Desolation Sound – Riveted

More Melanie Cove Shenanigans | BC

Laura Domela — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 02:58:54 +0000

We took the Inspire 1 up this afternoon for some aerial photos. My camera controller was glitching out a little bit, but I managed to take a few nice overhead shots that should give you a good sense of this place:

After doing some more work, we decided to go hike some of the trails here from the head of Melanie Cove. If you’ve read the book The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet, you’ll know about Phil the Frenchman’s cabin right here in this area.

[About the book, from amazon.com: The Curve of Time is a biography and astonishing adventure story of a woman who, left a widow in 1927, packed her five children onto a 25-foot boat and cruised the coastal waters of British Columbia, summer after summer.Muriel Wylie Blanchet acted single-handedly as skipper, navigator, engineer and, of course, mum, as she saw her crew through encounters with tides, fog, storms, rapids, cougars and bears. She sharpened in her children a special interest in Haida culture and in nature itself. In this book, she left us with a sensitive and compelling account of their journeys.]

Anyway, we kayaked over to the trailhead here in our cove.

Cultural Heritage site? Aboriginal artifacts? Wow! This might be a more interesting hike than we’d originally thought! Just a few steps up the trail and there’s an outhouse and a fork…we took the right fork and headed for Laura Cove. The trail is good, but then in many (MANY) parts of it, there are downed trees that you scramble over or crouch and crawl under. It’s pretty fun for the first mile or so. The trail…straight ahead, under these trees:

This part was like those parts of the obstacle course/boot camp game shows where young buff dudes high-knee over fences:

Cool fungi:

We eventually came to a little stream that babbled out into the head of Laura Cove (where we’d kayaked just this morning). Okay, cool…pretty. No artifacts, no cabin. Maybe the cabin was on the trail that went left at the fork. So we headed back and then took that fork. Well…that fork…goes up up up and then down down down and then up and then down and then up some more and then way down. The whole time you climb over rocks and logs and man are my legs getting tired. We never saw any cabin or artifacts or anything like that at all. But the views were lovely:

We made it back to the kayak after about a 3.5 mile hike. (This is about half a mile less than the hike we normally do at home every morning, but holy moly all that up and down and log climbing and rock scrambling! Legs. Tired.)

Back at Airship I googled the dang cabin and it sounds like the remains are at the head of Laura Cove. JUST WHERE WE WERE EARLY TODAY. Twice!! Fine then. Maybe we’ll dinghy back over there in the morning before Kevin’s conference call.

Dinner tonight is Cilantro Thai Grilled Chicken (chicken breasts, chopped garlic, 1/2 c cilantro, 2T fish sauce, 1T sesame oil, marinate all together for half an hour and then grill), roasted baby potatoes and sautéed green beans.

We’re not sure yet where we’ll go tomorrow…maybe Lund? Maybe another anchorage we haven’t been to.

Melanie Cove | Desolation Sound | BC

Laura Domela — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 20:13:20 +0000

After our stop at Mitlenatch Island yesterday, we continued on to Melanie Cove, inside of Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park.

There are three areas to anchor in Desolation Sound Marine Park: Prideaux Haven, Melanie Cove, and Laura Cove. There were 4 or 5 boats in Prideaux Haven, and 5 boats in Melanie Cove when we arrived last night (which seems a like a lot for end of September). We anchored in about 35 feet with plenty of room and no need to stern tie. (A stern tie is a line attached to something on shore like a tree or boulder or a nice chain like the one pictured below, that acts as a second anchor and limits the swing of your boat. It’s common practice in tighter, more popular anchorages.) Over on the opposite side of the cove there are some really nice stern tie chains attached to the rock:

After we got settled, I made us a quick dinner (gnocchi with sauteed mushrooms and the last of the truffled pesto sauce, with a spinach salad). We met Norm and Jane from a super cute blue-hulled Nordic Tug called Toot Sweet (they were stern tied on the opposite side of the cove and came by to say hi).

This morning we woke up to this view:

I suggested we have a quick coffee and then go kayaking before breakfast and while it was so calm and beautiful out, which turned out to be a very good good call!

