West Coast of Calvert Island with a Few Sites Near Cape Caution - A Field Guide for Paddlers

 
West Coast of Calvert Island

 with a Few Sites Near Cape Caution

A Field Guide for Paddlers

 

Why?

This is chapter three of an effort started in 2011 to fill in some gaps in the Wild Coast series of guides by John Kimantas.  The 2011 effort resulted in a guide for the west coast of Banks Island, and in 2012 we produced a guide for west coasts of Aristazabal, Price and Athlone Islands.  Like the two earlier guides, sites covered by The Wild Coast: Volume 2 are not included except by reference.

Who?

In 2013 we had ten paddlers, mainly from the Nanaimo Paddlers.  We started in Bella Bella near the end of July and finished in Port Hardy mid August.  We had remarkably good weather and calm seas for all but the last day or two and the water was noted to seem warmer than usual.  Nice for swimming and for making fog.  All members of our group contributed to the survey effort with most of the photos taken by Geoff Mumford, Karina Younk and Glenn Lewis.  Most of the post trip organization of information was done by Reale Emond and Glenn Lewis.

Overview of the Surveyed Area

From the northwest corner of Calvert Island to the south end of Burnett Bay is a little more than

50 nm, going more or less directly.  The entire distance, except for some of the south shore of Calvert Island, is entirely exposed to the open Pacific.  The area is well known for its large sand beaches that seldom get visited other than by the ever present wolves.  Many of the beaches have little shelter from swell, and our goal was to find places which allowed for landing without surf when conditions were suitable for paddlers of ordinary ability.  Except for the Hakai Beach Institute located in Pruth Bay at the north end of Calvert Island the entire survey area is uninhabited.  When crossing from Calvert Island to the mainland, paddlers might see a few sports fishers from Rivers Inlet, but this year even they were not in evidence.  There is a considerable amount of marine traffic using Fitzhugh Sound and the coast south of Calvert.  Paddlers will want to be aware of this situation and possibly keep in contact with Vessel Traffic Services during exposed crossings.  Coming home mounted on the bow bulb of a cruise ship would take some of the fun out of paddling in the area.

The area is generally flat near the coast but Fitzhugh Sound, Rivers Inlet, and Smith Sound can cause strong inflow/outflow winds and currents which can contribute to the challenges of rounding Cape Caution.  The southwest shore of Calvert Island is also prone to very choppy conditions, and the NW wind seems to access most of that area unimpeded.  Whether this situation is because of the low elevation of most of the western half of Calvert Island, because of inflows into Rivers Inlet in the afternoon or the relatively shallow water closer to shore, we don’t know.  One solution is to paddle half a kilometre off shore of the islands, another is to paddle inside of the islands, rocks and reefs.

The area was easy to paddle during our trip, but the lack of cover from the open ocean means that sometimes paddlers would need a much larger stock of discretion rather than valour.  There is a small cabin near the north end of Burnett Bay which appears to be well used by kayakers and a couple of camps abandoned by the late Bill Davidson.  Obvious evidence of past First Nations use is harder to discern than in the areas where beaches were more amenable to being shaped for harvesting purposes.

West Coast of Aristazabal, Price & Athlone Islands – A Field Guide for Paddlers Includes Rennison and Anderson Islands

West Coast of Aristazabal, Price & Athlone Islands 
Includes Rennison and Anderson Islands
A Field Guide for Paddlers

Why?
This guide is chapter 2 of an effort started in 2011 which sought to fill in some gaps in the Wild Coast series of guides by John Kimantas.

The 2011 effort resulted in West Coast of Banks Island – A Field Guide for Paddlers.  Like the Banks Island guide, areas covered in The Wild Coast Volume II are not included in this chapter, except by reference.

Who?
In 2012 nine members of the Nanaimo Paddlers club decided to survey the western shores of Aristazabal (including all of Rennison Island and Anderson Islands), Price and Athlone Islands.  It was a good test for the campsites as eight tents needed to be accommodated.  All members of the group contributed to the gathering of information.  Most of the photographs were taken by Geoff Mumford and Karina Younk.  Most of the pre-trip survey preparation and post-trip organization of the information was done by Reale Emond and Glenn Lewis.  


