There's pretty much everything up there from endless stretches of white sandy beaches to sheer rock cliffs. The checkpoints are still tentative as I'd like to get the boat out to more of them this summer. The first spot that I'd like to get intimate with is the Seymour Narrows as its a notorious obstacle for us to overcome with its extreme tidal flows. For the most part however, I would expect that each evening, we'd plan the stops in some of the many small fishing ports that can offer us overnight docking. I would also suspect that we all share a single shore support vehicle that could ship our specific supplies to most of the stops. There are however, a few that are so remote (Cape Scott), that we'd have to arrange advanced delivery of supplies as there are no roads that lead there.

One option that I'm considering is holding it off for a year until 2011 as the bi-annual Van Isle 360 race takes place in June. Planned correctly, we can coordinate doing the most remote sailing at a time when there will be 50 or so other offshore boats in the area while we wail down the outside of the Island. Again, this is all still in the planning stages but safety is tantamount as we're really way out there when it comes to securing help if need be. On the good side, we skirt land the entire trip, there are lots of cities to small fishing ports that will offer refuge, accommodations and resources. I'm also in the process of trading out our powerboat to a 20' Zodiac so we'll have that to escort us as well.

So again, this is its preliminary planning stages. It seems to me that people crave extreme adventures these days and this challenge is certainly one that would fall into that category. The weather up here is in the mid 70's - low 80's, the water is cold but clean, there are whales, seals, eagles and some of the most stunning scenery that this world has to offer. Properly planned and provisioned, I could see 4 - 6 boats enjoying a once in a lifetime adventure that we'll carry with is as one of life's highlights.

So...still interested? I could sure use some help planning this.