After leaving Egmont, I came north thru Powell River to the bustling metropolis of Lund, B.C.  Hwy 101 ends at the wharf in Lund……..way out in the middle of no-where.  This is a real memory shot for me……….I spent my summer vacations here as a teenager……….. http://webpictures.homestead.com/southbc.html   It was a pretty rough little Scandihoovian fishing village then and the smaller community of Finn Bay in the next cove was notorious for drinking and fighting and us kids were forbidden to go there.

Lund is no larger now, (there’s no more room in the little cove) and quite crowded - maybe 200 or 300 people, but Lund and Finn Bay have gone fairly upscale and it’s a lot different.  Usually I’m not wild about that stuff, but I do like the “new” Lund.  Neat place.  Now, if only the stone faced young ladies in the very nice little bakery could learn how to smile and be pleasant all would be well in my little world.  It’d be nice if their wifi worked, too.  Folks in the Boardwalk Restaurant across the little cove were extremely pleasant - and THeir wifi works.  The restaurant was spotless, food was excellent, view great, prices fair and service extremely good.  Nice.

This isn’t too far northwest of Jervis Inlet and scenery is very similar.  I never tire of seeing what’s around the next corner.  Today, about 75 miles of corners and actually far beyond Desolation Sound to Toba Inlet……………

On the morning of the 15th, I dumped the Dustbuster in the water - $2.00 to launch and $2.00 to retrieve it - and headed northwest.  Big, nostalgic grin on my face as I headed into the Copeland Islands - what we as kids called the Raggeds.  Very pretty country, lots of little islands and perfect for kayak-ers………………

Looking back as we exit the Raggeds, it looks like we’re really hauling but Dustbuster still cruises at a sedate 22 mph……..

 

Mink Island on the right and West Redonda angles up to the left, just left of straight ahead.  East Redonda is the big mountain just right of straight ahead.  Today I went completely around East Redonda……………

That’s Marylebone Point straight ahead and right around the corner is a narrow inlet - Roscoe Bay - that’s a very popular, well protected anchorage.  Here it’s almost all sailboats…….in Jervis Inlet (to Chatterbox) it was mostly powerboats.  Go figure………………

Here’s the entrance to Roscoe Bay, around Marylebone Point.  It goes way back in there and many boats were anchored.  Nice life……………..

Sounds a little odd, but it’s not always easy to correlate GPS pictures to printed charts.  Usually have the GPS on a far closer scale and it fouled me up this time.  I wound up going a couple of miles up Pendrell Sound before realizing that it was a long bay with no outlet.  Hadta backtrack and get back into Waddington Channel and soon saw “something” in the distance.  Looked for all the world like a large, crowded parking lot………but this is water.  What the hey ??…………….

Closer up, I could see that it’s an enormous number of floats of different shapes and sizes.  What ??  Seems like I’ve read about Oyster farmers on the “least” coast (this being the “best” coast) farming their “Arsters” on ropes dangling from floats.  Yup, found out later that’s just what this is - an Oyster farm.  Looks like a tangle from this angle, but they were anchored in neat rows.  This is just south of waypoint 733…………….

Looking way ahead now, Walsh Cove is in the far distance, just left of that little notch, which is the entrance (exit) to Toba Inlet.  This is where I was s’posed to meet friends Garry and Nellie on their 40 ft sloop, the Sunshine.  Remember last year at Pirate’s Cove ??……… http://gogittum.com/blog/?cat=73  I was real interested in meeting them to see what they had planned for this year but they’d planned on being there (or in Lund ??) by the 12th.  I was running 3 days late and they were gone.  I’d checked in all anchorages on the way and continued to check throughout the trip, but with no joy and also called frequently on the VHF radio.  Must’ve gave up on me and headed up Toba Inlet, I guess.  They’re still in the wind and haven’t heard from them yet, as of July 27, as I write this.  Sorry guys………….

Walsh Cove is a pretty spot and a Gov’t Marine Park and several boats were anchored here, but looks to me like it’d be pretty exposed to a southwest wind blowing up the Channel……………..

Ah, well, leaving Walsh Cove, I went out thru the narrow exit and out into giant Toba Inlet.  Channel Island is straight in front of us here, and Toba continues for many miles around to the left past it.  When I was a kid, this was a name signifying great distances and remoteness……….and now I’m here.  Dustbuster has carried me to some wonderful places………and I have plans for many more.  The mountains here are building up into the mighty Coast Range.  These fjords are actually the foothills.  Beautiful……………

Toba is a little far for today, even tho’ I carry gas enuf to go quite a way up it.  My range, with 32 gallons on board, (not counting an extra 2½ gallon jug) is almost 200 miles.  I would never try to go 100 miles out………the general rule of thumb is 1/3 out, 1/3 back and 1/3 in reserve.  For example, if it gets rough, (and marine weather forecasts are notoriously un-reliable) the motor works much harder, the boat goes much slower and fuel consumption goes way up.  You need a healthy reserve.  This gives me a practical range of 60 or so miles out and typical for me is 20 to 40 miles each way.  80 miles is a good run for a day in an open boat, and last year at Chilko Lake I covered over 100 miles on a 45º day.  Much as I love the boat and the water, I was very glad to be finished that day.  Instead, I swung down into beautiful Homfray Channel.  This shot is looking SE….almost east….from about waypoint 734 in the map at the top of this page.  Giant glacier capped mountains everywhere……………

A new resort is going in…………there are many thru this country, cropping up like mushrooms.  Some guests come by boat, but my understanding is that most come by floatplane.  Salmon fishing has been the big thing, but eco-tourism - kayaking, hiking, Bear and Whale watching are fast taking over as the most popular activities…………….

There are many older places, too, and many are abandoned.  It’s very common to see a row of rotted pilings from an old landing sticking up to show someone lived and/or worked there 50 or 75 years ago.  Not sure about this one……….looks dilapidated, but from closer up the boat looks OK.  Dunno, but it’s a beautiful setting……………

Generally, the clumps of islands are named as a group, in addition to their individual names, such as the Copeland Islands outside of Lund.  At the far southwest corner of Homfray Channel is a large group of small islands that look almost fake in their beauty, but they don’t seem to have a group name.  Look at my track just north of Tenedos Bay on the map.  Wonderful place, full of channels, reefs, islands, etc.  Many boats were anchored and dinghys and kayaks paddling all over.  Looks very, very nice.  Next year I’d like to rent a 30 to 40 ft boat for 2 weeks or more and spend some time just gunk-holing around in this country.  I love it…………..

 

Even here.  If you go to the right of the island on the right there’s a channel leading to a cove with several boats anchored.  Look very carefully at the rock just left of center.  See the boat thru the trees ??  Beautiful.  (I use that word a lot up here, don’t I ?? :-)………………

OK, wind’s starting to kick up and it’s a long way home, so light the fire and git ‘er gittin’……………..

There are homes scattered on rocks and cliffs all over this country, on fresh water and salt, but come around Sarah Point and go past Bliss Landing and you’ll really see a collection of them.  Here’s a dandy.  Construction costs here must really be something…………

This one’s a mansion………..

 

Even some little cabins that strongly attract me…………..

Then……..lo and behold………whadda we have here ??  An almost identical trailer to the one I live in in Santa Fe……….whenever I’m there………………Hmmm - food for thought……………

A few miles farther thru the tangle of islands and there’s the familiar harbor of Lund waiting for us - and hot fish and chips in the excellent restaurant.  What a day.  Sure sorry I missed Garry and Nellie…………….

More adventures tomorrow.                        Lar.
–

Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: July 31st, 2009 under 09 Vacation, 09-7-15 Desolation Sound.
Comments: 1