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Summer Cruising: Pendrell Sound

I realize after preparing to flip another page on the calendar in not too many days, that I am behind in updating my cruising blog for this summer’s adventures.  As usual, summer passed like a flash, leaving behind great memories and experiences.

I am thrilled to have been able to enjoy several weeks cruising this summer in Desolation Sound, the Discovery Islands, and the Canadian Gulf Islands.  I’ve decided rather than bore you with my daily cruising log, I’ll share some of the highlights and use video to help tell the story.

If you’ve read my blog in the past months, you may recall I launched a YouTube Channel in the spring.  I’ve really enjoyed the process of shooting and editing the videos, and learn more and more with each and every one.

The first video in this summer’s cruising series is one I created from an August visit to Pendrell Sound in Desolation Sound.  It’s truly an amazing place, and probably my favorite anchorage in Desolation Sound.  There’s just something magical about swimming in warm water below towering snow-capped peaks.  Rather than go on and on, I’ll let the video take it from here:

Thanks for watching.  If you enjoy my videos, feel free to subscribe to my channel.  “Stay tuned” for the next installments in my summer cruising series!

 

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Turning Toward Home

In my previous post, I wrote about the journey north to Desolation Sound and beyond. This will be a continuation of that trip, although now we have turned our bows toward home, and are slowly making our way south.

Day 16: Sunday, August 25

We enjoyed a calm night at Anchor in Roscoe Bay and awoke to clearing skies and sunshine. I’m pretty certain I had my fair share of clams and Scotch and guitar playing last night, but I was up and out of bed fairly early. Wind Walker is beginning their trip toward home today. Todd wants a few extra days in a weather window for a comfortable trip home. A slower-moving sailboat, Wind Walker can’t just speed up to run ahead of weather like the power boats in the group. We saw them off, leaving us onJolly Mon, Briar Patch, and Enough Time behind. Perhaps we’ll run into them down the line. We’re hoping to spend a few more days gunkholing in Desolation Sound.

After taking care of a few things, we left Roscoe Bay and made the short run to Refuge Cove for water and ice, with plans to decide our next destination over a burger. During the run, a check of the updated weather forecast predicting big winds and rain on the way, made us re-think our plans. Winds of up to thirty knots would be coming in tomorrow, followed by rain for the next several days. Even though we have a week to get home, maybe it’s best to slowly head that direction. Wherever we decided to go today, we would probably be there for at least two days. After considering our options, we decided Westview at Powell River would be a good choice – we could tie to the dock and have power and water, and would have a town to help pass the time. We contacted Westview Marina by phone, and although they do not take reservations, they advised they had plenty of room, and didn’t anticipate filling up.

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Going North

This year will be a first for me… The first time I’ve taken my boat to Desolation Sound. While I’ve spent a lot of time in the Canadian Gulf Islands, I’ve never made the leap across the Strait of Georgia and and ventured north to add to my cruising pedigree. I’m excited, the boat is ready, and time off from work secured.

I’ll be traveling with Briar Patch, Enough Time, Little Bear, and Wind Walker; all Desolation Sound veterans. Big Sky and Jolly Mon are first-timers. We have no real itinerary, other than a date we need to return by.

I’ll do my best to keep a log of my travels and things we do and see along the way. This post will contain several days.

Day 1: Saturday, August 10

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Briar Patch, Enough Time, and Jolly Mon departed Anacortes at about 5:30 am – just before daylight. The several mornings prior, Anacortes was socked in with fog, but this morning was the exception, so we were thrilled when we had the opportunity to leave early with clear skies. Wind Walker, the lone sailboat in the group, left the day before. Our plans were to make Nanaimo by evening.

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Looking Back..

I’ve gotten a bit behind on my cruising log, and for various reasons I didn’t get around to entering last summer’s cruises. Here it is February, and while I’m already making plans for this years cruising season, I’ve been fortunate to get out for a few very nice winter cruises.

But first, a quick re-cap of last summer, just so you can be convinced the boat was well-used.. Here’s a few highlights:

March:Impromptu Easter weekend overnight cruise to Obstruction Pass. Ran into JaCarol… Had some wine. Had some more wine. Afternoon cruise turns into overnight. Good times!

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