Vancouver Island Boat Charter
Being Captain on a Boat Charter in the waters around Vancouver Island
CANADAPOPULAR
We were interested in trying out our new Day Skipper certification and the skills we acquired on the Simply Sailing course. One chartering company that had stellar reviews was Nanaimo Yacht Charters and we chartered one of their sailboats called Kala Kala.
We were excited to stop at some of the unique islands, between Vancouver Island and mainland coast of BC. Some of the spots we wanted to check out were the north end of Denman Island, Marble bay, and Garden Bay. We also wanted to put our skills to the test by being the captain and taking on the responsibility of sailing a vessel and getting as many additional nautical miles as we could in the week that we had Kala Kala. The experience with Nanaimo Yacht Charters was seamless as they had the boat ready and a great rundown of the boat systems to get us going right away. Even the engine looked like it had just been serviced.
For our fist day on the water we had great winds and sunny skies. We had a lot of opportunities to practice tacking as we made our way up the east coast of Vancouver Island.
For much of the morning, the winds were very light so while crossing over to the top of Texada Island, Andrew tried fishing off the back of the boat and the dingy. Janet tried her luck from the cockpit but unfortunately neither of us was able to catch our dinner.
The next day before heading out, we made our way to the beach and explored the shoreline.
Doing this coastal sailing trip really let us see the backyard of Vancouver. The close encounters with wildlife and the adventure of sailing where you need to adapt to the weather conditions is a unique and thrilling experience we will never forget. Happy exploring!
In the evening the wind died down and the water got nice and calm. This made it easy to make dinner and get a great night sleep.
It had been slow going for much of the day and as we neared the northern tip of Texada Island, we spotted several fishing boats congregating in the water. We started the engine and puttered around them and had just started turning when we spotted something in the water just off the bow of the boat. We were amazed as a Killer Whale glided through the water just past our boat. A truly magical moment.
Picture of the Orca gliding past our boat.
We had expected to see different types of wildlife, but to have an encounter where such a large wild animal is so close to us was unexpected. We couldn't believe our luck as we headed to our next anchorage.
The next day at the Marble Bay anchorage, we explored the cove with the dingy and found a boat that had seen better days. We hopped on shore to get a picture of the boats anchored at the bay.
As we headed back to Nanaimo on our loop around Texada Island, the wind decided to arrive with mid to high 20 knots. The boat handled beautifully and we put two reefs in the main and had the jib mostly furled.
Our last stop before returning the boat was Newcastle Island. This was a great little anchorage with mooring balls to tie to for the night. We rowed the dingy to the dock and stretched our legs on the nice trails. As we made our way around the island, we got to spot some deer.
