Circumnavigate Vancouver Island

OK so you want an adventure and you have long been interested in sailing all the way around this beautiful Island of ours, or a good part of it any way. Well, here is an opportunity to do just that, with confidence, and without rushing. You have a choice of sailing your own vessel or coming in mine.

Blackfish Sailing Adventures will coordinate this circumnavigation. We propose to cruise the roughly 600 miles of this distance around the Island in four legs, totalling 23 days. We will begin and end in Oak Bay (adjacent Victoria, on Vancouver island B.C.).

Our circumnavigation of Vancouver Island of 2009 is proposed to begin Friday Sept. 4th.* Unlike the Van Isle 360 we don't want to make a race of it but a cruise, takinga time to stop and to explore. To this end we have elected to sail around Vancouver Island in 23 days, including stopovers (rather than 14 days or so that the Van Isle 360 and many other companies choose to take)

*Note: If the above dates do not work for for the majority of persons, there is room for some change of dates.

Our Plan is to assemble a flotilla of up to 6 vessels, each supporting each other and all of us meeting up at predetermined anchorages enroute. I will have room on my vessel for up to 5 persons. This should be a memorable trip of discovery for the many of us who have not experienced this beautiful and wild stretch of coastline, as well as an opportunity to improve sailing skills.  

Blackfish’s  vessel, the Ibis, is a 35 foot Beneteau “Oceanus” sloop (pictured at top of page).  She is fully equipped for comfortable and safe ocean sailing.  For a better description of our vessel and its equipment go to: Our Boat.

Cost for sail training  aboard the Ibis will be $1250 for the 5 day leg and $1450 for the 6 day leg (on each of our first two legs north to Port Hardy) . This price includes all course materials and exam leading to CYA certification (Basic or Intermediate CYA Cruising Standard), accommodation and food while aboard, and all expenses relating to the vessel while enroute..

Note: Persons remaining with us on subsequent legs north of Port Hardy and around the Island will be expected to be sufficiently competant to sail these legs.

Other Cruising Options: Quite apart from the sail training Blackfish will be providing, there will be an opportunity for others to accompany me on this trip around Vancouver Island (in whole or in part - as described in the Options below). And everyone of course will be expected to share in the sailing and chores.

FLOTILLA SAIL:

We also welcome those who do not requuire sail training and choose to tag along on their own sail boat. It is more fun as well as safer to be in the presence of other vessels and crews.Our plan is to have one additional instructor or an experienced Skipper with us who will be available to transfer over to other vessels if required. There will be an opportunity to discuss boating issues and share information and advice during our evening get-togethers while enroute.

To sail in our Flotilla, boats must be deemed suitable to undertake all legs of this journey and be equipped with the necessary safety gear and be adequately insured . Skippers and at least one crew must also be sufficiently competent so that they are deemed not to be a liability to themeselves or to other participating boats. We will develop a Sail Plan before departing which will provide necessary information, as well as clarify roles and expectations. There will be a $250. registration fee for each boat participating on any or all legs.

Itinerary:

The First Leg (6 days): Departing from Oak Bay (adjacent Victoria, BC), we head north through the Gulf Islands  for Campbell River, exploring a variety of marine parks and beautiful islands enroute (Sidney Spit, Montague, New Castle Island, Jedediah, Hornby Island, and Herriot Bay are some nice options).  If time permits, we can skirt the edge of  Desolation Sound. This will be our first of our two training legs. There will be a briefing sessiosn each night to discuss issues and to plan our next days' route and activities

The Second Leg (5 days): We depart  Campbell River for Port Hardy. This stretch of the Inside Passage will require us to transit Discovery Passage, Seymour Narrows and other interesting if not challenging waters.  There is a good chance we will see the northern pod of Killer Whales while traversing Robson Bight and Johnston Strait. A stopover at Telegraph Cove to view whale artifacts”  and at Alert Bay to view First Nations’ totem poles and their fascinating Museum are trip highlights.  The logging community of Port Hardy (which marks the northerly limit of asphalt highway on Vancouver Island) provides a convenient place to lay over, to provision, and to switch crew before continuing around the northern tip of the Island, to the Pacific Ocean side.

