Kuredu eventually splashed back into the water (after some repairs) on June 26 and we were not prepared to tackle the circumnavigation of Vancouver Island with a new strut and without a proper sea trail. So, we set our sights on the Broughtons. We were going to by-pass them this year but we have always wanted to visit but never had enough time to do the trip any justice. So, we spent the weekend of June 27/28 cleaning the mess from the boat yard off Kuredu and Anneline got to work provisioning her for 4 weeks on the water and Wednesday morning, July 1, we cast off from Horseshoe Bay.
We intended to reach Smugglers Cove that afternoon (about 40 miles - not a very long cruise) but the weather in the Strait of Georgia put an end to those plans. We tied to the dock in Plumper cove and Anneline and Oliver (Ollie) went for a hike up to the top of the hill on Keats Island. She took these pics with her cell phone. The town in the background is Gibsons.
Our dock neighbour Mike has a cottage on the East side of Keats Island with two mooring buoys and they invited us to come join them for a drink and offered us a mooring for the night while we waited for the water in the Strait to calm down - we gladly accepted and cruised around the island, tied to the mooring and dinghy'd over to the cottage. The mooring buoys are pretty exposed to wakes (as you can see from the passing cruise ship) and the evening was a little lumpy but not uncomfortably so and Mikes buoys are very solid and we had a good evening and first night's rest. We were up early enough to see the sun rise over Lions Bay.
We untied from the buoy early (Mike left the night before) and cruised back around Keats to Plumper but the Strait was still too upset for us to cruise North so we tied to a Parks buoy and settled in for another day at Plumper. Several boats pulled into the cove for protection and the docks and buoys were soon full. We continued to monitor the weather and especially the conditions at Halibut Bank and just after three the wave height at Halibut dropped below three feet. We know from some hair raising experience that Halibut is conservative in it's readings but the weather for the next day did not seem much better so this was as good a time as any to head up so we secured everything on board (so we thought) and headed out over the bar between Keats and Gibsons into the Strait. For the first few miles we really got our butts kicked and my favourite lamp fell off and broke but it improved as we moved away from land and the rest of the cruise up the Sunshine Coast was not too bad. We had to pilot from the lower helm with the wipers going constantly - the spray made the top helm useless. We anchored for the night in Smugglers Cove just outside Secret Cove.
Friday morning Rob and Heather on Dragonfly cruised in and a little later Sea S.I. and we joined them on a raft for the night. The next morning we were up early and cast off for Gorge Harbour on Cortez Island. We had read a lot about the improvements at the marina and wanted to include this as a stop on our cruise. The entrance to Gorge Harbour is narrow with steep cliffs to port but the tide was pretty flat and we had no problems entering. The improvements at the marina were indeed spectacular. They were waiting for Hydro permits and as a result did not have power on the docks but the docks were new and solid and the grounds very pleasant. They happen to have a Saturday oyster tasting on the boardwalk that evening followed by music by the North Short Celtic Ensemble which was fantastic. We sat on the lawn listening and Megan bought their newest CD.
Our next destination was the Octopus Islands where we had spent a few days on a previous cruise and we had to time our arrival at Surge Narrows at slack tide. With no current at low slack the passage was no problem and we spent the next two days at the Octopus Islands. During the first night we were woken up by a massive thunderstorm and rain set in the for the next three days. This also brought several other boats into the cove which we have had to ourselves for the first day - Octopus is very well protected and a safe harbour in bad weather.
It was still drizzling when we woke up on the third day so we decided to get underway North with Blind Channel Marina as an overnighter and supply stop. We timed the rapids well and had very little current on our way up through the inside passage. There were short distances where we had to power up and get on plane but by-and-large we simple cruised along at 8 knots and soaked in the beauty of the Inside Passage.
We again timed our departure from Blind Bay to transit the rapids north of here at near slack. Just outside Blind Channel a pod of dolphins joined the cruise and surfed our wake for about 10 minutes. We were a little late in getting the camera ready but below is a short video which Anneline shot from the cockpit.
and a short video (.MOV)
Our final destination for the day was Cutter Cove in the Broughtons, which required a short 15 mile passage up Johnstone Strait. There wasn't much wind so it remained flat for the most part but the tide flows at the tip of the mainland did cause a couple of miles of choppy and confused seas. We reached Cutter Cove late afternoon and although there were maybe 10 boats already at anchor there was still plenty room for us to drop the hook at the head of the bay. Not long after we were anchored the sun came up and we transited from the rainy weather further down south to the normal "fog in the morning, NW wind in the afternoon" weather patters which seems to be prevalent this time of the year in the Broughtons. We had finally arrived in the Broughtons!
The night on the hook in Cutter Cove was calm and relaxing. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes the next morning we set off for Thompson Sound. The Waggoner warned of little or no anchoring at the head of the Sound but we wanted to check it out for ourselves and arrive early enough to find an alternative if necessary. Sergeant Passage looked interesting so we plotted our course to take us through here. The water was a little choppy but not unpleasant and the scenery was so spectacular that no-one paid much attention to the wind and chop.
More...
OK - a year later I have not yet had time or inclination to complete this page. Some spectacular cruising took place after the updates above and I do want to share that, so here's the pics at least, until I get to update the text. Sorry for being so tardy... :)
