This was our first trip this far up the river. I called my insurance company to make sure we'll be covered (yes, up to the Sumas River mouth) since I was a little apprehensive about going up the river. I was told that the trip was worth the effort, but little did we expect the beauty of Pitt Lake. It is truly spectacular and well worth the trip up the river.
Christopher had made other plans for the weekend but Philip and Megan joined Anneline and I for the cruise. We left Horseshoe Bay early Saturday morning, headed across English Bay and entered the North arm of the Fraser at around 10:00 am. The weather was sucky but it did not rain and we could pilot from the bridge. The cruise through the North arm was slow because of the junk and traffic on the water but we did manage to get to cruising speed (around 22 knots) from time to time. We met up with Baby Knot and Seaclips 2 in Richmond, where the North and South arms split, and set off up the River.
The Pitt river joins up from the North (port side going up) just after the Port Mann bridge. Once we turned into the Pitt river, it was noticeable how much less debris was on the water and how much clearer the water was. The trip up (and down) held no surprises and was quite un-eventful. Keep a sharp lookout for logs and other debris though.
We dropped the hook near a sandy beach, about half way up the lake, and stern tied to shore. We were later joined by another boat (friends of Seaclips 2) and all four boats rafted up in about 35 ft of water. This is fresh water (the largest fresh water tidal lake in the world) and we could see bottom in about 20 ft. Tides are about 5 hours after Pt Atkinson and from what I noticed, about 75% of the height change. We set up a gazebo on the sandy beach and built a huge bon-fire, which we kept going most of the weekend.
The weather did not hold up for the weekend and the only little bit of sun we had was late Saturday afternoon. Great thing about boating though, is that the weather really does not determine if you have a good time or not. We had a great time with good friends in a spectacular anchorage - what more can one possibly ask for.
We left for home on Monday around 11:00 am. It rained for pretty much the whole trip and we piloted from the lower helm all the way. This is a really nice to of year to boat - net yet cold and very little boats in your favorite anchorages.
