Chapter 3—Tooling Around Tofino
Map of the west coast of Vancouver Island--between Ucluelet and Tofino Today is the first of about three or four days we will spend in Tofino. Tofino is great place. As I wrote in 1996 in my story Around Vancouver Island:
“..the place [Tofino] is very artsy-fartsy and full of liberals, whale watchers, surfers and various other randoms.”
Not too much has changed since then, although the town is even more overrun by tourists. Despite the influx of backpackers, “hippies”, yakers, camera totin’ whale watchers and deutsch speaking Germans, Tofino still maintains its hip sense of style. As Ucluelet and Bamfield are the “metropolitan” hubs of Barkley Sound, Tofino is the hub of Clayoquot Sound.
Dawn at Clayoquopt Sound. Weigh West Marina in foreground, Strawberry Island in background. Tofino is a great stopover for the cruising sailor. The town is good sized and has many useful stores and restaurants. There is a food COOP located right downtown that has a variety of groceries including fresh meat and fish. Across the street is a hardware COOP that has a variety of things mechanical. A small but well stocked marine chandlery is in a building on pilings on the waterfront—this is also where you will find fuel and propane. For the drinkers on board, there is standard Government Issue Liquor Store as well as a bottle shop that sports higher prices, but more liberal hours. There are a bizillion trendy gift shops—so don’t worry about finding your loved one a suitable coming-home present. Patagonia, kayaking accessories and hemp products are in abundance.
Across from our moorage at Weigh West is an old boat, stranded high and dry on Strawberry Island. The boat has been converted into a home and is complete with hanging plants and flowerpots. Someone later tells me that the boat used to be the ferry that ran from Vancouver to North Vancouver. It is now apparently home to some guy who has devoted his life to the study of whales. Far beyond Strawberry Island the snow-capped Bedingfield Range and Catface Range of mountains provide a dramatic backdrop to Tofino. In a few days we will be cruising just below these beautiful mountains.
To be hip in Tofino, you need to do a few things. First, you need to learn to pronounce some places correctly:


Place		 Incorrect
Pronunciation		 Correct
Pronunciation
Clayoquot “Clay-o-quot ” “Clack- woot”
Amphitrite Point “Amphi- whatever” “Am-fi- trite”
Ahousat “A-hooz-it” “Ah-hows- it”


The scene at the <i>Coffee Pod<i>--Tofino, British Columbia. To further clarify, Ahousat is pronounced like “Ah-hows-it goin dude?” I’m sure I will get scores of emails from locals telling me that my pronunciation guidelines are screwed.
Second, you need to spend hours hanging out at the “Coffee Pod” drinking Caffè Lattes, trying to look like a local. Hemp clothing, dreadlocks and a backpack will help you fit in. And yes, that is Coffee Pod like a “Pod of Whales”. In all honesty, the Coffee Pod has both excellent coffee and excellent food. However, if you’re tired from the fog, or surfing in the 50 degree Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) water and need some grub that will really stick to your ribs, try “The Loft”. This venerable Tofino institution has been here for a long time and is always busy. We ate at the Loft three times during our stay at Tofino.
Due to its good accessibility we have chosen Tofino as the crew rendezvous spot for this trip. It is possible to drive to Tofino, though my father noted going over the Vancouver Island Range on Highway 4 in his land-yacht (motorhome) was a real bitch. In Tofino we will practically have a family reunion. We will meet up with my dad and his wife who are here vacationing in the land-yacht. My brother Sebastian, sister Antionette and cousins Willard and Christalini will be joining us on the Patience for a few days while we explore Clayoquot Sound. That afternoon and evening, everyone makes their arrival. The Patience is low on her waterlines hosting the crew of six. My father and his wife observe with interest from the safely distant campground in Ucluelet.
Brother Sebastian in bow of Avon on our way out crabbing and fishing. One of the many Clayoquot Sound sand-bars in background. The next morning we wake up. One can hardly move due to the overabundance of passed-out bodies scattered in the cabin. After a leisurely coffee at the Pod, Sebastian and I load up the Avon with safety and fishing gear and head out to Wilf Rock for some salmon fishing. Wilf Rock is about 5 or 6 nautical miles west of Tofino, exposed to the open Pacific. We have been told by our expert hosts at the Weigh West that this is where the fish are. Getting to Wilf Rock via Avon is a little intimidating, but we feel much more secure in our new hard bottom Avon (the old soft bottom Avon got stolen, necessitating replacement). At Wilf, we hook two nice Coho, which we have to throw back because they are restricted. If you’re fair-weather fisherman, like me, you probably have been confused by all the different kinds of salmon. This gets even more confusing when you are in Canada, because the Canadians have their own lingo for the different fish. So, here you go. A simple reference guide/cheatsheet for all the different types of salmon:


