining room apparently had opened only recently.
While the hikers, kayakers, and visitors to the Botanical Beach Provincial Park (great tidepools) are important seasonal customers, it was our understanding that the thing that supports two restaurants is charter fishing groups. We gather that the dock area in front of the hotel is bedlam in season, and we walked past a number of places advertising that they offer charter services. When we were there, however, no local boats were in the water.
Bystanders commented that the bottom throughout the inlet is sand and not good holding. One said the bottom at the dock area is loose shale and not good holding, although the second time Vaughn brought the anchor up, he said it had mud on it. The first time, the anchor had a tire on it, which was definitely not good. The tire had been buried in the bottom, so the anchor felt set, but 22 hours later while we showered, it worked loose. A combination of excellent luck and heroic effort by Vaughn, who rowed our dinghy after the boat and dropped the outboard motor between two rocks at the breakwater, saved our boat. We spent the rest of our stay with two lines tied to one of the pilings where the floats are installed, and our anchor out as a stern anchor. (This is the really short version of the tale, of course.)
It's worth spending a day there, however one attaches one's boat to the world. On a nice day with a conveniently timed low tide it's a pleasant walk to the provincial park and a wonderful place to have a picnic lunch and explore the tide pools between Botanical Beach and Botany Bay (be careful of rising tides and picnic-alert black bears). Besides, you also get to hear the haunting sound of the whistle buoy at the entrance to Port San Juan. And if you're lucky, as we were, you get to watch feeding loons up close.
Vaughn Ploeger and Rebecca Earnest
Orcas Island, Washington
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No Diesel Fuel at Port Alberni
May 6, 2008. The Columbia Fuel dock in Port Alberni closed at the end of April, so diesel no longer is available in Port Alberni. Gasoline, however, is available at the Clutesi Haven Marina, with its launch ramp and docks. Gasoline and diesel remain available at China Creek, about six miles down the Alberni Inlet from Port Alberni.
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West Coast Vancouver Island Mooring Buoys
January 5, 2005. I've been meaning to e-mail you since I completed my journey around Vancouver Island this past summer. The Waggoner was extremely useful in finding good anchorages and hidden treasures (such as Lucky Creek).
I did want to let you know about the mooring buoys in the north of the island. In Sea Otter Cove the 4 mooring buoys are in good shape and usable. The 4 at Klaskino Anchorage are in poor state of repair. The top tubing is nearly rusted through on two of the four. The other two are very rusty and will chafe rope quickly. We taped on a plastic container to allow our lines to slip a little. The 4 buoys in Klaskish Basin are in good shape, and have been painted recently. The buoys in Columbia Cove are okay, but need service soon to prevent rusting.
Thanks again for a very useful guide, looking forward to the 2005 edition.
Tom Harris
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For more updates:
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• U.S. Customs Updates
• Canada Customs Updates
• General Updates
• Puget Sound & San Juan Islands
• Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia, including B.C.'s Gulf Islands
• Desolation Sound to top of Vancouver Island
• Central & Northern B.C. Coast
• West Coast of Vancouver Island
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