Desolation Sound Trip 2005

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

There is growing interest in a rendezvous up in Desolation Sound this summer.  I think Jack and Ruth are heading up in July as are Sandy and I.  One of the Randys mentioned they were probably heading up as well.  There is a lot of water between Puget Sound and Desolation Sound so we might be able to schedule a couple of gatherings with other folks who aren't going all the way up.  Just thought I'd throw it out there to see if something starts to gel.

[Randy and Mary Davison]

Hi Ray,

We're not sure of our schedule yet this summer.  We've been north three years in a row and in the Broughtons last year so we may not go that far this year.  I like your idea of a more local meet this spring plus maybe a later one further north for those that can make it.  I'm not ready to propose a date yet but sometime in May might be nice with long days and some warmth.

I'm headed for Anacortes this Thursday to figure out why my compass card sank to one side!  Suspect the oil leaked out and will have to have it rebuilt.  

A question for anyone in the "Anacortes Group" - Are there any hams among you?  I'm very active on the BC Boaters Net, a hf and vhf net that meets every day from Spring to Fall.  It's a great way to casually meet up with folks with at least two common interests.

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

Well, just to firm up our itinerary a little bit, we were originally planned for a July 5th departure from La Conner.  I'm going to try and weasel out of working July 4th so we can get out of town a couple of days earlier on July 2nd.

Our daughter and Son-in-law are going to take a week off and meet us up there, probably at Lund on July 9th, a Saturday.  I looked at our log book from last year and it takes two hours to go from Lund to Roscoe Bay.  So anyway, that puts us up there from the July 10th to around July16th or 17th when we drop the kids back off at Lund.  After that it's either back to Desolation Sound for a little while longer or a quick run down to Princess Louisa.

I'll probably bring my dive gear along again.  If any of you need zincs changed while we're up there I charge one beer.

[Jack Hutteball]

Wow, zinc change for one beer?  I need to have you visit our boat in the Skyline slip!!!

We have not even started to plan our Desolation trip yet.  We will also have someone joining us for part of the trip, so I need to get cracking on an itinerary.
Jack

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

July 2nd is getting closer.  I took a look at the tides and currents for that day.  Looks like Deception Pass is slack before flood at 7:13 a.m. and Rosario is slack before flood at 10:42 a.m.  We'll probably leave La Conner early to get through Deception pass around slack, then cook/eat breakfast at Bowman bay then ride the Rosario flood north to Sucia or Patos or even Bedwell Harbor or Pt. Roberts the first night and then Nanaimo the second night.  After that it all depends on the weather.  

I took a look at our log book from last year and we made it up to Roscoe Bay in 28 hours of travelling time by synchronizing our travels with the flood currents.  With diesel selling for $2.50 a gallon every little bit helps.

Oh, and that zinc/beer deal is only good for Desolation Sound, where the water is warm enough to do that stuff without the rubber monkey suit.

Happy boating!

[Jack Hutteball]

We plan to leave on July 2nd as well and head north with the tides.  I am planning to head for Bedwell and see how far we get.  From there we may stop at pirates cove then on in to Nanimo.  From there jump across and head up the sunshine coast.  We have a couple meeting us in Lund on the 11th, so don't know if we will take it slow and stop there on the way up or blow on by and come back to pick them up.

We plan to stay in the desolation area 2 weeks and come home the last week of July.  This will be a first, staying out on the boat for a month.  I think we need it as our other activities have kept us away from the boat this spring.

Never having the luxury of time to make it to Desolation before, we are looking forward to our first trip there.  Where are the best places to go or those that are a "not to miss."
Jack

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

Jack,

We're bound to be bumping into each other with that kind of over lap.  We rarely monitor VHF 16 while underway, but we'll be watching for you and Ruth each evening when we anchor or tie up.

Neat spots to check out are:

New Castle Island at Nanaimo.  All sorts of trails, a museum of sorts that explain the mining they did there and the sand stone quarry is facinating.  

Dinghy Dock Pub.  If you eat out one time, drop your hook at New Castle and row your dinghy over to the Dinghy Dock Pub nearby at Protection Island.  All sorts of nautical memorbilia and a festive atmosphere.

Smuggler's Cove is about the first stop after you make the crossing from Naniamo.  Can't hardly see it from the outside which makes it kind of a fun spot to go to.  Room for a few boats inside with stern tying.

Lund, the last stop before Desolation Sound and where you'll want to fill your water tanks.  There is a fuel/grocery store further up at Refuge Cove, but the water gets pretty funky looking and I wouldn't put it in my water tanks.  We filled up a jerry can and sun showers with it for washing dishes, but I wouldn't drink it.

Roscoe Bay:  Our favorite spot.  Need at least a 7 foot tide to get in past the shoal.  Beautiful quiet anchorage with mostly sailboaters.  Nice warm fresh water lake nearby.

Tenedos Bay.  Another nice lake to go swimming in with some decent anchorages nearby.

Prideaux Haven.  Ton's of anchoring space.  The big power boats generally anchor out in the main bay with the smaller boats going in Melanie Cove or Laura Cove.  Water warms up enough for swimming in.  Roscoe Bay is our favorite spot but it's fun to go in this place now and then to see how some of the other folks live.

Squirrel Cove.  Lots of nice anchorage space.  The main attraction used to be a guy in a cabin who baked fresh bread, cookies and cinnamon rolls for the boaters.  He's gone now, the cabin badly deteriorated.

Walsh Cove.  A tough spot to anchor for the night, but a good place to stop in to see the petroglyphs (sp?)  Ancient Indian paintings on the cliffs.