Overview of the surveyed area
From Oswald Point on the northwest corner of Rennison Island to Cape Mark southwest of Athlone Island is about 80nm going more or less directly.  However, those wanting a shorter open water crossing of Laredo Sound at the south end of Aristazabal and an alternative to the 8-9 nm crossing of Milbanke Sound at the south end of Price will need to paddle an additional 15-20 nm.  The area is isolated but not so remote or unoccupied as Banks Island.  Sports fishers from the North King Lodge located in Borrowman Bay on Aristazabal Island will be seen from the north end of Aristazabal down at least as far as Clifford Bay.  Similarly, the West Coast Resorts lodge near Athlone Island spread their guests between Cape Swain and Cape Mark.  In an area that is several hours away from the life boat stationed in Bella Bella, the presence of sports fishers provides some additional support should an emergency arise.

The survey area is uniformly quite flat and is largely part of a formation known as the Milbanke Strandflat.  This means that shallow waters extend west of the main shore line.  Between Cape Mark and Oswald Point there are between 500-1000 islands or islets and perhaps twice that number of rocks and reefs, mostly within a mile of the main islands.  Most of the time, paddlers will be either fully or partially protected from sea states farther to the west.  Another benefit of the low topography is that most of the clouds that will drop rain on the hills and mountains to the east carry on by without stopping.  Ocean swell that was often substantially blocked by Haida Gwaii further to the north becomes more noticeable as one moves south from Clifford Bay on Aristazabal.
We found the area relatively easy to paddle for a western exposure, mainly due to the large stretches of inshore paddling available that were fully protected and the relatively short exposures to the open ocean.  Paddling the area does require open water crossings of Laredo Channel (about 4.5 nm), Laredo Sound (about 6.5 nm from the south end of Aristazabal over to Price going directly), Milbanke Sound (about 5 nm from Langford Cove on Price Island to Salal Island or 8-9 nm going directly from the south end of Price Island to Athlone Island).  Aside from the presence of sports fishers, the area shows few signs of human use except for two cabins near the northern end of Aristazabal and a whale observation post at Ulric Point.  Weather information comes from the Klemtu repeater in the northern sections and the Calvert Island repeater further south; reception is generally quite good.

West Coast Banks Island - A Field Guide for Paddlers

 

Why?

Since the publication of the Wild Coast Series by John Kimantas and Boat Camping Haida Gwaii by Neil Fraser, kayakers have been able to paddle almost all of the west coast of British Columbia more safely and enjoyably. A gap in the Wild Coast series, quite understandable given the size of the project, is a lack of information for most of the west coast of the outer islands from Larsen Harbour on Banks Island to Cape Calvert on Calvert Island. The information provided here aims to fill part of that gap. Areas already covered by the Wild Coast series are not included.

Who?

Four members of the Nanaimo Paddlers (its what it sounds like) decided to survey the western shores of Banks and Aristazabal Islands in the summer of 2011 and make the collected information available to those who can use it. The collective experience of those involved in the survey and preparation of this field guide includes paddling all but about 60 miles of the western shores of British Columbia South of Prince Rupert and Cape Knox to Tofino. An injury resulted in the trip being diverted homeward after the completion of the west coast of Banks Island leaving Aristazabal for another day.

Overview of the surveyed area

From Deadman Point on the northern tip of Banks to the area around the southern tip is between 45-50 nautical miles going more or less directly. Subjectively, aside from headlands like Cape Scott, Cape Cook and Estevan Point, we found the area comparable to the west coast of Vancouver Island north of Tofino in terms of challenges for the touring paddler.

The area is very isolated and paddlers should plan to look after themselves, expecting help from outside to come, but perhaps not in a very timely way. In 2011, there were no people living along the west coast of Banks and we encountered only one sail boat and no sports or commercial fish boats near to shore. The shore shows very few signs of post contact historical development. In short, it is an isolated wilderness experience. Leave your ego and schedule at home, bring an extra VHF, and enjoy.