We were out off Sooke today and you would have been just fine anywhere in JDF. The wind was glass calm and very little tide action current all day and that little current is very much a rarity. There was also unlimited visibility and modest boat traffic.
We observed three adventitious souls kilometers offshore in five hundred feet of water column in kayaks. Weather (wind) and current is the key to safety in small boats in JDF. Check the wind and current reports and move in and closer to your home port if you sense the wind building.The other thing to consider is that on a hot day like today it can actually be windier in Sooke basin than it is out in JDF where it can be glass but in the basin the air rising on the hot land sucks the colder air off the water in the afternoon and creates local wind, it could be a little bumpy but nothing that should be a problem for you.
One final thing to remember for this area is that August is affectionately referred to as Fogust by the locals and it sometimes comes up thick and fast. Our primary salmon fishery should finally open August 1st which means there will be a lot of boats out there that have been waiting for months to finally fish. There is a possibility that you could find yourself with almost no visibility and a great many boats around and besides the fishermen the big whale watching boats go very fast with 100 foot rooster tails behind them like ocean racers. If you are going to be out in the fog you will want a good gps chartplotter navigation unit, running lights and a compass. You will want to be comfortable around lots of boats in thick fog if you are going to venture out in the fog. If you are not comfortable in it and you see it rolling in, head for home. If you want to be out in it, a small tube type radar reflector may a good idea as I suspect a very low rubber boat full of air does not have the best radar signature . It is not that common for the fog to come up out of nowhere and not give you time to go in so don't be afraid of it. If it is going to be a foggy day you will usually know early and it can sometimes burn off with the sun mid day but it can also hang around thick all day.