Grace Harbor.  Neat little hidy hole.  Only went there once, but it was nice.

Von Donop Inlet.  A nice little anchorage at the end of a short little gorge.  Nice to say that you've "been there, done that."

Cassel Lake.  Tough place to anchor for the night, but if you're nearby and like to swim in the lakes up there a spot to drop in for a nice swim.

Those are our favorite places although I have to confess, we pretty much drop a hook at Roscoe Bay now until we run out of ice/beer/bread and then run to Refuge Cove and then head right back.

We'll see you up there.

[Jack Hutteball]

Thanks Ray, we will be looking for you.  A fine looking Catalina 34 is not hard to spot!  Appreciate all the info.  We are going to spend the two weeks poking around but definitely plan to sit in good locations for more than overnight and enjoy.  We are going to be on vacation1

I recall seeing a picture of a sailboat laying on its side at the entrance to Roscoe Bay.  Will definitely be watching the tides for the entrance there.

Will be doing last minute tune ups on the boat and loading the weekend before we leave.  See you up there or along the way.
Jack

[captran]

Hi All,
We launch on the 21st of June but still have a few odds and ends that I'll likely do until July 1.  I'll be single handing until then, making sure everything is working OK.  The outside looks better than new.  Our sons girlfriend will likely be with us the first 2 weeks of July.  I'll have my charts along in case we head north but are thinking of just getting reacquainted with the san juans and gulf islands.

Randy
Voyager

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

Should we firm up a location for the three of us to meet up to tell some sea stories eveing of July 2nd?  We probably all have some anchoring stories to tell.  I'd love to hear how things can go wrong down in the warm waters off Florida.  Jack and I nearly have an identical progression through small boats to our current boats so there probably some good stories there.  I'm sure there will be some Hunter 34's in the area that we can go "neener neener" to for some fun.

[captran]

Well, we'll know more by Tuesday.  Ross's girl friend gets her work schedule so we'll know if she will or won't join us for 2 weeks.  If she doesn't, and the boat launch and running goes off without a hitch, we could end up north too, but also depends if we having other company.  I have a room full of stuff to bring over Sunday night, and hope to launch Tuesday, altho if tide and schedule are OK we'll ask to go in Monday afternoon.  Have to change the filters before launch, and open the Y valve which is stuck so we can close it off.  (in the Bahamas there are no pump outs so so have used the Y valve to pump out in ocean passages).  I'll ask Jeanne to check the web site before she comes over July 1 for updates, and check again Sunday morning before driving over.  Jack and Ruth are on Mariah III, but not sure what Rays boat name is, although Catalina 34s are easy to spot.

[Ray & Sandy Erps]

Sandy and I are on "Diamond Girl".  It has a blue sail cover, blue dodger and a one-eyed Boston Terrier as a lookout.  I'll forward this to Tami and Gary Solari at B'ham.  With "Voyager" , "Mariah", "Windsong" and "Diamond Girl" we could have a four boat raft up Saturday night.  Lots of options for a spot to anchor, Clark Island, nice little cove on East end of Matia, Snoring Bay, Echo Bay, Ewiing Cove (My wife refuses to anchor in Shallow Bay anymore).

Saturday July 2nd might be our best chance of a get together until later in the summer.

[captran]

we'll keep a look out.  thought we were going to get away this afternoon but had too much to still organize.  we'll leave early Monday morning.  looks like with the tides might not be able to get in till tuesday afternoon anyway.  jeanne will hang for a few days.  Not sure where I'll end up.  Might go around to cap sante for a few days to get my boat projects done.  everythings as usual, up in the air.

[Randy and Mary Davison]

Hello all.

Just a word from the "other Randy" -

We're envious of all the trip preparations and plans but will be out of town on the 4th weekend and not out for a three week trip until early August.

Jack, I agree with Ray's comments right down the line!  A few more comments...If you have the time, Octopus Islands is another one of our favorites.  Roscoe Bay is one of the best places to stay for a while.  Also, Lund has the worst mosquitoes in the whole area.  That's where we pull out our homemade screen hatchboards and put the screens on all the ports.  We hit the store and bakery and get out of Dodge!  

One other tip, Refuge Cove is a total zoo during the day but empties out at night so if you want to tie up at a dock for long shoreside showers and laundry, stop by late in the afternoon.  The atmosphere completely changes in the evenings.

Regarding picking up folks in Lund...we did that last year and it works great but I'd recommend blowing by and going back (see mosquitoes).  The whole Desolation Sound area smaller than you think it's going to be so it's easy to get back in a few hours from one of the southern locations like Grace Harbor.

If you want to go slow and be civilized, Hospital Bay or Garden Bay in Pender Harbour is a good place to hang out for a few days.  The food at the Garden Bay Pub and Restaurant at the head of Garden Bay is outstanding (the restaurant - not the pub) and it's a great place to dingy around.  We like Fisherman's resort in Hospital Bay.

Ray, I see Big Bay Marina is sold and going private.  Don't know about you but we always enjoyed stopping there on our way farther north.  Too bad.

Randy, hope your launch goes well.  It's been quite a journey!

[Jack Hutteball]

Northbound cruisers,
This is an update to our schedule.  Our Daughter and granddaughters are in town until we put them on the airplane for San Diego early Sunday AM the 3rd.  This will delay our departure until late Sunday, or more realistically Monday morning the 4th.  At least we may get to see fireworks as I doubt we will be in Canada that evening.  Hope to catch up with you all further up North.
Jack and Ruth