VICE 2021

We have returned from participating in VICE 2021–Vancouver Island Cruising Experience. VICE happens most years and is run as part of the Bluewater Cruising Association of which we are members. The goal of VICE is to give would-be offshore sailors a chance to experience a multi-day offshore sail but with some other boats along for support. Three boats took part this year–Naida, Vortice and Cambria. We met in Ucluelet, BC.

For those who are unfamiliar with Canada’s west coast, Ucluelet is on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It is a well-protected harbour but if one turns west upon leaving the harbour there is nothing between you and Japan! It’s the wide-open Pacific Ocean!

The goal of the trip was to experience the open ocean for a few days–a chance to test ourselves, our systems and Cambria under those conditions.

We met our fellow VICE participants a couple of days before we were to set off. We decided to make our trip two days. We chose a waypoint to aim for and decided we’d turn around after 24 hours. We kept a close eye on the weather. Before our arrival in Ucluelet there had been some strong winds off the west coast. In fact, the winds had been strong enough that I did not want to sail in them. I was a little apprehensive that the other boats would want to head out into conditions that we didn’t want to face. When it came time to choose our weather window we did head out into dubious conditions. Dubious not because the winds were too strong. It was the exact opposite. Dubious because the winds were too light. The weather forecast called for winds that were very light for much of the time we’d be out. Unfortunately, the winds were not forecast to return for several days and none of us had the time to wait 5-7 days for their return. We decided to head out even if it meant motoring for some of the trip. As it turned out we had to motor a little more than half the trip. The rest of the time we had enough wind to sail comfortably.

So, what did we learn? We learned that Cambria is very comfortable on a passage like this. With very little effort we were able to trim the sails and get her moving along well. We were able to sleep comfortably and go about our normal jobs like cooking and cleaning.

The first night we took four-hour shifts–watches–but decided four hours was too long. The second night we kept three-hour watches which gave the off-watch person the rest he/she needed while the person on watch didn’t have to fight to stay awake. Staying awake and alert from midnight to three a.m. is much easier than staying awake and alert from midnight to four a.m.

When we turned around after 24 hours, we were 114 nautical miles offshore–211 km. People have asked if it was scary to be so far from land. I have to say that I didn’t really think about it before being asked. It wasn’t. We felt very safe and secure aboard Cambria. Once one gets away from the coast there isn’t anything to run into. After 12 hours of sailing west we no longer saw any fishing boats or freighters. It was just us and our two buddy boats. It’s different than coastal cruising where one has to constantly adjust course to avoid boats or other obstacles. On this trip it felt really good once we were clear of the Ucluelet harbour to set our course, trim the sails and sit back and let Cambria do the rest.

When looking to buy Cambria, we knew that she had logged many offshore miles. The original owners sailed her from England to New Zealand. From there she had spent several seasons in New Zealand and the South Pacific. We did a lot of research before buying Cambria and knew that Westerlies were well made, capable boats but it was good to experience sailing her offshore ourselves. It was good to test the new sails, rigging and the various system changes we’ve made to see how well they performed. The main take away from the trip is confidence–confidence in Cambria’s offshore capabilities. All in all, everything was great and we look forward to more offshore cruising!