Port McNeill to Nanaimo, British Columbia

We got off to an early 6:00 start from Port McNeill on Sunday, July 19. The wind blew all night, and there were gale warnings for the afternoon, so we wanted to get off Johnstone Strait as early as possible. We also had to leave early to avoid a strong ebb current south of Alert Bay where the Nimkish River delta narrows the strait. The plan worked well, and we motored through the tide rips off Cracroft Point, accompanied by Dall’s porpoises, into the calm waters of Baronet Passage. This passage has the peculiar property of having the tidal current run exactly opposite to that of the parallel Johnstone Strait, and we enjoyed the boost.

Lagoon Cove, BC

We ran into clouds halfway up the passage, but they did burn off in the early afternoon. Shortly before noon we tied up at Lagoon Cove Marina. This is a small family operation that is not associated with any sort of town or village; it is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It provides a secure place to tie up, fuel, water, restrooms, showers, laundry, a small gift shop, Wi-Fi, a burn barrel, a large lawn, trails in the forest, and places to sit and visit with others. These are all major attractions to boaters up here, and it is run by some very nice, friendly people. Bill, the founder died two years ago, but his 80-year old wife Jean is still running the operation (though it’s for sale if you’re interested). One of her granddaughters met us at the dock, and we talked at some length with her brother in law, a retired navy veteran from Kentucky, who was spending the summer lending a hand. The place fills up by 1:00 every day, and they shoehorn boats onto the dock in a most remarkable fashion.

We were warned that a grizzly mother and two cubs were had been seen recently, but we made noise, and hiked up to the lookout. It was a steep climb and good exercise, but the trees had grown up so that the lookout no longer looked out. We didn’t see any bears. At 5:00 everyone gathered in the old boat shed for a happy hour potluck. We sat and talked and/or listened to people interesting and not. It is fascinating to see what a wide variety of people, with a wide variety of backgrounds, from a wide variety of locations are up here on their boats.

Float House, Lagoon Cove, BC

In the morning they used a shoehorn to help us leave the dock, and we headed through The Blowhole, and down Chatham Channel. This has a very narrow bit that we timed to reach at slack tide. The channel is very narrow, but the water is very wide; the key is to stay in the rock-free channel. This is facilitated by a range. This involves two marks on the shore, at different heights and different distances. When they are lined up one above the other, you are in the channel. That makes it pretty straightforward, as long as you remember to turn off before you run aground in front of the markers.

Cutter Cove, BC

We cut a mile or so off our trip by taking a dicey shortcut through the Broken Islands. There were a lot of rocks and kelp, but we went slowly and kept a good lookout, and it wasn’t too difficult, Then we were back into Johnstone Strait. Once again we had made an early departure to avoid the afternoon gale, and the strait was pretty decent to us. Our original plan had been to duck into Port Neville for the night before the winds came up, but the conditions were so good that we decided to continue farther.

Johnstone Strait, BC

Of course, an hour later the wind switched on, arriving with a ready-made set of big waves. You might think that when the forecast says that winds will increase in the afternoon, that there would be some sort of gradual progression from light winds to medium winds to strong winds. That’s not how it works here. The winds are light, and then they are suddenly strong. We were moving quickly through the water, sailing with just the reefed jib, but we now had a strong contrary current that really slowed us down. It was nearly two hours past the maximum ebb, but it was still very strong. Eventually we made our way through the boils and whirlpools in Current Passage and anchored in the shelter of North Cove on Helmcken Island, where we had a pleasant lunch sitting in the sunny cockpit.

North Cove, Helmcken Island, BC

Rover, North Cove, Helmcken Island, BC

Old Logging Road, Helmcken Island, BC

We took a walk and had an interesting biology observation. This cove had been the site of a log dump when the island was logged some years ago. We had anchored in this same spot eight years ago, and a cruising guide book said that there were great walks to be had on the logging roads leading away from the dump. Well, in the years since the authors had been here, the roads had become an almost impenetrable thicket of small alder trees. We did make a hike of sorts, but it was rough going. Well, this year things were again different. The alders growing in soil along the edges of the roads had thrived, and were now 6-10 inch diameter trees. These successful trees had shaded out the smaller trees trying to grow on the compacted crushed rock surface of the road, and they had mostly died and turned into sticks lying on the ground. So the hike now was a pleasant stroll down a shaded avenue. There were a few spots where young spruce tree branches were reaching out into the road, and I suspect that in a few more years the roads will be an impenetrable thicket of prickly spruce trees.

