Bandwagon, Big Food, Hornpipe & Rowan do Barkley Sound

[AJZimm]

Sat 21 Jul 2012
So the rendezvous point for a cruise in company to Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island featuring, (in alphabetical order) Bandwagon (a Hvalsoe 16), Big Food (a Matinicus Peapod), Hornpipe (a Kurylko Alaska) and Rowan (an Oughtred Sooty Tern, more or less), was the Toquart Bay campground, at the end of 10 miles of gravel road. It’s sole redeeming feature is that it provides a launch beach for kayaks wanting to paddle the Broken Group, and the closest launch ramp for sail and oar boats wanting to get to Barkley Sound. Otherwise it is the main haunt of $40K ¾ ton pickups pulling $50K trailers or carrying $25K campers, and also hauling oversized outboard motors attached to big fibreglass boats with names like “Fish’n Machine” or “Alabama Slammer” (to quote just 2 names overheard on the VHF).

We all arrived late afternoon Saturday to find that the dead hand of liability insurance has reached even this backwater. We were told that non-powered boats are not allowed to be launched at the marina – power only. When asked why, we found out that some accident 5 years ago where a kayaker paddled/was sucked into the prop of a major power boat at a marina launch ramp and lost his legs, now means that kayaks and canoes are banned from marina launch ramps in BC, perhaps all of Canada. They weren’t quite sure where to pigeon-hole us, as sail and oar, being neither fish nor fowl from a liability perspective, but in the end allowed us to stay and launch our boats.

It was too late to launch and get over to the Broken Group that evening, but salmon steaks for supper compensated for not getting out sailing immediately. Weather was looking not ideal, with showers and or rain predicted, but it held off until the middle of the night.

Sun, 22 Jul 2012
In the morning, James was the first to get launched and underway in Rowan, intending to do some fishing outside the closed area of the Broken Group (part of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve). Rendezvous was nominally lunchtime at Hand Island, the first possible campground and a good beach to stop at. Eric, Tim and I got going somewhat later, in the rain. Once underway, we found about 5-10 kts of headwind, which carried us to the channel between the Stopper Islands, where the wind died, requiring the oars to carry us through. The breeze picked up again after that and after several tacks to clear Lyall Pt, we were able to turn the corner for a nice reach over to Hand Island,
arriving there about 1230.

Bandwagon arriving Hand Island


Big Food arriving Hand Island


On the beach at Hand Island



James arrived about an hour later to clean a rockfish he had caught. After lunch we sailed over to look at the shallow lagoon between Jarvis and Jacques Island, home of moon snails, bat stars, sea stars, eel grass and various other bottom dwellers. The wind that greeted us for the sail over to the campsite on Gibralter Island was fluky and gusty but it got us there.

Sailing to the lagoon


The wind was sweeping across the beach at Gibralter in gusts, making me wonder about it as an anchorage, but the state of the overnight tides were such that we could leave the boats to dry out on the beach overnight. Except for James, who anchored out anyway and slept on Rowan. James’ crab pot yielded enough crab for appetizers for supper and so ended the first day.


Holding down the beach at Gibralter Island



Rowan on the clothesline mooring

[Thad]

Keep it up! I know you did, and thanks.

[jsjpd1]

I've been looking forward to reading about this trip. Thanks for sharing.

Jim

[Yeadon]

The boatbuilders and sailors.


Left to right, Eric Hvalsoe (Bandwagon), Alex Zimmerman (Hornpipe), Tim Yeadon (Big Food), James McMullen (Rowan).

And the boats.

Left to right, Bandwagon, Hornpipe, Big Food, Rowan

[Don Kurylko]

What happened to Alex's beard?

[Gerarddm]

Ah, you guys are back, great. More posts n' pics, please.

[James McMullen]

Don't worry boys, there's lots more to come. We all agreed on the beach there that we would all join in and do a collaborative post. Eric the Hvalsoe and the Yeadonator each had cameras along with them too. And I've got video of gray whales up close and of sailing out into the wide open Pacific in tiny open boats to process and upload yet. But I want to let Alex finish his narrative first. I haven't gotten to see any of his pictures till now myself.

