At 10:00a.m. on a pouring rainy day we left Westview Marina and made the 27 mile journey to Grace Harbour, our first stop in Desolation Sound. There was one large boat in the outer harbour and we dropped the hook next to a sailboat. We've heard so much about Desolation Sound (Deso as the locals call it) we couldn't believe we had made it here. The anchorage was anchorage was treelined and green and we settled in for the rest of the rainy day soaking it all in over hot cups of coffee and games of rummy cube.
Our next anchorage required an early morning departure (8:00a.m.) in order to time high tide into the bay. Roscoe Bay Marina Park has a drying shoal that you need to cross in order to get into the bay therefor unless you're a shallow draft boat (3 feet or less) you need to time it for high tide. A short 4.6 mile hop across the Homfray Channel took us less then an hour and Jeff timed it perfectly. We never saw less then 8.9 feet under the keel. As we entered no boats were there and we held our breath and as dropped the hook right in front of a gorgeous waterfall. Shortly after getting settled in we lowered the dink and set out for shore to take the short lake hike. The hike was quick but nice to be able to stretch the legs after days on the boat. Back at the boat we discussed how it was getting towards low tide and if a boat hadn’t come in by now…… Little did we know that not everyone was timing the shoal as we had and later afternoon right around low tide a sailboat started making it’s way in. We watched in awe at the bravery/naivety that this attempt took and in a sailboat nonetheless. We watched as they seemed to sit almost completely still as if stuck for several minutes. They launched their dink and the man circled around the sailboat. They must be stuck. There is no way they can’t be stuck. Why else would they sit there in the shoal for so long. Our dingy was still in the water so we decided to go over and offer our help. As we loaded up into the dink we noticed that they slowly began moving with dingy in tow. As we approached they were on their way into the bay. We slowed and said hello and asked if they were okay. He nonchalantly said yes and he just wanted to go slow and take a look but they only saw three feet. How that worked for them I will never know. As they made their way to their desired spot for the evening we went back to shore to explore. We heard there was another hike more strenuous and went to find it. On shore the tide was low and we easily had lots of rocks to tie to before exiting. We wondered in circles perplexed as to where this other hike could be. After some time of chasing our tails we plopped back into the dink and headed back to the boat. We noticed the sailboaters had set up shop on shore with their hammocks and we were glad they weren’t too close to us and the waterfall.
Since we loved Roscoe Bay we decided to stay a second night. The slow Sunday morning brought pancakes and laying around in p.j’s. At one point we watched the sailboat depart the bay again probably not at high tide but we were glad to have the place to ourselves. This time we went over to the cove where they had previously set up shop and looked for the hike there and found it. I’m not sure if it made us feel better or worse having found it. It was straight uphill full of rocks and boulders with tree branches overhanging the trail. After huffing and puffing for several minutes we decided this was not the hike for us and bailed. Back at the boat we spent the afternoon reading and relaxing and Jeff made his famous spaghetti for dinner and we prepared for our departure in the morning.
Today was a sightseeing day. Once again timing the shoal out of Roscoe for high tide we departed at 8a.m. and saw 8 feet under the keel. Our 62 mile cruise took us to Toba Inlet and to Walsh Cove Marine Park. Beautiful Toba Inlet is 20 miles long along an 8,000 feet high mountain range full of waterfalls. It is nothing short of stunning. Due to the time of year (we are here on the early side) we only saw one other cruiser and a couple of fishing boats all day. Jeff created a nice loop up and around the Toba Inlet affording us lots of time to take in the scenery and just sit back and enjoy it. We had heard good things about the Toba Wilderness Lodge but again because of our early arrival the lodge had not yet opened for the season. Fortunately there was a great marina park close to the Wilderness lodge called Walsh Cove Marine Park and we had the place to ourselves. Our 3pm arrival set us up nicely to soak in the afternoon mountain views before making dinner.
