For some reason it seems like we always plan our arrivals around lunchtime. No matter the milage or destination we usually time our departure and arrival based on getting somewhere in time for lunch. Today was no different. We up-anchored from Joe Cove at 8:20a.m. and 23 miles later we were in Port McNeil at 11:55a.m. just in time for lunch. The day was sunny and the cruise uneventful and we were looking forward to seeing our friends. Before the fun began we took the afternoon to complete a bunch of boat chores including laundry and cleaning and Jeff lined up a mechanic to look at a fuel leek we have on both engines and a diver to check out the thru hauls for the generator and also the zincs. We love Port McNeil and Will the dock master is wonderful. He’s so kind and welcoming. He makes everyone feel as if they are his good friends. Later that evening we met George and Debbie at the brewery for dinner then afterwards went back to their boat for some drinks and more catching up. It was s great day.
The night prior we decided with George and Debbie that we would both stay another day in order to hang out more and finish our boat projects before heading our separate ways. I finished up the rest of the laundry and did some blogging while George and Jeff checked out our electrical setup for the inverter. Apparently it’s not normal. But I don’t know about these things. Many hours later no conclusion was found but George said he would think about it. We had happy hour on our boat with George and Debbie and then onto dinner. Since we would be heading out in the morning we didn’t continue the party after dinner. We were sad to say goodbye to our friends but hoped we would connect again as they were headed south to Seattle and there was a chance we could cross paths.
The next morning we timed some current and lunch of course and left Port McNeil at 10:30a.m. and made the 21.8 mile run to Mound Island in our quest to finish our Broughtons survey. The anchorage was big and wide open. The scenery itself wasn’t that spectacular but I liked it. Jeff gave it a B. During our cruise we saw several sea otters which I love. They are adorable. I know it’s not very Alaska of me to like them since they steal all their shell fish but I can’t help it they are so cute. Once anchored we saw a pod of dolphins swim by us probably annoyed we took their spot and several eagles too. We spent the afternoon playing cards and later on two sailboats joined us. While not our favorite stop it was still nice to see.
Our next stop we had both heard about for years and were looking forward to seeing what it was all about. Before we left Seattle we got lots of cruising recommendation by both our Seattle friends and others who have cruised the area and Kwatsi Bay was on everyones list. The day was overcast and rainy and on our way to Kwatsi we passed by and stopped and viewed beautiful Lacy Falls. Apparently this is the way most people do it because you can’t cruise by without stopping. When we arrived several boats were there including a boat called, “Big Smile” and a couple tour boats. Everyone was courteous and allowed each boat ample time in front of the falls to take pictures and just drink in the views. At Kwatsi we followed “Big Smile” in and wondered if they were going to take our spot. Luckily they just cruised around where the old marina used to be and then headed back out leaving the anchorage all to us. We found our spot and dropped the hook in 60 feet and sat back and watched the rain and waited on other arrivals. We of course made lunch then read and napped and played cards and much to our delight nobody else came. How nice for us.
Because Kwatsi was so stunningly gorgeous we decided to stay a second day. We decided maybe next to Chatterbox Falls this was our favorite and most beautiful anchorage since cruising BC in April. Tall cliffs of tress and rocks nestling you in. 10 different waterfalls surrounding the anchorage and birds singing made for a meditational peaceful day. Since it was a non travel day we had a slow pj morning and enjoyed a late breakfast and slothful leisure. Jeff read and I worked on the blog. Our plan for the day was to check out the old marina and see about hiking around there but after further investigation in the binoculars we saw that the dock and ramp were sunk and there was no way to get to shore. Oh well. We read some more and played cards and soaked in our scenery some more.
Not ready to leave the Tribune Channel area entirely the next day we up-anchored and toured through Bond Sound next door which while the anchorage was pretty it was deep and pretty wide open. We continued our site seeing to our anchorage next to Bond Sound called Thompson Sound. Heading into Thompson we passed a pod of humpbacks which always is a nice surprise. We slowed the boat to idol and took our time watching as they swam around us. Anchoring in Thompson proved to be quite tricky and took us over 30 minutes before we were able to get the hook set. The anchorage at the head of the bay lies on a shelf surrounded by mud flats and rocks and bombed with crab pots and if you aren’t positioned perfectly you could either be high and dry, on the rocks or tangled up in crab pots. If you find the spot there is room for one boat to anchor here and fortunately there wasn’t anyone here when we arrived. Finally hook set in 30 feet between two crab pots we felt like we had a good spot and breathed a sigh of relief. The guide books and active captain all said to take the dingy or kayak up the Kakweiken River at high tied and look around. Right around the corner from our anchorage in Thompson sound would make a short dingy ride there. We waited for high tide and set out to explore by dink. I’m not sure who said this was okay but maybe in a kayak if you are brave it might be but we saw depths of 4 feet and were constantly dodging rocks and full trees just under the surface of the water. Not in the mood for another stressful situation we quickly bailed before something happened while all alone at this anchorage. We toured the rest of the basin then went back to the boat to chill. As the day turned to evening all of the animals came out on the mud flats and on the grass. We saw seals laying on a rock in the mud, eagles flew overhead and two black bears came out and ate grass for several hours. It was a spectacular site and we felt so lucky to have it all to ourselves.
The next day would mark our last stop in the Broughton archipelago. Sadly it was time to leave the Tribune Channel area and head south to Lagoon Cove. The cruise down the channel was gorgeous and 20 miles later we were at Lagoon Cove Marina with the boat Salish Aire who we anchored with in Waddington Bay. The day like most days in port was spent catching up on boat chores, and utilizing wifi to get texts and emails that had built up over the last 5 days. That evening around 5p.m. the marina hosted a happy hour on their patio where they supplied freshly caught prawns and invite everyone to join them bringing a drink and a snack to share. When everyone had arrived the owners introduced themselves. A cute, sweet young couple who couldn’t be nicer. They welcomed all the boaters and told us that it’s their tradition to serve prawns every evening and they were glad we were there. It was so nice. We haven’t had a big organized happy hour like that since cruising on the East coast. We sipped wine and soaked in the sun and talked with Salish Aire, fellow Washingtonians such as ourselves. They were great to talk with and we met several other boaters there too. Later back at the boat we sat up on the flybridge and watched the sunset a nice exclamation point and very nice way to end our time the Broughtons.
Today would mark our final day on Johnstone Strait thank god! If I never see that strait again it will be just fine with me. While beautiful and seductive there is just way too much debris for me and that’s after cruising both Alaska and Puget Sound. Well, today did not disappoint on the debris front. Tons of logs, tress and various other debris scattered several sections of the strait and when we exited to Forward Harbour I was so happy. We arrived late (for us) to our anchorage in Forward Harbour, Douglas Bay to find 6 other boats already in position. The site of this made me nervous but there was plenty of room for all. We dropped the hook, took showers, made dinner, watched a few shows then went to bed.
Today we needed to cruise through and time both Whirlpool Rapids and Green Point Rapids. While impossible to hit both at slack we opted for a little current against us in Whirlpool to hit some current with us in Green point. Kinda challenging timing more then one rapids in a day. Jeff might disagree with me. Either way we did fine and just in time for lunch around 1:15 we arrived at Shoal Bay. Our intention was to anchor but true to its name the anchorage shoals. So we opted to tie to the dock which was empty except for some local looking fishing boats. We had read in our guidebooks that there was a pub here that served lunch and dinner so we set out to check it out. As we entered the property a lady met us saying hello and welcome. We told her we were interested in having lunch at the pub and she explained that it was closed due to Covid. She pointed out a walk along the stream which we took and that was about it for Shoal Bay.
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