He's only up through the first night, after all. There's plenty ahead if you can be patient. (yes, I know, that's hard for me too. C'mon Alex, post, Post, POST!).

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Hooray to Alex for getting on it. That first morning at Toquart Bay looked grim but alas . . .
It was extremely cool watching three other little two stickers flitting about the islands.

[WI-Tom]

Looks like a great trip, with some great boats. I just installed my deck beams and fitted the decks on my Alaska--getting closer to being ready to try out the west coast someday...

Any more pictures?

Tom

[Yeadon]

Here's a sunset over Barkley Sound.

[Yeadon]

Bandwagon on the run.

[Yeadon]

Big Food on a touch of a reach.

[Yeadon]

Four boats, categorized by the design of their sterns.

[Yeadon]

Hanging out.

[Yeadon]

Sea smoke gathering to port.



Clear channels to starboard.

[AJZimm]

Mon 23 Jul 2012

The night passed quietly with no rain and the wind dropped a little overnight. We set the destination rendezvous for the day as the campsite on Gilbert Island, near Effingham, towards the outer edge of the Broken Group. The day started to brighten while we were having breakfast and by the time we got going at about 1000, it was partially sunny. By this time the wind had stated to pick up again and it was blowing right through the pass near the campsite.

Bandwagon and Big Food outside the lagoon with the white sand beach


I rowed over to a white sand beach in a lagoon-like setting on Dempster Island I remembered from previous visits, and after a false start, found the entrance. James joined me and later Tim came in but Eric never found us.

The beach/lagoon




We looked at the tide pools and admired the setting then moved out, intending to stop at, perhaps, Keith Island for lunch. By the time we got there, though, the wind picked up more and was blowing right on the beach so stopping was out. I changed my rig down to the main mast in the centre position but found that as I got out into the main channel for the reach to Gilbert, I was dipping the lee rail more than I liked in the gusts, so down came the main and up went the mizzen in its place. That was just right for the gusts, though perhaps a little underpowered for the lulls, but I was willing to give up overall speed for keeping the boat more upright. We later estimated the wind at about 18 kts. Prior to this, I was gaining on Big Food and Bandwagon, but Eric passed me after I changed to the mizzen, even though he had a reef in.

From this point it was a beat/close reach all the way across Coaster Channel to Gilbert Island, starboard tack all the way. James had forged ahead – ideal conditions for Rowan with just one reef. I started to catch Eric when I found the groove, but Tim found the conditions to be exactly wrong for Big Food in terms of the period of the chop and the sail area he could carry and so he fell behind. James went back to shepherd him along. As we got closer, I found I couldn’t quite fetch the light on the small island we had to get round the north of to get to Gilbert so had to throw in a short tack to clear it and then carry on, on a close reach to the campground. We had been seeing another small lug yawl who converged on the campground at the same time. It turned out to be Chris from Delta, BC, in his Welsford Walkabout. He’d been out 6 days and was anchoring in various protected nooks around the Broken Group. It was unusual to have this many sail and oar boats in this area at once. Last year I was a decided rarity with Hornpipe.

By the time we landed, it was a late lunch for me and about ¾ of an hour later Tim and James came in. It had been a great sail, fast and challenging, although the glorious sunshine of earlier had given way to low cloud. Clothesline moorings were rigged and camps set up and the crab pot went down.

Gilbert Island campsite

(p.s. the white horizontal thing on the bow is a detachable lifting handle to prevent the arm strain I experienced last year on these same beaches while hauling the boat up on the sand as the tide comes in. I can now strain both arms and my back at once!)

There is a trail through to a cove on the other side of the island that yielded enough firewood for a fire that evening. Normally a crowded campsite, the only other people there was a couple kayak camping with 2 very young children. What a great way to introduce them to an active life. As they grow older, it will just seem normal.

[James McMullen]

Oh. . . .I don't think I went back to "shepherd" Tim so much as that I was enjoying the sailing conditions so greatly that I wanted to sail the course twice over. Wasn't ready to stop.

