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Location
Nitinat
Lake is one of Canadas most popular windsurfing destinations. Located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island about 150
km from Victoria the lake offers consistent winds during the summer
months. For directions to the lake visit RKK's
Nitinat page.
The Lake
Nitinat lake
has consistent thermal winds all summer long. If it's sunny it usually
blows and if there's fog along the coast it blows hard. The
campsite is nestled in a grove of giant spruce trees. There
is a lot to explore in the area including canyons, caves, rivers
and spectacular virgin forests. The lake itself is a very
pleasant and safe place to sail. If you get into trouble,
the worst case scenario is that you will end up at the end
of the lake a half mile or so below the camground. Usually you'll
get rescued before that.
There are facilities at the Nitinaht
Visitors Centre including a store, restaurant, and motel. The Visitors
Centre also sells a wide variety of food and other goods and has a
good selecton of windsurfing equipment available.
Sailing Conditions
The
season runs from May through September, July and August being the
most consistent months. A typical day starts with light outflow
winds which switch around to inflow in the morning and build during
the day. The winds usually subside in the early evening. The
sailing day often starts with an interesting phenomenon known as
a wind line. A band of wind advances down the lake with flat
calm water in front and 10+ knots behind Sailing tends
to be pretty flat water. Even when it's blowing 30 knots there
is not enough fetch to get much of swell. I've heard some
wind snobs refer to the place as NitFlat!
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When to Go
There's
no need to get too fancy with your wind predictions for the lake.
If it's sunny it's invariably windy. There is the occasional
nice day that doesn't blow and even less often a strong easterly
flow turns the wind around. I've sailed an easterly before
but they're usually pretty light and gusty. If the Meteorlogical
Service of Canada satellite image looks like the image above then
it's a great day at Nitinat - guaranteed. Click
here to view the current image. Thick fog on the coast
and warm temperatures inland product a pressure gradient which results
in strong thermal winds. These winds are amazingly steady unlike the gusty winds you'll often experience in places
like the Gorge and Maui.
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Access
The last 50 km of the journey to
the lake are on gravel and road conditions can be BRUTAL!
All of the roads in the area are private logging roads
and if they're not logging in an area the roads receive minimal
or no maintenance; it doesn't take very long before they become
a sea of potholes. When there is active logging logging trucks
can be a hazard. Some sections are built for "Double
Wide" trucks which take up most of the roadway. It is
terrifying to come around a corner and see one of these behemoths
bearing down on you with little or no room to get off the road.
Some have not survived the experience. If you break down and
have Roadside assistance with BCAA or ? - don't count on a tow
because you're on privately owned roads. The closest
garage is in Youbou on Cowichan Lake. Lastly, but not leastly,
make sure you tires are in good repair and you have a good spare
- flat tires are a matter of course on this road.
Campsite
The campsite is rated as "primitive".
This means no running water, no flush toilets, no garbage
collection etc. During peak season (July August) and when
the weather's good the campsite is CROWDED!
If you want a wilderness experience away from the crowds,
peak season Nitinat is not the place to be.
What to Bring
Come
prepared. Bring your full quiver if you have room. Some days
you'll need a big white board and an 8.5 - more typically
you'll be sailing 4.5 - 6.5 metres. There is no rental gear
available but a full range of equipment can be purchased at the
Nitinaht Visitors Center. Be prepared to be self sufficient
- bring water, and an adequate supply of beverages (if you run out of beer the 2 hours of logging roads driving is not
a pleasant option). The Visitors
Centre supplies the essentials including ice cream and cookies but
.
Report Card
Pros:
- Consistent steady winds in
summer months.
- Protected user-friendly sailing
- Beautiful Location
Cons:
- Difficult and risky access
- Very crowded in peak season
- Primitive camping
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