That’s a little Ranger Tug anchored over in the shallow area of Laura Cove, in the middle of this next shot:

This is one of the most spectacular places to kayak, especially in this weather. Every time we stopped paddling it was absolutely silent, save for a few bird sounds or the burble of a nearby waterfall. We paddled over to Laura Cove and around a bunch of little islands and inlets. The tide was high, so all the green areas on the chart were easily passable by kayak. Here’s our track, starting and finishing at Airship in Melanie Cove (just over 3 miles total):

There’s a trailhead at the head of Melanie Cove that I think we’ll explore after we get some more work done. I made us a sort of huevos rancheros for brunch this morning (crunchy chipotle tostada on the bottom, black beans, grated cheese, over easy egg, homemade salsa, with a couple slices of avocado on top) and it was yum! Now we’re just working here on Airship. There’s only one other boat in the cove with us now and it’s VERY quiet. The wind is supposed to pick up this afternoon but calm again by tomorrow afternoon, and the weekend looks like a great time to make our way down the Strait of Georgia (WITHOUT the conditions we had last year for this part of our trip).

Mitlenatch Island | BC

Laura Domela — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 02:28:53 +0000

We left our anchorage at Rebecca Spit around noon and headed for Melanie Cove in Prideaux Haven (Desolation Sound). It’s a little out of our way (and NORTH!) but hard to pass by when the weather is this great.

A little bit into our cruise, we opted to make a detour and stop at Mitlenatch Island. Mitlenatch Island Nature Provincial Park is home to the largest seabird colony in the Strait of Georgia. The island is a nature reserve and an important nesting colony for Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Black Oystercatchers and many other species of birds. Marine life around the island includes river otters and harbour seals throughout the year, and Steller’s and California sea lions from late fall through to summer. [source]

Mitlenatch is here, in the middle of the map image (the small green island). Campbell River on Vancouver Island is over on the left side. Here’s a link to the actual Google map, if you want to zoom and stuff.

Steller sea lions, harbour seals, and a cormorant on our way into the cove:

The conditions were calm so we easily snuck in and anchored in the shallow cove (in about 15 feet) and then went ashore to explore.

The “Volunteer’s Cabin” (there was no one there right now, but I believe there’s someone here most of the summer):

There are all sorts of little collections of shells and bones around the cabin, as well as a little stack of pamphlets about the BC parks and wildlife. We looked around and then headed down the trail.

On the other side of the island there was a group of harbour seals hanging out in the sun at the water’s edge. We were pretty far away (and really quiet) but I think they still figured out we were there and after a couple minutes, some of them decided to get in the water.

On our way back across we went to check out the Gull Blind:

All we saw was one lone gull and a couple cormorants, but I’m guessing during the spring and early summer there are a lot of cool nesting gulls and baby birds to watch.

We did manage to spot and snap a photo of a neat Black Oystercatcher though:

After hiking all of the trails (except the one that went to the outhouse) we headed back to Airship.

The water here is so clear!

We had some lunch and then continued on toward Melanie Cove. This was a great stop, and highly recommended on a calm day.

Airship to Alaska | Day 5 | Squirrel Cove to Shoal Bay BC

Laura Domela — Thu, 12 May 2016 19:39:57 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska 2016

We got up early (5:30am!) to make the 3 hour cruise up to Dent Rapids. Looks like it’s going to be another gorgeous day.

After we’d woken up a bit, I cooked some breakfast for us (bacon and eggs underway, woohoo!) and we made it to Yuculta Rapids about an hour and 15 minutes before slack. Transiting this direction, the three rapids in order are Yuculta, Gillard, and then Dent. Dent is the one that matters most, so you want to get to Dent at slack. We were aiming for about 45 minutes before slack at Yuculta, but it looked (and was) just fine when we got there. Approaching Gillard we binoc’d the shores and it all seemed fine as well. By the time we got to Dent it was…well, kind of calm! Anyway, no big deal.