Everyone knows I would have ditched Big Food in a microsecond if there had been even better sailing on the other side of Effingham. Of course, this was before I knew that Tim had that terrific scotch packed away.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Yep, I missed the boys at that hidden beach on Dempster. I was having so much fun sailing through the inner channels that I did not follow Tim around the corner. Soon after, Chris sailed by and we greeted each other for the first time. And a little while after that, I was sidling around the outside (exposed side) of Dempster where I thought they might be hanging out, with some foul ground about and the wind kicking up, regretting losing track of my boatmates. I was looking at what felt llike a serious crossing and wondering if I was going to see the guys on the other side and if I wanted to make that crossing alone.

Then they popped out from behind the channel. I was relieved. This day turned into a kick ass sail with the first bit of serious wind for my new rig. I went with a single reef and the boat got into a great groove. I just wanted to keep sailing and took an extra tack or two across the big channel. I also noticed Chris looked mighty comfortable out there some distance upwind of me. I was very happy with how Bandwagon was pointing, how she stood up, and how dry she stayed.

[gilberj]

Great trip and good story. Looking forward to more..... Gotta-Love cruising the Broken Group.

[snow(Alan H)]

I'm loving this - brilliant photography - bring it on

[Paul Pless]

I'm loving this

me too

[David G]

What a lovely adventure. Keep it comin' Gents!

[Gerarddm]

I assume you had GPS to cope with possible fog or sea smoke?

[Yeadon]

I assume you had GPS to cope with possible fog or sea smoke?

Heck ya, mister. And paper charts and compasses.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

ooh I forgot to mention the surfing and thrilling speeds reached in that big channel on the way to Gilbert. I think Gilbert was when Alex first pulled out the harmonica and began his chantey lessons.

I had GPS, VHF, charts, compasses, lights of various kinds including a strobe, a foghorn, and hopefully a whistle with the flair kit. Never looked at the GPS. Did some compass orientation with the charts, occasionally listened to VHF.

[AJZimm]

Tue 24 Jul 2012

Clothesline moorings were rigged the night before and the crab pot was dropped into the water. In the morning, the pot yielded enough fresh red rock crab to provide an appetizer for breakfast and to allow James to begin to assume his new title of Crab Slayer. Having not packed a cleaver, his technique became refined over the week, eventually ending up with the rock-as-anvil and sharp-rock-as-cleaver method.

In the morning, as I had elected to let my boat sit on the beach overnight, there was the task of getting it down to the low tide mark. In the soft sand, this was more work than I remembered at the same cove last year, but the 2 kids helped by carrying the roller sticks from bow to stern – couldn’t have done it without them.

The day’s rendezvous was set for the campground on Turret Island, one that I hadn’t been back to since my initial visit nearly 20 years ago. The plan was generally to go out into the open ocean and look for whales and sea lions. I was a little later getting underway and went east and south of Austin Island, just drifting along in the lee, really. Once past Austin I found about 10 kts and sailed out into Imperial Eagle Channel before turning back towards Austin. I was just tacking back upwind between some off-lying rocks when a grey whale surfaced a couple of times not 2 boat lengths from me - as close an encounter with a multi-ton animal as I want to have.

The sun was starting to break through again and I tacked upwind to Dicebox Island where I stopped for lunch in the cove on the lee side and went to look at the sea cave around the corner.

Cove on Dicebox Island


After lunch I went looking for the sea lions that usually hang out west of Wouwer and Batley Islands. The channel between them was directly upwind and the wind was stronger so I reduced sail to a double reefed main an full mizzen. The sail area was about right but the reefed sail doesn’t point quite as well. I thought I might be able to sail through the narrowest part of the channel between the two islands, but at the last minute, it was too narrow and I was making too much leeway so I dropped sail and rowed upwind to the usual sea lion hangout. They weren’t there – maybe they stepped out for lunch – so I raised sail again and bore away north for Turret. It was another fast close reach across Coaster Channel in about 10-15 kts.

Crossing Coaster Channel towards Turret Isl


I arrived about 1500 and found the campground empty in the sunshine so it looked promising for the night. I commandeered the best fire pit/beach log kitchen setup and set the boat out on the clothesline mooring. A couple of kayakers came in next and it turns out I knew them – the world is a smaller place than we think. The family from Gilbert Island also came in and finally, about 1700, the other sail and oar boats arrived. After much messing about with moorings and anchors, we got settled for night with James again electing to sleep aboard on Rowan under his new tent.

