A southwesterly gale was well underway as we approached Ucluelet. 6-8' waves were rolling through and crashing into the shore on either side of us. The buoy in Carolina Channel, to our west, was disappearing completely behind the waves. The calm weathers we'd experienced early in the trip had given way to storm after storm. What better place to enjoy the weather than in Canada's storm-watching capitol? Ucluelet has built a thriving tourist industry based in giving visitors a chance to experience the west coast's fierce weather firsthand. We were eager to walk out to the Amphritite Point Lighthouse to view the storm in full force.

Here's our log from the Pinkerton Islands to Ucluelet, or you can display them on the live map view.

12/27/11: No rain, no wind The heavy rains we've had for the past two days finally have stopped, as has the wind. This is the view looking north from the anchorage.

12/27/11: Snow level The snow level has dropped since we arrived in the area. We didn't see any in snow on the foothills last week.

12/27/11: Pinkerton Islands The view west from our anchorage.

12/27/11: Dinghy tour The wonderfully complex islets of the Pinkerton Group are great dinghy and kayak territory. We've not been out in the dinghy for the past two day as it's been raining too much. Our general rule with winter boating is: "If it's not raining, get out there." We'll have plenty of time pinned inside the cabin to relax or do boat chores when the weather is bad.

12/27/11: Float home The Pinkerton Islands are outside the Pacific Rim National Park, and have a number of floathomes and cabins tucked away on and alongside the islands. Of the many floathomes we've seen on this trip, only a few have been occupied.

12/27/11: Walking on water This would be a bad time for a large wake to hit.

12/27/11: Private island This cabin was on an island all to itself.

12/27/11: Unusual current On an 11' high tide, we were able to work a ways up two creeks that empty into the Pinkerton Group from Vancouver Island. The surface current in this one was most unusual. The current was running perhaps a knot or so where we're stopped, and the direction kept changing back and forth, between inflow and outflow, in the space of minutes. We couldn't figure out what would cause that.

12/27/11: End of the road We probably had enough depth to go further up this second creek, but too many branches were in the way, and the rain had started up again. Time for lunch.

12/28/11: Newcombe Channel A gale warning is in effect for West Coast Vancouver Island south. Winds are expected to be 25-35 from the southwest with 4-meter seas. The wind already was blowing a steady 25-30 from the SW as we approached Ucluelet Inlet, and 6-8' waves were rolling through and crashing into the shore on either side of us. The buoy in Carolina Channel, to our west, was disappearing completley behind the waves. Newcombe Channel looks reasonbly wide on the chart, but felt pretty narrow with breakers all around. We've recently added an attitude gauge to our Maretron N2KView display. The video shows the boat's motion, with pitching up to 10 degrees, and also the wind speed.

12/28/11: Newcombe Channel The attitude gauge showed little rolling motion, even though the waves were on our beam. Our stabilizers were working hard to produce that result.

12/28/11: Spring Cove, Ucluelet We tied off at what was left of the public dock in Spring Cove to walk out and see the weather at Amphritite Point.

12/28/11: Peninsula Road “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing” (Ranulph Fiennes). Rain was pouring and the wind was gusting, but that was kind of the point: we were out to see storm.

12/28/11: Wild Pacific Trail A spur trail for the Wild Pacific Trail is at the intersection of Peninsula and Coast Guard roads. The main trail is incredibly well-built and maintained. A wide gravel path, with room for 3 or 4 people walking abreast, winds through vibrant rainforest along the rugged shore. Numerous lookouts, interpretive signs and benches are along the way.

12/28/11: Carolina Channel Looking east across Carolina Channel. We entered Ucluelet Inlet less than an hour ago this side of the barely-visible islands in the background. The buoy on the right of the picture is the one we saw bouncing around as we approached. We could here it's bell from our anchorage in Spring Cove.

12/28/11: Breakers The "wild Pacific" definitely was on display today as waves battered the rocks. The steel bark Pass of Melfort wrecked nearby on Chrismas Eve, 1905. The ship was enroute from Panama to the Puget Sound and was blown off course in a southerly storm. None of the 36 on board survived. These shores are as unforgiving as they look.

