Shearwater Lay Day

Rain, boat chores, laundry. The relentless rain has put a damper on cruising. Everyone on the docks is bemoaning the last week of rain. Combine that with a forecast that promises more of the same and you can see why the cruisers are moping about.

I mentioned laundry – the marina laundry in Shearwater is good. Karen made several friends while doing several loads, while I worked on boat projects.  We met up for lunch at Fisherman’s Grill, and then went back to the boat to chill.

The docks were fairly full, there were three large Maritimos and also the charter vessel Great Bear II, as well as a range of sail and power boats. We were very glad we fueled up ahead of those thirsty Maritimos!

Rain also meant no drone photos. And I also forgot about the helipad behind the fuel dock, which means no drone flying without first getting permission for the controlling authority. Maybe on our way back south, if the weather is better!

an interesting bow modifation seen in the shearwater yard

 Our plan was to head for Culpepper Lagoon off Kynoch Inlet in Fiordland, but neither of us wanted to be there in the rain.  So we changed our plans and decided tomorrow we’d go to Ocean Falls. It is the home of the “Rain People”, so where better to be in the rain?

Fancy Cove to Shearwater

We had a peaceful night in the wonderful little cove. As the coffee was brewing, we spotted a black bear at the head of the cove foraging for spring grass. Probably the same one we saw last night on a different beach.

It’s only 11 miles to Shearwater, so we timed our trip to arrive at the marina docks at 11am, after an hour spent at the fuel dock. Karen had estimated we’d need about 490 gallons and she was close to spot-on.  The attendant at the fuel dock was friendly and helpful, as we found two years ago when we were last here. And it was just misting, which made the hour fueling more pleasant than in a downpour.

This morning the marina docks we almost empty and harbourmasters Jeff and Molly caught our lines. This is their second season at Shearwater and they too were very friendly and helpful.

Shearwater itself seems to have not changed at all in the past 2 years, which is good. While we are 4 days after the grocery delivery, the store still had a pretty good selection. We were not looking for much except some mayonnaise. Of course, they we out of stock on Mayo. We made the usual rounds, checking out the well-equipped marine store, the yard and our favorite, Hodge Podge. The later offers a delightful selection of baked goodies and all matter of coffee, lattes and hot chocolate. The owner takes great pride in his food and drink offerings, and it shows. The rest of the store reflects it name, and it seems you could find almost anything from electronics to jewelry  to batteries and bongs.

Dinner was at Fisherman’s Grill. The menu does not seem to change much from year to year. And while the kitchen and service can be slow, the food is OK for pub food. We both like the Nashville Chicken sandwich. I also think the fish and chips passes the test. We were bummed that there was no Hoynes Dark Matter beer available, but we did uncover an acceptable (just) alternative called Naramata Nut Brown Ale.

Naramata Nut Brown Ale

We walked the docks after dinner and met Dan on Tsusiat, also a Grand Banks. What makes Tsusiat super interesting is the carbon fiber hard top that Dan built for her. It really is well crafted and creates another full room.  Turns out Dan is friends with Byron and Sue, friends of ours from Bellingham. What a small world!

M/V Tsusiat with carbon fiber hardtop

Pruth Bay to Fancy Cove

Originally, we planned to go straight to Shearwater. But it’s about 5 hours, and we need at least an hour to fuel up before mooring at the marina. We’ve found that it’s often better to arrive early than later in the afternoon to avoid the fuel dock crowds.

So new plan – we’ll head to Fancy Cove, a lovely little anchorage we first visited in 2022. It’s about 4 hours to Fancy Cove, so we raised the anchor at 10am to  arrive at low tide in Fancy Cove. We always prefer to anchor at low tide in small coves so we can get a good look at all the rocks.

The weather looks to be reasonable for today’s trip. Winds and waves are not much to speak of but showers will continue to plague us.

 As we headed out Meay Inlet, which connects Kwakshua Channel to Hakai Pass, we started to feel the gentle ocean swells.

 We finally saw some wildlife today. There was a small pod of Dalls’ Porpoise south of Carpenter Point

Fisher Channel. There were almost in the exact same spot where we encountered them two years ago, and they accompanied us and played in our bow wake for a while.

We also saw a humpback at the intersection of Lama Passage and Fisher Channel. I also noted the same entry in my logbook from two years ago. I guess these must be good fishing grounds to have such similar occurrences happen in the same places two years apart. We’ll be on the lookout next time we pass through these waters in early summer to see if we hit a trifecta.

