Sea Kayaking the Bunsby Islands

Perfect weather for paddling in Checleset Bay Reserve 

The Bunsby Islands are a group of islands between Nootka Island and the Brooks Peninsula in Checleset Bay Ecological Reserve off the west coast of Vancouver Island. We managed to time our trip with perfect weather for sea kayaking and camping, which is not always the case in this part of the world! We spent 5 glorious days exploring the islands, fishing, spotting eagles and otters and lounging on the beach. Although we didn't quite make it to our planned destination (the Brooks Peninsula), we were able get off the grid, relax and unwind with our friends in a beautiful place I am already longing to return too.

We caught the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo and rendezvoused in Campbell River where we picked up our kayaks and stocked up on the last few supplies for the trip. From there, we continued up island and turned west at Woss. Two hours of dirt road later, we arrived at the end of the road in Fair Harbour on the west side of Vancouver Island.

Kayaks acquired

Hot summer weather on our arrival to Fair Harbour

After a full day of travel, we arrived to unseasonable warm temperatures and clear skies. We set up camp for the night in Fair Harbour and spent the evening doing the final gear check and packing for our 5 day kayak adventure.

Fair Harbour sunset

We met the water taxi the next morning and loaded all our gear and drinking water into the boat. There is very little fresh water available on the islands so we had enough to last the entire trip. Actually, we had way more than we needed but it was better to be safe than sorry!

Ready to go!

En route to the Bunsbys

The water taxi dropped us off on a little island with a beautiful beach. We ferried our gear up on shore, said goodbye to the driver and then we were alone. The rest of the day comprised of setting up camp, eating snacks and venturing out in the kayaks to check out some of the other islands in the Bunsby Group. A perfect start to the trip.

Clear sky and calm water

Lunch time

Cozy campsite

Kyle seems suspicious of the jellies

Afternoon exploration

Catching dinner

A good haul

The weather was hot but the water was cold! That being said, we all jumped in to cool off from the summer heat through the afternoon and chilled our bag of rose in the bay to enjoy as the sun set.

Overnight, we woke to the sound of logs jostling and kayaks squeaking. David and Tyler got up to investigate and realized that the tide had come up way higher than we expected and the gear we left out on the logs at the top of the beach was at risk of floating away! They woke us up and we moved all the boats and bags well above the high tide line and the crisis was averted. It turns out that night was a king tide. There weren't any more super high tides like that for the rest of the trip, but we had learned our lesson and secured our boats high above the tide line every night after.

Kyle is ready to rock as we depart for the Brooks Peninsula

We did an inventory of our gear in the morning and thankfully nothing essential had drifted away. The only casualty of the king tide was our mostly full bag of rose. It was sad but it could have been much worse. We had a breakfast in the sun and packed up to start our paddle out of the Bunsby Islands to the Brooks Peninsula. Just before we loaded into our boats, Kyle spotted a shiny object on the beach in the other bay. It was our foil bag of rose! Another crisis had been averted.

Paddling through Gay Passage

Just as we were about to leave camp, a group of paddlers stopped in for a break on the beach. They looked us over and were definitely judging our attire of board shorts and silly hats while they were fully decked out in dry suits. They looked hot, but would be much more prepared if they capsized into the chilly pacific ocean. They not-so subtly suggested that we might consider camping in the Cuttle Islands instead of making the crossing to the Brooks Peninsula if it was windy. 

Fortunately the paddling was easy on the calm waters in the Bunsby Islands and we made good time across Battle Bay toward the Acous Peninsula. A strangely hot wind was blowing out of Ououkinsh Inlet. With the warm temperatures and bright blue water it felt like we were somewhere tropical rather than on the west coast of Vancouver Island. We stopped for lunch in the Cuttle Islands before pushing on towards Jackobson Point.

