Sailing the Pacific Northwest (PNW): Costs and Practicalities

The stretch of coast known as the Pacific Northwest (PNW) is one of the largest and most diverse sailing grounds in the world. It has everything from major city areas to barely inhabited wilderness and diverse cultures. Since it borders the Gulf of Alaska, it can also have some wild weather in the winter and can be cool and wet in the summer. Preparation is needed! The best guidebook is the Waggoner. You will also need the Canadian Hydro-graphic Charts and, just as important, the full tide tables. Unlike most areas the tide table comes in several volumes but they are available free here.

Before we get into any details I want to talk about the area’s diversity. The PNW is often referred to as if it was a single destination and nothing could be more misleading. For this article I am going to break it down into several different sections. I will be focusing on the Canadian section only. While Washington and Oregon in the south, and SW Alaska to the north are also included in the PNW, I will leave those sections to others who know them better.

MEDICAL COVERAGE

Before we get into the details of each area a word on medical coverage. There are good hospitals in all the main ports but once past Vancouver Island there are only small rural facilities. For any serious illness or injury, it is quite likely that you would need to be medevacked out to a city. For Canadians, this is not a problem, but if visiting from outside the country check if your insurance covers this.

SUITABLE VESSELS

Some of this area is seriously remote so it is worth talking about the boats that sail here. In the Salish Sea, the most southerly area, you will see the usual range of boats. This area is effectively an inland sea shielded from any nasty sea or weather by Vancouver Island, which also creates a rain shadow. For this reason, summers are warm and dry with relatively light winds and calm seas. It also has major cities and good port facilities. There are a large number of boats based around Vancouver, Seattle and Victoria. Pretty much any boat will be fine cruising this area and you will see everything from 100-year-old Methuselah to the most modern production boats.

Once out of the Salish Sea however things change. You do see modern production boats but the further you go the more you will notice a distinct “northern” flavor to boats. What do I mean by northern flavor? For a comfortable and successful cruise, your boat needs to match the conditions you are likely to be sailing in. In the case of the inside passage and the west coast there are several factors at play.

First, the Gulf of Alaska. During the winter months, the Gulf of Alaska has some of the highest incidence of storms anywhere outside the roaring forties but fortunately summers tend to be characterized by light winds and mild temps. Temps, however, can vary rapidly. In clear sunny weather, it is common to be in the high 20s (Celsuis), however, this coast is washed by a cold upwelling current, so the sea is generally cold, and temps can drop into the mid-teens (Celsius) on a cloudy day, especially with a northerly wind. This upwelling of cold water makes the coast prone to fog, especially early season.

Second, rain! This is the northern rainforest so most of the coast gets 80 to 100 inches of rain a year. Winter is the wet season but even in summer you can get spells of heavy rain lasting a few days

Finally, currents. Seymour Narrows guards the northern exit of the Salish Sea and tides through here can reach 15 kn. There are lots of places that have tidal rapids reaching 8 to 10 kn and all the channels have strong tidal streams of 3 to 4 kn.

A word on anchorages. This is a very complex coast with hundreds of miles of fjords scoured out during the last ice age. The bottom is frequently rocky and anchorages are deep. It is common to be in 100 feet within a stone’s throw of the bank and practical anchorages are often tight.

NORTHERN BOATS

Generally once out of the Salish Sea the boats you meet will be well-equipped. Generally, they have enough stores of fuel, water and provisions to be independent for several days at a time.

Most boats have radar for navigating in fog. There are lots of small boats and local fishing boats that will not have transponders so AIS and GPS will not show all hazards. You need decent ground tackle and be able to anchor in deep water, 20 to 40 ft is common and many people carry a couple of long lines to tie to a tree and limit swinging. You will be anchoring! Most boats will carry both VHF and some form of satellite communications for emergencies. Most of the area does not have cell coverage.

Most boats have a good heater, even in summer! Almost everyone has some form of shelter over the helm station. A bimini is fine in summer but the more shelter you have in the cockpit the better.

Anyone heading to the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Haida Gwaii, or any of the exposed coasts needs a boat that copes well with heavy weather. Even in summer this area can get significant sea and strong winds, especially early and late season.

For all these reasons, substantially built traditional boats with a long keel or long fin and skeg are very common. You do see newer production boats visiting during high summer but they can have issues with carrying sufficient ground tackle and coping with the sort of steep seas we get when the wind picks up. You don’t see many catamarans. I looked into this when writing the article but could find no reason in particular. I suspect it may be primarily a problem of getting a berth for a cat anywhere in the south of the area. The other issue may be engines. You need reliable inboard engines and tankage that will give a range of at least 200 miles to have a decent safety factor. An outboard power cat may have problems with this.

HUGE CRUISING AREA

The Canadian Pacific coast extends for some 1,500 miles as the eagle flies from Vancouver in the south to Prince Rupert in the north. The coastline measures more than 15,000 miles! There are thousands of islands, long fjords and so many anchorages—I doubt anyone could visit all of them in one lifetime. There are also some big differences and I think it is worth considering this coast as three separate and distinct areas.

