Ucluelet to Tofino

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June 13, 2007:
While fixing dinner, we glanced out and noticed the dock alive with otters. They were eyeing a small boat tied to the dock which had had a very successful fishing day.

They must have zeroed in on the fresh fish smell lingering, as the fishermen were overheard discussing coming back tomorrow and washing the boat rather than doing it now.

There must have been between 10 and 12 otters. George got some good shots of “the priates caught red handed”.



June 14, 2007:
After three days of boat and personal chores while waiting for a weather break we headed out of Ucluelet inlet under clearing skies and in lumpy seas for the 24 mile passage to Tofino. By mid morning the sun was high and warm, the seas were still lumpy but Teal rode well and on an even keel over the biggest swells. It felt like being on a runaway cable car in San Francisco…. climbing to the top of a hill not knowing where it will peak, and then sliding down the other side as the swell picks up again.

It was a roly poly ride as we entered Clayoquot Sound through the shoal Templer Channel under clear blue skies and bright sunshine; it was a beautiful sight after a week of inclement weather.

Tofino, like Bamfield, has developed on the tip of a peninsula.Once rounded a varied water front is exposed, albeit with a considerable current past all the docks at max-flood.

We pulled into the government docks at the end of town and secured moorage for the night from Vince the harbormaster. He was very helpful, as he walked to the far end of the docks & helped land her to, & directed us to the services we needed in town.

After walking around town, and getting some lunch, we went back to the boat to retrieve our backpacks and head back to the COOP “supermarket” for provisions, probably the last chance to have any selection/quantity of food stuffs until we get to Port Hardy. After loading our packs to the point of needing to help each other get the packs up on our backs, we didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the empty shopping cart left in the parking lot and pushed our load back to the marina. After stowing the stores we took the cart back to the COOP and treated ourselves to a much deserved ice cream cone at the Sugar Shack. We weren’t wearing our pedometer, but the walk UP and down again to and from town must have been 3500 steps per trip and that totaled 3 trips. Lot of leg workout today!

George & JoAnne

Nettle Island to Ucluelet

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June 11, 2007:
As we departed Nettle Island for Ucluelet, we picked up our crab trap. Still lots of bait in there and only one small crab to throw back. It was a little rainy and foggy. The surface was smooth in the islands and as we entered Loudoun Channel, it wasn’t bad enough to raise our sail to steady the boat: something we would live to regret. The swell and confused seas left from the previous day’s weather made a very uncomfortable ride. The closer we got to Ucluelet, the worse the seas became. Then it got too rough to go forward and put up the sail for the remainder of the trip. It just kept building until we entered the channel to Ucluelet.

We went into the small craft harbor (48° 56.775’ N / 125° 33.253’ W), which is where we are this beautiful sunny day.

A fisherman we met on the dock asked us where we had been the last few days. Seems it was really rough in the area, including in this very harbor.

And there we were in San Mateo Bay, snug as a bug in a rug. We moored at the docks in amongst fishing boats. Canadian fisheries stopped the commercial salmon season midnight June 10. They will assess the catch so far, and determine if and when the season will open again. These fishermen have it rough trying to figure out how to make a living with these on again off again seasons.

June 12,2007 :
Sport fishing for salmon has been spotty, we have seen just a few fish being brought in to the docks. Ucluelet is a major sport fishing locale. The Island Princess is a big business type of operation. They run 10 charter boats in their Princess fleet from this ship moored against the beech, and have a major hotel on shore. they are very organized and each of the 10 boats takes out at least two loads of sports a day.


We managed to get our laundry done (many wet towels what with the rain), and now we sit and blog the afternoon away waiting on the rain to start again.

We are enjoying the wireless when we can get it.

We purchased a Hawkings hi-gain antenna, while in Oak Harbor with the help of our friends Nancy & Neil of Harmony who we met last year at Oak Harbor. That has been the saving grace that has brought us Internet when we’ve been in a marginal signal area. Modern technology is great!…most of the time. The weather will dictate when we move on to our next stop at Tofino, stay tuned for the rest of the story.

George & JoAnne

San Mateo Bay to Nettle Island

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June 9, 2007:

We departed San Mateo Bay Sunday in a light fog. We retrieved our crab and prawn catches, which was anything BUT successful. We had one starfish in the crab trap and 2 prawns and one grayling fish in the prawn trap. That was a let down.