Awhile back on the dock at Princess Louisa we met a boater who recommended we see the falls in Teakerne Arm so since todays destination was close by we decided to take a tour through en route. We cruised through Pryce Channel, Deer Passage and Lewis Channel which led us to the gorgeous falls in Teakerne Arm. The entire bay is deep so we couldn’t anchor their but instead took our time, hovered and took a lot of pictures. After sometime we continued south to Squirrel Cove and anchored with 4 other boats. I wasn’t happy about this after having the last two places to ourselves. We cruised in and out of the main bay but due to some winds coming decided to suck it up and anchor in the crowd in order to gain some protection. Shortly after settling in we took the dink to the dock and stretched the legs and went to the store. Store is a very loose word in these parts. Although looking back this happened to be one of the better ones. It actually had some produce. One square box of several items such as bananas and potatoes and three other isles of canned goods, junk food and pantry items. We bought a few things then made our way back to the boat. The bay from the store to the anchorage was already getting rough we got splashed several times. Tuesday nights are always Deadliest Catch nights on the TofJ so we ate dinner and watched our show.
We woke up to a blustery raining day and were glad we were staying put. I cleaned and Jeff did some work in the engine room. We played rummy cube, took showers and settled in. Our plan was to depart in the morning.
Our planned departure did not work out as anticipated. When we woke up the wind was still howling and didn’t lay down as predicted. Another day in Squirrel Cove it was. Much like the day before we used the day to get things done on board. We faxed some documents, used the stepper we bought each other for christmas (for the first time. Oops), made doctor appointments for our return to San Diego and read. The day felt productive. We played more rummy cube, made dinner and were more then ready to move along in the morning.
And then there was sun. At 10:00am we unanchored and finally made our way out of Squirrel Cove. We had heard that Refuge Cove was the hub of Desolation Sound and boaters use it for the store, fuel and the nice restaurant they have. Our guide book even says something about it getting so crowded that boats hover around the dock waiting for a space to open up in order to make a run to the store. We knew it was early in the season so hoped we wouldn’t have this problem but what we found we did not expect. I called on the both the radio and the phone to inquire about transient dock space and the store and got no answer. When we arrived the dock was empty and we tied up and hoped our chosen spot was alright. Once secured we walked the dock to the store which was closed and locked up. There was no shore access other then to the store and around a curved dock with lead to a restaurant which had been totally gutted missing windows, doors and most of the inside. There were several abandoned looking boats around but no humans. We were scratching our heads. Are we that early? Is there some sort of 360 that’s gonna take place here giving both the docks, store and restaurant some incredible face lift making it the place described by friends and the guidebooks? As we were just about to get on board a guy said hello from a fishing boat and started chatting to us about San Diego. After a bit we asked about the store and restaurant and he said it wouldn’t be opened for a month or so. Ok that’s it we’re outta here. The harbour is gross and we have no desire to stay on a dock with no power, no shore access and no store. In less then an hour after arrives we threw lines. Adios Refuge Cove. Instead we made the short 7.6 mile hop around Cortes Island to Cortes Bay. Now if you were a member of a yacht club and cruised there with your buddies I could see this being a good location but if you were us and just anchoring in front of yacht club outstations among other moored boats with roads and houses this anchorage is not very appealing. The one good thing about this location was we could take the dingy to the dock and walk to a nice hike. We would defiantly be moving on in the morning.
After 11 days on the hook we made our way to Gorge Harbour Marina only 13.9 miles away but felt like a million. After dock master (or wharfinger as they call them here) helped us tie up we walked up the ramp to the store. A real store. It had produce and pantry items, frozen fish and lots of other things. Today was only a scouting mission and we returned to the boat, made lunch and settled in. After lunch we walked up to the jacuzzi and sat in it outside while it rained on our heads. We did not care one bit. It was a jacuzzi in a gorgeous location overlooking the harbour and it felt great. Later that evening we had a dinner reservation at the restaurant and it was clearly the beginning of the season. The restaurant was almost full with only two waitresses one super sweet and slow moving and the other like road runner with an angry face. There were some quirks but the dinner was good and it felt so luxurious to eat at a restaurant after spending so much time anchoring.
