The Pacific Northwest is fantastic cruising grounds. Many people say this, but prior to spending 6 weeks cruising the south coast of British Columbia, I didn\u2019t really understand what they meant.\u00a0 Here\u2019s my version of what it\u2019s like to be on a sailboat in these protected waters during late August, September and early October.<\/p>\n
Pros<\/strong> – Vast protected cruising grounds spanning many hundreds of miles \u2013 spending 6 weeks doing over 800 nautical miles (return) was only scratching the surface. We made it as far as the Broughtons, and spent a day sailing in Queen Charlotte Strait. So we did not make it to the NW tip of Vancouver island, and we weren\u2019t even half way to the Alaskan border. This is a huge area to explore by boat, and you\u2019ll want a kayak to investigate these protected waters closer. This area deserves time and on occasion Mother Nature will demand that you give it that deserved time – which means the tidal currents and weather will dictate many of your movements, not your pre-planned vacation schedule.<\/p>\n – Multitudes of excellent anchorages \u2013 it\u2019s easy to find a secure anchorage every night. Many of them are well-protected coves surrounded by nature with no recent sign of humans. In the off-season, you will be the only boat there. If you prefer marinas, there are some around and they each strive to make you feel welcome. Do your research before leaving, though \u2013 you may find the marina or other facility closed when you get there, despite what the guidebook says. There is just not a long enough season to make a marina\/supply store be a stable business. July and August are the only months they are \u201cbusy\u201d (which is not the same kind of \u201cbusy\u201d you experience in city life.)<\/p>\n – Abundance of marine wildlife \u2013 whales, dolphins, birds, fish. It\u2019s fantastic when the Dahl porpoises came play in your wake. This is cruising in nature and it\u2019s lovely.<\/p>\n – Ample guidebooks and reliable charts are available to explain the area in great detail. We had several guidebooks, but heavily relied on Exploring the South Coast of British Columbia by Don Douglass and Reanne Hemingway Douglass<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n – Fickle wind \u2013 it is too frequently absent. You must be willing to motor all day, maybe for many days in a row. When its sunny and warm, in general there is no wind \u2013 but you cannot count on this as sometimes onshore flow creates gale force winds that is funneled by the narrow channels that make up the inside passage. When a frontal system passes, then there is wind \u2013 and perhaps a lot of it. If you are a fair weather sailor without a reliable auxiliary motor that you can tolerate, you don’t want to cruise in this area.<\/p>\n – Cold weather and rain happens too often any time of year, causing severe moisture problems aboard. It\u2019s typically a slow all day rain with heavy grey skies. Onboard, everything gets damp. Areas that are not insulated will be dripping with condensation. You must be prepared for this bone-chilling wetness, even if you hide all day in the cabin. Cotton fabric is your enemy when it gets so damp.<\/p>\n – Cold water (around 10C or 50F) means cold breezes and you must not go overboard. If there is any wind at all, I\u2019m covered head to foot to protect myself from the cold air. All those photos of bikini-clad beautiful women lounging on sailboats were not taken in this area!<\/p>\n So what\u2019s the best boat for cruising this area?<\/strong> Many people will tell you \u201cthis is powerboat country\u201d but I actually think a motorsailer like our Nicholson 38 is the right boat. Here\u2019s what you need on your boat to enjoy this area:<\/p>\n – Cockpit protection from the cold wind, and the rain when it happens. We have a fully enclosed center cockpit, and it\u2019s wonderful. I couldn\u2019t imagine being in an aft cockpit without a proper dodger. Oh, and add a windscreen wiper if you are bothered by water beaded on your windscreen. There are a lot of grey misty days…<\/p>\n – Cabin heater that provides dry heat to warm you up in the morning or after a day underway, even in the summer months. On land it may be hot, but on the water, the nights are cold. Though we were cruising during a September \u201cheat wave\u201d, we used our Webasto forced air diesel heater nearly every day. Don\u2019t try to heat directly with propane or other wet source of heat \u2013 you need to get the cabin air dried out as best as possible.