2024 Vacation Part 1 Getting to Barkley

Cruising the coast of British Columbia 2024 aboard “Natasha”. This is Part 1 of 7 presenting the single-handed sail from Sidney, BC to Barkley Sound by way of Victoria Inner Harbour and Sooke Harbour. The goal was to reach the village of Ucluelet in Barkley Sound to meet up with my first sailing buddy of the summer, Ben Andersen. A distance of about 115 nautical miles, the journey starts in Haro Strait and passes Race Rocks to Juan de Fuca Strait, a body of water separating Washington State from Vancouver Island. The hope, in any small displacement boat, is to take advantage of the ebb tide flowing out Juan de Fuca and hope that the prevailing summer westerly winds don’t develop in the afternoons. Wind against current always creates a maelstrom on the water, uncomfortable and potentially dangerous.
Part 1 - Single handed sail Sidney to Barkley Sound
Part 2 - Sailing Barkley Sound with Ben Andersen
Part 3 - Sailing Barkley Sound to Sidney and getting lost in the fog
Part 4 - Sailing from Sidney to Desolation Sound with Paul LeBlanc
Part 5 - Sailing the Discovery Islands with Paul LeBlanc
Part 6 - Sailing Desolation Sound with Natasha
Part 7 - Sailing home single handed from Desolation Sound

[@Andre-yu3qs]

Fantastic, thanks for sharing.

[@Cacheola]

Nice! Thanks for the ride ;)

[@powellkwd40]

Boat looks great. Thanks for sharing.

[@Vagabond1209]

Well, all I had to do was wait a day! Thanks for taking us along, Bert.

[@kevbjork1]

I think you have one of the nicest Islander 30's I've seen. It's obvious you take good care of Natasha.

[@BertVermeerSailing]

Plenty of modifications over the years, I like being comfortable and proud of what I sail! Perhaps not money well spent if you listen to the money managers! It may not be a 40 ft dock princess, but she gets me to where I want to go at a price I can still afford! Thanks for the appreciation.

[@grssailing]

Hi Bert we’re from the UK and your videos inspired us to charter a Bavaria 46 from Powell River, in August, which we then took up to the Broughtons. We had an absolutely wonderful time, visiting many of the places you went to with Paul. We loved it so much we have chartered the same boat for 3 weeks in June 25, hopefully missing some of the crowds! I’m looking forward to your next videos in this series, as it will give us an insight into the weather conditions in June.

[@BertVermeerSailing]

I'm not responsible for June weather!! I enjoy sailing in June, longer days, fewer boats, but the weather this year was very cold, quite unusual! On this trip the long range forecast was for more of the same, I turned around and went to Desolation Sound instead! Last year's videos were quite indicative of weather in the Broughtons in June. Lovely cruising grounds but bring plenty of warm clothing! Thanks for the comment!

[@HalcyonGuitars]

You sure keep that beautiful boat looking good!

[@BertVermeerSailing]

An ongoing mission! I look after her, she keeps me above the waves! Thanks for the comment.

[@danknox9986]

Bert you know the only reason we watch these things is to see Natasha. 😊 When is she getting on board? One note: I am sure she won’t like getting up at 4:15! Btw these videos are beautiful. Thanks for posting.

[@BertVermeerSailing]

And here I thought it was always my youthful mug! How disappointing! Ah, you'll have to wait a few episodes Dan. She did come out for a week in Desolation (Part 6 of 7), and she's as humorous and beautiful as ever. I can only edit so much before I go blind (and I'm headed out for a week with Carey this Monday). There is still much sailing to do! ps, we had a very poor August for weather, plenty of rain and lightening storms that we never get here. I was also busy painting the hull of a 50 ft wooden sailboat for a buddy, that sort of cut into my time a bit! All good though!

[@svneverforever]

Lovely trip so far. Our season was cut short by a blown head gasket so I am cruising vicariously this year :-)

[@BertVermeerSailing]

Sorry to hear that! Never a good thing in the summer months (or any time for that matter!). I'll be posting the rest as I edit them. Getting lost in Juan de Fuca and sailing with Natasha in Desolation are worth a memory. Apparently Pacific Yachting September issue published my story. I haven't seen it yet, out cruising the Gulf Islands with Carey & the cat.

[@RustyKnorr]

Why do you keep asking if we're having fun yet? Aren't you? Why cruise if you don't enjoy it?

[@BertVermeerSailing]

Just a saying, starts a conversation. But of course, sometimes it actually isn't fun! Rain and cold temperatures are not usually fun!