Joe’s Bay

With the forecast for a few days of strong winds, we decided to make the run from Kennedy Cove to the Ucluelet area today. Conditions were as forecast with light winds and 3-4 foot gentle ocean swells. We enjoyed a pleasant trip south with not much to remark on except for the unexpected crab pots in the ocean at the 150-foot depth line.

As I always say, you know when you’re near Ucluelet when the horizon fills with small boats bobbing in the swells as they troll for salmon. Today was no different. We lost count on how many we passed, dodged, and otherwise avoided. Throw in a couple of kayakers fishing in 4-foot swells and you have a busy approach to the entrance of Carolina Chanel. In reduced visibility, my preferred entrance is to pass by Carolina Channel and enter the area using Loudoun Chanel. You will not find the flotillas of small fishing boats, most without AIS or radar, which makes this 2-mile addition to your journey much safer.

We’ll pass Ucluelet for now and return later for some light provisioning and a planned meal at Pluvios restaurant.

Therefore, we set our destination for Joe’s Bay in the Broken Group. It is a large, if not commodious anchorage, with easy anchoring, good holding, and protection from the winds. Perfect after a 5-hour run.  We dropped the hook in just the right spot, with views out a narrow passage that covered and uncovered depending on the tide.

LOTS OF ROOM IN JOE’S BAY

As we dropped the hook, we noticed a large motoryacht anchored in a corner with a ton of people on it. Turns out this is the Raincoast Maiden, a 53’ day-tour boat that offers a trek through the Broken Group from Ucluelet. They were having a lunch stop and were rather boisterous. Luckily, they soon left, talking on the loudspeaker as they went. We ran into them several times during our stay in this area.

The bay wasn’t particularly crowded, with everyone well-behaved in terms of anchoring space. Once again, we were surrounded by Sailboats.

We went on dinghy explorations just to snoop around. We exited the narrow passage ahead of our anchor spot, tooled around, scoped out the kayaker beaches and nosed the dinghy up to several pocket beaches so Karen could get off, walk a bit and look for shell treasures.

There were lots of kayakers in the area, as Joe’s has good campsites. We noticed the Clayoquot Whaler come into the anchorage twice a day to pick up or offload kayakers. The captain was a great boat handler and was fun to watch. On one visit, he was dawdling and drifting near OceanFlyer while waiting for a kayaking group to get to the pick-up beach and prepare for loading. Karen waved and the next thing we know, he is rafting to us and gifting us with a lovely salmon. We traded some whiskey in return and everyone was happy.

ANOTHER PICK-UP FOR THE BUSY Clayoquot Whaler

MOTHER NATURE DOES NOT DISAPOINT

We also had some lovely sunsets in Joe’s ‘Bay. It’s a favorite stop in the area.