A tiny bit of churn here at Gillard:

We decided to stay at Shoal Bay for the night. We arrived just after 10am due to our early start, so we get a whole day to work and hang out here. Except the Wi-Fi doesn’t seem to be on or working, so we’re pretty much just hanging out. Kevin’s doing some work (texting back and forth with our employees using the InReach app on the DeLorme, 160 characters at time…hey, whatever works!). I’m writing this blog post in TextEdit on my Mac and I’ll post it when we next get connected. This place is one of our favorites. It’s super chill, and extremely beautiful with the view up Phillips Arm. We stopped here last year on our way south and we’re pretty happy to be back.

We put out a couple of crab traps and then went up and walked around the grounds.

It’s SO picturesque that it’s hard to believe the landscape just looks like this, colors and all. At the hummingbird water cooler/crack delivery system up at the pub things were SUPER peppy!

You can't believe how MANY hummingbirds are flocking to this feeder. I think the owners filled the feeder three times today…and it's empty. Again. The hummingbirds are total bitches to each other too. They slam the others away…you can HEAR it. Blam! And they're constantly chirping. I wish you could hear the fluttering/buzzing sound that their wings make. All together it's like a swarm of wasps, Hitchcockian-style. Kevin took some video (that includes a hummingbird body slam and then the two lock (one hummingbird's feet around the other's head as they plummeted to the ground). NOT what you think of when you think of these cute little buggers, is it?

Here's a video. Not for the faint of heart:

Back at Airship, Kevin took the drone up and I used the other controller and my iPhone to manage the drone’s camera. I’ve got left, right, up, down, and shutter…so I took the photos while Kevin flew. (He refers to himself here as the aerial tripod, but it’s much more than that!) Here are some of the shots we got today:

Back on Airship, the hummingbirds were trying VERY hard to get some nectar out of the Canadian flag, poor things.

In the morning we’ll leave here around 8am to get through Greene Point Rapids and Whirlpool Rapids at agreeable times, and then head to Port Harvey by way of Johnstone Strait and Havana Channel.

Oh yeah!! First whale sighting of the trip! In Calm Channel today, we saw a few spouts and then the tail of a humpback as it dove…but we never did see it surface again.

We checked crab traps a bit ago and had two keeper male Dungeness and one LARGE red rock. So…guess what's for dinner?

Today's route (30.7 nautical miles, 4 hours 28 minutes):

Airship to Alaska | Day 4 | Lund to Squirrel Cove

Laura Domela — Wed, 11 May 2016 19:44:30 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska 2016

We got up early this morning in Lund and headed up to Nancy's for breakfast (and a couple of blackberry cinnamon rolls to go). Prawn season opened today, so the docks were crowded with prawn traps and buoys being loaded onto fishing boats. We left after breakfast and decided to head up toward Toba Inlet.

I snapped a photo of our neighbor's boat as they headed out this morning. We'll likely meet up with them again (they're on their way to Wrangell) so I can give them this photo, but hey guys! If you see this post, just right click and save it if you want it!

I love turning the corner into Desolation Sound and being greeted by this:

It was gray and drizzly this morning but cleared up nicely for the rest of our day.

We went up to Toba Inlet and cruised in about half way to check out some waterfalls.

Pretty stunning scenery, isn't it? And it's only going to get better (well, more dramatic) from here.

We did a fairly long cruise today just to cruise…we ended up anchoring in Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island, which as you can see on the map, is not that far from Lund (as the crow flies). Today's cruise was 55.4 nautical miles in 7 hours 32 minutes:

We drove around the anchorage area in Squirrel Cove surveying the bottom with our new sonar….great way to pick a spot where there aren't a bunch of logs!

Once successfully anchored, Kevin took the drone up and we took a few photos from the air:

Tomorrow we'll head outta here around 5:45am to get to Dent Rapids by high slack (9:21am) and then we're not sure where we'll stay tomorrow night. We'll let you know tomorrow!

