Category: First Light Cruising

Our last day in Lagoon Cove was a wet one so we decided it was time to head south for better weather.  Our route took us through Chatham Channel which on the chart looks shallow and narrow.  Turned out to be an easy passage.  The narrow portion is well marked with two ranges so staying in the channel was not a problem. In Johnstone Strait we had to deal with an adverse current of 1.5 – 2.5 kts. but fortunately, the wind was light, so the seas were calm.

We spent the night at Blind Channel Resort and enjoyed a great dinner at their restaurant.  We both ordered seafood bisque and shared an order of steamed mussels.

The next morning the wind was blowing 20 – 25 kts. from the NW in Johnstone Strait.  The ebb current was against the wind generating waves and a rolling ride.  After turning SE in Discovery Passage, the wind lightened to 12-15 kts. and we sailed for a few hours until we reached Plumper Bay.  We dropped the sails and circled the bay for an hour waiting for the current to slow in Seymour Narrows.   We went through the narrows a bit early and in hindsight we should have waited another half hour.  The current against us maxed out at 4.2 kts. And the water was turbulent, so the ride had a bit more excitement than we were looking for.

We spent the night and the next day in Drew Harbour.  The sun was out, it was warm, it was great.  On the way to Pender Harbour we spotted whales several times although they were a fair distance away.  After Pender we overnighted at Montague Harbour and the next day, we went to Roche Harbor.

In a couple of days, we are going to Anacortes, one of our favorite locations in the San Juan’s. We will be picking up our good friends Gary and Liz and will spend the next week enjoying their good company and having a wonderful time.

From Waddington Bay we made a short trip of 12 nm to Cullen Harbour.  We spent some extra time south of Broughton Island where we could receive a cell service and caught up on email and internet use.

The weather since leaving Campbell River has been OK, but we would have been pleased with it better.  In twelve days, there have been four mostly sunny days, and the rest were overcast with intermittent rain.  As Ginny heard at the grocery store, “if you don’t like rain, don’t come to a rain forest”.

Even with the marginal weather this is a gorgeous place to cruise.  There are numerous anchorages, three or four “resorts” and two towns for provisioning. 

The wildlife viewing was great.  We’ve seen bald eagles, dolphins, porpoises, humpback whales, and sea otters.  There are black and grizzly bears here, although we have yet to spot any.

The number of logs and trees in the water has been incredible.  Hardly ten minutes will go by without altering course to dodge big and small chunks of wood. Especially fun in dense fog!

After eight days anchored out, we went into Port McNeill for provisions, fuel, water, laundry, restaurant food, and a haircut.  The weather for the two days was great with partly sunny skies and temperature in the 70’s.

From Port McNeill we left early headed for Lagoon Cove, a small family run resort.  There are a few trails for hiking and at five o’clock a potluck happy hour with all the prawns you can eat.  Getting together is an enjoyable time meeting fellow boaters and talking about various adventures and experiences.

From Lagoon Cove we plan to head west about 15 nm to Mound Island anchorage.  Mound Island is near Blackfish Sound where we hope to catch chinook salmon. After a couple of days, we will start working our way back to the San Juan Islands.

During our stay in Waddington Bay, we dinghied out about a mile to see if we could find some rockfish.  After a bit I got one fairly good sized, and soon after Ginny caught one considerably larger. 

Then it was time to get back to the boat and prepare dinner.  In addition to the two fish, I snagged a strange looking sea creature.

Fish tacos for dinner!  Ginny lightly dredged the fillets in flour, lemon pepper and blackened seasoning and browned them in small amount of coconut oil.

The fish was served in 6″ flour tortillas, and a cabbage slaw with tartar sauce and salsa dressing.  A fine meal but watch out for bones!

We were off the dock at Campbell River at 7am planning for a 9:33am slack before ebb in Seymour Narrows.  The weather was the same as the day before, steady rain with moderate wind from the SE.  We crossed Discovery Passage to the east side to take advantage of the back eddies generated by the three knots of flood current. 

On the AIS I could see two sailboats ahead of us that were waiting for passage through the narrows.  As we approached, they both entered the narrows, so I was able to observe the conditions from a quarter mile away.  It was an hour before slack as we entered the narrows and we motored against 2.6 kts. of current with little turbulence.

Over the next five hours our speed increased on the ebb, maxing out at 11.2 kts in Race Passage in Johnstone Strait.  The rain never stopped and with the low clouds we didn’t see much of what we know is incredible mountain scenery. 

Johnstone Strait is notorious for strong north-westerlies against an ebb current making for uncomfortable conditions.  Fortunately, the forecast of 5-15 kt. variable winds was accurate which made for smooth sailing the entire day.

We anchored for the night in Port Harvey, not the most scenic location, but it was nice to stop and get out of our foulies and dry out.  I turned on the heater and it decided not to start, unlike the night before when it worked fine.  Another item for the squawk list.

