Anacortes to Desolation Sound
Our cruise to Alaska
started from Anacortes on Monday, May 8, 2006.. Naknek and
Halcyon started north. The first evening we tie up along the
waterfront in La Conner. There we are positioned for a trip around
to Cornet Bay where EQ Marine will install an 8 hp Honda as a backup
engine. Les, the owner, using his trailer, pulled us out of the
water and gave us fast service - finishing about noon. Then, he put us
back in the water. Wanderer passed under the
Deception Pass Bridge north bound at 12:40 on May 9th.
Light winds greeted
us in Rosario Strait. We’re now half a day behind Naknek and
Halcyon. We hurried north. Canadian customs admitted us
into Canada at Bedwell. Continuing on, we caught up with Naknek
and Halcyon and together, we survived our first notable
narrows (Dodd) and tied up to the Dinghy Dock Pub in Nanaimo at
19:20. 114 nm for Wanderer on her first day.
The next morning
winds were calm and no naval exercises were to be conducted in area
Whiskey Bravo which lay across our track to the other side of the
Strait of Georgia. Good, we didn't have to detour from the
shortest route. The cruising guides mention four potentially
difficult navigational obstacles to small boats along the way to
Alaska. The Strait of Georgia is the first one. We crossed the
Strait in a near calm and left Merry Island Light to port on our way
to Smuggler Cove for lunch.
After fueling in nearby Secret Cove, we headed
up Jervis Inlet, passing through Malibu Rapids and into Princess
Louisa Inlet. Spectacular Chatterbox Falls roars into the head of
the inlet. A government float hosted the three C-Dories and quite a
few other boats. We were always the smallest boats at any dock or
in any anchorage. We never thought the big guys were having more
fun - Maybe more comfort and surely more expense. We stayed two
nights at the dock.
It was now time to
re-supply. Pender Harbor had fuel, an IGA, a credit union and
a liquor
store. The British Columbia government controls the price of
liquor, beer and wine at a price well above what we pay in the US.
The credit union gave us $216 Canadian for $200 US. This turned out
to be about a point above what Mastercard charged for fuel on the
same morning. We were then under the impression that we got a
better rate by charging on a credit card. The day was still bright
and sunny. All hands went to the Garden Bay Pub for a delightful
lunch on the deck overlooking the harbor.
Just below Desolation
Sound the one road servicing the mainland side of BC quits at Lund.
There will be fewer places to get fuel as we travel north. Planning
on 3 MPG and carrying only 40 gallons, in our tanks, we don’t pass
many places to buy fuel without topping up. Refuge Cove in Desolation Sound sells
fuel; but not on Monday’s in May. Nearby Squirrel Cove is both a
town with a nice floating dock and a tight little cove - no fuel. The store
was well supplied, the phones worked, the restaurant was outstanding
and the anchorage delightful. Take a look at the map on the next
page and you will see that we passed through Squirrel Cove a few
times as we sampled the delights of Desolation Sound. One calm day
we took off in Wanderer using the kicker (8 hp Honda). I wanted to
see how it would perform. The instructions were to run it at low
and middle speeds for one hour on its first use. I attached the rod
between the Honda 90 and the Honda 8 which allows the boat to be
steered as usual. Throttle and gear shifts must be done at the
engine. After an hour, we were 4 miles toward Grace Harbor. I shut
the Honda 8 down started the Honda 90 and continued. Grace Harbor
was small and pretty. We anchored near Pegasus – met them at
Princess Louisa - and settled down to read. Before long, the crew
of Halcyon called on the radio and invited us to join them for a
Mother’s Day lunch at the Laughing Oyster. Casey from Naknek joined
us at a table overlooking Okeover Inlet. Delightful. All three
boats anchored that night in Prideaux Haven.
The next morning was flat
calm and sunny. While motoring slowly up Homfray Channel, Casey
gave us a call and invited us to have lunch with him. We rafted in
2300 feet of water and enjoyed ham sandwiches and wine. After
a leisurly
trip up Homfray to Toba Wildernest where we ran into Stu and Pat on
Pegasus again, we sped down Waddington to Roscoe Bay to join
Halcyon. The entrance into Roscoe dries at low water.
We had about one foot under us as we entered and tied up to the
other two boats. Fifteen minutes later we heard a weather
forecast describing an approaching cold front. Five minutes
later at 18:50 we all cleared the bar in Roscoe and were sprinting
for well-protected Gorge Harbor. We tied up
at the town dock at 20:05. Casey rafted with us and Halcyon
anchored. Next morning we moved to the marina. We enjoyed the Floathouse Restaurant, took showers,
phoned the kids and did the laundry. At the laundry, we visited
with Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger from the 47 foot sloop Hawk.
They had just returned from a voyage through the Chilean Channels.
Beth writes for Cruising World and has published a few cruising
books.
