Cape Scott
Vancouver Island, British Columbia,
Canada
Cape Scott is a marine park on the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is a popular route for boating and sailing when exploring from the west side of Vancouver Island down into the inside passage on the east side of the island.. or vice versa.
The closest Vancouver Island marinas to the marine park are located in the communities of Port Hardy and Winter Harbour. The Cape Scott Marine Park is more like a marine passage for boaters than a marine destination unless you are on foot backpacking the trail on Vancouver Island.
The Cape Scott Marine Park meets all incoming weather systems head on. The route is accustomed to rough seas and heavy winds. The rocky outcroppings
and jagged cliffs are exposed to some very extreme weather conditions during the winter and early spring months. It is imperative that any marine crossing over the tip of Vancouver Island be well planned and coincide with good weather.
The summer and early fall months are the most popular
times to explore Cape Scott by boat. The seas are calm and the winds resting quietly on many days. With good weather and planning there are many sights to see including private sandy beaches, rocky headlands and wildlife.
A boat trip to Cape Scott takes planning. Prior to departing for Cape Scott most gather their thoughts and refuel in Bull Harbour on Hope Island. There is a 50 foot floating dock. When in Bull Harbour it is a good time to check weather conditions and review your navigation charts.
The highlight of the Cape Scott Marine Park is a backpacking trail, a lighthouse and the many sandy beaches. Traveling by boat the park starts about 6 nautical miles pass the Nahwitti
Bar. From your boat the shoreline views consist of kilometre after kilometre of rocky cliffs and sandy beaches.
Some beaches are in private coves and are good for open water moorage like Fisherman Bay, Experiment Bight and Nissen Bight. Fisherman Bay and Nissen Bight are good sheltered coves to weather out a storm. Experiment Bight may be tricky to enter if ocean swells are large. It is not sheltered from storms.
On the tip of Vancouver Island there are more parks. Boaters will visit Lanz and Cox Islands Provincial Parks. There
are some temporary anchorage points on the northwest side of Cox
Island and northeast side of Lanz Island.
Beresford, Sartine and Anne Vallee (Triangle) Islands are Ecological
Reserves. The reserves protect
nesting sites, large colonies of birds like tufted puffins, rhinoceros
auklets, cormorants and other wildlife. It is essential that all
boaters please stay away from these islands as not to disturb the
wildlife. The reserves are closed to the public.
Happy Boating and Sailing Eh !!
The EH TEAM.
Neighbouring BC Marine Regions
Haida Gwaii | North BC < North < Van. Isl. > East > Gulf Islands | Sunshine Coast
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Cape Scott