Santa Gertrudis Cove To Bottleneck Bay Via Hot Springs

Alaska Dream was rocked by a few swells as we awoke at 6:30am. Karen checked the weather on the VHF radio and based on the forecast, we decided to go now to avoid the North West winds as we passed Estevan Point. To expedite our departure, we forego showers.  Once underway, breakfast was reheated cornbread with butter and honey. It was a perfect quick and easy breakfast for an early start.

Saying goodbye to Nootka light

 

The sun was out and the sea and wind, although up, gave us a nice ride. Karen took the helm as we rounded Estevan Point and was greeted by a couple of whales. We did not see any other pleasure boats along our route as has been the case for most of our trip down the West Coast of Vancouver Island. However, as we headed into Hot Springs Cove, we discovered where all the people were. There were a few cruisers anchored and all manner of “go fast” boats shuttling people from Tofino to and from the Hot Springs. As the docks were a flurry of activity with the tourists coming and going, we anchored out behind “Innchanted”, a floating bed & breakfast that is permanently anchored in the bay It was pretty windy. First was lunch, and once we were confident that the anchor was well set, we deployed the bridle and launched the dinghy for our trip to the docks and, ultimately, the Hot Springs. We had some trepidation as we had watched a nearby sailboat drag extremely close to the rocks as her owners came dinghying back at full speed to save her.

Busy docks at Hot Springs

Karen treks along the boardwalk at Hot Springs

It took us 40 minutes to walk to the Hot Springs. It’s a long walk with lots of steps, both up and down. But  the elevated walkway is well maintained and features endless planks that have been carved by the crews that have visited the Hot Springs. There was even one that said “Will you marry me?” I hope she said yes, because it would have been a very long walk back if not.

At the end of the trail, we found lots of people, but it was not overcrowded. Like all natural hot springs we have visited, you are at the mercy of Mother Nature for access and comfort. We first tried the closest and easiest to get to pool, but it was too cold. Then we tried our mountain goat impressions and made our way to the waterfall, but it was too hot. Karen continued her decent to the other pool, climbing over the other people that were, by necessity of the geological formations, were along her route.

"Come on in, the water is"...hot, cold, stinky... 

I retreated and got dressed and explored the area with my camera. After a while I saw Karen emerging out from the other side of the Hot Springs, having climbed some very large boulders to make her exit. This is not our cup of tea, risking life and limb on craggy, slippery moss-covered rocks to sit in stinky hot mineral water with people you don’t know. Compared to the pristine and uncrowded hot springs experience in Haida Gwai, this didn't compare. But we checked the box and when asked if we have been here, we can say yes.

Beautiful view from the overlook at the Hot Springs

If it were not for these people, you would never know the Hot Springs are there when viewed from the sea.

Our return walk took about 45 minutes to make it back to the boat. The wind was fresh and we battled the dinghy as the gusts would give it a mind of its own. Finally safe in its cradle, we headed inside for a nice fresh water shower.

We found the boardwalk more interesting than the Hot Springs themselves

We relaxed and consumed a fresh monkey bar we purchased on the docks as we watched the endless parade of boats and seaplanes dropping off and picking up tourists. We started our trip to Bottleneck Bay about 4:30. The ride was chop on top of swells, but we were happy compared to the people in the little “go-fast” tourist boats that were getting slammed by the seas. Karen took us into Bottleneck Bay through a cute small entrance. Once inside, we found a large bay with one sailboat, Autumn Winds at anchor.

Dinner was “yummy” Thai peanut chicken accompanied by another episode of LOST. We were both tired and went to bed early.

Tahsis to Santa Gertrudis Cove

Lots of sun this morning, but we are in no hurry. Eight o’clock was our planned wake up time and we did not expect to get underway before ten. I love these leisurely mornings. There will be some long days ahead with “O-Dark Thirty” wake up calls but for this morning, I’ll take it slow.

Westview Marina view from the land

Saying goodbye to Westview Marina

Some of the fishing fleet had already departed when I finally made it to the salon. I kind of remember hearing one small engine start but that was it. Either I was sleeping very soundly, or they were very courteous in their departures.

Breakfast was easy, cinnamon buns baked fresh yesterday at the Westview Marina.

Karen and I walked up to drop off trash and make one final link to the internet before we departed.

Heading south down Tahsis Inlet, the winds were light and the water calm. Our destination is Friendly Cove. Lots to do at our next port of call: visit the light house, check out the church and walk over to the native wood carver’s shed on the cove.

The light and docks at Friendly Cove

As we approached, Karen spotted the Uchuck III, a cargo vessel that now also takes passenger on day trips in the area. Its 110 feet and is the third in a line of vessel to bear the Uchuck name. Being a converted wood mine sweeper, it is stout and solid.