Johnstone Strait, BC

The wind blew hard all night, making for a poor night’s rest. In the morning we awoke to discover that one of our cockpit cushions had disappeared. That was a great disappointment. It had blown out into Johnstone Strait, and the chances of ever finding it again were nil.

The day was sunny, but we were in for a long trip. The current was ebbing against us all day, and the strong northwest wind was blowing against the current, creating large and uncomfortable waves. We spent most of the day hugging the south shore, staying out of the worst waves, and looking for occasional back eddies. This mostly worked, though there were a few bad spots trying to get around some points. There was a lot of boat traffic, pleasure and commercial – this is the main highway of the Inside Passage.

Chatham Point Lighthouse, BC

We rounded Chatham Point lighthouse and turned south into Discovery Passage with a great sense of relief. We were so pleased to be finished with Johnstone Strait. Discovery Passage still moves a lot water back and forth each day, but it is aligned north-south, and is not hemmed in by mountains, so doesn’t have issues with the northwest wind that makes Johnstone Strait so difficult. We went into Kanish Bay on Quadra Island to anchor for the night. We first worked our way around a massive aquaculture operation of some sort, and took a look into Granite Bay. This was a fairly big place back in the heyday of logging, but is now a backwater of private homes, ranging from dumps to mansions. Interesting to see, but not an attractive place to anchor.

Small Inlet, BC

We eventually anchored at the head of Small Inlet, next to a pair of rafted small powerboats. This is a very pretty Provincial Marine Park that is off the beaten track, though we certainly didn’t have it to ourselves. There are some very pretty forested islands with high hills surrounding the inlet. When we were here eight years ago, the hills were pristine, but the British Columbia government seems to abhor pristine views, and now has an ugly new clearcut adjoining the park border.

Small Inlet, BC

Waiatt Bay, BC

We hiked a pleasant trail through the forest to the head of Waiatt Bay on the east side of the island. This is part of the Octopus Islands Marine Park, and it was filled with anchored boats. This side of the island is more accessible, and more on the normal cruising pathway. A notable event was the appearance of Douglas Fir trees. These are the first we have seen since leaving this area three years ago. Also the rocky cliffs are now covered with brown grass, rather than green moss – it is starting to feel more like home.

The trip no longer feels like an adventure. We’re trying to make it back to Ashland by Aug 1, and are not doing any exploring, but are staying in old familiar places, and getting closer to home. Rather than getting farther and farther from civilization, it is clear that we are rapidly getting closer.

There were very strong gusts of wind all through the night. The bay is a bit of a funnel, and we are at the very bottom of it. We let out a 7:1 anchor rode including our 100’ of chain, and had a good night’s sleep despite the wind.

It was still windy in the morning, and it took extra effort to extract our anchor which was buried deep in the mud and clay. We headed back down Discovery Passage on a cool and cloudy morning. There was not much traffic around, and we followed a single sailboat through Seymour Narrows. The narrows can run to 14 knots, and are a major bottleneck on the inside passage, with cruise ships and tugs all jostling for position at slack water. It used to be worse, but in 1958 they dug a mine under the major mid-channel rock, packed it full of explosives, and blew it to smithereens in the world’s largest peacetime non-nuclear explosion.  We were fortunately there on a neap tide with little traffic, and transiting the narrows an hour and a half before slack was pretty much a non-event. There were a lot of boils and whirlpools, but nothing very difficult.

Campbell River, BC

There was a sudden increase in traffic as we neared Campbell River – mostly small sport fishermen zooming around in a big hurry, and we found a berth for the night in Discovery Marina. It was still cloudy, but warm, and we took a walk around town. Campbell River is a city of 30,000, which is nearly three times larger than the largest place we’ve been all summer. It has many of the characteristics shared by towns that once thrived on timber and fishing, but are now going through hard times. They have made a big effort to spiff up the waterfront, and appeal to tourists, but it doesn’t seem to be a big success thus far. Walking along the waterfront boardwalk we encountered, in a spot you’d expect to see an ice cream or souvenir shop, the entrance to a crematorium. That pretty much sums it up. Eight years ago they built a terminal for cruise ships, but one hasn’t stopped here since 2009. We took advantage of the communications glut (phone and internet!) to reserve a rental car in Nanaimo for our trip to Ashland, and we also had a pretty good meal at the Riptide Pub.

