In a thread on Cruiser’s Forum we talked about the circumnavigation of Vancouver Island and suggested several “stages” to the trip.
Breaking down the journey into stages makes it easier to look at both from the “how long is it going to take?” and the “what can I expect?” questions. In the original discussion we were looking at the primary steps to getting around, but when we start talking about regions of the islands from a cruising point of view… things need a bit more granularity.
Here are the primary stages I think of when describing Vancouver Island:
- The San Juans and the Gulf Islands, from Victoria to Nanaimo
- Nanaimo to the Jungles, including the Discovery Islands and Desolation Sound sort of.
- The Jungles, from Seymour Narrows/Surge Narrows/Yuculta Rapids/Arran Rapids to Broughton Strait
- North stretch, Broughton Strait, Queen Charlotte Strait (Vancouver Island side), and Goletas Channel
- Cape Scott, from Nahwitti Bar to Kains Island
- Quatsino Sound to Cape Cook
- The Barrier Islands section, from Cape Cook to Yellow Bluff
- Nootka Island region, including Esperanza Inlet and Nootka Sound to Estevan Point
- Flores Island region, from Estevan Point to Tofino
- Tofino to Cape Beale, including Barkley Sound
- Juan de Fuca Strait, from Cape Beale to Race Rocks
- Victoria, from Race Rocks to Discovery Island