Turret Isl Campground beach


Hornpipe and Rowan on moorings

[snow(Alan H)]

The size of the beach 'driftwood' is very impressive (scary) do you get much of the floating around?

[Yeadon]

Think of the storms that put them up on the beach. Now, that's scary.

[AJZimm]

The size of the beach 'driftwood' is very impressive (scary) do you get much of the floating around?

There is not nearly as much as there used to be. Many of the large logs on the beaches broke loose from open booms of logs being towed from the forests to the mills. Now there is both less logging and a lot more logs are being transported on log barges, so there is less loss. Many of these logs on the beaches are decades old.

35 years ago, when I was in the Navy, one of tasks of the bridge lookouts was to watch for floating logs, especially "deadheads" - logs that have become waterlogged and are floating vertically with just a few few feet showing or worse, just awash. Now I don't seem to see as many, although that is purely subjective on my part.

[AJZimm]

Wed 25 Jul 2012

The previous evening, it cleared off completely by about 1900 but the next morning we awoke to fog and dead calm. The forecast was for clearing by late morning but we were in no hurry to get going until we had visibility and wind. More crab for breakfast, courtesy of the Crab Slayer.

Morning fog on Turret


The original plan was to head across Imperial Eagle Channel to the Deer Group over near Bamfield, outside of the Park, as it appeared the winds would be favourable. It is a 4 mile crossing and it totally exposed to the open Pacific. Not a big deal if the weather is moderate, but the afternoon winds can build pretty quickly.

The fog lifted about 1030-1100 and we were moving by 1130-ish. Nice sunshine and about an 8-10 kt breeze from the southwest, however, while it was clear over the Broken Group and Vancouver Island to the east, there was serious fog obscuring the Deer Group and also on the other side of the Broken Group in Loudon Channel towards Ucluelet. We decided to head over to Effingham Island, the potential jumping-off point for the crossing, to see if the fog might lift by then. We sailed across Coaster Channel again, got in behind the wind shadow of Effingham, and you could see that the fog was being fed by a conveyor belt from offshore, being pumped in as fast as it was dissipating further in. James immediately set to fishing while the rest of us drifted around looking for wind. I had lunch while waiting and James rowed over to announce he had caught 3 fish – a promising foundation for supper. We all had a gam and decided that the fog wasn’t going anywhere and that the Deer Group was out for today, so we switched destinations to Dodd Island campground.

Rowan (I think) near Effingham


Big Food (maybe) near Effingham


Fog over Deer Group 3 miles away


The wind was back again and we had a good reach across to the east side of Turtle Island then some tricky light wind sailing through the passages to the campground beach. There were a few kayakers there and a few more came in but there is plenty of room at this campsite. James came in later, having proved to himself that Dodd is in fact an island, by sailing around it.

Dodd Island beach


The fish yielded a fillet each, and mine, greenling pan-fried with a little oil, was superb.

[chas]

Okay, okay. Enough is enough! I want to hear about the wind, rain, sleet and hail. Mosquitos and wasps as big as robins.

This is the west coast and it rains here all the time, cold at night. Remember?

.....Nice pics, fellas, and a great trip! / Jim

[Yeadon]

It was in Barkley Sound where I learned there's a beast called the saltwater mosquito, and that the little bastards can drive a peaceful fellow to set up a tent for non-waking hours.

I hate setting up tents, or more accurately, I hate stowing a tent in the morning when I'd rather be off sailing. But these mosquitos were persuasive. I've never experienced anything like them on the Salish Sea, where the bugs are aloof and the breezes fresh.


Exhibit A ... Yeadon's tent on Hand Island. (snicker snicker)




Exhibit B ... the very same tent set up on ANOTHER island.

[Paul Pless]

This is the west coast and it rains here all the time, cold at night. Remember?

You did note the umbrella in post #14?

In all the camping and boating that I've done in my life I can't ever remember anyone bringing an umbrella along. . .

