Broughton Archipelago - September 5-7, 2009

Heather and I kayaked along the northeast side of Vancouver Island on the Johnstone Strait in early July with hopes of seeing the beautiful landscapes, incredible wildlife and maybe spot one of the resident Orca. On that trip we were lucky enough to see a lone Orca off of the beach we camped at. This sparked our interest in returning to the area. This time we wanted to cross the Johnstone Strait and head into the Broughton Archipelago Provincial Park.

The Broughton Archipelago is a myriad of islands and islets off the north coast of Vancouver Island extending all the way to the BC mainland. The area was of great significance to many groups of First Nations and integral to their traditional food system. It is still very important to the First Nations in the area, however, it's use as a food source has diminished. Recently, the area has gained significance for whale watching, sightseeing, sea kayaking and other tourism related ventures.

We had been planning a trip over the September long weekend for over two months and as the days neared we grew wary due to the bleak weather forecasts. We were delighted to see an opening in the weather as the forecasts improved on Friday morning. We decided to head up towards Telegraph Cove and had a multitude of options if the weather was not in our favour.


*Map of the area we paddled (click to enlarge)*

Our trip would start in Telegraph Cove, which has become a popular staging ground for multi-day kayak trips. Heather and I like to “buck the trend” and brought our 18.5 foot canoe, a very capable ocean going vessel.

As it was mostly windy and rainy while we paddled we were unable to take many pictures while on the water so my hope is to capture the story with the written text.

DAY ONE – 18kms of paddling


*Route on day 1 - blue line (click to enlarge)*

We left work on Friday evening and drove 5 hours to Telegraph Cove. It was rainy and cool and we listened to the sound of rain pounding off of our tent all evening. We were happy to wake to a light mist at 6:30am. We turned on our VHF radio and got the marine forecast. Things were looking up as the forecast indicated 10-15 knot winds becoming light in the afternoon.

We were loaded up and on the water by 9am. Turning out of Telegraph Cove we were greeted by some angry water with 2-3 foot chop along Ella Point, the canoe handled this water with ease. As we headed to Blinkhorn Peninsula the rain started to poor, but we noticed the waters in Johnstone Strait were relatively calm.


*Leaving Telegraph Cove*


*Bald Eagle on Bauza Islets*

We decided to take advantage of the calm waters and start our 2.5 km crossing of Johnstone Strait, towards Weytnon Passage. Weynton Passage can create some nasty water during an ebbing or flooding tide, resulting in tidal rips and whirlpools, so we timed our cross for slack tide. Weynton Passage is home to the beautiful Plumper Islands group and Cormorant Channel Marine Park. This passage boasts abundant marine life due to the fast moving waters. The area was beautiful and we enjoyed watching the rain bounce off the still sea as we cut through the water. Weynton Passage was nice to paddle at slack tide, but, we did not want to linger as getting caught in the coming flood tide would be dangerous. As we rounded the north side of Hanson Island the skies cleared and the sun shone upon us, lifting our spirits. We were now looking into the body of water known as Blackfish Sound (Blackfish is another name for Orca). We explored the islands and islets off the north shore of Hanson and listened to the Vessel Traffic Service see if any large craft would be coming through Blackfish. There was no traffic heading our way so we decided to take advantage of the calm weather and ride the flooding tide. We paddled hard across the 3km crossing to our final destination – Flower Island.


*Parsons Bay with Vancouver Island mountains in the backdrop*

We spent the rest of the day setting up camp with tarps in anticipation of the wet weather in the forecast. The afternoon and evening was sunny and warm as we layed out on grassy bluff overlooking Blackfish Sound and Blackney Passage watching marine birds float in the wind. Quiggs enjoyed jumping off the rocks and even enticed us to join him for a quick dip in the invigorating water.