To top off our critter sightings today, as we anchored up in Fancy Cove, Karen spotted a black bear grazing on the grass growing in the northeast arm.

grazing on the protein rich sedge grass

We repeated 2022 again as we dropped our anchor in the same spot. Fancy Cove is one of our favorites. We tuck behind the small islet near the head. It has “bear beaches”, both the NE and SE bear beaches are visible from the boat, and the view back out the Cove is beautiful. We like small anchorages with big views.

back into the forest

tucked into our spot in Fancy Cove

looking out from fancy cove

fancy cove is a picturesque spot

Pruth Bay Layday

The predicted good weather window materialized right on time. So, we launched the dinghy and tied up at the designated dinghy dock area on the Hakai Institute dock and made our way to the West Beach.

the haki institute docks

looking back into pruth bay

The trail was slightly overgrown in places but remains an easy 15-minute walk to the beach, with boardwalk in many boggy places. Because of the recent rains, there were large puddles to skirt on the non-boardwalk part of the trail, the first time we have seen this in our visits.

well maintained path to the beach

recent rains made for some muddy patches, but the soil drains quickly

the path to the beach has all the comforts

plenty of directional and informational signage

 When we came out of the woods we were greeted by sunshine, blue skies, white, puffy clouds and no rain. The weather seldom cooperates so well, but we’re not going to question it and just enjoy one of our favorite beaches on the West Coast. As PNW cruisers know, there are not a lot of amazing sandy beaches to be found, and this is one of the best.

breathtaking waet beach

 We knew that one other group of 2 from the small sailboat Endurance had come to the beach before us, but we only knew that from their inflatable kayak tied to the dock and footprints in the sand. West Beach is so large, you never feel crowded even with people in view.

even the smallest details on this beach are beautiful

Karen walked the beach looking for “treasures” and tried to capture some of the magnificence of this location with her iphone camera while I flew the drone to get a new viewpoint of West Beach.  We walked around for a long while, jumping over small “runoff rivers” and climbing over large driftwood logs and between rock crevasses. It was just amazing to be in the sun after all the recent dreary days.

karen beachcoming on west beach

there is great exploring past the souith end rocks at low tide

at low tide you can walk into these eroded rock formations

low tide reveal colors of the various organisms that make their home here

noth end of west beach

west beach is one of many, there are six more if you walk the path to the south

Later, back at the boat, we continued to be amazed at the anchoring habits of our neighbors. First, Purth bay is large and, being this early in the season, there is an abundance of space to anchor. Nevertheless, the incoming boats tend to crowd the boats already at anchor. To add insult to injury, so many boaters drop the anchor over the side and never back down on the ground tackle to make certain it is set.

In fact, this morning, after a couple of boats left, we moved to the south side of the anchorage to distance ourselves from two that anchored well within our anchor circle late yesterday. Just as we dropped anchor in our new spot, a large sailboat dropped its anchor maybe 100 feet off our bow and then went below.  We called to them that their spot was not going to work. Their reply? “Oh we thought you were leaving.” Really? Karen shook her head and said we were anchored and planned to stay that way.  So up came their anchor and down it went, this time just slightly astern of us. As more boats arrived, they continued to make a bee line over to our location, leaving acres of open possible anchor spots in their wake. Typically, this type of behavior is more pervasive when summer is in full swing – but not this year. This phenomenon actually seems to be on the increase and is not limited to sail or power – both types of vessels display this behavior.

close anchoring in large purth bay

Nevertheless, were were entertained by all the anchoring antics and had a great evening, even as the rain reappeared not long after we returned from our sunny beach excursion. 

rainbow in pruth bay

Green Island Anchorage to Pruth Bay

A very short trip in showers and clouds across Fitz Hugh Sound and about the same distance west in Kwakshua Channel (nearly bisects Calvert Island) brought us to Pruth Bay and the home of the Hakai Institute. We again caught up with the Mother Goose Fleet and passed most of them on our way to anchor fairly close to the Institute Docks.

if you look closely, you can see the end of a rainbow on the west side of fitz hugh sound

Pruth is a “must visit” on the Central BC Coast. The anchorage is incidental. The real reason everybody stops here is to walk the magnificent beaches on the west shore of Calvert Island. There are 7 of them, though most only visit West beach proper. The entire area is part of the Hakai Luxbalis Conservancy.

The Hakai Institute graciously allows boaters shore access at their dock (and WiFi) and maintains the path through the woods to West Beach. Another great attraction, which is often overlooked, is the hike to Lookout Point where you can look out to the beach and the Pacific Ocean, and also gaze back into Pruth Bay. The entrance to this well-maintained trail is located on the south side of West Beach. Look for a small sign and a hanging float near the TSUNAMI EVACUATION ROUTE sign. Enter there and follow to the signs up to the overlook, ignoring the trail signs for beaches two through seven.

The weather for a beach visit was marginal. Karen had paying work to catch up on and I focused on making meatloaf because we promised our friend Bill (Mother Goose fleet leader) gin & tonics along with meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner, and I did not want to disappoint.

one of the mother goose dingies goes for a beach explore at pruth bay

 Based on our various weather databases, there should be a five hour, no cloud window tomorrow, so that is when we plan to head out to enjoy West beach. Fingers crossed it really happens!