Kendrick Island to Port Browning

Our original plan was to overnight in Lyall Harbour but the forecasted 25 knot westerly winds overnight indicated a change was prudent. We decided to go to Port Browning a day early.

As we had morning coffee and prepared to haul the anchor, we were entertained by eight river otters feeding in the shallows at low tide.

We went through Gabriola Pass about an hour after slack – had around 3 kts on the nose but it is such a short, straight, easy passage that there was no issue, even with opposing traffic.

As we headed down Tricomali channel, we were surprised at how few boats were out. Of course, that changed as we neared the more popular areas of the southern Gulf Islands.

To break up the trip today we planned to stop for a walk around Wallace Island, anchoring in Princess Bay. When we got there, there was just no room at the inn. So we changed plans and headed for Glenthorne Passage on Prevost Island and dropped anchor for lunch. We have a favorite spot toward the end of the Passage where you can look out to Captain Passage. This length of the Passage now has more permanent mooring balls than we remembered, right down the center of the fairway.

There were 4 boats already at anchor, but our spot was available. We had a nice lunch and enjoyed watching the traffic go through the gaps in the rocks.

As we departed after a 2-hour stop, 3 more boats made their way into the passage. We are most definitely in the height of the summer season.

The trip to Port Browning was uneventful, other than dodging local traffic and the BC ferry Coastal Inspiration.  We had it timed perfectly, the ferry took our stern. The anchorage at the head of Port Browning was very busy, but you can always find a spot if you take your time. The docks at the Port Browning Marina were also full. Mostly power vessels at the docks and overwhelmingly sailing vessels in the anchorage.

busy port browning

Happily anchored amidst the sailboats, we had a relaxing evening.

Pender Harbour to Kendrick Island

Predict Wind let us down today. Only the second time on our three-month trip. But, according to Karen, it let us down quite badly.

We have been monitoring the forecast for the Strait of Georgia days before we arrived at Pender Harbour. There are lots of open water crossings we have made this trip, and they have been quite good. We wanted this to be the same, so we were really watching weather. Earlier on, yesterday (Monday) was the time to cross, but that had changed to today a few days ago. That’s why we spent an extra day in Pender Harbour. We knew the winds would be from the SE – not our preference for this crossing – but they were to be only 5-15 kts until afternoon and the seas were to be small.

Well…the winds were from the SE as forecasted, but the winds were not 5 – 15 kts. Instead, the base winds were over 15kts with with gusts to 22kts and the waves easily reached 3 feet for the first part of our trip rather than the one footers in the forecast. The ride was very wet, the boat was continually doused in salt water. We got salt spray as high as the flybridge windows.

The only good news was that the restricted area, Whiskey Gulf, was inactive, so we were able to tack and get a better ride than staying on our initial course. Despite our best efforts, though, things went flying in the galley as I was trying to cook while underway. Nothing broken though!

As we got closer to the Vancouver Island side of the strait, the wave action diminished some and the ride was still sporty but more comfortable.

The water sandwiched between Kendrick Island and Valdes Island is not well known. It is just off the eastern entrance to Gabriola Passage, so many people go right past Kendrick when they are transiting the pass.

The West Vancouver Yacht Club has an outstation with docks and mooring balls there but the anchorage itself is roomy enough to accommodate us non-yacht club boaters. It’s also close enough to easily dinghy to Silva Bay or visit the park marine park in Wakes Cove.

We have been to the Kendrick Island anchorage many times and like it because it a nice place to rest after crossing the Strait of Geogia. We are also fans of Gabriola Passage, as it has far more latitude and far, far, far, less traffic than Dodd Narrows. Plus, it is a straight and short shot through the passage.

looking southest down the Strait of georgia from Kendrick Island

When we arrived, there were only two sailboats anchored and no one on the Yacht Club dock or moorings balls. We expected more neighbors, but given the strong SE winds, that might have kept the boaters away as the head of the anchorage is open to SE winds. That said, the anchorage is protected from SE fetch, except for a brief time at the highest tides. We were happy for the breeze as the sun came out in force once we arrived.

the view back to the north east toward silva bay

WVYC docks attached to kendrick island and their mooring balls in the anchorage

A few more boats came in during the afternoon hours, a triple raft on one yacht club mooring and a few smaller sailboats. We were happy to just relax after our crossing, which was more lively than we had wished for.