<\/p>\n – Insulation on the hull, or the condensation will turn your cabin interior black with mildew in a matter of days. We reached >90% humidity in the cabin on many days after cooking. That\u2019s miserable when the cabin air is cool. And figure out how to make a dry berth, because it\u2019s rough sleeping in damp cotton sheets on a moldy smelling foam cushion.<\/p>\n – Good motor, and you must be willing to use it – for days on end. Sometimes you\u2019ll forget you\u2019re in a sailboat. It\u2019s really that bad. I am willing to sail in the lightest of airs \u2013 5 knots will do, and yet we spent days without unfurling the sails at all. It\u2019s sad really, and annoying to be surrounded by such lovely natural scenery with a diesel motor polluting it all.<\/p>\n – Light air sails, for those times when there is a slight breeze and you are desperate to shut off the growling motor beast that\u2019s invaded your peaceful sailing vessel.<\/p>\n – Heavy-weather capable boat, because it will<\/span> get rough. This is why I think it\u2019s not really powerboat country. The right sailboat can handle wind and waves much better than a powerboat. To reach the protected waters, you need to cross big open water (Strait of Georgia, which is where we experienced 20-30 knot winds and 2 meter waves) and make your way up some notoriously rough and windy channels (Johnstone Strait). I\u2019d rather do that in a sailboat than a power boat (though I must admit I\u2019ve never been in a powerboat, so I\u2019m making that statement based on hearsay.)<\/p>\n – Good ground tackle, including at least 100 meters of line for stern tying when the anchorage doesn\u2019t have sufficient swing room (200 meters would be better). It\u2019s nice to stern tie anyway, to stop the boat from swinging. We spent many a night listening to our all chain rode scrape across rocks as the boat swung on its anchor due to currents or winds. We were able to get our Manson Supreme anchor set well and it held every night, despite the fact that some of the heavy weather brought 25 knot gusts into our \u201cprotected\u201d anchorage.<\/p>\n – Radar for being underway in the fog. We had fog only a few days, but that\u2019s because we got lucky. Reportedly, the fog can last for days.<\/p>\n – GPS\/Chartplotter to know your location. This area is littered with places to run aground, and there are so many little islands it\u2019s easy to get lost \u2013 especially in the Broughtons when its foggy. Also, buy proper Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) paper charts before you go \u2013 the idea of buying charts enroute doesn\u2019t work very well, as most the chart suppliers we visited had a very limited stock. If you buy the CHS #3312 and #3313 chart books for recreational boaters, look carefully at what areas are not covered in sufficient detail by those books \u2013 for example, you still need the Sunshine coast strip chart #3311, Baynes Sound #3527, Nanoose Harbour #3459 and maybe Campbell River #3450, even though most these areas are ostensibly covered by the chart books. Get the free CHS Pacific Coast atlas and study which charts you need before you go. Get each that you think you might need, including #3564 if you plan to go up Chatham Channel or visit Port Harvey.<\/p>\n – Tide and Current books \u2013 the channels are described as saltwater rivers, and some of them can flow up to 16 knots during spring tide. You must be able to time your arrival for slack water in many areas, and this means you must have accurate tidal and current information. Be aware that the Canadian Hydrographic Service timetables are NOT correct for daylight savings time. I also found the distance tables and other reference information in Local Knowledge: A Skipper’s Reference by Kevin Monahan<\/a> to be valuable during the hours I spent each night determining our options for the next day.<\/p>\n In short, I think our Nicholson 38 is the perfect boat for this area. 8~) That is, after we solve the condensation problems and improve the berth. We got pretty soggy at times. The Webasto heater we installed earlier this year was greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n These cruising grounds are broken into distinct areas. I\u2019ll give accounts and photos about each of the areas we visited in other postings, including:<\/p>\n San Juans and Gulf Islands<\/a><\/p>\n Strait of Georgia and the Sunshine Coast<\/a><\/p>\n Inside Passage (Johnstone Strait)<\/a><\/p>\n
\n– Wilderness cruising – after you start through Johnstone Strait, you are surrounded by tree-lined shores, undeveloped islands and snow covered peaks. If you enjoy getting away from civilization, then this is the right place. Be prepared to be self-sufficient. Cell phone signals are scarce. SSB radios are useful for cruisers nets, downloading weather forecasts and staying in contact with those you love.<\/p>\n