We of course spent a second day at Gorge Harbour but this would be a work/catchup day of laundry, blogging, phone calls, provisioning and we even managed to squeeze in a walk. What a lot of people don’t realize that days in port aren't usually very restful. Being in port means plugging into power which means running big appliances like washer and dryer which we don’t run at anchor. It means getting access to wifi and cell service which means catching up on hundreds of emails and usually 40-50 text messages which can feel very overwhelming. It’s always a time of boat projects since you have access to power and shore and water. Luxuries not easily afforded on the hook. And this is all not a complaint but more a way to help people understand that port days usually mean very busy catch up days and that was what today was.
I recently mentioned to someone that whenever we are at anchor for a long time I’m always looking forward to getting to a marina to get some power, wifi, catchup time. Then after maybe a day of all that I’m dying to back on the hook. I guess a grass is always greener type thing. After some pampering at Gorge it was time to move along. Von Donop Inlet was only 14 miles away passing though narrows and a rocky entrance which I took bow watch pointing out rocks to avoid. When we entered it was well worth it. The anchorage was gorgeous and apparently we were late to the party because two other boats (who we saw at Gorge) were already here. We found a spot pretty far away from them giving us a little privacy. Later in the day we set out in the dink to explore and said hi to our anchorage neighbors. We recognized them from Gorge, one boat was a Saline and the other a Grand Banks. Nice company. After chatting a bit we set off to find the hike for tomorrow.
The next day we went slow and eventually took the dingy to the hike and hiked towards mud bay. I don’t know how long it was but even though it was nicely marked we felt like we were walking in circles and eventually turned around. At least we got to stretch our legs. Back at the boat it was rummy cube time and being Tuesday Deadliest Catch would be on t.v. tonight.
People always ask me, “How do you get your mail while you’re cruising?” And up until now having always cruised in the United States I have a very simple answer for them, “We have a p.o. box run by a nice family who boxes and ships our mail to any address we give them.” End of story. Well, that doesn’t work quiet the same in British Columbia where 90% of our stops are anchorages with no “towns” so getting prescriptions were a bit of a challenge. About a month prior I outlined our route in the guidebooks and called all the locations that looked like they had a marina. Just by a fluke I called a marina that happened to be closed for the season but the lady who answered the call was actually the postmaster for Stuart Island and walked me through exactly how and where to send my package. Stuart Island was that place. So today after a month of planning, 165 dollars in shipping I was going to pick up our mail and prescriptions from the postoffice/harbor office.
It was a windy day and we needed to time the Yucalpta rapids for slack. I had read that the marina at Stuart Island can have currents but when we arrived it was raining, windy and the docks were so slippery I actually fell down in front of several other boater spectators. Not a highlight for me. The current ran very strong and I did my best to tie up quickly after recovering from my fall and trying not to look as if I cared much. But after not much time and retying we were set. I was eager to get our package of mail and be done with it. The postoffice/harbour office/store was just like all the others we have seen, empty shelves except for junk foods and last years canned items and nothing else. We waited while the harbor office worker went outside to meet the float plane bringing in the weekly mail. I got our package, we paid our dock fee and went back to the boat for the afternoon. Between getting up early, falling down and the anxiety over the package we were both tired. We napped, played rummy cube, made dinner and settled in for the night.
We had to make our way back through Yucalpta rapids at slack which today was at 7a.m. and just like that the dock cleared out and by 8:15a.m. we were anchored in Florence Cove and waiting for slack to cross Hole-In-The-Wall Rapids which wasn’t until 1:30pm. We took the time to make breakfast and have coffee. And then because the wait was so long we made lunch before taking off. At 1:45p.m. we arrived at Octopus Island Marine Park anchoring in Waitte Cove. We were told by some friends to find the cabin on shore and leave a piece of driftwood with your boat name on it. We had no idea what this meant but boy were we glad for the tip. The cabin was amazing. Filled to the brim inside and out with driftwood with boaters names some so creative I wished we had taken more time with ours. We couldn’t stop looking at everything and took about 30 minutes going inch by inch of the walls reading all the names. It was incredible. We dinged across the park to a nice hike leading to small cove where we met other hikers from Bellingham. They were nice and making their way to Alaska. After a short chat we took the dink back to the boat, had happy hour and soaked in our gorgeous marine park setting. This would be our final stop in Desolation Sound. Tomorrow we were northbound for Johnstone Straight.
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