Texada Boat Club to Pender Harbour

We have not been to Pender Harbour for many years. We tend to pass up the crowds found here in our quest for more remote anchorages.

However, this year we are going to wait here to time our crossing of the Strait of Georgia and explore to this large anchorage to see what has changed in our absence.

Given the calm weather, it was tempting to go all the way across today (Karen’s suggestion), but that would put us in the “crazy zone” of pink AIS targets south of Nanaimo for too many days.

As we made our way south from Texada, we could see a stream of boats leaving Pender Harbour on the AIS. This should mean we will find room!

Sure enough, the anchorages were not super crowded when we arrived around 11am. We poked around and decided to anchor SE of Garden Peninsula (just outside Garden Bay) and trade some boat wakes for better views and breezes. With a forecast for low 70’s and light winds, we did not want to anchor where we might bake. We’ve learned that lesson in the past.

Pender Harbour. Garden bay on the left Gunboat bay in the distance and Maderia PArk MArina on the Right

After lunch we did a dinghy circumnavigation of every inch of the shoreline. Fun to see the houses, boats, marinas and everything else. It’s been a while and there have been many changes.

Pender Harbour looking back to the strait of georgia

First up was Gunboat Bay. Guarded by a rock and a shallow bar, few visitors seem to make their way into Gunboat, which is quite large and rimmed with summer homes, some quite stunning. If you want solitude in the summer in Pender Harbour, this would be the place. We meandered all along the shoreline and found lots of homes that were appealing to us, some quite recently completed.

Leaving Gunboat, we headed into Garden Bay. First we stopped to check out the Seattle Yacht Club outstation, which is quite nice. We have a view of the outstation from our anchorage, and could see the large yachts coming and going.

As we went toward the head of Garden Bay, there are a lot of abandoned long linear docks that used to be recreational moorage. The pub at Garden Bay burned several years ago, and is still just sitting there, charred and roofless. We couldn’t find out what the plans are for this area. The Royal Vancouver Yacht Club outstation, also in Garden Bay, was hopping with little room to be found for anyone showing up later in the afternoon.

Hugging the shoreline, we headed next for John Henry’s in Hospital Bay, which has expanded to include what used to be Fisherman’s Resort. The “Fisherman’s” docks are in great condition, and the marina was quite busy. For fun, we had looked to see if we could make an online reservation and they were booked out for quite a while.

After peeking into Duncan Cove, we crossed over to the smaller shallow pass between Donnely Landing and Calder Island. Lots to see, including (as we went deeper into Gerrans Bay) what looks like a ship salvage “yard”, with a myriad of boats from 150 feet to dinghies, all in a sad state, mostly in the water. We felt bad for those with nice home up on the hill that looked out over this mess.

We passed just off Whiskey Slough public wharf and headed toward the Painted Boat Resort. Boy, it’s shallow in there, lots of shoals and rocks although some shallow draft boats were at the docks.

Next we headed over to Madeira Park to check out where we could tie up the dinghy when going ashore in the next day or two. The dinghy dock, near shore, was busy. There were a few spots for larger boats on transient Dock B, but those were soon taken (and stayed that way throughout our time in Pender Harbour).

All in all, we covered 8.2 nm in about two hours of snooping around, and it was lots of fun. Headline: lots of new homes being built in Pender Harbour, most of which are modern yet appealing. There are issues with the BC government and reconciliation with the First Nations tribes regarding existing and future Sunshine Coast boathouses and docks - apparently still a bit in the air. We saw lots of yellow signs that said: “We will not give up our Marine Assets without a Fight”. 

homes and docks ring the shoreline of pender harbour

Bend Island to Lagoon Cove

Bend Island turned out to be a delightful anchorage and we had a peaceful night.