The Uchuck III

We dropped anchor in the cove in 30 feet over sand and mud and took the dinghy over to the dock. The Uchuck III was on the main dock in the process of loading passengers and gear form a community youth camp outing that was wrapping up from last weekend.

Loading today's cargo and passengers

The Uchuck III leaving dock. We hope he has Alaskan Dream in sight. 

The Lighthouse compound is one of the prettiest we’ve seen. It is staffed by Joanne and her husband. She was very gracious and showed us around and shared some great stories about their life as light keepers.

Picture postcard view of the light at Friendly Cove

Karen explores the compound

They have been stationed here for 8 years. They are responsible for all maintenance. The light receives about 2500 visitors a year. In addition to the light house they serve as coordinators of search and rescue missions in the area and are sometimes called upon as first responders. It’s lots of work and lots of responsibility.

This is how they get the supplies from sea level to the lighthouse

The bridge to the lighthouse

Breathtaking views from the lighthouse

The church is a 10 minute walk from the light and well worth the visit. In the church you will see beautiful stained glass windows commemorating the signing of the treaty between Britain and Spain establishing the boundary claims in this part of Canada.

Commemorative stained glass graces the windows

The totems guarding the church 

The new totem welcomes all, Bob provides scale

Two weekends ago, the native community that lay claim to the area, the Maguinna, erected a totem depicting the chief and “the people” with welcoming outstretched arms. Of course we checked that out and continued on to walk to the beach.

The walk along the south beach is not to be missed. We spotted humpbacks continuously diving. The people at the church said there was a whale rubbing himself on the pebble beach not ten minutes earlier.

The walks around here consist of smooth wide paths ranging from paved to well-trodden and meticulously maintained. All were relatively flat and made for easy walks. There is a twelve dollar a person “walking fee” collected by the First Nation’s tribe, but considering the facilities, including a very nice toilet, it is a fair toll to pay. Late in the afternoon we moved to a safer and more secure anchorage called Santa Gertrudis, where we had a lovely evening.

Friendly Cove light and Alaskan Dream

Mary Basin to Tahsis

We planned to arrive in Tahsis about 1 PM so we lifted the anchor at eight. It was somewhat sunny as we started out and we saw kayakers camping at Benson point. They were enjoying some very nice sandy beaches at the point.

Mary Basin

We started feeling the swells early and by the time we got to Louie Cove we were “hobby horsing” in the swells. Once we were able to turn so the waves were no longer on the beam, the ride improved. And when we turned up Esperanza Inlet the ride was smooth. For our next visit we said we would try Nuchatlitz anchorage because it was more on the way and probably offered more to see.

Radar transponder reutrn

Another first on this trip was the passing of a buoy with a transponder. I have read about these but never experienced one. It is designed to send a radar signal that shows up on your screen as a series on Morse code busts. This very distinctive display leaves no question as to the identity of what you are seeing on the radar display.

There are lots of fish farms in the channel and we spotted more being built in McBride Bay. The traffic was very light. We spotted a few small fishing boats but no pleasure craft.  Esperanza Inlet wasn’t much to write home about for sightseeing. We did see a small fishing lodge in Tahsis Narrows called Ceepeecee Lodge. The narrows themselves were unremarkable and we saw kayakers as we exited and headed north to the Westview Marina.

Fish Farm Hecate Channel

Lots of little "settlements" dot the landscape

You wish you had the time to stop everywhere and find out their story

Westview Marina on the left, the town of Tahsis on the right

The town of Tahsis is at the end of the inlet, and the marina is to port before you get to the town. It’s a bit of a confusing and narrow entry between the log breakwaters. We backed down onto the outer side of docks as the marina staff grabbed our lines and asked for our trash. Karen's ribs were very grateful for the help.

Westview Marina, Tahsis.

It was Tuesday, which is the cook's day off, so the menu only had burgers. So lunch was burgers and they were really good as was the coleslaw that came with. The marina provides free Wi-Fi and has a courtesy car that we borrowed for a trip into town. There was not much to see. The grocery store was designed to service more than just boaters, and had a little bit of everything, but was still just the basic items. We wanted to buy beer but the selection was not to our liking. The store staff was very nice and very helpful.

 The General Store in Tahsis

We drove around town but there was not really much to see. We did drive up Cardiac Climb (appropriately named for its steepness) before we went down to see the government docks and the Maquinna Lodge. We found the health center that was closed but the sign said there was an on-call nurse on duty 24 hours.

After our brief explorations we returned to the boat to do three loads of laundry and use the marina’s reliable 20 amp power.

