WordPress Blog Of Water Dog Land and Sea
Trip Length 14 nm
We went to Teakerne Arm to check out the waterfall but by this time the smoke had gotten so bad that we did not want to get off the boat and exert ourselves due to the bad air. You could not even see across the anchorage to the boats on the far side. Very pretty spot but we ended up just staying a day and not really checking out much so not any pictures etc……..
We decided to head to Squirrel cove where the BC smoke map showed cleaner air.
Trip Length 8 nm
Our second stop in Desolution Sound Marine Provencial Park is Tenedos Bay where there is a hike to freshwater Unwin Lake where many people swim in the warm water of the lake. Tenedos Bay was the start of our problem’s with smoke from the BC fires that plagued our trip for the next 3-4 weeks. This is when we started looking at the BC Smoke Forecast web page with 24 simulations of smoke coverage so that we could start planning our next location to move around the smoke.
http://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/BSC00CA04/current/
We ended up anchoring out along the north east side of the bay in about 40 ft of water. Our first try at anchoring when backing down we could could feel our chain twitching as our Rocna 110 anchor dragged on rock, on the second try a little further north we did get a good set.
The trail starts at the dinghy landing and we took a trail offshoot to the left of the main trail to let the dog’s run in the stream coming down from the lake.
Once at the lake we took a short hike on a trail to the right side of the lake but it petered out pretty quickly and got swampy so we ended up turning back after a few hundred yards.
August 18th To 20th
Trip length 26 nm
Grace Harbour is our first stop in the BC Desolution Sound Provencial Marine Park system. The park has three main anchorages: Prideaux Haven, Tenedo’s Bay and Grace Harbour. We plan to visit Grace and Tenedo’s.
See http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/desolation/
This park has long been a boater’s favorite in the Malaspina Inlet and Homfray Channel area. The warm waters of the park make for great swimming and their are nice hiking trails at the anchorages.
We headed north from Powell River and then took a right at the entrance to Okeover Arm Inlet to Malaspina Inlet where Grace Harbour anchorage is located.
We went to the north east side at the head of Grace Harbour where we anchored in 30′ or so in a nice mud bottom.
On the west side of anchorage is a nice dinghy landing spot with a trail to Black Lake.
It is very evident from all the old equipment found all over these areas that logging was everywhere and old growth forest are just left in small patches here and there.
Raised anchor at around 9am to make slack tide at 9:45am at Malibu Rapids, timed it well and had an easy 1-2 knot ebb current going out through the pass on our way to Powell River.
Powell River is a logging town with the Catalyst Paper Mill to the north of the marina, the area next to the mill is the historic area of Powell river. There are plenty of places to provision with grocery stores and HW stores available but they are up some steep hills so expect to get some good exercise.
As we where leaving we started to start noticing the smoke from the BC forest fires that get worse over the next 2-3 weeks and ended up driving us back south from the Broughtons to get out of it later in the trip.
Powell River Marina is around 56nm miles away so at our roughly 9 knot speed we made it to Powell River West View Harbor marina at around 3 pm. The dock crew at Westview do a great job in packing the boats in so if you have a side tie to the dock expect boats to side tie up to you during your stay.
Dont miss the Willingdon Beach Trail if you visit Powell River. The trail runs along the water and is very cool with old logging equipment set up for viewing along the trail. We walked out of the marina heading North along the water through the Willingdon Beach Campground to the trail.
We followed the trail all the way down to Historic Downtown Powell River and the Catalyst Paper Mill. We returned back south to the marina on Marine Avenue above the trail taking in the view of the old houses for the mill managers/employees up the hill.
The logging equipment is very cool and all is custom made for very specific tasks. The designs for these things are pretty complicated and must have taken years of refinement for a lot of it. For example the Pole Wheel Cart design uses logs for rails to run the cart on.
The steam donkey was dis-assembled by a volunteer crew and flown out by helicopter to the current location where it was re-assembled. At the north end of the trail the you run in too the Catalyst Paper Mill which is surrounded by the original Old Town Powell River buildings supporting the paper mill.
Dwight Hall is the original hall for the mill with kitchens and entertaining facilities.
On the way over to Marine ave we ran in to the Patricia Theatre so we just had to get a picture of Patricia in front of it.
One the way back we headed south on Marine Ave above the trail tp take a look at the pretty houses built for the upper echelon mill employees.
That evening we had dinner under the grape vines at Snickers up the hill and south of the marina. Very good food and great atmosphere!
August 11, 12 and 13th
Big day… off to Chatterbox falls in Princess Louisa inlet. Alex thought we might be departing later to catch the Malibu rapids at entrance to the inlet at slack…. then he realized we had to leave NOW ?…so we got going quickly and cruised up Agammemnon Channel and in to Jervis Inlet. Was worried the ebbing tidal current, shown ebbing at 13:45 PDT at Malibu Rapids diagram below, would slow us down and we would miss our slack window. Did not see anything over a knot or so of current on the trip up so all good.
