Around Cape Caution...

Panoramic of beaches from Hakai's "Lookout Mountain"

 

We've finally made it back to the Central Coast of BC! (The last time was in 2018.)

After Port McNeill, we had a mostly gentle motor up to Miles Inlet, just
South of Cape Caution. We were surprised to see 3 boats (all USA)
already in this small anchorage. We decided to try out the "South" arm
of Miles Inlet -- last Summer David did a depth survey and produced a
satellite chart with depths, which made us more confident (the official
chart is wrong as there is more depth). Only 10 feet at zero tide but it
worked nicely for us, especially given 2 more boats arrived to find the
main anchorage too tight.

The next morning we THOUGHT would be a good time to round Cape Caution,
as the winds and seas were forecast to be minimal. It turned out to be a
very rolly (leftover seas) trip around. Not our worst experience and
never challenging, but also not pleasant. We then headed into Smith
Sound, to try our a new-to-us anchorage: Fly Basin. 

 

Entering Smith Sound after rounding Cape Caution (looks gloomy, but it got better!)

We very much liked Fly Basin; all the more as no other boats came by for the 2 nights we
stayed. An interesting sidetrip was to visit by dinghy the passage
connecting Takush Harbour (the "outside") and the end of Ahclakerho
Channel (the "inside"). This passage dries at low tide but at high tide
a dinghy or kayak can make it through, although much current is present.
We went both at low tide -- we had hope for and saw some interesting
marine life, though it's nothing compared to Burnaby Narrows -- and at
high tide we indeed dinghied through to the "inside".

Entrance to passage from "outside" to "inside": low tide

Entrance to passage from "outside" to "inside": high tide

After 2 days, we motored across Smith Sound and headed up Fitz Hugh
Sound then down Kwakashua Channel to anchor at Pruth Bay. (Normally, we
would stop at Fury Cove, but BC Parks is asking boaters to NOT anchor
there and has formally closed the land area around the anchorage.) At
Pruth, we were shocked to find approximately 30 boats in the area (20 in
the main anchorage). All but 2 (us and another) were from the USA. It
almost felt like Desolation Sound (in terms of number of boats).
(Honestly, it does piss us off when it is hard to find an anchor spot due
to there being SO many boats from the USA!)

Our first afternoon in Pruth, it was beautifully sunny, but we were too
tired to go walking. After quiet night, we did get a nice walk the next
morning to the beach and up to "Lookout Mountain". While the sun was
shining. That was enough for us -- we seem to still fatigue easily. Rain
began around 2 pm. (The Hakai Research Institute still kindly provides
internet access in the anchorage (hence this post), dinghy tie up and
access to the ocean beaches; Thank you Hakai!) 

Wild Hakai

 

Old tired couple on Lookout Mountain (Hakai West Beach behind)

 

The morning had some excitement: a very large (70-80 feet?), expensive Seattle Yacht Club yacht had a lapse of attention and ran up on the rocks. See the next post.

After 2 nights here, we expect we'll head up to Codville Lagoon, close to Bella Bella and Shearwater.