Desolation Sound, Lund, and Comox (BC)

Laura Domela — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 00:58:31 +0000

Remember how we were the only boat anchored in Melanie Cove in Desolation Sound? By the time we went to bed there were 11 boats in there. Mid September when we’ve hardly seen another pleasure boat in weeks! Also, when we left the cove at around 8:30am or so, not ONE boat was running its generator. Not one. (This is rare!)

We headed for Lund, around the corner on the mainland, and decided that since the wind was supposed to be very light in the Strait of Georgia, that we’d just stop and visit Lund for an hour or so (instead of staying overnight) and then head on across to Comox.

Lund was cute! We tied up on the hotel dock since it was going to be a short visit, and then headed up to check out the grounds. The Historic Lund Hotel was built in 1905 by Lund’s Swedish founders:

We stopped at Nancy’s Bakery to pick up a couple of their famous blackberry cinnamon buns, and then popped into the general store for a quick browse and to pick up some milk and eggs and spinach.

Also notable about Lund: Lund is at Mile 0 of the 101 highway, at the north end of the Pacific Coastal Route. If you wanted to, you could drive from Lund, BC all the way to Quellon, Chile:

We left Lund and headed across the Strait of Georgia in very calm conditions.

It was foggy for quite a bit of the route (further validating that when there’s fog, there’s calm water). It brightened up a little after a while and we found our way across the Comox Bar with no problem.

Arriving in Comox Harbour:

Seals all lined up on the floats:

New spot:

New view:

There was a shrimp boat bringing “Big Shrimp” in at 6pm, but we found a restaurant we wanted to try so we missed the big shrimp window.

We had dinner up at the Avenue Bistro and it was fantastic. Everything. We started with a martini, and tried the clams, the beef carpaccio, the duck confit pizza, and the pulled pork tacos and everything was delicious and creatively prepared and served. We brought pizza home so we’ll get to try that again tomorrow! I only took a photo of the martini, so here ya go…cheers!

Today’s route from Melanie Cove to Lund to Comox (about 40 nautical miles total):

Shoal Bay to Desolation Sound

Laura Domela — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:05:34 +0000

Shoal Bay, BC to Melanie Cove in Desolation Sound, BC

We left Shoal Bay at 6am this morning so we could be at Dent Rapids by slack tide (7:15am). It looked like this:

See those little lights up ahead? That's not a line of several boats waiting for slack at Dent Rapids. It's two tugboats pulling and pushing a GIGANTIC island of logs.

Getting lighter out, finally:

There were no other boats at Dent when we got there. We binoc'd it and it looked smooth so we headed through…first Dent Rapids, then Gillard Rapids, then Yuculta Rapids, all in a row. By the time we got to Yuculta we could see some swirly bits and feel the ebb against us, but no issues. That makes five sets of rapids in two days (yesterday was Whirlpool and Greene Point). And now, we're done with rapids!

We had a nice cruise down to Desolation Sound. We headed for Prideaux Haven thinking we'd check it out, as well as Melanie Cove.

It's rainy and a bit gray so our view isn't as spectacular as it could be, but it seems to be clearing up a bit (it's only 2pm) so maybe the view will change.

We took the dinghy out exploring…went the back route over to Laura Cove and just meandered around the islands. It's gorgeous here.

Here we are at anchor. There were maybe six boats over in the Prideaux Haven and no one in Melanie Cove when we got here. (Now there are two other boats.)

There's a squadron of otters swimming around catching fish, but other than that it's pretty quiet in here.

Today's route from Shoal Bay to Melanie Cove (38 nautical miles):

Here's a map of our dinghy exploration over to Laura Cove, around Prideaux Haven, and Melanie Cove (3.7 nautical miles):

This satellite image must have been during the summer. check out how many boats are here!!! :)

Tomorrow we'll head on to Lund and decide whether we stay there for the night or go all the way across the strait to the Vancouver Island side.

Day 4 – Teakerne Arm – Quadcopter Video

Laura Domela — Thu, 21 May 2015 03:43:00 +0000

Here's the video that Kevin shot with the quadcopter while we were anchored (and stern tied) in front of Cassel Falls at Teakerne Arm, in Desolation Sound, B.C.