Brock, thanks for asking about our trip. The west coast of Vancouver Island is my favorite place, we've been going there for 15-20 years with and without a boat. I saw my first C-Dory there (a red 16'), and I think it is a perfect place to cruise with a C-Dory.
We took the ferry from Tsawassan to Nanaimo and stayed in Nanaimo the first night. I've had several C-Brats ask about the cost of the ferry. It is a little steep. The cost for the 25' our vehicle and two people was approximately $125 each way. We then went to Tofino and stayed at the 4th Street Dock for the first week.
If you haven't been there before, it's kind of hard to describe Tofino. It's a fishing village that has been transformed into a tourist destination. There is a thriving counterculture group, surfers, German tourists, French Canadians, sport fishermen and a few folks that are circumnavigating the island on their boats. It has 4 or 5 great restaurants. The 4th St dock is pretty run down, but an interesting place to stay. It doesn't feel like you're in an upscale tourist destination while moored there. From there we explored Clayoquot Sound. Once away from the dock, you have most of the Sound pretty much to yourself. It is approximately 20 miles across from south to north. There are great coves to spend the night in, usually you're the only one there. Lots of islands to explore. This year the salmon fishing was great. To quote a commercial fisherman it was "the best year in living memory" for salmon in Tofino. Even though we were at the tail end of the season, there were lots of springs (chinook) and coho left. The weather is usually best in August, but we had a lot of good weather the first week of September.
The second week of our vacation, we trailered 20 miles south to the town of Ucluelet. This town is on the northern edge of Barkley Sound. Barkley Sound is again about 20 miles north to south, with the Broken Island Group in the middle of it. Ucluelet's small boat basin is a great headquarters for the area. A beautiful area, we especially liked Bamfield which is at the southern edge of the Sound. Beautiful little town built around sportfishing and other water activities.
I could go on for way to long about this area. I recommend it as a cruising destination for any C-Dory. You can have a much more remote, wild experience than the more developed San Juan's, yet it's a relatively safe area to boat in with boats the size of all of the C-Dorys. If anyone wants to explore the area, I'll give you what knowledge I have. There are others here who have a better knowledge of the Barkley Sound area and fishing opportunities.
Lyle
We took the ferry from Tsawassan to Nanaimo and stayed in Nanaimo the first night. I've had several C-Brats ask about the cost of the ferry. It is a little steep. The cost for the 25' our vehicle and two people was approximately $125 each way. We then went to Tofino and stayed at the 4th Street Dock for the first week.
If you haven't been there before, it's kind of hard to describe Tofino. It's a fishing village that has been transformed into a tourist destination. There is a thriving counterculture group, surfers, German tourists, French Canadians, sport fishermen and a few folks that are circumnavigating the island on their boats. It has 4 or 5 great restaurants. The 4th St dock is pretty run down, but an interesting place to stay. It doesn't feel like you're in an upscale tourist destination while moored there. From there we explored Clayoquot Sound. Once away from the dock, you have most of the Sound pretty much to yourself. It is approximately 20 miles across from south to north. There are great coves to spend the night in, usually you're the only one there. Lots of islands to explore. This year the salmon fishing was great. To quote a commercial fisherman it was "the best year in living memory" for salmon in Tofino. Even though we were at the tail end of the season, there were lots of springs (chinook) and coho left. The weather is usually best in August, but we had a lot of good weather the first week of September.
The second week of our vacation, we trailered 20 miles south to the town of Ucluelet. This town is on the northern edge of Barkley Sound. Barkley Sound is again about 20 miles north to south, with the Broken Island Group in the middle of it. Ucluelet's small boat basin is a great headquarters for the area. A beautiful area, we especially liked Bamfield which is at the southern edge of the Sound. Beautiful little town built around sportfishing and other water activities.
I could go on for way to long about this area. I recommend it as a cruising destination for any C-Dory. You can have a much more remote, wild experience than the more developed San Juan's, yet it's a relatively safe area to boat in with boats the size of all of the C-Dorys. If anyone wants to explore the area, I'll give you what knowledge I have. There are others here who have a better knowledge of the Barkley Sound area and fishing opportunities.
Lyle