[Eric Hvalsoe]

On the 24th while Alex was meandering about, Tim and I set out after Rowan for the 'outside' of the Broken Group, the wide open Pacific, seaward of Cree, Howell, Wouwer. This was another thrilling day. Tim and James I think had some pretty close drive byes of the whale population, they were sure in my vicinity. While offshore we had a picture perfect sparkling blue water day with just the right amount of wind for full sail. It was hard to turn back towards land. Bandwagon and Big Food were sailing in lockstep. Eventually Tim gave me three blasts on the whistle to turn about, probably a good call.

We pulled into a nice beach on Wouwer for a quick lunch on a fast rising tide, then ducked back inside the group and pointed north. The wind piped up. Bandwagon, Big Food, and Rowan went to single reefs and had a rollicking close reach/beat to Clarke Island. Clark Island is spectacular, and popular. We soaked in the tropical beach vibe for a few minutes then set a course for Turret.

Exactly what to do with the boat at the end of the day took up a fair amount of my mental and physical energy. On the one hand, James is very comfortable and adept with his anchoring system (which he largely credits to Don Kurlyko), and most interested in sleeping on board. I think James only left his boat on the beach one night. On the other hand Alex was most often inclined to leave his boat on the beach and settle into a cozy terrestrial tent. Typically our arrivals coincided with high tide. I was somewhere in between. I slept both on the boat and on land, practiced my clothesline skills, and at least a couple of nights left the boat on the beach.

Note: several boats setting up clothesline moorings can create a bit of congestion in these small coves.

2nd Note: Should one leave the boat on the beach, fenders are very helpful to act as rollers getting the beast back into the water. The right sort of driftwood works too. Alex is expert at this.

[Yeadon]

You did note the umbrella in post #14?

In all the camping and boating that I've done in my life I can't ever remember anyone bringing an umbrella along. . .

Alex is a veteran camp cruiser. He has a solution for every situation. Hornpipe is like Hermione's magical beaded handbag. You just never know what's coming out that thing next.

[skuthorp]

You did note the umbrella in post #14?

In all the camping and boating that I've done in my life I can't ever remember anyone bringing an umbrella along. . .

I sail my kayak with a beach umbrella occasionally.
Great thread, beautiful boats and the pics make me green with envy. I do like Hornpipe, I have a thing for double enders.

[AJZimm]

Thu 26 Jul 2012

More crab for breakfast, ho-hum. It looked like today was going to be a repeat of yesterday, fog-wise, so the plan was to go over to Wiebe Island, near Effingham, and look into the fantastic tide-pool there formed by the circle of rocks at its south end, then maybe around the outer side of Dempster and Nettle Island.

James was first underway, as usual, with the rest of us following shortly thereafter. The winds, or more properly, breezes, were very light so we had challenging light-air sailing to get through the channels and over to Wiebe. When we got there, the low cloud had lifted enough that we could see the Deer Group, so we decided to go for the crossing, especially as there appeared to be more wind out in Imperial Eagle Channel. We set our rendezvous as the Ross Islets and one of the reported campgrounds there. Not all of use had paper charts. I only had what was on my GPS – good for close-in but the screen is a little small for getting the bigger picture.

James pointed higher, aiming for a pass to windward of Diana Island. The rest of us headed straight for the pass west of Sandford Island. I had full sail up and was making 3-4 kts, gaining on Big Food and Bandwagon. Towards the far side the wind increase and I hung on to all sail, hiking out on the rail and regularly making ~6 kts on a reach as we approached the pass. Any more wind or a longer crossing and I would have had to reef, but as it was I turned the corner and ran downwind very quickly into the lee of Sandford Island. I dropped sail and rowed around the Ross Islets and came back to a nice little sandy cove on Sandford.

Cove on Sandford Isl in Deer Group


It has clearly been used many times, as there were tent pads back in the bush and a crude picnic table and kitchen shelter set up. I set the boat up on the clothesline, then Tim and Eric came in, whereupon we set up shop on the beach, to avoid the mosquitoes. James came in a little later, having failed to catch any fish, but having successfully ferreted out a liquor store in Bamfield and catching a pack of beer.

Tending the mooring lines


We had a good supper and built a fire to keep the damp away, as it was a little blowy and misty, almost rainy. But we were snug in our cove in the lee.

