Desolation Sound

We lingered in Lund until after lunch, sadly missing most of the wind for the day.  Once we had cast off the dock lines, we motored up and around Malaspina peninsula, and into a deep bay called Grace Harbour, which is at the southern edge of the Desolation Sound area.   Despite its name (given by a George Vancouver, who at this point in his explorations was deeply depressed by his inability to find the Northwest Passage), it is a beautiful region of mostly unspoilt wilderness. 

 We shared the anchorage with only one other boat, and Emily and I headed to explore the rocky shoreline while Sara stayed on the boat and read.

After dinner we all headed off in the dinghy to do some fishing around the corner.  We had the excitement of landing a fish, but it seemed too small to keep, so we let it live.  Emily, somewhat surprisingly, was very disappointed that we weren’t going to kill and eat it.

There were Gale warnings starting the following afternoon, so the next day we headed off to Squirrel Cove on Cortez Island, which has a very good harbour.  The wind picked up nicely, so we raised the sails, and I gave Sara a workout tacking the boat upwind to the entrance to the cove.

The crew raising the mainsail

We entered the inner harbour through a narrow passage, and it looked like we had the place to ourselves.  We picked out the perfect spot to anchor, but just as the anchor chain started to lower, it stopped.  I had Sara drive the boat in slow circles as I tried to figure out what was wrong, but we eventually decided we should get to a secure dock for the night, before the gale hit.

Fortunately, there is a public wharf nearby in the outer harbour, and we were safely tied up 15 minutes later.  There was another sailboat docked there as well, and the owner Dave had a voltmeter he lent me so I could sort out our anchor issue.

While I was working on the boat, the girls went off exploring the small settlement there.  Sara called after an hour or so, suggesting I join them for dinner at the small restaurant down the beach.  It turns out the place is quite renowned in the region for its excellent food, and we had the best meal of the trip so far.

Rio Dorado, in front, at Squirrel Cove