We checked out the entrance to Useless inlet, but didn’t want to risk going in through the waves breaking on the several rocks guarding the entrance. We checked out the cove behind Robinson Island but it was open to the weather so we headed for the anchorage tucked into Nettles Island (48° 55.761’ N / 125° 15.099’ W) in the Broken Islands National Park.

The Park Ranger’s float house is in the cove at Nettle Island. We watched a diving eagle try to make a duck his dinner – without success.



We had moments of intermittent sunshine and light sprinkles of rain. It was a calm and peaceful night and day. George went out in the afternoon and found a good-sized Rock Crab in the trap. Good enough for an appetizer. It was great!

George & JoAnne

Robbers Passage to San Mateo Bay

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June 8, 2007 :
Before we left the dock at PAYC for San Mateo Bay, George installed a crab trap hauler device on Teal to make retrieving the trap easier. The crab trap held only a couple of small throwback sized Rock Crab. Definitely tomorrow for crab! We did retrieve our first prawns of the year -13. Just enough for a taste to make us want more. Maybe tomorrow.


Along the way we anchored at calm and picturesque Holford Bay for lunch-



-prior to checking out the float in the well-protected nook at San Mateo Bay.

Then onto Uchucklesit Inlet to Snug Basin, noting how well protected San Mateo Bay was was if we chose to stay there for the night. We went into Limestone Bay on the way into Uchucklesit where we found two float houses, one in each of the only sheltered coves in the bay.

The Uchucklesit Inlet east shoreline is cluttered with frivolous real estate development, and the west shoreline has a large log dump and log rafting operation at the north end. We found a float house taking up the only protected nook in Snug Basin. Even at that it was a pleasant and scenic ride back to San Mateo Bay.

At San Mateo Bay (48° 56.744’ N / 125° 00.168’ W) we tied to the float, which reminded us very much of Joe Cove in the Broughton Islands near Port McNeill. A young couple Dan and Lori came in and tied up their Sea Sport powerboat behind us. Dan treated us to salmon he had smoked himself. It was really tasty! They were having a relaxing weekend of fishing and had caught a couple of Chinook salmon off shore before coming in for the night. They departed Saturday around noon in a driving rain. We snuggled in, played Yatzee, and stayed warm and dry while we waited out the weather. That evening a couple of prawn boats came in and tied to the float for the night. They said it was blowing about 30 knots or more out at the mouth of the sound. We would have never known. The rain eventually let up and we had a peaceful night on the float.

George & JoAnne

Bamfield to Robbers Passage

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June 7, 2007 :

Next morning we wanted to take on fuel before heading out, guess what, the gas dock on the west side was out of gas and wouldn’t be getting re-supplied for another two days, and the gas dock on the other side was closed until the next day – if one could believe the sign. We had heard that all the crew quit so there was no assurance that gas was going to be available anytime soon.

The marina at Poett Nook (48° 52.729’ N / 125° 02.869’ W) was reported to have a gas dock so we went into the secluded little cove,

and found the fuel dock was open and had gas. We were glad to pay the $5.85 per gallon and happy about having used only 17 gallons since filling our tank in Bellingham. The Poett Nook fill-up came to $100.62. That was a gulp! Further there was no potable water available at this stop.

So we headed for Robbers Passage and the Port Alberni Yacht Club “out station” (48° 53.578’ N /125° 07.045’ W) that was reported to have water on their docks.


We were greeted at the PAYC by Melody, a member of the club. She told us to help ourselves to the water, a hike around the peninsula on the trails, and a hot shower if we so desired. We filled our tanks, and followed their trail map to the various beeches including one named Sonova Beech. After that hike, we took the best showers we’ve had while out cruising. The water was hot and it lasted forever. The hospitality was great and we left the next morning for more exploring of Barkley Sound.

George & JoAnne

Sooke Harbor to Port Renfrew / Bamfield

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June 3, 2007:
We woke up socked-in with fog, so we decided to go up into Sooke Basin to the Sunny Shores Resort & Marina where there was shore side power on the docks, and showers, laundry facilities and warm sunshine. It is about a three-mile trip through a tricky shoal water channel, and after getting tied down at the rickety old docks we did our chores and played a round of miniature golf located on the resort grounds. That was even more rickety than the docks. The holes weren’t numbered, nor was a par listed on the score sheet. This frustrated the Captain, but he beat me any way. We dined aboard Teal and retired for the night.