The "Filet Ballet"

As the afternoon came, a steady stream of little fishing boats came in to populate the far side of the docks. We went back to the docks to watch the “filet ballet” that went on for several hours as the boats returned and offloaded their catch onto the fish cleaning stations.

As the fishing boats tied up at the docks they were meet by the government “reel surveyor” who took count of the catch and noted the size of the fish. There was an amazing assembly of filet tables and types of fish. A Seal came to grab a discarded carcass. It was really entertaining to watch as the guides made quick work of prepping the fish and the seals would “shark” around the docks looking for a tasty carcass.

Restaurant seating is on the docks under the tent

Come dinner time, and lacking any ambition, we were back on the restaurant docks for beers and more burgers. Top that off with another episode of LOST and that was our day. This is a great stop, the marina provides a nice oasis with pleasant outdoor seating, clean showers in the bathrooms, excellent water pressure and helpful, nice staff.

Dixie Cove to Mary Basin

Clouds this morning, but high clouds accompanied by very gentle breezes. Karen brought up a ton of what she called “gelatinous mud” from the bottom, along with the rode and anchor. It was smelly but made for good holding.

Lots of protein for a busy day

It was about 9am, and we set our course for Clear Passage, an easy-to-see and navigate path inside the islands and islets that guard this area of the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Because of the shallow water, this channel is not advised on rough days. Because today’s conditions could be best described as something between flat and rippled seas, it was a perfect way to make our way south along the coast.

More than just the anchor comes up

The view out of Dixie Cove

Welcome to Rugged Point from one of the neighbors

Our interim stop is Rugged Point Provincial Park. You anchor on the inside in 20 to 30 feet, and dinghy ashore onto a flat sloping grey “volcanic sand” beach. There is a 350 yard, well maintained, flat path over to the west beach which is a massive and equally flat beach of grey sand. As we approached Rugged Point from Dixie Cove, we saw quite a few blows. The humpbacks wheree feeding in the lee of Rugged Point. We stopped to observe and take a few pictures, as these animals were showing us a couple of flukes.

The small sailboat Bolero with a young couple that we have been seeing over the past few days was just coming out from the landing beach; we waved and then anchored.

The holding seemed good in the 25’ depth at Rugged Point, and we landed the dinghy on the wide beach with just the right slope to the sand for easy disembarking. The walk over to the west beach was as advertised, including parts that were boardwalk, and it was great fun to explore the ocean-facing beach at low tide.  The sun was shining, and we took lots of pictures while Karen beachcombed. She found several very large and intact sand dollars, which ranged in color from whitish to lovely sepia brown.

Lots of driftwood at the start of the trail to Rugged Point

Don't know if it is art, but it got me to take a picture of it

Rugged Point Marine Park beach

View fullsize

Sand sculpture in the low tide

Karen checking out the treasures on the beach

More fascinating sand sculptures my Mother Nature

Life hangs on in every nook and cranny

Bob stalking another photo

We timed our arrival at Rugged Point for low tide – a good idea for two reasons. First, we could enjoy maximum “beach”, and second, it made retrieving the dinghy after our hour ashore easy as the tide was rising.

Our ride home awaits

Rugged Point is spectacular, a must stop on the West Coast of Vancouver Island

Soon, we were back aboard and setting off for Mary Basin, about 20 miles to the south. As we made our way along Clear Channel, we spotted the usual suspects: Cormorants, Sea Otters and lots of little seabirds. As I was scanning the horizon, I noticed what I thought was a fin, but a tall black fin, not the fin of a humpback whale. This fin was perhaps three miles away, and the best I could come up with was that there was an Orca ahead. Unlikely, but nothing else looks like this. Karen was skeptical, especially as the fin stayed visible for fairly long periods of time without going underwater.

As we got closer, I was able to identify without a doubt what we were looking at:  it was a surfer! Apparently, according to Karen, Tatchu Point is known for some gnarly waves, and perhaps it’s a place surfers come to on the West Coast? To add to the mystery, we noticed that the small sailboat Bolero that left Rugged Point before us, had stopped and anchored close to the nearest shoreline. Did they stop to look at the surfer? We could see no one aboard, and after a few minutes of thinking it through, the only conclusion that made sense is that the sailboat had stopped so the captain could go surfing. I hope our paths cross again so I can confirm that the surfer was from Bolero! We have seen many firsts on this trip, and certainly a surfer (especially one out in the middle of nowhere) qualifies as a first.

Mother Nature's navigation marks

West Coast keeps giving us beautiful vistas  

We found a patch of fog as we turned up Nuchatlitz Inlet. The visibility seldom dropped below two miles and within ten minutes we were in the clear again.