12/28/11: Amphritite Point Lighthouse The Amphritite Point lighthouse on its rocky perch. Behind are the old light keeper quarters—the light was automated in 1988.

12/28/11: Original lighthouse The original wooden lighthouse was built in 1906 in response to the Pass of Melfort tragedy. The structure lasted less than a decade before a storm swept it away.

12/28/11: Storm watching We weren't the only ones out enjoying the storm. On our short walk we encountered perhaps twenty others, some clearly local, some obviously tourists. Ucluelet bills itself as Canada's storm-watching capitol. The Wild Pacific Trail was built to give visitors a safe and accessible view.

12/28/11: Head of Ucluelet Inlet The storm was sending fair-sized waves into the anchoarge at Spring Cove, and the houses on shore reduced the privacy somewhat. Either one we could have put up with, but with no compelling reason to stay, we moved to the head of Ucluelet Inlet for the night.

12/28/11: Eagle's Nest Marine Pub On the way to our anchorage, we passed a building with a big sign: "MARINE PUB". This turned it to be the Eagle's Nest Marine Pub. We have a hard time passing up on a marine pub, but the weather was pretty miserable for a dinghy ride. Luckily, the rain and wind stopped just around dinner time and started up again only after we'd returned to Dirona.

On Christmas Day, the barometer fell nearly 20mb in 24 hours and Environment Canada was predicting big weather: Storm warning in effect for West Coast Vancouver Island South. Wind west 25 to 35 knots diminishing to northwest 15 to 25 early this evening then backing to southwest 15 to 25 late this evening. Wind increasing to south 25 to 35 before Monday morning and to 35 to 45 near noon Monday except 50 northwest of Estevan Point. Wind becoming southwest 30 to 40 Monday evening. We actually were looking forward to it--no storm-force winds have hit Barkley Sound since we've arrived, and we were curious what conditions would be like. The storm didn't turn out to be quite as fierce as predicted, but we did get some interesting barometer movement.

Here's our log from Snug Basin to Turtle Bay, or you can display them on the live map view.

12/23/11: Misty skies, Snug Basin A heavy rain shortly after dawn has given way to a calm, misty morning. The temperature is much warmer today than yesterday--in the high 40s up from the low 30s.

12/23/11: Entering Poett Nook The channel into Poett Nook looks tight, but is reasonably wide and deep.

12/23/11: Poett Nook We were considering anchoring at Poett Nook, but it wasn't very appealing. Aquaculture fills the east shore and a large marina and trailerpark is along the west shore. And the marina appeared open, with a boat at the fuel dock. Had we need gas for the dinghy, though, we likely could have filled there.

12/23/11: Robbers Passage We're anchored off the Port Alberni Yacht club outstation, all closed up for the winter.

12/23/11: Surf The anchorage is well protected, with barely-noticable swell, but we can see waves crashing against the outer shore to our northwest. Another southerly gale is predicted, so that view could become even more interesting.

12/23/11: Tzartus Island Abandoned house at the north end of Tzartus Island. It looks like it once was quite nice.

12/23/11: Shahowis Lodge The Lodge at Shahowis appears to have been in disuse for several years. The dock was a mess, and it was pretty overgrown. Sad to see.

12/23/11: Sea arch, Tzartus Island Small craft apparently go through this arch in calm conditions, but we didn't have those today.

12/23/11: Sea cave, Tzartus Island The exposed outer coasts in Barkley Sound are full of storm-created sea arches and caves like this one.

12/23/11: Port Alberni Yacht Club outstation The Port Alberni Yacht Club has carved wonderful trails into Fleming Island. The trails are as nice, or nicer, than most government-maintained parks. This one leads up to what they call the Crow's Nest.

12/23/11: Crow's Nest The view looking north from the Crow's Nest.

