Could Esquimalt have docked Ark Royal in 1941?

Could HMS Ark Royal have gone to Esquimalt for a 1941 refit?

Probably not on the remembered 1941 docking evidence. An American refit is a more plausible alternative, and Esquimalt's beam or depth may have excluded Ark Royal.

A refit at Esquimalt would protect Ark Royal from bombing in a British dockyard and place her nearer the Far East. American facilities, including San Francisco, offer another way to put her in that part of the world. Alex Clarke recalls Royal Navy docking documents that did not list Ark Royal as suitable for Esquimalt in 1941. He thinks Unicorn was listed and suggests beam or depth as the possible reason for the difference. Later dockyard alterations cannot establish what the facility could accommodate in 1941.