# Sailing Haida Gwaii



## dillybar (Nov 10, 2009)

Has anyone been up there? Curious about best routes, must see's, best time of year etc. Time table will be somewhat limited as usual - 5 weeks max from Vancouver. Plan so far calls for up the inside in early June then across to Skidegate and then run down the east coast of Haida Gwaii , then down west Coast of west coast of Van. Island.
I'd appreciate any thoughts from people that have done a similar trip (particularly the inside passage section).


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## sailjunkie (Nov 4, 2009)

I haven't been up there myself, but June Cameron wrote a very good book about sailing up there in a 26' sailboat.

Are you from BC? If so, the book is fairly recent and should be available in most bookstores.


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## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

Hi Dilly

I have as far north as Port Hardy. And around Vancouver Island a dozen times. I am away for the next week or so. But will check this thread when I get back.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Too bad there's no one yet that's done exactly what you plan.. but my sense is that 5 weeks is going to be pretty tight for such a trip.


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## billyruffn (Sep 21, 2004)

Dillybar,

I haven't been to the Queen C. Islands, but we did do the inside passage on the way south from Alaska in 2006. By the time we got to BC we were pushing pretty hard and so didn't linger in the BC portion of the route. I'll offer a couple of thoughts of stopping points below.

There are several good cruising guides of this area. I'd recommend you research them and make the investment (they aren't cheap). We found the guides in this series very helpful:

FINE EDGE N.coast Bc at West Marine

You didn't mention the size of your boat or how fast you can move under power (you'll be using the engine a lot), so the estimates given below are based on +/- 6 knots SOG.

My guess is that from Vancouver to Port Hardy (good jump off place) is 4 days, maybe 3 if you push. Key here will be timing the transit of the rapids at or in the vicinity of Campbell River. North of the rapids there is plenty to see. I'd recommend the Broughtons -- Echo Bay is a good stop and you shouldn't miss Billy Proctor's museum there. Billy is a real character.

From the Boughtons to Port Hardy is a short run. Port Hardy is a good place to fill tanks and do final provisioning.

From Port Hardy northward we stopped at the following places (all a day's run on the engine).

Penrose Island - nicely protected anchorage in the inner pool.
Bella Bella - fuel availalbe, but not much else to brag about here.
Klemptu Passage -- protected anchroage at the south end of the passage
Fin Island -- (via Princess Royal Channel) nice anchorage. Across the bay is the FN village of Hartley Bay. You can tie to the town dock here and I believe fuel may be available, but I can't recall. There are fishing boats ported here, so my guess is they have fuel.

From Fin Island / Hartley Bay you have a choice -- either:

1/ continue on the inside-inside and run up the Greenville Channel (a long boring, but scenic, run up a narrow channel) where there are a couple of nice spots to stop on the eastern side. This is the route we took and we stopped twice in the channel between Fin Island and Prince Rupert. Prince Rupert is a nice town with full facilities. 
2/ go SE to the Otter Channel to Nepean Sound, turn right and take the Principe Channel north to the top of Banks Island and from there cross the Hecate Straight.
3/ go SE to Otter Channel, cross Nepean Sound and take the Otter Passage north of Trutch Island (in the Estevan Group) into the Hecage Straight. This gives you a longer passge to the QC group, but you save several days motoring / sightseeing in the channels

The weather may dictate which route you choose. If it's forecast to be nasty in the Hecate Straight, you might find a few more days sightseeing the inside passage worthwhile.

Re timing -- we left Prince Rupert the first week in August. Weather was fine all the way to Puget Sound, where we arrived in late September. My guess is later in the season (July-August) might be slightly better than earlier.

5 weeks = 35 days. The day trips I've laid out above to get you to a jump off point on the east side of the Hecate Straight will consume 8-10 days pushing hard and averaging 6 knots. Assuming that on the way home to go direct from the QCs to the north tip of Vancouver Island (120 miles) you add another day or two. From the north end of Vancouver Is. to the San Juan de Fuca is ~ 200-220 miles, say 4-5 days pushing right along, and from there to Vancouver is another 2. So it's at least 8-10 days home from the QCs. That leaves two weeks for time in the QCs and various weather delays, pit stops, etc. along the way.

I tend to agree with Faster that 5 weeks is probably pushing it -- or to use William Buckley's phrase, a "race through paridise."