12/24/11: Imperial Channel Earlier this morning, we were seeing gusts into the low 40s, but the anchorage was still reasonably calm from a wave perspective. Outside in Imperial Channel, the winds were blowing steady 25-30 from the southeast. Surprising, as it's only blowing 15-20 at La Perouse Bank. Conditions weren't too bad though--the waves were perhaps 3-5' high.

12/24/11: Bamfield Coast Guard Station The Bamfield Coast Guard station also is home to the Rigid Hull Inflatable Operator Training (RHIOT) school. RHIOT operates only in the winter, when the weather is at its worst.  Students from all over North America attend, learning how to operate the craft in extremely rough seas, including handling capsizes. The title of a Pacific Yachting article written by one attendee pretty much sums it up: "Getting Bashed at Bamfield."

12/24/11: Air draft We last were at the head of Bamfield Inlet in the previous boat. With an air draft of 15.5', the 17m clearance under the wires between Burlo and Rance islands wouldn't have been much of a concern. At 30.5', the 52's air draft leaves plenty of room to pass under, but it still caught our attention.

12/24/11: Bamfield Inlet Rain is pouring, the winds are gusting into the 20s, and Dirona is shifting about in the anchorage. But we're securely set with plenty of swing room, and the boat is cozy and warm. We're loving it.

12/25/11: Christmas morning Merry Christmas.

12/25/11: Entering Grappler Inlet At the mouth of Grappler Inlet. This may look tight, but its nothing compared to where we're heading.

12/25/11: Narrows at Grappler Inlet Looking back through the marked channel we just passed through. The channel is narrow and shallow--charted depths are less than a meter in parts.

12/25/11: Grappler Inlet neck With 8.5' of tide, the depth was about 8' going through the drying entrance into the inner basin at the head of Grappler Inlet. The charts are accurate and the path well-marked, but it's pretty tight. We crept through the channel with a careful bow watch. The current was carrying us in, so we used as much reverse as forward to keep our speed down to a half knot.

12/25/11: Storm coming The barometer has fallen nearly 20mb in 24 hours and the Environment Canada is predicting big weather: Storm warning in effect. Wind west 25 to 35 knots diminishing to northwest 15 to 25 early this evening then backing to southwest 15 to 25 late this evening. Wind increasing to south 25 to 35 before Monday morning and to 35 to 45 near noon Monday except 50 northwest of Estevan Point. Wind becoming southwest 30 to 40 Monday evening. We're actually kind of looking forward to it--no storm-force winds have hit Barkley Sound since we've arrived, ane we're curious what conditions will be like.

12/25/11: Grappler Inlet head The anchorage in the basin at the head of Grappler Inlet is quite scenic. We were expecting that it might be built up like the outer basin. But only a few houses are ashore here, concentrated together at one end, and nobody seems to be about. Likely the combination of a restricted entry and no apparent road makes building here less appealing.

12/26/11: Barometer "v" The barometer bottomed out at 1001 yesterday, then shot back up to 1020 again. Near the bottom of the "v", the wind was blowing 35 knots at La Perouse Bank, with gusts near 40. We had gusts up to 37 in Grappler Inlet, but the average was around 15. Conditions were reasonable when we crossed Imperial Eagle Channel early this afternoon. The wind was blowing 15, gusting 20, with a swell heigh of 6-8' while at La Perouse Bank, the winds were S 21 gusting 26, with a wave height of 3.2m.

12/26/11: Turtle Bay The more common entry is from the north, but the east entry appeared straigtforward and it was. We saw min 38' on a 12' tide.

12/27/11: After the storm The winds blew last night, but not as fiercely as predicted. We recorded speeds in the high twenties with gusts into the thirties. La Perouse Bank had the same, and Estevan Point was a little worse, with gusts to 39 knots.

The first time we encountered surface ice on saltwater was back in 2002, on a winter trip to Desolation Sound and Princess Louisa Inlet. We had to break ice to reach Chatterbox Falls. We've since seen ice on saltwater many times on our winter cruises, from as far north as Blunden Harbor to the south Puget Sound. And now, in Barkley Sound as well. With freezing temperatures the past two days, we've had to break ice to reach our anchorages.

