MV Dirona

Day 8: Lane Rock Cove, Cultus Sound

We were underway by 5am to hit the 6:04 HW slack at the rapids a half hour early. The sun was just coming up as we headed south, lighting the hills around us with a golden glow. The rapids, which should have been still flooding, were already ebbing at 1-2 knots when we arrived however. I subsequently raised the inaccuracy of the slack water prediction with CHS, who concluded on the basis of our data and their 1991 observations that the calculation currently in Sailing Directions, from 1941, is incorrect.  In 12/2002 they issued a correction.  I was quite impressed with their responsiveness. The correction can found in our cruising guide, Cruising the Secret Coast: Unexplored Anchorages on British Columbia's Inside Passage.

This was the the view just south of the rapids after we'd passed back out again, the rising sun making the clouds look like pink cotton-candy.

Feeling flushed with our conquering of Kildidt Narrows, we decided to come through Spitfire Channel and take on the narrow boat passage. It was a beautiful, calm waterway full of islets bathed in early morning golden sunshine - a really enjoyable cruise. It was a little tight at NE corner of Hurricane Island, but then we got to the boat passage, which looked really tight.

Very nerve-wracking getting through, but with bow watch and slowness we were fine. On the other side, a sailboat was anchored in a pretty cove directly north of channel to Spider Anchorage. This is the view looking back to the passage.

Crossing Queens Sound, through rather steep swell, we stopped off at Goose Island Anchorage, pictured at left, for muffins made underway. We were starving, having been traveling since 5am and not having stopped until 10am. The cove at the south end of the islands has huge logs piled way high up on shore everywhere – definitely not a good place to anchor.

Afterwards, we nosed into the cove at the northern end, where the Native Reclamation Center sits on the shore of wonderful beach. Then across to McMullin Group and south to McNaughton Group, the latter of which we've been wanting to get to for several days.

The forecast is calling for SE gale tonight, so we want something sheltered. The cove at the SE end of the north McNaugton Group island looked inviting, but we really wanted to investigate the lagoon and reversible rapids mentioned in a May, 2001 Pacific Yachting article on Queen's Sound. The article didn't indicate this was a good anchorage (too deep), but when we arrived at the cove at nearly low tide and saw the waterfalls, we were hooked and had to make it work.

Feeling stubborn, we stern-tied between the waterfalls. If the storm does come with winds from S or SE, we are reasonably protected and are facing the prevailing westerlies.

Then off in the dinghy to poke around and explore. The tide was rising rapidly and the waterfalls were a fraction of what they were at low tide, but they still looked great. Big chunks of foam were floating around from the turbulence. We were eager to get in and explore the lagoon. Finally, the current slowed. The lagoon was pristine and still, with numerous high-current creatures at the entrance.

We came out about 20 minutes later and the current had turned to flood so we had to work against it. Waiting a little longer would have been better as there would have been more water.

We were exhausted – two days of getting up early and lot of excitement along the way had worn us out. We both snoozed while the pizza dough rose. The following day we planned to hit Bella Bella and Shearwater to fill our tanks and relax in town. We've been out for 8 days since Port Hardy and could easily last another 3-4. Not bad for our little marina-hopping coastal cruiser. We had dinner on the back deck and watched the rapids slow (top center of picture).  

Day 9: Sans Peur Cove, San Peur Passage

We got up early and went scuba diving off the swim platform to the islet and back – we encountered lots of sea life and countless nudibranchs. After cleaning up, we headed  north into Cultus Passage and checked out Kinsman Inlet. Nothing appealed to us at the outer entrance and we didn't want to take on the narrow channel, so we continued north into Sans Peur Passage. We passed a bay on the west side that we named Sans Peur Cove which looked very appealing, so we worked our way carefully in.

Dirona sat almost even with the southernmost gap through which we had a view into Sans Peur Passage. Shortly, a large 45-50' sailboat came south through the passage, studying us carefully in their binoculars. The VHF radio channels are much more active now that we closer to the centers of Bella Bella and Shearwater.

We set off for a dinghy exploration. The islets here are wonderful - there are all kinds of places to poke around. We realized that we could get through to a cove on the other side, so off we went. There were a little rapids at the tightest spot, and it was blocked with trees, so it was a little exciting getting through, but found quite a pretty cove beyond. I have had my eye on this as an anchorage for several days – apart from the charted rock at the entrance, it looks perfect.

At the entrance we found an abandoned float home  - the end walls had collapsed outwards and all kinds of furniture etc was visible - even several pool balls. Bed, door, all kinds of stuff floating around.

Returning to Dirona, we cooked up a batch of crab and consumed it on the back deck with fresh bread, using our outdoor propane heater to ward off the chill. Meanwhile, Gremlin was quite concerned by a log that drifted a little too close to the boat.