June 4,2007:
The next morning we awoke to cloudy skies, but no fog so we cast off and made our way to the harbor entrance and turned right for another leg up the coast to Port San Juan.

The trip, after we got by the lumpy seas at Sheringham Point and the last tiderip (opposing currents) was smooth, easy, and fast on fair currents. We checked out the anchoring possibilities in Port San Juan, and after suffering rolling seas at Thrasher Cove we went into Snuggery Cove,

and tied up to the government dock at Port Renfrew with the sport fishing fleet. Besides the two hotels, a restaurant currently closed for remodeling, and a nice pub, there is not much going on at Port Renfrew at this time of year.



June 5, 2007:
Under dark cloudy skies, on calm but lumpy seas we headed up the coast to Barkley Sound. The skies grew lighter and the trip was fairly easy on fair currents except for suffering the lumpy ride at all the points and headlands.

By the time we made Pachena Point the sun was breaking through the thin cloud layer and we enjoyed warm sunshine the remainder of the trip into Trevor Channel and on to Bamfield.

Bamfield has two sides, The Mills Peninsula side and the Vancouver Island side. The inlet between is called Main Street by the locals, and has to be crossed by boat - there is no other way.

The Mills Peninsula side where we tied to the Fisheries Dock, (48° 49.755’ N / 125° 08.105’ W) has a quaint boardwalk at waters edge leading from the dock to the business section; a store, Post Office, and Coast Guard station.
This is a quaint village divided by water. The kids on the west side take a boat to school every day. The school size is similar to Klamath River. The Bamfield School has 20 students – K-10. I asked a youngster what happens when you get thru 10^th grade. He replied, “You move, or do school on the Internet.” Interesting choice. We found wireless here, but don’t have the password. We’ll investigate tomorrow.

June 6, 2007:

We awoke to a steady rain which continues at this writing. Later we will go to the Government dock on “other-side” and check out the “rest of the story”. By early afternoon the rain let up and we motored across main street and tied to the government docks on the other side, and took our empty propane bottle up to the marine supply to get it refilled. We considered mooring there, but we found 3 different price lists as to how much the docking fee was. To eliminate the confusion and since there wasn’t much more to explore anyway, we bought a few things at the grocery store and returned to the west side. We mailed a few cards, and visited that store to finish shopping for things we needed. We went back to the fisheries dock for the night.

George & JoAnne

Sidney To Becher Bay / Sooke Harbor

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June 1, 2007 :
It was a clear sunny morning, dead calm, and strong ebb current when we left Sidney. By the time we approached Discovery Island we were making 11 knots over the bottom. We also had to work our way through and around several wicked tiderips. As we went through Race Passage the head winds and tide rips were building. We chose to go into Becher Bay and anchor in Campbell Cove (N 48° 19.795 / W123° 37.847) for the reminder of the day and night.

We anchored in Murder Cove at the north end, but the rollers became unbearable as the west wind built, so we moved to the south end of Campbell Cove and re-anchored in close and escaped the rollers. Northwest winds built into the night, but with the aid of our riding sail to keep us bow to the wind and the flopper-stopper to keep us on an even keel, we were able to get a good night sleep. Then at daybreak I had to shorten up the anchor rode to pull us into deeper water as we approached low tide. We still wanted to go into Sooke Harbour, so we left Becher Bay early enough to get into Sooke just before low tide and avoid the strong ebb currents coming out of Sooke Basin. Coming out of Becher Bay and rounding Alldridge Point we ran into a dense fog bank and had to suffer only 1/8-mile visibility and severe tide rips all the way into Sooke Harbor. (N 48°21.951 / W 123°43.690)

Once tied down to the guest dock at Sooke Harbor Marina, we walked the mile or so into the neat little town of Sooke. We hit the grocery store and visited McGregor Park where we napped on the manicured grass in the warm sun before returning to the boat. We were able hook up to the web via wireless while on Teal and get this post published. We will head further up the coast tomorrow, weather permitting. We’ll post our progress, when we are able to get on line again.

George & JoAnne

Bellingham to Sidney, BC

Tuesday morning May 29: I can’t believe it, yet another failure to fix, the battery charger failed. We found an exact replacement at West Marine and two hours later we were good to go.