Taking a lunch break in the Cuttle Islands

Leaving the Cuttles behind we followed the shore, staying in the islands as much as we could. The wind had started to pick up and was slowing our progress significantly. By the time we got to the mouth of the inlet that we would need to cross to get to the Brooks, the waves had become whitecaps. With the challenging conditions, we didn't feel comfortable paddling the final 3km across the open channel and made the decision to return to the Cuttles to find a cool spot to camp for the night. The other paddlers would have approved.

Wind and waves starting to pick up

After a bit of exploration, we found an awesome spot to camp. Our whole adventure had only taken a few hours so we had plenty of time to set up our tents and relax on the beach. The trip had been very leisurely so far and that was fine by me!

Another cozy campsite

Kayaks very high up on shore this evening.

Beach games and relaxation

West coast camp kitchen

Sunset over the Brooks Peninsula

The next morning we woke to another beautiful day. Retracing our route to the Bunsbys we meandered through the islands enjoying the scenery and trying to sneak up on sea otters. It was a short paddle back to our first campsite which we used again because it was so awesome. 

Back to glassy calm water

Finding channels through the Bunsbys

They boys took off in the kayaks for an afternoon of fishing, where they landed and lost a massive lingcod. Patrick had managed to pull the huge fish into his kayak and bonk it on the head, and he secured it under the bungies on the front of the boat. He was devastated when the fish slid out and into the water, sinking out of reach before he could scoop it back up. I am not sure he will ever recover. Rebecca and I stayed behind, choosing to set up our hammocks, sip wine, nap and read our books in the shade.

Now we chill

Hammock time

The clouds started to roll in that evening, resulting in another beautiful sunset.

Moody west coast sunset

Beautiful evening

Day 4 was a short and straight paddle to Spring Island. It was a cooler day now that the fog and clouds had rolled in but it was incredibly calm.

Breakfast time!

Grey skies but calm seas

This was the weather I was expecting when we planned the trip

Kyle taking a break from paddling

On arrival to Spring Island, we set up our camp on a small island nearby then paddled over to check out the bigger island. We followed a trail through the forest that led us to a basketball court and multiple small beaches and spent most of the afternoon exploring.

Walking among giants

Exploring Spring Island

Short intermission from kayaking to shoot some hoops

Another awesome basecamp
Our final day was a long paddle back to Fair Harbour, passing Kyuquot and Walter's Cove fishing lodge on the way. We stopped on Union Island for lunch and saw wolf tracks on the beach. Shortly after getting back on the water, Kyle spotted a lone wolf on the shore watching us.

During the trip, we had seen lots of wildlife, but no whales. I had been a bit disappointed until we saw the sea wolf, which more than made up for the lack of whales.

Patrick and Rebecca heading home

Reflections

Paddling down Kyuquot Sound felt really long. It was a relief when rounded the corner into Fair Harbour and we knew we had almost made it back to the boat launch. The water in Fair Harbour was dazzlingly green which was a nice treat for the final stretch of paddling.

Emerald green water

Not far now

As we pulled up to the boat launch, the group of kayakers we had met on our second day were also unloading their boats. They were the only other group of people we had interacted with the entire 5 days after the water taxi had dropped us off. Kyle made a dramatic entrance by falling out of his boat with a splash when he stepped out onto the slippery ramp. If the other group was surprised to see that we had survived our paddling trip they didn't show it, but I am sure that they had their concerns.

The trip ended with a drive back across the island to camp at Elk Creek Rec Site for a night before returning our kayaks and spending the day exploring Comox.

Successful kayak trip!

 I dropped Kyle off at the Nanaimo Airport then went to catch the ferry back to Horseshoe Bay. I had made a reservation but as an "overheight vehicle" because the standard reservations were full. Upon arrival, they were not going to honour my reservation as my car wasn't overheight. Fortunately, they let me put one of David and Tyler's kayaks on the roof so that I was tall enough and I made it on the ferry back to the mainland! The alternative was likely a 1-2 sailing wait and possibly not even getting a ferry until the next morning.

Made the ferry and heading home

Spending a week on Vancouver Island was amazing. It was so cool to do something completely different and explore an incredible part of BC with a great group of friends!