Malibu Rapids at Princess Louisa Inlet can have up to 10 knots currents with a narrow dog leg in the middle so nothing to trifle with. Even with making close to slack we had 2-3 knots flood going in.
Gloomy cloudy day and ended up raining too. At first a bit disappointed about rain but later realized this created many waterfalls in the fjord. Easy cruise and got to the rapids a bit before slack with incoming 2-3 knott current. Announced our transit and through we went. Entrance dog legs to the right and a bit of an S curve but since we had timed it well not a problem. A 110 foot boat Alliance went through before us. We did not see it but wondered about navigating a long boat like that through the inlet.
Right near the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet is a Christian kids camp. It
must be for rich kids as what a place! Beautiful grounds, swim area, ski boats,
SUPS, volleyball etc…. looked very swanky.
Arrived at the falls..it rained much of the way up the inlet but this created the waterfalls. The dock was full (we are too big for dock anyway) and there were several boats anchored to the west of the falls. I urged Alex to squeeze in right in front of the falls which he did YAY!! They guys went to stern tie us but it would have been on east side of falls and ranger came out to say not a good idea to tie there but she said we likely did not need to stern tide due to the current from the falls. So no stern tie but right in front of falls four our 3 day stay.
We all checked out the falls and then settle in for evening. We had some left over dungenous crab so I made crab coconut soup. I added Ramen noodles at the end and it complemented it well.
Next day we deployed SUPS and kayaks and all did a bit of both. Took Dinghy to MacDonald island and took a short hike on Ming’s Loop, nice walk through the woods to the inlet. Got back and did some more SUPing and hanging.
Unfortunately a yacht we had seen at John Henry “Shiatz” showed up and anchored next to us. They had these motorized self-propelled wake boards which were an annoyance. Alex asked that they keep them away but they still ruined the serenity. Unfortunately the ranger was gone for the time they were there so they were not shut down (one would think they would not be allowed). After the fact we should have told them of 4 mph speed limit and maybe the would have respected that. Terrible behavior!
The next AM Gary and Marcia were to fly out around 2pm. We went to falls in AM, those guys took a kayak and then their float plane arrived. When we were kayaking kept getting the feeling were being watched for some reason hmmmmm……Later in the day the float plane arrived at the park dock and Gary and Marsha flew off into the mist…
That afternoon we struck out on the trail to the trapper’s cabin (Which continues up to the top where apparently there are amazing views). Lots of warnings at beginning of how strenuous and unmaintained the trail is. We heard various reports…45 minute walk 1.5 hour walk? Anyhow off we went and it was very technical…lots of rocks and steep areas where one had to pull on roots etc…. We got about ½ hour and then Terra balked…she had enough…just too much for her with the steep inclines. So we turned around…I think youngster Holly could have made it and likely I could have too but it was a bit more than I liked too… maybe next time.
So the entire time we were there it seems hazy. We attributed it to humidity as it had rained but even on the last day when “sun” was out it was hazy. Turns out it was the beginning of several day so bad SMOKE from BC and Washington fires.
We would have stayed another day but the idiots on Shiatz continued to run
their motorized wake boards so we left and headed north to Powell river where
we could provision and refill water.
August 10th
Departed Nanaimo and stopped overnight at Garden Bay/Pender Harbor to get the first 30nm in for our destination of Chatter Box Falls.
Saw a couple humpbacks close by on the way (two sets of two) which was so cool. Arrived late afternoon and picked John Henry Resort and Marina in Hospitality bay for our overnight. John Henry turnes out to be a real nice small marina with nice staff and well stocked store with all the essentials, food, beeer and Liqour. At the free public dock nest to us we noticed a really nice restored fishing boat the Merry Chase, well done!
Walked a bit from marina and found a sign for the Pub Path, sounded like our kind of trail so followed it to Garden Pub on edge of Garden bay. Had some beers and wings then walked back. Chilled and had dinner.
August 8 and 9th
Hoisted anchor, headed north toward Nanaimo. Went through our first “rapids” Tod narrows. We were going with current at 3-4 knots and it was not an issue.
When arrived twas a busy evening there with lots of boats had to anchor at edge of anchorage. After circling we ended up barely inside the outside markers as shown at the circler intersection of route below. There are some nice trails to hike from the Newcastle Park dock and a nice walk through a cool bohemian neighborhood on Protection Island from there dock shown below.
We went to nearby Newcastle island park and it was very nice. Old pulpstone quarry (for grinding lumber into pulp), also had coal mines but now a park with trails all around.
