Bull Harbour is a jumping off spot on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. This is the last safe harbor before crossing the Nahwitti Bar and rounding Cape Scott, especially in June when the summer weather hasn’t settled in yet. On June 8th, this is where I met Lyndon and Tiffany Walde of Walde Sailing. The video below is from there weekly episodes which they post on YouTube. You will see Sampaguita making a cameo appearance from time mark 13:09 until the end of the video. Well, a cameo is a bit of a stretch, but I can at least say she is a film extra!

Actually, Bull Harbor is on Hope Island, just off the northern tip of Vancouver Island and represents the farthest north I have yet to sail with Sampaguita. Wikipedia claims the population is between 2-20 people. It is First Nation land and as it was late in, and early out for me, I did not go ashore. The anchoring here is excellent in about 25 feet of water with a muddy bottom.

The following morning I left Bull Harbor and timed the crossing of Nahwitti Bar which is just west of Hope Island. The crossing was uneventful on this particular day, but this is one of those spots publishings warn you about. It is recommended you cross at high water slack and to think twice if there is significant wind and/or incoming ocean swell.

On the day I crossed the Bar, June 9, 2018, Sampaguita and I had our longest leg of the nearly 1000 nautical mile journey, at 58.19NM in our effort to make Winter Harbour.  It included rounding Cape Scott under less than ideal conditions, taking on the Pacific Ocean and entering the unfamiliar Quatsino Sound and anchoring after dark. However, I will save that story for another post.

The Pier in Bull Harbour from the Rear View Mirror

A Sea Stack in the Bull Harbour Channel.