Another option might be to do it in two seasons -- season 1 to go from Vancouver to Prince Rupert, where you could winter the boat. Then season 2, take your time in the QCs and getting back to Vancouver. There might be other places to winter over, e.g. Bella Bella. You might check it out. It might be good to have researched a "bail out" spot where you could leave the boat if you had to for any reason.

Good luck and enjoy the trip.


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## dillybar (Nov 10, 2009)

Thanks for the response guys. Billy, the boat is a 46 and cruises nicely at 7 under power - 8 1/2 if we _really_ need it but Jumping off at port Hardy might be an option to take some pressure off.
On last years trip around Vancouver Island we found 35 - 45 mile days were very comfortable and would get us to the dock or hanging off by noon or shortly after with plenty of time to explore. The biggest day was 90 miles - Effingham in the Broken Islands group to Sooke - a big day but still a couple hours of daylight left at the end.
I'd be curious to know if you got any sailing in up the inside passage, or if like Johnson Straight the wind was constantly on the nose.


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## dillybar (Nov 10, 2009)

sailjunkie said:


> I haven't been up there myself, but June Cameron wrote a very good book about sailing up there in a 26' sailboat.
> 
> Are you from BC? If so, the book is fairly recent and should be available in most bookstores.


I'm in Vancouver the area, thanks I'll look for that one.


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## billyruffn (Sep 21, 2004)

Dilly,

We had very little opportunity to sail south of Juneau -- maybe one day in ten. Either there was too little wind over the stern or too much on the nose and we stayed put. Inside passage is power boat country.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

More time is always nice but since you have been up the inside of Van. Isle already you can just blast through to get up north in short order. If you want to maximize your time in the Charlottes you should be able to get to Rupert, if that's where you want to shove off for the islands from, in a week +-. I've only done the inside passage up to Petersburg, AK in a fishing boat where we ran 24/7, it took 3.5 days to get to Petersburg from Bellingham, WA. My brother in law has been to the Charlottes and did the same trip you are talking about. He sailed down the west side of the island from the Charlottes and home to Pt. Angeles, WA. As I recall it didn't take them long to get back, usually you've got the wind behind you going that way, as you know from being out there last year. I remember thinking on the trip up the inside that it didn't look like there would be much sailing except for some of the open stretches, but the wind we had was all on the nose going north (latter part of April). Should be a fun trip, I hope to do it before too long.


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## cwyckham (Jul 9, 2009)

My girlfriend and I kayaked Gwaii Haanas park on Haida Gwaii last year. Wow.

There is a hot springs island that is nice and is an obvious stop. The two things that really stood out for us that we weren't expecting, though were the tidal shallows at burnaby narrows (by dinghy in your case) and the amazing village sites.

The villages have watchmen who are Haida who live at the sites to protect them and give tours. They were incredibly gracious hosts. We paddled in to one site in the morning and they had pancakes on the griddle for us (you have to radio ahead for permission, so they knew we were coming). The village sites were gorgeous and haunting.

In fact, the Haida people were a surprising highlight of the trip. I grew up on the coast and have never seen such a strong, vibrant, Native community. They are truly finding their feet again and it is wonderful to see.

Remember that you will have to get an orientation and pay a fee to get into the park, but it is well worth it.


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## frankdrebin (Jan 14, 2008)

The west side is tree covered rock. Watch the winds. There are few sheltered spots. One not to miss is Tasu Sound. If you see what looks like a wood ladder perched on a reef or rock out cropping, travel on the side of the largest passage. Anchor at the end of the north west finger and rest up, fill up fresh water from the ice cold creek near the boat ramp (very primitive and mostly unused), and watch bald eagles and black bears. Getting back out if a strong wind is in your face at the 'gap' just will not happen. Fishing resort personnel got stuck there for weeks one year when they were setting up for the season.

Only other place I've seen is the airfield at Sanspit. There is a boat dock facility there. Cute looking place.


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## Bilgewater (Jul 17, 2008)

That will be a good cruise dilly, a bit of a tight time frame I would say but none the less, the makings of a great adventure. you will probably find this interesting.
Adventures in the Charlottes: Table of Contents


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## dillybar (Nov 10, 2009)

The cruising guides are ordered, the charting program is fired up and I'm looking forward to a very enjoyable planning process this winter. We have no real desire to see Rupert so crossing Hecate Strait at the top of Banks Island and probably bringing the boat up prior and leaving from Hardy should make the trip more relaxed. Thanks for all the great input. When we've got on a plan I'll post up.