Here's our log from Julia Passage to Snug Basin, or you can display them on the live map view.

12/21/11: Julia Passage entrance The south entrance to Julia Passage looks tricky on the chart, but we found it relatively straightforward going slowly with a careful bow watch. On an 11' tide, we had a minimum of 15' going through.

12/21/11: Surface ice, Julia Passage A thin sheet of ice covered the surface in the basin inside Julia Passage. We left a path through it, reminscent of our breaking ice into Princess Louisa Inlet years back.

12/21/11: Float homes, Julia Passage We've never stopped at Julia Passage before. With perhaps twenty floathomes ringing the channel, summers here would be much too busy. But this time of year, wintering seabirds are our only neighbours.

12/21/11: Sunset, Julia Passage Sechart Channel aglow in the sunset, looking south from our anchorage in Julia Passage.

12/22/11: Frost, Julia Passage Another cold and frosty, but clear and beautiful morning. So far we've had just amazing weather.

12/22/11: Sunrise Sunrise over the Somerset Range.

12/22/11: MV Frances Barkley The MV Frances Barkely, a working packet freighter, en route from Uchucklesit Inlet.

12/22/11: Snug Basin We're anchored in 70', with hills all around and a deep, blue sky above. We had to break through surface ice again, perhaps 1/8" thick. As we drifted about once set, we could hear the ice breaking and crackling against the hull.

12/22/11: Creek from Henderson Lake The creek draining Henderson Lake reaches Uchucklesit Inlet through a narrow channel with overhanging cliffs. This picture is looking back through the entry after we've come through. It felt like a mini version of the Marble River further north. Beyond, the channel opens into a small lake-like basin, where shallows on a 9' tide blocked further progress.

12/22/11: Frost-covered logs Looking down-inlet over frost-covered logs.

12/22/11: Dozer tugs Logging is active on both sides of the inlet. When we arrived these dozers were working a big boom from the north shore to the south.

12/22/11: Sunken barge About 30' of this barge was showing in 75' of water, so it must be a good 100' long. The sinking appeared recent, judging by the sealife still on the hull. We gave it a wide berth--we wouldn't want to be nearby if it fell.

12/22/11: Launching logs It’s an exciting show when logs are transferred from shore to water. Logs are stacked in bundle cradles, two U-shaped holders that stand perpendicular to the shoreline. When the bundle is complete, the logs are wrapped with wire. Then the water-side arms of the cradle are released, and the bundled logs slide into the water with a tremendous splash.

12/22/11: Log dump Preparing the next load. The outer arms, lying flat against the log on the ground, will pop up to create the U-shaped holder when the logs fall into place.

12/22/11: Shipwreck This wood fishing vessel was hard aground along the northwest shore. The boat is big and heavy, so that must have taken some wind.

12/22/11: Surface ice Surface ice stranded by the falling tide.

12/22/11: At anchor, Snug Basin Looking across the surface ice to Dirona at anchor. A gale warning is in effect for the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. The winds currently are 20-30 knots at La Perouse Bank, but calm here.

Winter boating has its challenges, but one of the many rewards are the waterfalls. Flows that might be non-existent or just a trickle in summer gush and roar in winter. Teakearn Arm in Desolation Sound Marine Park is a good example. In the summer one waterfall tumbles lazily over the edge from Cassell Lake. In the winter, two waterfalls pour over the side, filling the basin with spray. The falls at Lucky Creek in Pipestem Inlet are no exception. Summer's gentle flow is a deluge in the winter.

Here's our log from Jarvis Lagoon to Pipestem Inlet, or you can display them on the live map view.

12/19/11: Jarvis Lagoon entry The entry to Jarvis Lagoon is shallow and narrow. We entered on a 9' tide. Depths on the way through were mostly in the 15'-20' range, but we needed a careful bow watch to find them. Fortunately we could see a good 20' down. One of winter boating's many perks is clearer water for this kind of navigation.

