Barkley Sound - Revisited

A couple of years ago David and I struck out on the most ambitious sail we had attempted to that point.  We headed south past Victoria, around the southern tip of Vancouver Island, up the Juan de Fuca Strait and into open ocean.  Our destination was Barkley Sound on the west coast of the Island.  Inside the sound is an array of islands, fittingly known as the Broken Islands, that provide infinite possibilities for exploration and pristine anchorage.  What we didn't know was that August in that part of the world is known for fog.  As a result, much of the legendary scenery we were looking forward to was shrouded from view most of the time.  Today we are about to revisit that epic trip during a season of clearer weather.

Our route to Barclay Sound.  (Note, we will stop in Port Renfrew rather than Neah Bay to avoid customs hassles)

One notable improvement we've made for this trip is our dinghy.  The one we've been using was a hard shell Walker Bay model with only oars for propulsion.  To say this little boat was precarious with the two of us in it is an understatement.  Representing close to 500lbs between us, we made a comic picture rowing around.  So David splurged on a new, more buoyant inflatable dinghy and a small outboard engine.  This will make for safer and more enjoyable exploration once we get to our destination.

The old dinghy(above) and an example of our new one (below)

Provisions, as usual, are excessive.  In our tradition of wanting for nothing while we're afloat we spent close to $400 on food and roughly the same again for wine, beer, rum and a very nice bottle of scotch, all because, as we are fond of saying, "we're not barbarians."

The weather outlook is generally great, with just a couple of cloudy/damp days to face on our way out before a good stretch of sunshine and warm temps.

We are very grateful to Brenda and Pam for giving us this extended (10-day) pass to act like kids again and go exploring.  In just a few hours we'll be pushing off.  Can't wait.