Thursday was a beautiful sunny day with cool air, but unfortunately no wind. After a week of strong northwesterlies, what little there was came from the south – the direction we were headed. We were out in the Strait of Georgia, which can have some nasty weather, so we weren’t about to complain. There were a lot of tidal boils near Cape Mudge, but otherwise it was an uneventful day of motoring in a straight line – we could look back and see Campbell River all day until it fell below the horizon. The shore of Vancouver Island here is highly developed, and we enjoyed using the binoculars to look at the various shoreline homes. We haven’t had this sort of experience for three years.

Schooner, Strait of Georgia, BC

The entrance to Comox on Vancouver Island is guarded by a submerged glacial moraine that can be problematic in bad weather, but on a settled day like this it was an easy passage. The greater challenge was the four or five dozen small sailboats filling the harbor. There is a sea cadet training program centered here, and in addition there was a racing regatta going on with kids in Lazers and Optis.  We slowed way down, and threaded out way between racing groups to tie up in the public marina. Comox, a town of 13,000, is a great place to visit by boat, with a nice park on the harbor front, and an attractive adjacent downtown shopping area. We searched, without success, for a nearby dog groomer – Schooner was badly in need of a bath and a haircut. So was I, for that matter, and I was more successful in my search for a shower and a barber.

Southeast gales were forecast for Friday, so we just stayed put to wait it out. The winds howled through the harbor all day long, making for an uncomfortable time, even though it was sunny and warm. There was enough wave action to make the boat a bit bouncy and uncomfortable, while the wind made it very unpleasant to be outside. Fortunately the marina has an inside lounge where we could hang out, chatting with other stranded boaters, eating take out fish and chips, surfing the internet, and generally whiling away the day. The kids sailing in the regatta had an exciting day out on the water. One of the benefits of sailboat racing is that you go out and sail, regardless of the weather. That provides good experience in conditions such as strong wind and light air, when you probably wouldn’t be sailing otherwise.

We made a reservation for dinner at a nearby good restaurant. When we arrived there was a long line snaking out the door. We worked our way to the front, explaining that we had reservations, and were promptly seated. Our server then explained that it was she who had taken our call and made the reservation, but she was new and hadn’t known that they didn’t take reservations for parties fewer than six. They had honored our reservation, but she wanted us to know so we wouldn’t expect to make reservations next visit. That explained some of the looks we got as we made our way through the line of waiting patrons. Dinner was great. The wind finally died a bit later in the evening, and we had a good night.

Deep Bay, Jedediah Island, BC

Saturday after breakfast at a coffee shop, we headed back across the Strait of Georgia in very light southeast winds. In contrast to the ocean, once the winds die down in the strait, the seas die down as well, so it was a pleasant day to be out on the water. It was pretty empty out in the Strait until we approached Lasqueti Island. We were headed for popular Jedediah Island, and were hoping that yesterday’s gale had scared away a lot of the weekend boaters.

However, as we approached the island we saw large numbers of boats anchored in rather marginal spots. There is only one really good spot, and we assumed that is was full. We were consequently pleasantly surprised to discover lots of room for us in Deep Bay. “Lots of room” probably suggests a different picture than reality. Deep Bay is really just a small indentation in the cliffs that has a good bottom for anchoring, and a dozen or so steel chains attached to rings driven into the rock cliffs. This allows a lot of boats to drop anchor in the center, and stern tie to one of the chains. It is a very secure and protected location, though you end up sandwiched between boats tied to adjacent chains. Our neighbors were very friendly, and enjoyed watching us wedge our boat in – watching new arrivals screw up is a major source of entertainment.

Deep Bay, Jedediah Island, BC

We had a few neighbors of interest. One was a gorgeous old wooden gaff rigged sloop, and the other was a pair of powerboats rafted together to one cliff chain.

The interesting part of the powerboats came when they decided to go off on a trip on one of the boats, leaving the other boat behind. Both boats were anchored, so they untied and used their electric windlass to raise the anchor of the boat that was leaving. The best way to do this is to have someone go to the foredeck, and operate the windlass as they observe what’s happening.  In this case, however, they all went inside, pushed the windlass button from inside, and up came the anchor. Unfortunately it came up entangled with the anchor chain of the other powerboat, which they failed to notice. They then hit the throttle, and went zooming out of the cove. The chain went tearing through the anchor, making a huge noise, and then the anchor of the other boat appeared, somehow managed to not catch on the moving boat’s anchor, and went flying off into the air probably ten feet out of the water. Fortunately it didn’t hit anything or anybody, and fell back into the water. At this point the boat stopped, one man came out, looked around, scratched his head, and then off they went, leaving the other boat unanchored. To anchor a boat, it is necessary to get the anchor buried in the bottom, you can’t just toss the anchor off the bow and be done with it. If a strong wind came up that powerboat wasn’t going to stay there, but they seemed unconcerned.