Calm weather makes almost any anchorage drama free. However, we did very much enjoy the views and the interesting rock formations that line the shorelines.

sunrise bend island

low water reveals the rocks in bend island anchorage

drying bar in bend island pass looking north

one more view of the bend island anchorage

Next stop is Lagoon Cove, our second visit this trip. Why?  Because we like it so much and we really want to support Dan and Kelly maintain Lagoon Cove as a premier stop for cruisers in the area.

Unlike our first visit in May, where we were alone for the first day, Dan said they are fully booked for the two days we will be here, including the “honeymoon/overflow” dock. Always good to have reservations! Karen especially loves the fact that you can book online, so it’s easy with Starlink.

perfeectly calm day enroute to lagoon cove

Dan manages the dock space extremely well. He always has a plan, making visits stress free. He and Kelly or their staff are always there to catch lines. It’s a truly welcoming marina.

We like to arrive earlier in the day (before lunch), when boats from the previous night have departed but before the afternoon crowds arrive. We took on some water, did a bunch of boat chores, worked on the blog and prepared our happy hour contribution. We call it Lagoon Cove dip, because I developed it a few years ago on these very docks, and it’s always a hit.

Happy Hour was delightful, as always, with a wide range of edibles including the prawns supplied by Dan and Kelly. We stayed on the deck for a long while, happily ensconced under an umbrella and chatting with dock neighbors.

a good time is had by all at the lagoon cove happy hour

Pearl Pass to Bend Island

Today we are going to take a roundabout route to our destination, Bend Island in Clio Channel. We want to see some whales so we’re taking a detour through Blackfish Sound.

fog cleaning in pearl pass, one of the beautiful views in this anchorage

It was a reasonably calm day, so it was comfortable to drift at idle in the Sound. We were soon rewarded by seeing a humpback and her calf. We watched for an hour as they fed just off Compton Island.

mom and calf in blackfish sound

Another feature of Blackfish Sound (which is not always visible) is the breathtaking scenery. Snow capped mountain ranges to the East and Vancouver Island mountains to the West. Clear skies and unlimited visibility made for a delightful spot to stop and watch Mother Nature’s glory.

We went briefly out into Johnstone Strait before turning off into Baronet Passage. Currents were not favorable, so we had a slow ride. There was very little traffic, though we saw some AIS targets in Potts Lagoon as we passed by.

Our destination for the night is Bend Island. This anchorage puts us close to Lagoon Cove, our next stop – where we like to arrive reasonably early as the docks are less crowded.

Bend Island is new to us. Karen read about it in the Waggoner Guide.  There are anchorages in both the east and west ends just off the drying area behind the island. We chose the east end, which was more favorable given the winds and fetch in Clio Channel.

oceanflyer anchored in east end of bend island

The drying area behind the island is very well defined on the charts and depending on the tide height, you can clearly see the line of demarcation between drying area and deeper water through distinct changes in water color.

low tide bings the drying areas into focus

The key to anchoring here is determining the balance between water depth and distance back to the drying shoal. We anchored in 50 feet at high tide and put out 200 feet of rode. That was enough to keep us off the shoal and our swing circle just within the width of the anchorage. In anchorages such as this, the boat often tends to just move back and forth in the center of the channel with very little movement towards the shorelines, so we weren’t too worried.

We anchored early enough in the day that we saw a full tide change and confirmed how the boat moved in the current and winds. It was a strange picture, as rather than facing into the wind with our stern to the drying shoal, we often set crosswise in the channel, bow and stern to the rocky shorelines.

we’ll be back to Bend Island anchorage

Rather than set an anchor circle on the Garmin MFD, I set an anchor polygon with the left and right sides narrower than the front to back. That way, especially when sitting crosswise, if we got an unexpected move toward one of the shorelines, we would get an alarm in plenty of time to react.

We were, once again, all alone in this anchorage. It has very a remote feeling despite being not far off Johnstone Strait or from Lagoon Cove.