Davis Bay to Muirhead Islands

What a beautiful morning; blue skies and sunny, relatively warm weather, meaning about 67 degrees F. The low tide in Davis Bay revealed lots of previously unseen rocks and ledges. Luckily, we knew they were there from the charts!

Karen enjoying the morning sun

Bob had to join in the sun bathing

Karen cleans the anchor rode as she brings it onboard

Our destination for today is a group of islands known as the Muirheads. Its draw is its reputation as a great place to Kayak. As we headed down Drury Inlet, it was absolutely smooth as a mill pond. I spent some time photographing the pattern the boat wake left in the flat surface of the water. This is something we seldom see, as there is almost always a ripple on the water’s surface due to the prevailing winds.

Drury Inlet...smooth as glass

The approach to the Muirheads involves a bit of weaving between rocks and small islands, but the charts are well marked and our arrival at low tide means that many obstructions are in plain sight.

Due to the small size of our chosen anchorage, a stern tie was in order. The first stern tie of a trip is always an event we do not look forward to. It takes a couple of these to get back into the swing of things and this one was no exception.

The stern tie is an art, which involves precise judgment of distance. You want to be as close to shore as possible to keep the amount of line you need to pay out to a minimum, but, at the same time, not so close that you find yourself on the rocks come low tide.

It took me three times to get the distance just right. The hard part is judging how far out to drop your anchor in anticipation of how much forward the anchor rode will pull you away from shore. We had the added challenge of a cross current. We have faced these before. What typically happens is you get the boat just where you want it, but by the time you try to tie the stern line, the current has swung the boat out of position. We have used the dinghy as a tugboat in the past to reposition the stern of the boat long enough to set the stern line.

This time I decided on a different approach. As I backed the boat to shore, I maneuvered such that we were well up into the current. Then, I dashed down to the stern and threw over a stern anchor. As the current began to swing us back to the position I wanted as a final location, I set the anchor. It worked! The Stern anchor held the boat in postition until we could set the stern line ashore via the dinghy. Once the stern line was secure, I retrieved the stern anchor, it’s mission a complete success.

Later in the day, we took a dinghy ride around to check out the locale. The trusty portable GPS was with us to ensure we missed all the rocks. We took the dingy up to Sutherland Bay, checking out the logging operation, the supply boat “Sir James Douglass” and the Interfor floating barge camp and cookhouse, the Cypress Mist.

Dinghy Captain Bob

Sure was a pretty day

We continued on and saw the marked entrance to Actaeton Sound, but decided against it. We checked out some interesting anchorages on the north side before we headed back to Arctic Star to relax. There were tons of seals nearby as night began to fall, barking and grunting so loudly it seemed as if they were fighting well into the evening.

Arctic Star stern tied in the Muirheads

Napier Bay to Davis Bay

I awoke early to a fog filled bay. After a clear night, all the heat had escaped and the cooling brought a thick but short-lived fog.

Foggy morning Napier Bay

The Sun is starting to break through the mist

By 10:30am, the sun had conquered the fog and a beautiful day was revealed in Napier Bay. It did not take long for everyone else in the bay to lift anchor and go their way.

Our plan was to make it a lazy morning since slack tide at Stuart Narrows was at 2:41PM and it was less than an hours cruise from where we sat.

I continued to unpack and organize all “the stuff”. The morning calm was broken up by a handful of harbour seals that had taken refuge on a neighboring log. Apparently breakfast was not yet being served, so they hauled onto the logs and awaited the dinner bell. I took the opportunity to try my longest lens and see if I could take some foggy morning pictures. The critters are certainly camouflaged for their environment. With their dark spotted fur, they look just like wet logs that are spotted with seagull poop.

See if you can pick out the seals for the logs.

Seal haul out

Gulls hung out on the other end of the log

Between the extra time we had and the push of the changing tide we idled most of the way to the narrows. Even so we still had a little time to kill before slack tide, so we pulled into Helen Bay and did a slow once-around. One the shore is a memorial to two tugboat captains who lost their lives at Stuart Narrows. A reminder that these natural funnels can create currents that can best even the most experienced mariner.

Two boats joined us in Helen Bay: another Grand Banks and a Fleming 55 named Couverden. The Fleming was drift fishing and they would get out into the strong current and drift toward the narrows, fishing all the way. When they got close enough, they would power away from the narrows, go up-current, cut their engines and do it all over again. One thing I have learned is that fishermen can find a way to turn any circumstance into a reason to drop a line.

Our transit through Stuart Narrows was uneventful, as planned. It never ceases to amaze how these turbulent parcels of water transform themselves into a millpond for a brief few minutes during slack water.

Stuart Narrows

Karen had made a last minute call and changed our destination from Richmond Bay to Davis Bay. It was a very good call. Lying at the end of a little passage, this small bay is as pretty as they come. Perfect for one boat, you anchor near to the shore and face West in anticipation of a beautiful sunset. It provides reasonable protection, and what you give up in 360 degree protection, you get back in beautiful views back out into Drury Inlet.