First, from Vancouver to the Broughton Archipelago and the Salish Sea is the most southerly. North of the Broughton’s is the inside passage and many remote fjords, then the western edge including the West coast of Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii.

SOUTHERN SALISH SEA

Starting in the south, the area around the Salish Sea will not present any challenges to even a fairly inexperienced crew. Summer weather is generally mild and predictable and since it is an inland sea, you are not going to get big waves. Vancouver Island shelters the area from the west, so it is also drier than any other part of the coast. Vancouver is a large city but there is also Victoria, which is another bustling urban area directly across from Vancouver on the southern end of Vancouver Island, with Nanaimo just up the island coast. Any of these centers will give you the full range of facilities you would expect in any coastal city. There is a choice of marinas offering different levels of service, chandlers, boat yards, major shopping facilities, nightlife and many tourist spots to visit.

Costs, as you would expect, are high and space limited. For a 40-ft. boat, expect to be paying $100 to $150 per night but more importantly book ahead! You need to book for two reasons, first, many marinas don’t offer transient moorage. Those that do are often booking out spaces that have freed up because the berth holder is away cruising. If you just turn up, you could spend half the day looking for a space.

Second, there are lots of marinas in big busy harbors—you need to know where you are going and plan a route to get there or you are likely to need several drinks and a therapist by the time you find your spot. If you are not looking for the bright city lights, there are smaller places that are quieter and often less crowded. Don’t expect prices to be significantly lower but they are definitely less stressful to enter and can have a delightful “small town” atmosphere. I would still advise booking ahead during the summer.

Anchoring. There are few anchorages around Vancouver but once you cross to Vancouver Island, especially among the Gulf Islands, there are plenty of sheltered spots. Most small towns will have a designated anchorage marked on the chart and welcome visitors. A few places may have mooring balls that you can rent but these are rare, plan to be on your own hook.

Find a berth. A second option for city visits is to find a berth in one of the outlying areas and use public transport to get to the city. The three major urban areas have good transit systems. This would be a better option than hiring a car as traffic can be busy and parking difficult. The exception would be provisioning. If you want to do a major shop before heading for more remote areas, there are lots of large retail areas with good parking so hiring a car for the trip may be well worth it.

NORTHERN SALISH SEA

The northern end of the Salish is very different. A day’s sailing north from Nanaimo gets you into “small town” country. Centers like Campbell River and Powell River have excellent marinas and easy access to shops for provisioning. Campbell River also has a good marine shop and boat yard. It can still be busy in peak season so booking may be worth it if you know your itinerary.

Prices also drop somewhat—in Campbell River your 40-ft. berth will be down to around $80. This whole area is less crowded with many more options for anchoring, especially as you get into the southern end of the Broughton’s or the fijords south of Powell River. Although quite a bit wilder than the southern end this would still be within the ability of a relatively inexperienced crew and offers a taste of what the really wild areas further north have to offer. You are likely to spot eagles, otters, sea lions, whales and bears and can find anchorages where you are the only boat.

One word of caution is about the tides. Once among the islands, tides can get strong so you need to plan passage times or you could find a two hour hop turning into a five hour slog against a 4 or 5 kn current.

EVERYTHING CHANGES AT CAMPBELL RIVER

Beyond Campbell River, everything starts to change. In the Salish Sea, you could spend every night in a marina and call in for supplies whenever you need. Once you head up through the Broughton Archipelago, anchoring ceases to be an option and becomes a necessity. Within the Archipelago there are a number of small marinas and fishing lodges where you can tie to a pontoon for the night, but once into Broughton Sound proper there is only Alert Bay, Port McNeil and Port Hardy on the north shore of Vancouver Island. After that you have at least 125 nm to the next harbor in Bella Bella where you can get basic supplies and fuel.

Go off the beaten path. Boats doing a transit through the area heading to or from Alaska will often take a direct route through the Inside Passage with a stop in Bella Bella, but this misses much of what the area has to offer. Get off the main passage and there are thousands of miles of fjords and islands to explore as well as several remote First Nation communities. This is the Great Bear Rainforest, a wilderness area the size of a small European country with no roads and few services. You won’t get cell coverage but you can see bears, wolves, whales and a whole host of other wildlife. You may even get a dip in a hot spring formed by a rock pool where you can look out and see no sign of human habitation.

Ready your boat for remote wilderness. Once you head out from Port Hardy the trip is going to cost nothing! By that I mean you will only have what you bring with you. Sounds like a cheap cruise and if your boat is already set up for this area, it might be. For most people, there will be significant costs to prepare the boat beforehand. If you are sticking to the main route through the Inside Passage, it is a marine thoroughfare used by BC ferries, which is well-lit and regularly traveled. You may not be able to get fuel but if in trouble you will be likely to get a response on VHF and are likely to see other boats regularly.

