Vancouver Island sightseeing cruise

[Titanium48]

Hello all,

I'm planning a vacation / family visiting trip for early July. I was originally planning on leaving my boat at my parent's house in the interior before continuing on to the Island and then picking it up on the way back home, but then I found out about BC Ferries "size up the savings" promotion so I am now thinking about taking it with me. I'd like to do a couple of 3-6 hour (round trip) ocean sightseeing cruises. My sister lives in Victoria, but I am open to anything between there and Comox. I have a small boat (16.5 ft open bow, 120 hp outboard, just like this one) so more sheltered areas would be preferable. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[GLG]

If you are up near Comox I would suggest Tribune Bay.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/tribune/

You can launch at Deep Bay
here is a map
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/map.html

 

[Kildonan]

Tribune bay is a beauty spot. Love it there.

 

[TenMile]

If she lives in Victoria, haul the boat down to Sidney - launch at Tulista Park and head over to Sidney Spit for the day. Super warm sandy beach. You can either tie to the dock for free or pull the boat up on shore. It's about a 5 minute boat ride.

 

[Sir Reel]

Both Tribune Bay and Sidney Spit are excellent choices.
Both of these on low tide are amazing.

 

[Titanium48]

Thanks you for the suggestions. Sidney Spit looks good, but it looks like we won't have quite as much time as I hoped for so we probably won't make it to Comox (maybe later in the summer or next year), but may have time for another day trip somewhere in the southern Gulf Islands. Some web searching has brought up Wallace Island, Pirate's Cove on De Courcy Island and Blackberry Point on Valdes Island. It looks like these should be accessible from launches in Crofton or Chemainus. Any preferences?

Thanks again.

 

[TenMile]

Thanks you for the suggestions. Sidney Spit looks good, but it looks like we won't have quite as much time as I hoped for so we probably won't make it to Comox (maybe later in the summer or next year), but may have time for another day trip somewhere in the southern Gulf Islands. Some web searching has brought up Wallace Island, Pirate's Cove on De Courcy Island and Blackberry Point on Valdes Island. It looks like these should be accessible from launches in Crofton or Chemainus. Any preferences?

Thanks again.

Wallace is great. There is a small dock there that has limited space that is first come first served. The water can get warm enough in the bay to swim. There is a very cool old house you can hike to where boaters make up a plaque with their boat name and hang it inside. There are now thousands of them so it looks pretty neat. Couple good little hikes and Geocaches if you have kids to entertain.

Another spot close to Wallace is Montague Harbour on Galiano (about 15 minutes away). It's a Provincial Park. Bigger dock space with more room. A very nice sandy/shell beach with swimmable water. There is a large campsite there so better toilet and water facilities than Wallace. Lots of sea creatures to explore at low tide -- a couple of hidden beaches and some hiking trails.

 

[Titanium48]

So I was doing a little google mapping and I found the Tulista Park launch. A huge 4-lane ramp with less than 30 parking spots, even counting the overflow down the street. How crazy early will I need to get there on a Saturday morning to avoid having to drive around town looking for parking?