After our amazing animal watching at Greenway Bay it was time to move on. Wednesday, June 1st was cool and overcast and the scenic 10 mile cruise to Laura Bay went by quickly. Everyone we have talked to and all the guidebooks said stern tying is a must here because of how the tight the anchorage is and number of boats that pour in. When we arrived the outer cove was open and no other boat were in site. It took a couple tries for the anchor to grab in the rocks but we got it to stick and were happy not to have to stern tie. The rest of the day was spent on board reading, cleaning, napping and enjoying the sea birds and sea dogs around us. Because it’s still early in the cruising season up here we had the entire anchorage to our self which was such a treat. Gorgeous scenery and nobody to have to share it with.
Continuing our survey of the Broughtons we left Laura Bay the next morning at 10:28a.m. and made the 30 mile journey up to Simoon Sound and Macintosh Bay anchorage. Amazing mountinans lined the sound surrounded by lots of tiny islets and several little coves for anchoring. We chose to anchor on the West side of Macintosh Bay over rocks with enough room for just us. The rocky bottom made me slightly nervous but we were tucked in enough that if we dragged we weren’t going anywhere. We hopped in the dink and headed towards the head of the bay to O’Brien Bay where we took the short hike across the island to Shawl Bay. While we were there we met other boaters from Seattle and had a brief chat with them before returning to our private anchorage. The rest of the day we sat outside admiring the scenery, sipping coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet. Jeff took a nap then it was sunset, dinner and shows.
On our way to Eco Bay marina the next day we spotted two humpback whales in Raleigh Passage. We were wondering where they had been hiding out. We arrived at the marina with two other boats and a very nice dock master waiting to catch lines and tie them to cleats. Yes, cleats. I was ecstatic!!! We haven’t seen cleats since Vancouver and they were a welcome site from the nonstop wooden rails that have been chaffing our lines. After getting set up we immediately connected to the marina wifi and got caught upon emails, texts, bills and purchases. It has been 5 days since our last bit of service and it all felt very overwhelming. We made some lunch and later had a nice chat with our friends Randal & Michelle.
Everyone says, “You have to go to Billy Proctors when you are in Eco Bay.” Its even in the guide books. We had no idea what Billy Proctors was and why we should go there but a leg stretch was in order and we were eager to find out what this was all about. There is a nice hike from Eco Bay marina across the bay to Billy Proctor’s grounds which include his house, wood-shop, museum and store. As we defended the hill onto his land we weren’t sure what we were supposed to do until we spotted this little old man sitting in a white plastic chair looking at the water. We both said our hellos and after discovering he was Billy Proctor we asked if we could see the museum. Being in his late 80’s he told us he didn’t move so well and that was apparent when he got up to walk us to the museum. He made some jokes about how it was all just a bunch of junk we stepped into his time capsule. He also informed us that he has been collecting these items which ranged from bottle caps to old sewing machines since he was 5 years old. Not expecting much we were both impressed not only with the amount of things in the museum but how nicely it was organized and labeled. This was much more then just random junk. We spent a lot of time walking row by row checking everything out. When we were finished Billy showed us to the store which was mostly books (several about or written by him) and some t-shirts and crafts. She showed me the book that was all about his life and wanting to support him I bought it. We thanked him for letting us see his collection and made our way back on the trail. Back at the boat we read, played rummy cube and readied ourselves for our departure in the morning.
The next day was one of our shortest only 5.9 miles to Waddington bay where we jointed two other boats - Salish Aire, a nice Nordhavn and Sailboat with no name on the stern. I was a little bummed about being here with two other boats but after reading active captain and hearing from other boaters apparently three boats is light for this anchorage. Its been noted to have up to 20 boats in there. Yuck! The day was rainy and the wind was howling so we settled in and enjoyed the scenery and never left the boat. The shore had no hikes or anywhere to go so this was fine with us. We settled into a nice routine of reading and game playing.
Ready to move along we made another short hop around Broughton Island Marine park to Monday Anchorage where we tucked in behind a group of islets and were the only boat here. Because our cruise went through the anchorage as we entered we didn’t launch the dink but instead enjoyed the views and solitude from the stern. Despite Monday being a large bay it felt really small and private tucked behind the islets and we both really enjoyed being here. The sunset was dramatic and late and we watched as sun hopped form tree line to tree line leaving the last in the dark.
Some wind was due to blow in later in the day so we upanchored and made the short 2.0 mile run (our shortest to date) across the bay to Joe Cove a circular enclosed anchorage which rang with bird songs the entire day. We enjoyed the sunny warm day which reached 60 degrees and felt that summer was near. Again we were the only boat anchored here and as we saw the tops of the trees in the distance bending in the wind we had complete isolated protection here. We spent the entire day outdoors with the binoculars watching the birds and eagles and at one point a raccoon on shore eating muscles. At some point during the day I got a text from our friend Debbie (and George) on Ethos, (a DeFever like ours we met in Alaska and then again at our rendezvous) telling us they were going to be in Port McNeil the next day and were we around. Knowing we were right across Queen Charlotte Strait from McNeil we made a plan to meet them there the next day. We were so excited! We hadn’t seen them since they came to Seattle this winter for the boat show and were looking forward to catching up and spending time together.
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