Canadian Verbiage		 US Verbiage Typical Use
Coho Silver BBQ or Bake
Chinook/Spring
   >30lbs is a Tyee
 King BBQ or Bake
Sockeye Sockeye Can/BBQ/Bake
Chum/Dog Salmon Chum/Dog Salmon Smoked
Pink/Humpies Pink/Humpies Smoked

Amphitrite Point. Northern entrance to Barkley Sound, British Columbia. After a few hours, the fog starts to ominously move towards our little outpost near Wilf and we decide in the name of survival to head back for the mother ship.
On our way back, we check the crab pot that we had set late the night before near Deadman’s Pass. Unfortunately, the current has stripped out our bait and we are skunked again. Currents really whisk in and out around Tofino. Throughout the whole area, the current seems to ebb/flood at about 3 knots in varying directions. After pulling the trap, we head over to the nearby Deadman’s Islets to check out the small bald eagle population that has nested there.
Author standing in front of the A-Frame woodshed he built back in the late '70s--Ucluelet, British Columbia. When we arrive back, my sister and Willard take us up the hill to see a random old tree that has a hollowed trunk that some hitchhiker has shown them. All six of us can cram inside the hollowed trunk. You can look up inside the tree about 20 – 30 feet (6.1 – 9.1 meters). Later that day we drive down to Ucluelet in Willard and Christalini trusty Volvo looking for my dad and his wife. We are unsuccessful in finding them, but do drive out to check out Amphitrite Point. The side trip is a little disappointing as the actual lighthouse is fenced off. Amphitrite Point together with Cape Beale to the south serve as the sentinals to Barkley Sound.
The road that runs between Ucluelet and Tofino is part of Highway 4. This 20 mile (32.2 kilometer) road skirts what is known as Long Beach National Park, a part of the Pacific Rim National Park. The Pacific Rim National Park includes not only Long Beach, but also the Broken Group in central Barkley Sound and the West Coast Trail between Port Renfrew and Bamfield. If you have looked at my pictures, you will know this is all pristine country. The park was established in 1971 amid some controversy. In the mid to late sixties, “hippies” and other counterculture types had been squatting on the beaches of Wreck Bay, Schooner Cove and Shelter Bight. The Pacific Rim Park administration sent in bulldozers and leveled all the squatter’s driftwood houses. Today overnight beach camping and beach driving are prohibited.
Sister and Cousin. Long Beach in background--British Columbia. My cousins have an interesting perspective on Long Beach since they have been vacationing here since the mid ‘60s. They tell funny stories of driving the then dirt Highway 4 out on the weekends, in search of the perfect wave. In the ‘70s, they loved the area enough to rebuild an A-frame cabin on a lot near Ucluelet. I was lucky enough to spend a few summers here, working on the cabin in the morning, surfing in the afternoon in the cold Pacific. We stop by the A-frame today. Not only is the cabin looking good, but the small A-frame woodshed I built is still standing strong and full of wood.
Chesterman's Beach--Tofino, British Columbia. Today we do no surfing, but we do walk beautiful Long Beach. It is slightly foggy at the beach, but that doesn’t stop the throngs of tourists who are here to enjoy the sand and surf. I must say, there is a lot to do. You can brave the 50 degree Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) waters and go surfing, boogie boarding or body surfing. There are plenty of places in town that will rent you a board (and a wetsuit for the weak of heart). Long Beach National Park starts at Cox Point about three miles south of Tofino. The park continues uninterrupted for about 13 nautical miles southwest to the end of Florencia Bay, near Ucluelet. Schooner Cove, Combers Beach, Wickaninnish Beach, Florencia (Wreck) Bay and Long Beach itself are all part of the park. Also included in the park is Grice Bay on the inland side of Clayoquot Sound (just southeast of Tsapee Narrows). You can often see Gray Whales in Grice Bay. You can hike one of the nine trails or simply walk any of the beautiful beaches. There are good vantage points throughout the park to watch whales, birds or people.











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