The rain stopped overnight, and the next day was mostly dry, and the fog and low clouds created beautiful and interesting formations.

In Blackfish Sound Ginny spotted a humpback whale close off our starboard bow.  She slowed the boat, and we watched the whale surface three times as it crossed to port about a boat length ahead.

As we approached the Broughton Islands, we were escorted by several pacific white sided dolphins racing from bow to stern and riding our wake.

At the end of the five-hour trip we anchored in well protected Waddingham bay with five other boats and enjoyed the calm afternoon and evening.

We are planning to spend a couple of weeks in the Broughton’s and then we will work our way back south to the San Juan Islands.

From Grace Harbour, we weighed anchor at 8:30am, our next destination is Campbell River, a 24nm run in sunny skies and light wind. I’m watching our projected ETA on the chart plotter so we can enter Discovery Passage after max ebb current of 4.6 kts.

We turn north at Cape Mudge and with over a three knot push we’re doing 10.2 kts. headed for Discovery Harbour Marina. After arrival I changed the engine oil and Ginny checked us into the marina and did some shopping. Dinner was on the boat and early to bed for me.

The next day was Canada Day (Canada’s Birthday), which was a busy day for us. There is a great supermarket close to the marina and we took on extra provisions so we will be well stocked for our trip through the Broughton’s.

We enjoyed an early dinner at the nearby pub and received a raucous serenade by a local Scottish Highland pipe band.

Canada Day is much like our Independence Day celebration with parades, a fair, and fireworks. We missed the parade but had a good time listening to some live music, checking out the vendor booths and watching the happy kids.

We had a wonderful view of the fireworks only about a 15 minute walk from the boat. There were a lot of oohs, awes, and whistles from the crowd of people lining the shore.

I made it to bed around 11:30pm, the latest I’ve been up in years, although well worth it. And as is not my usual habit, missed First Light (get it) the next morning.

The next day started out with a boat chore. The shower pump has been running slow which has been a minor inconvenience. I flushed the plumbing lines and installed a new pump and all is working fine now.

In the afternoon we visited the Campbell River Museum that covers north Vancouver Island history. The museum primarily features First Nations’ art and history and the logging and fishing industries. The museum also had a fascinating film on the blasting of Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows in 1958. The duPont Canada film can also be viewed on YouTube.

By late afternoon we were ready for an early dinner. We found an ethnic Indian food restaurant on our 45 min. walk back to the marina and enjoyed a fantastic meal.

Next we are going to transit Seymour Narrows on the morning slack. We are nearing neap tides and the ebb current in Discovery Passage and Johnstone Strait will be moderate. On spring tides the current can reach 15 kts. in the narrows and passage must be done near slack. On the day of our travel the max will be 9 kts. Our next stop will be Port Neville, unless strong winds in Johnstone Strait send us to an alternate anchorage in one of the channels to the north.

It was a no-wind day as we departed Squirrel Cove and headed for Grace Harbour, a short run of about 11 nm miles.  We also made a brief stop at Refuge Cove to drop off our garbage.

The afternoon in the anchorage was downright hot, about 90F.  Of all the cruising we have done up here I never remember complaining about it being too warm after sundown.  I did this day.  Fortunately, the weather returned to normal for the remainder of our stay.

Grace Harbour is a bowl-shaped anchorage located up a short narrow inlet.  The first day here the algae were blooming, and the warm water was thick with jellyfish.  Even so, folks on the neighboring boats were swimming.

 Occasionally, seals would surface near the boat chasing small fish.  It’s a popular spot with up to about fifteen boats here during our stay, some swinging on anchor, others stern tied to shore.

There are a few camping spots on the north shore, so groups of sea kayaks would come in to overnight.  All the activity makes our time here interesting watching from the cockpit.

The weather for our days at Grace was a mix of no-wind hot, to a blustery sou-easter, which had the boat actively sailing on anchor, to heavy overcast a bit of light rain.

In between sprinkles we went on a short hike to the lake. It was time to stop reading and get some exercise. 

Next, we are headed to Campbell River for a few days before continuing north.

When we arrived at Drew Harbour the weather was fair with a moderate SE wind which the anchorage provides good protection from. The next day brought fog, mist and rain so we hid out in the cabin and read.

After two nights the skies cleared, and the wind clocked around to NW and the velocity picked up considerably. Most of Drew Harbour is open to the NW so we decided to go Squirrel Cove which is well protected from all wind directions. We motored upwind and set the genoa when we turned south and sailed until we entered the approach to Refuge Cove. During our brief stop we got a few groceries, filled the water and fuel tanks, and dropped off the garbage.

We dropped the anchor at 6:20pm in Squirrel Cove in sunny warm weather and a NW breeze. This is a large anchorage so finding a spot with plenty of swinging room was no problem.