The Third Leg  (8 days): Leave Port Hardy early Sept. 15 for Tofino. Our first night’s stop is Bull Harbour. We overnight here and do a weather check before continuing our sail around Cape Scott - distinguished by a n immense ring  of surf and beach. Our boats are now open to the fetch of the open Pacific, allowing us to finally experience “blue-water” ocean sailing. Our destination is Winter Harbour, a lovely protected harbour off Quatsino Sound.  The next day we follow the glacially unscathed coastline of Brookes  Peninsula.  Kelp- strewn Kyuquot Sound is a good place to observe sea otters, still a novely on our coast. A bathe in Hot Springs Cove and a meal at anchor is in order here! “Touristy” Tofino beckons the next day, and we succumb to big village pleasures once again. We will stop here to re-supply.

The fourth and Final Leg (4 days): A short sail along the coast from Tofino brings us to Ucluelet.This quaint fishing/logging village is located on the edge of the Broken Islands, a favourite among kayakers. Skirting the edge of this island archipelago,  we follow Trevor Channel to the serious sport fishing village of Bamfield. The Marine Biological Station and other fascinating attractions beckon.  After a short stopover we follow the rugged coastline of the West Coast, alongside the famous West Coast Life Saving Trail to Port Renfrew. This laid back village provides us with another great place to dock, to have a shower and to mingle with local loggers at their historic watering hole next to the Public Dock. 

We depart Port Renfrew the next morning and  enter Juan de Fuca Strait. We now sail in the “lee” of the tallest ocean - flanking mountain range in the world - the snow-clad Olympics. Historic Race Rocks, marks  the most southerly point of Vancouver Island, and heralds our last day at sea.. This granite sentinel guards islands which are home to many herds of California and Steller sea lions, as well as all manner of sea birds, all attracted by its fast tidal currents, boiling waters and teeming underwater life. A short diversion into Victoria Harbour will demonstrate the frenzy and the beauty of this busy harbour. It will  also give us an excuse to visit the lounge of the Coast Harbourside Hotel where we can celebrate our successfull circumnavigation in appropriate manner. Another couple of hours sail along Victoria’s  developed waterfront brings us back to where we started three weeks ago – at Oak Bay, our home base.!

To Join Us on any leg of our Circumnavigation:
Crew will have a number of options to join us at stopovers such as Campbell River, Port Hardy and Tofino . These towns all have good connections by road, air and ferry to Victoria and/or Vancouver/Seattle and other cities.  For air flights check with www.pacific-coastal.com (Port Hardy) and www.flyorcaair.com from Tofino. – as well as with other companies.  Bus service is also good, and the Island is serviced by a number of companies such as Gray Line of Victoria, and  Tofino Bus (www.tofinobus.com ). Call us for more information on how best to make connections.

Note: We can meet up with boats wishing to join our Flotilla most anywhere enroute.

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Skipper's Bio

Al Lubkowski, her Skipper is a CYA cruising instructor with extensive coastal and off-shore  sailing experience in BC,  the East Coast, Caribbean and Australian waters. His company, Blackfish Sailing Adventures is a Canadian Yachting Association member school.  Al is also an avid kayaker and kayak tour operator. His other company, Blackfish Wilderness Expeditions (www.BlackfishWilderness.com ) reflects his love of the oceans and his adventurous spirit. And yes, Al is the chap who built North America’s  largest cedar strip sailing canoe (47 feet LOA) and used it as a kayak mothership for many years around Victoria and along much of Vancouver Island.

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EMail Us or Tel: (250) 216-2389
Blackfish Sailing Adventures, Victoria, BC. Canada

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