However, once off this main route that is not the case. At an absolute minimum you are going to want at least a satellite text message service, but really the boat should be set up as if you were crossing an ocean. You may need to spend money beforehand on upgrading communications and navigation gear as well as boat spares. Even on a sailboat you will need the motor. Winds are generally light in the summer, so you are going to want spares to cover engine breakdown or other mechanical issues. The other issue you run into going north from Broughton Sound/Queen Charlotte Straight, is fog. This area is prone to sudden dense fog especially early mornings so a decent radar, while not absolutely essential, would be high on my list.

Bella Bella Prices. Bella Bella is the supply hub for the area and is about halfway between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert. The boatyard there has a travel lift and can handle most repairs but if you need anything they don’t have in stock, it will either have to wait a couple of weeks for the next barge or be flown in. That gets expensive!

The fuel dock has gas and diesel and there are reasonable showers, laundry and a good restaurant in Shearwater, just across the channel from Bella Bella. Prices are generally about 10 to 15 percent higher up here but it does depend on what you are buying. Zack at Shearwater can get most things, given time, but for special orders prices can be up to twice what you would pay from an online discount store. All the basics are available but quite often things run short and you have to wait for the next barge.

Personally, I like 3 ½ %, full-fat Greek yogurt and espresso coffee beans. The milk is often out, yogurt is almost never available and nobody ever stocks the coffee I like, so if you have strong preferences bring them with you! Mooring fees in Bella Bella are comparable to other marinas for daily rates but there are no discounts for longer stays.

CREW CHANGE LOGISTICS

This brings us to the next issue that can run up costs.

It takes most people about a week to get from Vancouver to Bella Bella taking the direct route along the Inside Passage. This area is remote and a trip here does not fit into a two-week holiday. Bella Bella is the only practical place for a crew change. There are daily ferry services from Port Hardy or Prince Rupert and prices are reasonable for foot passage. There is little point in bringing a vehicle as there are no roads! It is a short taxi ride from either the ferry terminal or the airport into Bella Bella and a regular sea bus across to Shearwater. The problem is getting to the ferry. The roads are good but there is no secure parking at the ferry terminals so you are probably going to have to negotiate with a hotel to leave a car in either Hardy or Rupert. There is no practical public transit to get to either port.

Flying in is simpler but a lot more expensive. The only service is from Vancouver with Pacific Coastal Air and expect to pay at least $500 one way. The planes are small turbo props and space is limited so you need to book well in advance and travel light.

REPAIRING AND LEAVING YOUR BOAT

Long-term moorage is usually available in Hardy or Rupert and prices are very reasonable. As I mentioned earlier, Bella Bella only has daily rates so leaving a boat on the water would be expensive. An option would be to lift out if you wanted to stay over winter. Lift-out fees and storage ashore are cheaper in Shearwater than anywhere else I know of on the West Coast.

North from Bella Bella to Prince Rupert is much the same as coming from the south. There is a small village at Klemtu with fuel and limited supplies, otherwise you are again relying on your own stores. Once at Rupert, there is again a choice of marinas, the main one being south of the town at Port Edward. Prices here are good and it would be a very practical place to leave a boat over the winter. There is a decent chandler in Rupert but haul out for anything other than a quick anti-foul job is limited. Port Edward is the only place with a travel lift and there is no onshore storage or place to work on your own boat.

HAIDA GWAII, VANCOUVER ISLAND COAST, QUEEN CHARLOTTE SOUND

The third area is Haida Gwaii and the coast including the west coast of Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Sound. Much like the Inside Passage, this is a remote coastline where you need to be prepared for a high degree of independence. Port Hardy and Bella Bella are both accessible from the coast and there are some small communities in between where you can top up with groceries. Masset, at the north end of Haida Gwaii, has some berths but they are mainly for the fishing fleet. You can also get fuel and groceries here. Haida Gwaii is a tourist destination so it’s quite a good place for a break with several pubs and restaurants, as well as walks and other tourist attractions such as local crafts.

The big difference with this area is the weather. To seaward is the Gulf of Alaska and this is an exposed rocky coast with few safe harbors. Wind speeds in the summer are typically 13 to 18 kn, but while full gales are rare, winds in the 20 to 30 kn range with steep seas up to 10 ft. are not. Tidal flows are significant in many areas and wind over tide develops nasty sea states. You definitely want a well-found sea boat and a capable crew if you are going to venture into Queen Charlotte Sound, and even the west coast of Vancouver Island can be testing. I was talking to a skipper this summer who had recently completed a race off the west coast of Vancouver Island and they had been hit by over 40 kn winds in June.

CONCLUSION

While some costs are higher once north of Vancouver Island, a well-found boat that is properly supplied would probably offset the extra cost of fuel and groceries because you will spend a lot more nights at anchor compared to cruising the Salish Sea. The rewards are a rich and there is a beautiful environment with abundant wildlife. You’ll also encounter friendly people with a rich and different history and a vast cruising area away from the crowds. You will need time to get into the central part of the Great Bear Rainforest—it is a place to come for a season rather than a two-week break!