We put our car in storage, fixed a quick lunch, and shoved off at 2:00 pm for Sidney via the San Juan Islands. At 6:30 we turned into Blind Bay on Shaw Island and anchored for the night. This was the first time we had ever seen Blind Bay without any boats at anchor; we had it all to ourselves. N 48°34.776; W 122°56.335’, we are listing lat/lon of our stopping points this year for the folks who want to view our location on Google World.

06:00 the next morning, we awoke with the sun high and anchored to a mirror like surface on the bay. By 9:30 we were leaving the bay and turning into Harney Channel when the engine quit right in the ferry route. The fuel line disconnect fitting failed and was taking in air. I had a spare and after 30 minuets of working upside down in the aft lazarette we were under way again.

This year instead of going through Wasp Passage we chose to go through Pole Passage around the north side of Crane Island just for a change of scenery.



We had a smooth, warm sunny passage to Sidney with fair currents and arrived at Port of Sidney marina at 1:30 pm, cleared with customs and took a slip. N 48° 39.077’ W 123°.684’. The temps was around 90°F . Approx 30°C. We learned the quick conversion formula yesterday. Double the C and add 30. It’s not scientifically “right on”, but at 90° - that’s close enough.

We tied down and went to town to replace the spare fitting we used to fix the fuel line, buy a fishing license, and do a little shopping.







“Scoped” the town looking for barber and beauty shops. Many many beauty shops. George has one choice… Unfortunately the barber looks alarming similar to the butcher who got him at Gibsons a couple years ago. That haircut took almost 6 months to grow out. We’re hoping the guy hasn’t actually moved here. We’ll find out tomorrow when we go for our shearing.




This is quite a fancy schmancy resort type marina surrounded by newly-constructed high rise hotel, spa, and conference center. All new! Everything is sparkling and very upscale….reflected in the mooring and services charges.





We will be leaving Sidney June 1, heading for the Strait of Juan De Fuca and Sooke Harbor.

George & JoAnne

Oak Harbor to Bellingham

After a week sanding and painting in the yard, Teal headed for the launch ramp.







It was low tide but was well into the flood when the launch crew put Teal into the water only to find not enough to float her.







Fortunately it was flooding fast and we didn’t have to wait long to get her to the guest dock.







We spent the next two weeks cleaning, mounting the main sail, biminni, dodger, barbeque, replace old rigging and all the stuff that was removed for her winter stay on the blocks. (That's George atop the mast replacing the rigging) There was equipment that had to be replaced like the GPS antennae that failed during the winter. There seemed to be no end to the things we needed to do. At least within a day or two we were able to move out of our motel room and back on board.

Monday May 21: After completing most of the work on the list, I pointed Teal out of Oak Harbor and headed for Squalicum Harbor at Bellingham via Swinomish channel through La Conner. JoAnne drove the 50 or so miles to set up post office box and do other errands while I motored Teal 6 ½ hours on fair currents to the harbor. It was a smooth, fast trip. During the next week at Bellingham we renewed acquaintances with permanent berthers on the dock and continued to fix things that failed during the winter… now it was the solar panel charge regulator. We filled the food lockers, bought the meat and cheese (we love) in Ferndale and finished loading all our clothes and gear. Teal is getting to the top of her water line.

During the week we left the harbor after our three consecutive day limit and motored the five miles to Chuckanut Bay to anchor out for the night. After a very peaceful but short stay in the beautiful serene bay, rimmed by a train track where the trains come out of the tunnel and circle the anchorage, reminding us of toy trains from days gone by. We regretfully headed back to Squalicum Harbor the next morning knowing we won't be anchoring in this spot for many years to come.

Sunday May 27: Today is the annual Ski to Sea triathlon in Bellingham and it’s raining. We sat and listened to the Indy Race (where rain was also threatening). We plan to shove off the day after the Memorial Day holiday. Go to http://www.jobeeart.com/ "highlights" for more photos of our adventures.

Getting ready for the new cruising season

We are getting ready to head for the Pacific Northwest by the first of May to get Teal back in the water and ready for her cruise to Ketchikan , Alaska. This year we plan to cruise out the Strait of Juan De Fuca and up the west side of Vancouver Island to Port Hardy on our way north. Then across Queen Charlotte Strait to Fitz Hugh Sound and north up the inland passage of Northern British Columbia to Prince Rupert and then Ketchikan. We will post new entries along the way when ever we get the chance as we go north.