12/19/11: Jarvis Lagoon anchorage And this is the reward for that challenging entry--a near landlocked cove where barely a ruffle of wind disturbs the surface.

12/19/11: Jarvis Lagoon by dinghy Out for a dinghy tour. The flotation suits are among our favourite winter boating gear. The suits are similar to ski jumpsuits, but with built-in flotation and extra insulation. We use Mustang 2175s, which are standard issue with the Coast Guard on both sides of the border. We can toss these on over light clothing, add a pair of gloves and perhaps some ear warmers and be instantly warm in the coldest weather.

12/19/11: Nettles Island The Pacific Rim National Park Reserve Warden Station, all closed up for the winter.

12/20/11: Moonrise, Jarvis Lagoon Yesterday's heavy rain clouds are gone, and the sky now is a deep, clear blue. Environment Canada is predicting 35-45-knot winds in two days, but right now the wind is near zero.

12/20/11: Pipestem Inlet anchorage Tucked away behind Refuge Island. Winds are predicted to blow NW 25-30 tonight, so we'll see what we get here.

12/20/11: Lucky Creek falls The falls at Lucky Creek gush out in the winter, compared to summer's gentler flow.

12/20/11: Navigating Lucky Creek We arrived at the creek on a 7' falling tide and barely had depth to get in and out. The channel was less than 2' deep in places, and we needed a dinghy bow watch to find a workable route.

12/20/11: Picnic lunch, Pipestem Inlet A picnic lunch overlooking the anchorage with a view up Pipestem Inlet. With sunshine, no wind, and the temperature around 50F, we were warm enough just wearing light jackets.

12/21/11: Frost at Pipestem Inlet Brrr. It's 33F and frosty this morning. The winds blew NW 25-30 last night at La Perouse Bank, but we barely saw 15.

We first planned a Christmas cruise to Barkley Sound in the fall of 2003. That November, however, we attended a presentation by Cliff Mass on
the difficulties of forecasting northwest weather. Mass gave several examples of major storms that had, with little warning, swept up the
Pacific Coast and pounded Barkley Sound with storm and hurricane force winds. We went to the Broughtons that winter instead. Several times since
we've considered a winter cruise to Barkley Sound, but each time we've remembered that presentation and those storms. This year we finally
made the trip. After passing Barkley Sound en-route between Seattle and Alaska this summer and the last, we really wanted to return. And, we
realized, it's just not that far. The longest leg, 70 miles between Sooke Harbor and the sound, is only a ten-hour journey. We just needed
to be patient and wait for a good weather window.

Here's our log from Seattle to our first Barkley Sound stop, in Effingham Bay. We'll be making live updates to the map view as we go.

12/17/11, 10:20am: Off Sooke Inlet Two tired travellers. James had the helm for six hours between Skunk Bay and Oak Bay, and Spitfire, well, he just sleeps a lot.

12/18/11, 9:00am: Effingham Bay The storm is past, the barometer is back on the rise and the sun is shining. This is the view looking north from the anchorage. We slept so soundly last night that we didn't wake when the generator auto-started early this morning.

12/18/11, 1:15pm: Effingham Bay With sunshine, 49F and a little help from the diesel furnace (we have an outlet plumbed outside under the teak table), we just had to eat outside. The Seahawks game will have to wait.

12/18/11, 2:30pm: Effingham Bay Sea arch on the southwest side of Effingham Island. We circumnaviged the island by dinghy, partly retracing our route in last night. Although the seas have calmed considerably since yesterday, breaking waves still surge and gush through the passage. We actually went through the arch a few years ago, but conditions were too rough today.

12/19/11, 8:30am: Leaving Effingham Bay Enjoying the sunrise as we leave the anchorage.

12/19/11, 8:30am: Sunrise over Effingham Bay The winter sun isn't at the right angle for one of Effingham Bay's fabulous sunsets, but the sunrise made up for it.