Port McNeill to Napier Bay

Today we will cast off on our trip through the Broughton Islands. However, there is still a long list of “must do’s” before we can leave. Provisioning was first on the list. Today was the day we are going to get our fresh meats and other perishables. There are two grocery stores in Port McNeill and we shopped at both in order to try to get the best each had to offer. Once done, supplies were stowed on board Arctic Star and we then greeted the fellow from Comox Valley Kayaks who rented us our Kayaks for the next three weeks. They delivered them to the docks some two hours from their base of operation in Comox. The three of us took the two kayaks in hand and marched down the long docks toward the boat, looking like a train made up of two bright red Kayaks.

Next, we had to return the rental car. That was a 20-kilometer drive to the Budget rental car facility at the Port Hardy airport. Steve Jackman, our harbour master host at Port McNeill, was kind enough to loan us his van as chase vehicle for the rental car return mission.

After returning the car, we went into Port Hardy to the Overwaitea grocery for some even more last minute shopping. What a great store. Pricier than the one in Port McNeill but they have some of the best produce we have seen in all our provisioning on Vancouver Island.

Next we stopped at IV’s at the Quarterdeck for some halibut fish and chips accompanied by sweet potato fries with curry. “Yummy” said Karen.

By the time we returned to Port McNeill, offloaded the last of the provisions and retuned Steve’s van, it was 3:45pm before we left the dock at Port McNeill. The seas were two to four feet in swells. Arctic Star handled them with aplomb.

We were headed to Napier Bay, just a two hour drive across Queen Charlotte Strait from Port McNeill. When we arrived, there were 5 other boats at anchor. We picked our spot and set anchor.

Port McNeill

We were up and at ‘em Friday morning, making sure to hit the breakfast buffet at the Black Bear Lodge before starting our crazy day. It was good, especially Karen’s waffle. I think I’ll have one of those tomorrow. We decided to head for the docks and find Arctic Star and Steve Jackman, our “host” at the docks who was responsible for cleaning and doing some quick boat maintenance. We found both right away. Steve is a great guy who runs multiple businesses in Port McNeill, and he had lots of information to share.

Because he had things well in hand and we couldn’t get aboard till later, we decided to spend our day in Alert Bay. It's the location of an Indian reservation with the renowned U’mista Cultural Center that showcases many Indian artifacts.

The ferry ride was an easy one – it took about 45 minutes from Port McNeill to Alert Bay.

The ferry to Alert Bay

This forty year old ferry looked almost new

The ferry carries about 30 cars or so, this one wasn’t quite full. When we disembarked, we headed right to the Visitors Information Center to get the lay of the land. After a quick lunch, we headed out to see some old totem poles and then to the U’mista Cultural Center.

Karen awaits lunch at Alert Bay

The Center was amazing. Built in the 80’s to house a just-returned collection of Potlatch items (especially masks), the Center is a source of great pride to the tribe. There was a great introductory video that explained history behind the Center and the impetus for the Canadian Government to return the “stolen” collection of items to the Indians.

Just part of the amazing collection of masks

A visit to the Big House is not to be missed

Karen shows the inspiration for the art on the canoe

Bob's new friend

After that, we drove up to the Ecological Reserve to walk through the rainforest a bit before heading back to Port McNeill. If we had it to do again, we’d arrange it so we had more time…but we had to return to get the keys to Arctic Star and start provisioning. After a long day, we had a quick bite at the Harbour Lights restaurant, which was really good, before doing a load of laundry and turning in for the evening.

Nanaimo to Port McNeill

We’re off. First we begin the process of provisioning for the three-week trip. Our goal is to get as much as possible in the more heavily populated area surrounding Nanaimo in order to maximize selection and minimize costs. Beer, wine, soda, paper towels, spices, and other staples that do not require refrigeration or freezing are on the list for today. After visiting a couple of stores for alcohol and a great grocery store with a great Asian specialty section, we pointed the rental car north on Route 19A. About an hour North, we diverted West on Route 4A to visited the Country Store, better known as the place with the “Goats on the Roof”. (The roof is steeply pitched with grass on it and lots of goats.)

This place is a strange mixture of gourmet food, homemade breads and baked goods and a restaurant. Lunch was first on the agenda, followed by trying to find unique food items we could find nowhere else, and a few perishables that would fit in the small refrigerator we’ll have in our hotel room in Port McNeill. After leaving The Country Store, it’s a long drive through logging country on North Vancouver Island. Karen worked on a presentation that had to be completed before we hopped on the boat.

On schedule, we pulled into Port McNeill and checked in to Black Bear Lodge. This is our second stay here and we can highly recommend it if you find yourself in Port McNeill.