SAIL TRAINING
CYA INSTRUCTION
CHARTERS
ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Join us for five to ten days on a sailing adventure in one of the world's great cruising grounds as we circumnavigate Vancouver Island. Treat yourself to a marine safari as we explore one of the richest coastal eco systems in North America. Opportunities abound to enjoy its splendid diversity of scenery, wildlife and cultural history, while studying Intermediate & Advanced Cruising.

Step aboard our 38 ft sailing sloop Agua Verde and join skipper/instructor Colin Campbell as one of four guest crew. Gain your Basic CYA Learn to Cruise certification or upgrade your skills to Intermediate or Advanced as you experience the joys of a unique liveaboard sailing vacation. Rise to the challenge of mastering sailing skills as we encounter a wide variety of conditions from gentle coastal breezes to the ocean swells of the open Pacific. Our journey is broken into three legs of 5 to 10 days each. Choose one or more of these segments to fit your needs.

First Leg (5 or 10 days) Vancouver to Port Hardy.

Depart Vancouver the first week of June and sail northwest along the beautiful Sunshine Coast. Fish for prawns in dramatic Desolation Sound, weave through the maze of the Discovery Islands, then enjoy the brisk sailing that Johnstone Strait tends to provide. Search for killer whales at Robson Bight before visiting Telegraph Cove and on to the captivating first nations community of Alert Bay and nearby Village Island. From here we can explore the southern reaches of Queen Charlotte Strait prior to making Port Hardy. Choose either a 5 day cruise from Vancouver to Campbell River, 5 days from Campbell River to Port Hardy, or combine the two for a total of 10 days.

Second Leg (ten days) Port Hardy to Tofino. (There is so much to see and do on this trip that the agenda is fluid and subject to crew consensus.)

Leave Port Hardy Monday 16th June and enjoy a protected sail up Golletas Channel to Bull Harbour. Cross the Nawhiti Bar and round the northern tip of Vancouver Island at Cape Scott to pass Sea Otter Cove and enter picturesque Winter Harbour . Quatsino Sound leads to the Brookes Peninsula where we usually catch a salmon for supper and barbecue it on one of Checleset Bay's exquisite coves and beaches. In the charming Bunsby Islands and Kyouquot sound you'll encounter sea otters and explore magnificent Rugged Beach. From there we'll visit idyllic Friendly Cove on historic Nootka Island before spending our last night of the trip at Hot Springs Cove. A visit to Cougar Annie's Garden is another option before before weaving through Clayoquot Sound to the world renowned community of Tofino.

Third Leg (five to eight days) Tofino to Victoria and Vancouver.

Start Sunday June 29th. Sail on to Uclulet and explore the enchanting islands of Berkley Sound. Great salmon fishing, whale watching, ancient forrest walks, oysters and gunkholing. Return to Uclulet, or continue to cruise down the route of the West Coast Trail, by the unique village of Bamfield to Port Renfrew, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and tie up at the iconic Empress Hotel in Victoria. From there we meander at leisure through the southern Gulf Islands back to Vancouver.
What a fantastic trip!

LOGISTICS More info on our web site at www.seabc.com. In particular look at Cruises - Around Vancouver Island, and the photo essays and videos in the Media section.

Vancouver to Port Hardy to Tofino to Victoria/Vancouver.  We have considerable flexibility as to dates and activities, so please let us know what suits you and if possible we’ll adjust accordingly.

Cost for 5 days $1,195.00, 10 days $2,365.00.  Course materials if required approx. $100.00.  All subject to 5% GST (Sales Tax).
No experience needed unless you wish to do the CYA Intermediate or Advanced course.

Port Hardy, Tofino and Victoria all have good connections by road and air to Vancouver.
Check www.pacific-coastal.com for flights between Vancouver, Victoria, Campbell River, and Port Hardy; www.flyorcaair.com for Tofino.

Use Laidlaw or Maverick bus lines for Campbell River and Port Hardy, Tofinobus for Tofino.
Budget Rent a Car has service in all the aforementioned locations www.bcbudget.com.

Agua Verde is a classic offshore cruiser/racer which comfortably accommodates 5 crew.

Your host Colin Campbell is an Advanced Cruising Instructor with the Canadian Yachting Association (CYA).  With more than 30 years experience of local waters Colin has crossed both Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and sailed extensively in the Caribbean and South Pacific.  In 2003 he sailed Agua Verde 10,000 miles to Mexico, Hawaii and back to Vancouver.