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# Day 26: Sooke River Campground to Discovery Island
- URL: https://www.tumtum.com/we-are-pelagic-day-26/
- Published: 2026-07-25T01:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-26T18:47:38.000Z
- Author: Tom Unger
- Tags: vancouver2026

*From Colin:*

With a planned 8 am start, alarms were set for 6 am. Nelson and I were up a little early, and complemented by Tom for their quiet industry when he woke to his alarm and found us mostly packed up. Since Tom's efficient at camp-breakdown, we were launching our boats into the river at 10 minutes to 8.

We had much less water than on arrival, and we were concerned that the river channel may not be navigable. Though we made good progress initially, we were right to be concerned; we had to get out of our boats and float them through about 100 yards of 1.5 in deep water to transition from fresh to salt water. Once that was done, we paddled 4 mile and against light wind and the start of the flood, to exit Sooke Inlet and reach the Strait of Juan de Fuca. That took a, painful for some, 1 hour and 6 minutes (Tom made some comments about towing, and his willingness to accept a tow if offered). In the Strait we were instantly rewarded with a strong favorable current and were soon clipping along at > 6 kn. :-) And it wasn't much later that we got our sails up and we moved along cheerfully.

After 2 h and 30 mins (and 10 Nm) we took a break on this nice beach, west of the Victoria Bay...

... and fortified ourselves for the next leg.

2.5 hours, and 15 Nm later we had passed Race Rocks, crossed Victoria Bay, rescued me from a capsize (sailing and taking photos is a perilous combination), and landed on another nice beach, where a couple of locals were sunbathing in bikinis (no photos). We consumed our lunch, and pushed on for the final few miles, without the wind and current to which we'd become accustomed.

Our trip to Discovery Island...

![](https://www.tumtum.com/content/images/2026/09/day-26-02.jpg)

... took 7 h and 15 minutes, and we covered 27 Nm (our camp is on the far shore, to the right of the sign).

![](https://www.tumtum.com/content/images/2026/09/day-26-03.jpg)

We shared the island with another group of kayakers, Nick from Dundee (Scotland), his son Callum and one of his son's friends. I was surprised to learn that Nick and I attended the University of Aberdeen at the same time (back in the early '90s). Nick was quite talkative, and by the time I got back to our site Tom and Nelson were ready for dinner (the gas canister was hidden in my boat somewhere). Half of Discovery Island has been returned to the stewardship of one of the First Nations, and was off limits to us. Since our ability to explore was thus limited, over dinner we discussed finishing the trip on Saturday, instead of Sunday. An inconclusive round of voting preceded a coin-flip that made the decision for us; we'd head for home the next day. So, we resolved to explore the island that evening.

Our exploration was delayed as we strained to see the orca that passed, with the omnipresent parade of whale watching boats. It must be annoying if you're a whale, but we've seen an enormous amount of resource applied to getting humans into the proximity of whales all along the coast. It must be a good business, I feel for the whales and the constant invasion of privacy. Anyway, we got underway and found ourselves on the east end of the island at the old lighthouse. I was impressed with the mural on the side of the old fuel storage building.

![](https://www.tumtum.com/content/images/2026/09/day-26-04.jpg)

We would start the long crossing to Iceberg Point on Lopez Island, from the shore below the lighthouse the next day.

![](https://www.tumtum.com/content/images/2026/09/day-26-05.jpg)