Desolation Sound and Beyond

June 15, 2010

After spending 2 delightful days at Gibson’s Landing we took off on a rainy Wednesday morning heading to one of our favorite anchorages, Smuggler’s Cove, about 20 miles up the coast. This is a tight anchorage that usually requires each boat to drop their anchor and then stern tie to shore. There are also plenty of rocks which give another incentive to stern tie. The park provides rings that have been drilled into the rock in various places around the cove to which we tie our line to and loop it back to the boat. Doing a “stern tie” prevents the boat from rotating around the anchor and holds it in place so less room is needed per boat. This requires me to launch the dinghy and row the line ashore while Karyl stays on the boat to feed the line. Then I get out of the dinghy on to slippery rocks, thread the line through the ring, I climb back into the dinghy and row back to the boat, towing the line behind me. This is our first stern tie this year, so we were pretty rusty. We will be well polished before this cruise is over. The rain stopped and the sun came out, so we enjoyed sitting out in the cockpit having a glass of wine. Also, there were only 2 other boats in the cove. Our last time in Smuggler’s Cove, there must have been 15 other boats. It can get very crowded during the height of the cruising season. It is a fun stop that can also be gotten to by car. There are short backwoods hiking trails that can be fun if it is not raining because they can get muddy.

Again, we woke up to a steady rain on Thursday and had to get the boat underway. We got soaked! The rain stopped about mid morning and the wind was not too bad, so we headed up Malaspina Strait to Powell River and tied up to the dock. We needed to replenish our fresh vegetables anyway so we went to the nearest store, a Safeway, about 2 miles away. After climbing the very steep hill at the beginning of the trek, it seemed more like 10 miles!

"Violet A" In Grace Harbour

Then we headed to Desolation Sound which is considered one of the most beautiful cruising destinations in the world. Our first night there, we dropped the anchor in Grace Harbour, a place we have been to before. The day was quite nice and we went ashore for a short hike.

One Of Many Views From Prideaux Haven

The next day we went to the heart of Desolation Sound, Prideaux Haven, and anchored in Melanie Cove. We have been in Prideaux Haven many times in years past, but this was the first time we were able to anchor in Melanie Cove. It is usually packed with boats, but this time there where only 3 boats when we left. I guess it’s the time of year and the crowds haven’t made it up here yet. We spent 2 days there, staying the second day because of storm warnings. However, the weather wasn’t bad at all.

Looking Into Roscoe Bay

If you aren’t bored yet, we then headed over to Roscoe Bay. This is a place that you can only enter at near high tide because it has a bar into the inner bay that is almost dry on low tide. We took the dinghy over it at low tide and got stuck in 8 inches of water! So once you are in Roscoe Bay, you stay until the next high tide.

Walking In The Entrance To Roscoe Bay