Between Atmospheric Rivers: View Royal to Victoria in Six Minutes of Sunshine

You know those breaks in the weather that make you question whether you imagined the last two weeks of rain? That was last week.

One moment it’s dumping sideways, the next — blue sky. And not just blue sky, but that golden glow that makes the entire West Coast look like it’s auditioning for a travel ad. I had about six minutes before the next atmospheric river came barreling through, so I did what any rational adult would do: ran to the parking lot with the drone like it was a fire drill.

From up there, View Royal looked unreal. The clouds were splitting open, light spilling through onto Esquimalt and downtown Victoria, the ocean catching every bit of orange reflection. It’s one of those rare moments where you’re not just filming — you’re kind of standing there, half-laughing, half-freezing, trying to believe you live somewhere this moody and beautiful.

And yes — before anyone asks — no filters, no ND, no presets. We were raw-dogging it. Straight sensor to sky, baby. Sometimes you just have to let the glass and the light do the talking.

I didn’t plan this flight, didn’t prep anything, didn’t even bring gloves. It was supposed to be another “meh” weather day. But that’s the West Coast — it’ll drown you for a week, then give you five minutes that remind you exactly why you stay.

The Air 3S did its thing, the light did the rest, and by the time I landed, the next wave of rain was already moving in from the Strait. Timing: 10/10. Fingers: frozen. Battery: worth it.

Sometimes the best flights don’t come from road trips or fancy locations — they happen in the parking lot outside your own front door, between storms, when you decide to ignore common sense and fly anyway.

(Captured from View Royal, looking toward Esquimalt and downtown Victoria. West Coast skies — unpredictable, dramatic, and occasionally polite enough to pose for six minutes.)

Vancouver Island Drones – still grounded, but not for long.