*Quiggs diving into Blackfish Sound*


*Quiggs enjoying a game of stick*


*Cruise ship heading through Blackney Passage*


*Heather with Fresh Rock and Slate Point*

DAY TWO – 21km of paddling


*Loop route on day 2 - red line (click to enlarge)*

The wind howled and it poured rain on our tent all night however, we stayed dry. We slept in to catch up from last night rising around 9am and the rain stopped shortly after. We had a relaxing breakfast and listened to the marine forecast over coffee and hot chocolate. The weather sounded decent with light winds in the morning building to 10-20 knots in the afternoon. As the sun was coming up we decided to paddle up Indian Channel to Village Island.


*Looking towards West Passage (leads to Village Channel)*

Our second day would take us into the most southern portion of the Broughton Archipelago Provincial Park. We would love to take a month and explore the entire area, but we would enjoy the three days we had. The paddle through the Star Islets and Sarah Islets was enjoyable, however, as we entered Indian Channel we found ourselves paddling into a stiff wind.


*Great Blue Heron on Star Islets*

We found some refuge as we entered the Carey Group of Islands. We paddled hard between the islands, resting on the lee side of each island. The final push from Ralph Island to Cecil Islets proved to be the biggest test with strong winds opposing the flooding tide providing for 3-4 foot chop. As we paddled into Village Island we were greeted by a couple of porpoise – a welcome site. We explored Village Island and the abandoned village of Meem Quam Leese (Mamalilaculla).


*Village Island*

The village was inhabited until 1960. The village had multiple houses in differing states of disrepair, a fallen totem, fish cleaning tables, a long house and other structures. There used to be tours run on the island but are no longer being offered. Due to this the trails were grown over with blackberry brambles. We fought our way through what was left of the trails gaining multiple scratches and battle scars along the way. The historical significance and remaining cultural sites were well worth the small abrasions.


*Fallen Totem*


*Portion of fallen totem*


*Portion of fallen totem*




*Vegetation engulfing this home*



The white shell beach was absolutely beautiful and we decided to soak up the sun while we looked upon the picturesque shoreline.







It was 3:30pm and the tide was turning to ebb and we paddled with both wind and tide at our back to our camp at Flower Island. We returned to camp via Village Channel and the Indian Group of Islands. This was a series of island and islets that offered neat shores and bird life. We returned to camp by 5:00pm and enjoyed a good meal and watched a beautiful sunset with the sound of porpoise fishing in Blackfish Sound.


*Birds floating over Blackfish Sound*







DAY THREE – 19 km of paddling

*Day 3 route - green line on right side of Hanson Island*



The marine forecast had indicated that poor weather was coming on Monday afternoon. We needed to cross through Blackney Passage at slack tide as during the flooding and ebbing tides fast currents create tidal rips and whirlpools making for water. Due to the inclement weather and timing of the tides we woke up a 4pm to break camp with plans of being on the water at 5am. Our hope was to make it to Parson Island so we could wait for the slack tide at around 6am (I have read that the turn can come early in this area). As we broke camp we listened to the Vehicle Traffic Service and started to hear a parade of cruise ships were going to be rounding Cracroft Point from 4:45am to 5:15am. These massive ships kick up huge wakes and it is not recommended being close to these ships in small craft. We waited at camp with a packed canoe for the last of the wakes to hit the shore. We were off at 5:30 and paddled hard before sunrise to Parson Island. As we paddled we heard the sound of porpoise blowing 25-50 meters off the starboard side, an eerie sound in the dark while on the water. We arrived at Blackney Passage at 6:15 and were startled by three porpoise jumping right off the bow of the canoe. This seemed to give us the spark we needed and we quickly paddled across Blackney Passage and tucked into two small islands off the east side of Hanson Island. The current was starting to ebb and required us to continue with our pace to round the south end of Hanson Island. The rain started to pour and we paddled in some moderate chop along Hanson Island and crossed to Blinkhorn Peninsula and back to Telegraph Cove.

While the weather was not optimal the trip was great. We would love to return with the time to explore more of what this region has to offer. From what we hear the further into the park you go the less people and more beautiful the area becomes.