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Up the West Coast of Vancouver Island:
Varney Bay, Quatsino Sound
to Sea Otter
Cove, Cape Scott
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Day 17:
Sea Otter
Cove, Cape Scott |
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We left early
to hit Quatsino Narrows at slack. There's a low pressure system approaching,
with SE winds 15-20 rising to 30-40 this morning and easing SE 20-30 this
evening. We were hoping to slip into Sea Otter Cove before the big
stuff hits. But we needed fuel first. We arrived at Winter Harbour at 8:30,
but it wasn't open until 10. Bummer. So we spent some time walking around the
town as a heavy rain started falling. Like so many of these coastal
communities the major industries are waning, tourism is building up, but not
enough to sustain previous prosperity. |
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The seas were very calm
for most of the run, but the wind starting to pick up as we approached Sea
Otter Cove. It was getting foggy too -- we could just barely make out the
Scott Islands in the gloom. The entrance
to Sea Otter Cove is
shallow and tricky, but we had almost 9' of water, so that helped. We
expected to find a boat or two in here as this is the only safe harbor
between Winter Cove and the other side, but it was empty. It is also
equipped with big storm buoys, so we took one. |
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We put on our exposure suits to go out and
explore in the dinghy. There was all kinds of stuff blown up
on shore here, as it really takes a pounding from the winter storms being
right out on the coast. It was kind of amazing to actually be there -- one
more big day to go and we'd be all the way along. |
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This is looking west across the rugged outer
shore of the anchorage. |
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The wind was really starting to pick up, so we
worked our way outside the cove to check out the wave action. It would
have been challenging to bring Dirona through at this point, as big
swells were rushing into the entrance channel. |
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This is a wave breaking just off the entrance
channel. It was really exciting to watch the waves pounding into shore
-- we spent ages out there. The winds continued to rise later in the
afternoon. Solander Island recorded 51 knots from the SE and we saw a
good 35. We were glad not to be out in that. |
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