Boom Bay, Jedediah Island, BC

We rowed ashore and had a wonderful hike across the island to the old homestead. One family or another lived on this island for a century before it became a provincial park twenty years ago.  Part of the island is old growth cedar forest, part is pasture, part is orchard. The house and farm buildings are still there, although crumbling, and feral sheep and goats still roam the island. When we first visited here fifteen years ago there was still a horse living on the island. The apples and pears were still green, and the grass was dry and brown in this drought year. We saw our first madrone, oak and maple trees – home is getting very close! We sat in front of the old house, enjoying the sunshine and the view, watching a group of kayakers on the beach below.  The night was quiet, and the semi-anchored powerboats stayed put.

Pasture, Jedediah Island, BC

The House, Jedediah Island, BC

Orchard, Jedediah Island, BC

Home Bay, Jedediah Island, BC

Home Bay, Jedediah Island, BC

We awoke to torrential rain, which gradually eased off to a steady rain. It would be nice to spend a lazy day here and leave in better weather, but we don’t have any layover days left in our schedule. It was very discouraging to have to leave in the rain. The last week of this trip has been a difficult way to end the journey. We’ve had to deal with some pretty bad winds without the luxury of taking our time. We’ve also mostly been visiting places well known to us, and not taking time to explore other spots. But we’ve been making the best of the situation, and it is actually working out reasonably well. As we left, we talked with the powerboat owner who had pulled up his friend’s anchor, and it turns out he had no idea about it. He heard the noise, and thought maybe it was caused by a pail of clams hanging over the side of his boat! Welcome back to the real world of weekend boaters!

The weather gradually improved as we headed to Nanaimo, and it was sunny and nice by the time we arrived. This was the day of the Nanaimo Bathtub Races, and we got a distant view of the tubs tearing along as we approached the city. We sailed past Protection Island, where we live, and nearly ran aground looking at friends’ houses. We encountered the end of the fleet doing the Pro-Isle 360 race, blew our horn and waved at friends sitting out on their deck, and generally felt pretty good about being back home.

The Bathtub Weekend is a big deal, and the harbor was packed with boats anchored, coming and going. We found an empty mooring buoy at Newcastle Island Marine Park, but it was marked for boats no longer than 30 feet; ours is 33. We hung out there for a bit, and eventually a 40-foot buoy opened up, and we snatched it. We rowed ashore to register the boat and to buy ice cream cones. The contrast to the last three years was really astonishing. We have been in the company of older people in large boats, commercial fishermen and sport fishermen for three years. Here we had single people partying in their speedboats, young families and children out for a day on the water, kids catching things off the dock with small nets, music blaring, and in general a totally different boating demographic. It was all rather refreshing. We rowed over to Protection Island, anchored our dinghy off the beach, and walked home. We were pleased to be here, and Schooner was absolutely delighted.

This is not the complete end of the story, as we still had to get our rental car (not so easy to do without a credit card), sail our boat down to Ladysmith, get a permanent moorage space, catch the ferry to the mainland, drive to Ashland for Nathan’s service, return the rental car to Nanaimo, fly to Wrangell to retrieve our van, and drive to Ashland for a family get together. Many miles before we can call it done, but no need to write about all of that.

The main purpose of these postings was to give our non-boating friends some idea of what we do all those months when we disappear, and what a cruising lifestyle entails, both in positive and negative aspects. It also was designed to provide information to our boating friends about the routes and places we experienced, to give them some idea of what is involved in a lengthy trip like this, and give them some help in planning their own adventures. I certainly didn’t plan to write it for three years, and it has gotten a bit out of hand, but it was mostly fun for me. Thanks for listening.

A few numbers might be of interest to those thinking about making the trip:

Distance Traveled: 4244 nautical miles

Average Distance Traveled in a Day: 27.6 nautical miles

Days Spent on the Trip: 263

Days Spent in Wrangell Marina Working on the Boat: 39

Nights Spent at Anchor: 107

Nights Spent at a Marina (excluding Wrangell): 81

Nights Spent at a Dock Without Services: 31

Nights Spent on a Mooring Buoy: 5

Days on the Move: 154

Days With Sailing: 73
Days Motoring: 81
Average Speed: 4.7 kt
Average Daily Run: 5.9 hr