[Yeadon]

[Yeadon]

[Rich Jones]

Final picture in post#4 is the BEST PICTURE EVER! You guys should have it made into a poster and market it.
Looked like a fun trip.
You guys are tough. I don't think I could take two weeks living in oilskins. What was the average temps and did the sun ever come out?

[SteveClausen]

man I'm loving this thread !! I wish I was out there with you gents. Glad to see some are living the life.

[Yeadon]

There is the Bilge, and then there is this thread. Everything else is somewhere in between.

[AJZimm]

Fri 27 Jul 2012

Despite the threat of rain the night before, it didn’t materialize. The winds were light-ish but it was still solidly overcast. The day’s rendezvous was to be Hand Island again so that we would be in a good position to return to Toquart Bay Saturday, our last day, alas.

James was anxious to do a big sail around the outside of Effingham and Benson and Clarke Islands so he left early. Eric wanted to look into Bamfield so he left next. Eric and I, being less gung-ho, or in my case, being nervous from being caught out by big winds on other crossings, wanted to get across Imperial Eagle Channel as quickly as possible. Once out from behind the Ross Islets, the wind was strong enough that I had to put a double reef in Hornpipe’s main and Big Food needed a single reef. Even so, I was making 5 kts at first. Halfway across the wind started to drop but I left the reef in, as I was still doing 3½ to 4 kts. The 4 mile crossing to Sechart Channel took me less than an hour. Big Food came in a little behind me and we stopped at a sandy cove on Reeks Island for lunch.

Big Food coming into view around Reeks Island


After that, we rowed into the wind through the channel to the inside of Nettle Island, and then through a narrow pass to the north of it, where I discovered an uncharted rock. Fortunately, I was only rowing at about 1½ kts at the time and ran straight onto it with the rub strip on the keel, so no harm done. Another 6 inches of tide and I would have gone right over it.

Through the passage, we raised sail again in Sechart Channel and ghosted across to have a look at Sechart Lodge, source of rental kayaks and starting point for many kayak trips to the Broken Group. By this point, we could see Eric coming into the Channel from his crossing. We carried on through the central passage of the Pinkerton Islands by oar and noted a couple of float houses tucked away in nooks there. It would be a great life in the summer but somewhat damp and grey in the winter I think.

Big Food in the Pinkertons


One of the float houses


We met with more wind for the crossing to Hand Isl directly to windward but I misjudged the strength of the wind and I guessed wrong on the sail combination at first and fell behind Big Food. Eventually I put up the main with a single reef in the center position and that proved to be just right. Lots of kayakers on Hand, also staging for the last day. Again, as with every other day, we got the question of “what kind of boats ARE those?”

James came in with 2 good sized ling cod that he had caught, so supper was once again terrific.

Ling Cod for supper

[sailoar]

What's the verdict on the best footwear for this?

[AJZimm]

You guys are tough. I don't think I could take two weeks living in oilskins. What was the average temps and did the sun ever come out?

I'm not sure we're that tough. In spite of the overcast we had one completely sunny day and a couple of other days where it was sunny for part of the day. I don't think the temperature ever dropped much below about 15 deg Celsius (about 60 Fahrenheit), even at night. No significant amounts of rain either except at the very start. Most of the time the oilskins were acting as windbreakers. I rarely had on more than one layer under the jacket.

[AJZimm]

What's the verdict on the best footwear for this?

In the boat, I alternated between sailing gumboots when it was a little cooler and rainy, and a pair of submersible/drainable water shoes for when the boots are too hot in sunny periods. The water shoes are suitable for jumping into the water and pulling the boat up - the water is not all that cold and the shoes soon drain.

Ashore I usually wore sandals.

[Paul Pless]

Between beer fish and crab, I'm seeing its a good idea to have James long on these trips.

[Yeadon]

Between beer fish and crab, I'm seeing its a good idea to have James long on these trips.

Everybody needs a McMullen.

[Yeadon]

What's the verdict on the best footwear for this?

Chota Mukluks are pretty good. Soft and flexible, warm, and able to withstand water enough to hop in an out of the boat at the beach. Also fine on very short hikes through the woods in search of the outhouse.

I've had mine for five years and they've held up great.

[Sharpie21]

Re: post 42 by Yeadon, +1.....

Great adventure to read about while I have varnish drying on Lady Grace......