George and JoAnne

Nanaimo to Bellingham

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August 30: We left Lasqueti Island in the morning and headed Teal across the Strait of Georgia for a very smooth and fast passage to Nanaimo. It’s always great to reach Nanaimo. The weather is considered the best in British Columbia and Nanaimo means that we’re almost in the US.

It’s a pretty easy place to provision from (the Thrifty grocery store lets you take the cart to the dock, some stores in Canada have one Looney ($1) deposit carts), there is a full service chandlery near by (for buying prawn and crab traps, etc.) and the used bookstore offers the internet - $1.00 for the whole day. We even had a little free wireless on the boat, but it was very erratic, so we ended up at the library ($1 for half hour, as the bookstore doesn’t open on Saturday, drat!).

We got the blog posted, took on water, hit the showers to the tune of 1 Looney ($1) for 3 minutes and no control over water pressure or temperature… not our favorite “showering hole.”

Barbra Streisand occationaly calls Nanaimo home. She occupies the top floor of the towers during her stays here. If you check out the balcony in this photo, we thought we saw her sunbathing up there.

Before we departed Nanaimo for our passage through Dodd Narrows, we spotted Mary and John from Chai Yen, a couple we had met at Dawson Landing at Rivers Inlet. They had headed north also and got further than we did. They actually made it to Prince Rupert. Sadly for them, it rained the whole time they were there, which is interesting since there are near-drought conditions along Vancouver Island. They met folks who had been in Alaska this summer who said it was the worse summer they had spent there – rain, rain, rain. Such a difference, for such a relatively short distance.

We joined the procession motoring through Dodd Narrows. Boats gather at the head of the rapid and march thru in parade fashion when the waters go slack.

It was a wonderfully sunny passage through Trincomali Channel. As we headed into our anchorage in Montague, we dropped the crab trap with all the leftover bait we had been saving up in the freezer. We had to really cram it to get it all in.

As evening came, we were entertained by the cooking that was happening in the bay. There must have been 200 boats anchored there and the smoke coming from those BBQs looked like fog setting in. The first one I spotted, I thought was a boat afire like at Bellingham on the 4^th. We think they must use a lot of marinade….or something. Maybe the bigger the smoke the better the chef?

We awoke early and headed out…. Very anxious to check our crab trap and see what would manifest from that large feast we had left for the critters. Were we surprised to find NO crabs, NO bait, and NO band on the bait cage….mighty suspicious. Could a night raider have stolen our catch? One never knows. Crabbing and prawning are done on the honor system. Your trap is set out with your name on the float. No one takes another trapper’s catch, but sometimes it makes you pause to wonder….especially since we had a similar experience with our final try last year.

We headed across Boundry Pass and into San Juan Channel to Friday Harbor. We were looking forward to meeting up with the folks we had met there last year, Pamela and Bill. We received email from Pam a few days ago telling us they had purchased a 25’ Coronado and had questions for George about upgrading and enhancing the derelict treasure.

The first matter of business was checking in through Customs. One never knows how that will go. This time at Friday Harbor, they were conducting Customs checks via phone on the dock. Though the Customs office is at the marina, there was no one in the Customs shack on the docks, hence the phone interview. It seemed they were particularly inquisitive this day as the two guys ahead of us were on the line a long time answering question after question. When it was our turn, other than identification, they only wanted to know how much booze we had on board and if we had any Canadian beef or lamb. That was it and we were good to go.

We had a nice visit with Bill and Pam over coffee. They sold the boat they were living on last year and are now land livers or is it land lubbers. They're doing well and are looking forward to a beautifully restored Coronado 25. Bill really gets enthused when he looks at Teal as he’s been building and working on boats all his life.

We had great showers at Friday Harbour but are a little suspicious about how the timers work. You get a minute per quarter, which beats a minute per dollar (as is the case when visiting our “neighbors to the north”), but when the timer says 3, you actually have only one minute to rinse and finish up. We were both amazed at how fast that number went from 3 to 0.

The next day we left just before noon, went through all the tide rips and power boat wakes through the San Juan’s and took a slightly different route to Bellingham than we usually take, just for a change of scenery. We will be here for four or five days taking care of business and putting Teal up for the winter before we head for home.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures. We look forward to cruising further north next year – Alaska here we come!

Fairwinds,

George and JoAnne

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© 2006 George Benson. Reproduction of any of the material on this log without written permission from George Benson is prohibited.