Mary Basin is a very large anchorage with good protection found in the lee of Little Lord Island. Karen wanted to arrive at high tide so we could dinghy up Laurie Creek. We timed it just right, and were rewarded by seeing a small waterfall at the end of the creek.

Laurie Creek waterfall

Bob takes his turning at posing in front of the waterfall

There is a very large Inner Basin behind Narrows Rock that all the guidebooks indicate is too treacherous to go into. Well, Karen had spotted a fishing vessel named the Snow Queen on AIS that was in the Inner Basin! That was enough to pique our interest, so off we went to investigate in the dinghy. The width and depth of the inner basin entrance measure fine, with us showing 50 feet of depth in an areas marked 12 feet at the most narrow part. The tide was just starting to run out, but the dinghy made it in just fine. On the way out a few minutes later, we clocked the current at 2.5 knots. I think getting in and out of here at high water slack would be no problem. But looking at the chart, finding shallow enough water along the three mile inner basin would be the greatest challenge. Maybe next time we’ll give it a try.

So back to the boat, a celebratory beer, dinner and an episode of LOST. What could be better?

The textures of the sky water and land always capture my eye

Scow Bay to Dixie Cove via Walters Cove

The Canadian Provincial park of Dixie Cove is our destination today, with a stop in Walters Cove to check out the town, the store and see if there is any water to be had.

Karen had a reasonably good night’s sleep, so I think she only bruised her ribs, nothing more.

The seas were absolutely flat. We navigated the inside passage near the shore line. It’s a bit of a windy route through islands and rocks but on such a flat day, it was no problem. If there were big seas, we would have run outside all the barrier islands and rocks that sit along this part of the coastline.

A calm and flat passage

The route into Walters Cove is serpentine, but well-marked. However, there are so many marks it can be confusing when you can see two or three red marks along with two or three green marks at the same time. The modern plotters with the boat’s position clearly defined by the GPS makes this kind of navigation much easier than the days of paper charts and relative magnetic bearings. Except for the entrance to Klashkish Basin just above the Brooks Peninsula, we have found our electronic charts to be spot on.

We arrived about noon according to our plan. The store opens at 1pm and we wanted an hour to walk around and explore on foot. We found out last year that if we went too long without getting off the boat to walk, it would affect our mood, making us feel a bit “boat bound”.

There is a part-boardwalk, part woodsy path that fringes the Walters Cove settlement. There was lots of activity for a Sunday, with various fishing camps and a few kayakers and people building a dock. No water for the boat, however.

Alaskan Dream on the docks at Walters Cove

Right at one, Susie opened the store. We did not expect much since the supply boat came in three days ago. However, we were able to get a couple of items we needed, including some much-needed taco shells.  As Karen talked to Susie, she mentioned her fall and asked if the Outpost Hospital had specific hours. Susie said that a nurse was on 24 hour call, and she called the nurse on duty at the Medical Outpost for us. We had seen the Outpost as we entered the channel to Walters Cove, but being a Sunday, we figured no one would be there.

Sara, the nurse on duty, said to come on over and she would take a look at Karen’s ribs. She concurred that they only looked bruised and that Karen’s breathing was totally equal on both sides, and that our treatment of ice packs and anti-inflammatories should continue.

It was $545 of peace of mind expenditure, as there is really no medical facility enroute until Tofino, which was not on our itinerary to begin with. We both felt better knowing that things were OK.

Walters Cove Medical station to the rescue

Leaving Walters Cove for Dixie Cove took us out a different way than we came in. To call it torturous is about right – several 90 degree plus turns in very limited room to avoid rocks. We found it fun that key “entry channels” were marked with hanging lines of floats to help even the locals find their way home! While we were working our way out, a float plane descended and came in right over our heads.

As we made our way past Hohoae point, we spotted some whale blows on either side of the channel. It was a lovely day, and we slowed to idle and were able to get a few fluke pictures for our efforts.

Lots of whale tails but no exciting action

Dixie Cove consists of two bays, the inner and the outer. Both are larger than they appear on the charts and we anchored in the inner bay with room for at least three more boats. The outer bay could accommodate many more. It is well protected and feels very tucked away from wind and weather. Karen had fun watching a sea otter play with a large piece of kelp – it kept mushing the kelp on its face and then hugging the long stem. There were also fish jumping and some baitfish we saw swimming off the back of the boat.

Welcome to Dixie Cove

After a dinner of grilled pork tacos with apple slaw and some baked chocolate chip cookies, we watched a couple episodes of LOST and called it a night in our quiet cove where we were all alone.