Cheers


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

dillybar said:


> The cruising guides are ordered, the charting program is fired up and I'm looking forward to a very enjoyable planning process this winter. We have no real desire to see Rupert so crossing Hecate Strait at the top of Banks Island and probably bringing the boat up prior and leaving from Hardy should make the trip more relaxed. Thanks for all the great input. When we've got on a plan I'll post up.
> 
> Cheers


Sounds like a good plan... Are you planning to take in my old home town (Ocean Falls?)


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## dillybar (Nov 10, 2009)

It Looks a little off the beaten path. What used to up there? - that hydro dam wasn't built for the pub!


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

dillybar said:


> It Looks a little off the beaten path. What used to up there? - that hydro dam wasn't built for the pub!


It was (from the 20's to the early 70s) a thriving pulp and paper mill, the hydro dam provided power for it and the town. It was very rare for the spillways to be open even in the high normal rainfall. Now the dam is overflowing full time.

Nice quiet, sheltered place to grow up.. nearly everyone over 14 had some kind of boat...


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## MacBlaze (Jan 18, 2016)

Don't you hate threads like this that don't have any follow up :smile

I'd love to try a trip like this, although I have 8 weeks not 5...


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

Kayacked west side of Haida Gwaii. years ago .Made a couple of delivery cruises to Skagway .Leaving from south earlier in spring has better chance of tail winds From May on,nothing till noon and then too much westerly on the nose. Winter time September?? can be interesting. Friend, with a buddy and dog spent a month in upturned 31' tri north of Triangle Island . waited too long to get south. 30 years cruising /fishing Desolation to Rivers Inlet , so much to see.


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## dillybar (Nov 10, 2009)

So.... life got in the way a bit and we never got to do the trip in 2011. 
However, better late than never as I am happy to report we have our park passes booked and we leave on the 7th of July. Slight change of plan as we will bypass the inside passage and sail 200 miles directly from Hope Island to Queen Charlotte City on the way up.
BTW we lucked out a bit, because of Canada's 150th all National park entry fees are waived saving us over $300.00!
I WILL post a report when we get back


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Bon Voyage.. Looks like summer is finally kicking in too.


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## dillybar (Nov 10, 2009)

Hey Guys, just got back from our trip. 32 days, 1150 miles, great sailing and beautiful anchorages. 
Highlights include learning about the Haida culture from our gracious Haida hosts, some fantastic open ocean sailing (250 mile leg from bull harbour to Queen Charlotte city), exploring the incredible abundance of sea life and rain forests and the cultural sites.

Haida Gwaii is similar to the southern BC coastal cruising that we are used to but everything is on steroids - the trees are bigger, the tides are bigger (25 feet in QC city), Hecate strait is more formidable, it rains harder, blows harder (cape St James is the consistently windiest place in Canada) , the sea life is incredibly abundant and the water incredibly clear (Burnaby narrows is amazing), its more remote and feels wilder.

The 2 1/2 hour orientation we were required to take was well worth the time. We were told about what to see and what to avoid on the way down and fishing regs particular to the park, as well, they file your sail plan if you like and of course you meet the people you will be bumping into along the way.

There is fuel in QC city but nothing south, and apparently there is one potable water hose attached to a float in a bay at the south end of the islands but we never needed it. 

We skipped the inside passage going up and down because of time constraints this time, but we would definitely do this trip again but include the inside passage and possibly the west coast of Moresby.
If you like remote rugged sailing, and don't mind not seeing a dock for a week or two then this would appeal to you, but remember it is a rain forest not a sun forest so bring a sweater or two even in July!


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## Towguy (May 8, 2016)

Congrats,sounds like you had an awsome trip,..thanks for the update...have a friend that just got back from Haida Gwaii ,sounds like as compared to the rest of B.C. They had even more rain than normal this year,, always have planned to get out there some time ...mmmm....Ralph... ps more pictures please


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## MacBlaze (Jan 18, 2016)

Sweet! How was the crossing? Sail the whole way? We toyed with doing that exact thing with another boat a few years ago but chickened out in favour of just going around the island in a friend's boat.


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## dillybar (Nov 10, 2009)

We sailed 30 of 36 hours on the way up, on the way down it was mostly motor sailing as the winds were 5-10 from behind. The Cape St James weather station records gale force or better 150 days of the year so you want to check your weather before you leave if you decide to go our route.


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