We spent the next several days hiking, kayaking, reading, napping and relaxing. The wind was calm most all the time so the low noise level and cool nights made for good sleep except when I would occasionally wake up to the buzz of a mosquito.

We made the 15-minute dinghy ride to the general store for a few provisions, and I was able to find an obscure plumbing fitting in the well-stocked marine parts section in the basement.  Our grey water system is running slow so I’m going to replace the pump with the spare and flush the lines using the fitting just purchased.

We decided to not go to Alaska this year due to unforeseen circumstances delaying our planned start date by a month. So not wanting to go all that distance in a rush we are going to cruise as far north as the Broughton’s and save Alaska for another year.

For the next several days we are going to remain in the Desolation Sound area and check out a couple of anchorages we haven’t been to before.  We’re also going to see if we can catch a willing lingcod or rockfish for dinner.  Salmon fishing should be good in Queen Charlotte Strait & Blackfish Sound which opens mid-July.

After a leisurely morning in Pender Harbour we weighed anchor at 10:30 headed for Lund. Outside the protected harbour the wind was blowing SE 6-13 kts., so we sailed some, motored in the light air, and flew wing & wing for a bit. We had mostly sunny skies this day and the next two.

In Lund we spent the afternoon looking around the marina, checked out a couple of shops and then went back to the boat for dinner.

The next morning, we had fresh blackberry cinnamon rolls from Nancy’s bakery for breakfast. Not our normal fare but if you’re in Lund these are highly recommended by the guidebooks.

Lund has a harbour walk and we found a trail that led to the beach, so we were able to get a little exercise before we departed for Desolation Sound.

Arriving in Desolation Sound we had a 10-14 kt. wind from the SW so we sailed for several hours in the flat water and moderate breeze, enjoying the sunny day and the fantastic mountain scenery.

The entrance to Prideaux Haven is narrow with a couple of turns but is plenty deep even at low tide. Watch the plotter and keep an eye on the chart and the passage will be uneventful.

There were only two boats in the main basin and eight more in Melanie Cove so compared to past years’ trips this was very uncrowded.

The next day we found enough breeze to sail, so we beat our way SW for 30.7 miles to Drew Harbour on Quadra Island. Very few boats were here also, so finding a no drama location to anchor was easy. The weather turned foul overnight, with the beautiful sunny skies giving way to low clouds, wind, and rain. The forecast for the next several days is looking good though. While checking an issue with the grey water pump system, I discovered freshwater in the battery compartment and I’m still looking for the source. It is often said that cruising is working on your boat in exotic places.

Next, we are headed to the Broughton Islands which requires transiting Seymour Narrows or a series of rapids through the islands to our NE. The wind is forecast to reach 25-30 kts. in Johnstone Strait for the next two days, so we are going to opt for the longer route through the islands and wait for a better forecast for Johnstone Strait.

The strong north-westerlies in the Straits of Georgia calmed down, so we departed Nanaimo headed for Pender Harbour. The wind was light for the first two hours but then picked up from the SE, so we set the sails and beam reached for a couple of hours. Our route took us close to Lasqueti Island, an area we haven’t explored in the past, so we decided to alter course and head for Boho Bay.

Boho Bay is well protected from the forecasted 15 kt. winds from the NW. There are several very scenic anchorages a short distance away that we would have preferred but the forecast made Boho the prudent choice. The tidal change was 16.9′ in Boho and overnight numerous logs and debris had filled the bay.

We took a short dinghy ride over to Jedidiah Island, a BC Provincial Marine Park, and came across a catamaran on the dry flat getting bottom work completed.

Jedidiah has numerous hiking trails and abundant wildlife including wooly sheep and goats.

After two nights we weighed anchor headed for Pender Harbour, a short run of 16 nm. The 11-14 kt. wind was from the NW and the snowcapped mountains NE of Malaspina Strait were visible in the distance, and no rain expected. We sailed downwind for the first few miles and after rounding south of Texada we were hard on the wind till we reached the entrance to Pender.

In the afternoon the skies cleared, the wind died down, and our anchorage in Garden Bay – Pender Harbour was nice and calm. We dinghied over to Madeira Park and did some grocery shopping. The new refrigerator / freezer is both good & bad because now the ice cream stays frozen, so we stocked up.

We stretched our legs for a bit and visited the Thrift Store picking up some reading material. Within a short distance of the marina are two grocery stores, a liquor store, two gift shops, a pizza restaurant, and a tavern with a great view.

The distance from Nanaimo to Pender Harbour via Lasqueti Island is 44 nm, average speed 5.6 kts., 7.8 hours sailing / motoring time.

Next stop is Desolation Sound, a 46 nm run. SE winds are forecast for this afternoon, so we are hoping for some downwind sailing.