Nice old dance floor/building built in early 1900s. At one point was a big destination for folks from Vancouver to visit (after mines and quarry closed). We were on island short time in afternoon and got back to boat about 5;20pm at which time a police boat came around and said we had to leave??? What they meant is we had to get off the boat. Apparently we had arrived on a day the Canadian Snowbirds (similar to blue angels in USA) were doing a practice show in the harbor and we had to be off the boat in case they crashed I guess. So we went to the Dinghy Dock pub on Protection island. We had some appetizers and beer and watched the show.
Guys deployed crab traps after that and then we had dinner on the boat cooked up the crab we had caught in ganges with drawn butter and sides salad.
Next day we took dinghy into Nanaimo. Walked the town which was ok, a few stores and a couple galleries. Had lunch at pirates fish and chips place. It was good… halibut and chips for Gary and I and Alex and Marcia had Salmon. Went shopping at BC liquor and grocery then back to boat. Everyone was chilling and I was as usual not tired so I went to the island and jogged the perimeter trail (Cut short at end cause it twas long!). No wildlife sighted but nice jog on water and through forest of cedar and madrones. Dogs got to swim before, during and after. We had the red crab we had caught in Ganges for dinner.
Guys checked the traps and we had lots of Dungenous crabs YAY. They took up traps but then regretted it since they had so many dungenous so they went back out and deployed them.
The next AM they check traps (more crab) and we raised anchor to cruise across
strait of Georgia to Pender harbor/Garden Bay (which has several marinas).
August 6 and 7th
AM we all got up and walked to breakfast and then guys went to BC liquor store and Marica and I started the shopping. Loaded up and then left marina a bit late. Heading for Ganges.
Anchored in Ganges harbor and planned to stay two nights.
One of the things you notice in the San Juan’s and BC Island areas are the the houses that are present in many areas on very small Islands with just a dock and house. This one stuck out as the smallest Island we saw which was right next to our anchor spot in Ganges.
Went ashore first night and walked around a bit. Ganges is a neat town with a “hippy” kind of vibe to it which we really enjoyed.
Found nice wood gallery and “leaf” dispensary where PJS acquired some sleeping aids. Found another small co-op gallery where we heard music which led us to Centennial park where some folks were playing and singing various things.
Walked along Ganges alley (small shops and eateries), along water found one of the many pianos set outside and then stumbled on to a trail out to grace point (required some rock climbing but very pretty). Back to boat. Gary, Alex and Holly deployed crab traps.
Next day planned to explore Ganges and do some walking. Found a park just outside of town that had some hiking and trees (Mouat’s park) where some early Japanese settlers had charcoal kilns.
We all started walking together but then Gary and Marcia headed back to the farmer’s market and we walked dogs a bit longer.
We later hooked up at farmer’s market and got some tomatos, bread, sweets and listened to music, followed by ice cream. Went to a few more galleries in town and then headed back to boat.
The guys checked the traps and we had Dungeness and Red crab for dinner finishing with a great sunset.
August 4th-6Th
Took dogs into do their business, stowed crab pots, hoisted dinghy and headed for Port Sidney. Have two nights at marina. Gary and Marcia fly in August 5th and staying to August 13th when they will fly out of chatterbox falls. Port Sidney Marina is top end with brand a couple brand new multi-million dollar Flemings boats for sale at the dock on the way in.
August 5th
One night in Sidney. Smallish town but all the amenities, great waterfront walk with sculptures and green grass. Short walk to close grocer or ride to further out groceries. We rode bikes and found an auto shop where Alex bought some filters for outboard. Stopped at hardware store and got some things needed and found a women barber who cut Alex’s hair. She was from Jamaica but had been inBC many years.
Also bought some general groceries on the bikes (Cranberry for Alex, some booze) but planned to do another shopping journey close to marina after Marcia and Gary Arrive.
Marica and Gary arrived late around 8:30 pm and made it to the boat with out us. SO good to see them. They had brought as requested 1) trash compactor bags and 2) oatmeal. Apparently oatmeal always sets off the airline sercurity guys to get looked at… so they had to open bag and then they would say “oh its oatmeal…that always happens”. They were tired form traveling so we all hit the hay so we could get an early start the next morning.
August 3rd-4th
Gary and Marsha are meeting us in Sidney on the 4 th so we decided to hoist Anchor and go over to Sidney Spit Anchorage for a night. Most boats anchor in near the park dock where it is more protected. After going up looking for a channel in deep enough for Water dog’s 5’3″ draft we chickened out and anchored out tucked up close to the beach on south side out of the prevailing SE winds.
Had a nice walk on beach…it got dirty when on the strait of Georgia but was nice and clean facing the spit where we anchored.
You can moor at the main park dock overnight if desire and space available. After beach walk went to the dock. Took a couple mile walk south on island through the trees then back through the campground.
A couple old growth cedars were huge, wonderful tall madrones but the island was logged by a brick company that was present at one point in early century. Campers would play with some left over bricks on the beach. A few brick structures and cleared depressions were the clay pits.
Had left over crab soup and broccoli for dinner with some mac and cheese. Early to bed.