4 weeks in the Broughtons; back to Desolation

Pelagia in Miles Inlet

Four weeks total up in the Broughtons/North Vancouver Island/Cape Caution. Lots of good weather (comfortable 15-21°C highs), with a sprinkling of fog and a few showers.

We seemed to enjoy the area more than usual, especially in anchorages at Miles Inlet and Murray Labrynth -- where we met up with SV Chanter -- both near Cape Caution. Lots of kayaking.

Outlet from Miles Inlet Lagoon

 

Chanter (left) & Pelagia (centre) in Murray Labrynth

 

We went back-and-forth whether to go North of Caution. The main deciding factor was the area, largely part of Heiltsuk traditional territory, was "closed" by the Heiltsuk Nation until July 23rd (and with that, all BC Parks and Conservancies were officially closed, meaning no going ashore). We decided the 23rd was too late. Next year. For sure....

Enjoyable visits with friends on SV Chanter. Also, a dinner with Mexico cruising friends Betty-Ann and Dave.

Many, many sightings of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Oddly,  no bear sightings. And a remarkable encounter with a newborn seal who thought Pelagia then one of our kayaks was its mother. (We left it alone and eventually its mother showed up.)

We returned twice to Sointula, back to its welcoming, relaxed reputation.

Our trip back down South (actually, SE) was highlighted by a great sail down Johnstone Strait, from Havannah Channel to Wellbore Channel (where we anchored in Douglas Bay/Forward Harbour).

We are now back in Desolation, enjoying the sun and ocean swimming.

HOT, sunny days in Roscoe Bay, then up to the Broughtons

Kayaking in Indian Channel (Broughtons)

 

Three days and nights in Roscoe Bay, with temperatures above 30°C -- the result of the "heat dome". Fortunately, we could jump in the water to cool off (sea water 20°-22°C).

Decided it was time to "head North", up to the Broughtons, where we could catch up with sailing friends on SV Carousel and SV Chanter. After a night in Owen Bay, we headed into Johnston Strait. Although we didn't have winds to sail, we always had a great ebb current helping us along -- sometimes as much as an extra 5 knots! It was an easy, quick trip to Port Harvey. (We were lucky, because 1-2 days later, the gales in Johnstone Strait began again.

Temperatures are cooler here in the Broughtons. Very comfortable 15°-23°C. We've been to a couple new-to-us anchorages (Simoon Sound; Shoal Harbour*) as well as several regualr favourites, and finally visited with Billy Proctor and his great little museum near Echo Bay (while we were anchored in nearby Shoal Harbour).

[*Shoal Harbour is very poorly charted. We've done an "as you go" depth survey, and now have a more-detailed "chart" of Shoal Harbour... for our next time or others.]

 

Shoal Harbour: current chart

 

Shoal Harbour: Satellite image with soundings (corrected for tide level)  Click on to view.

 

We spent an enjoyable 5 nights with Carousel before they had to head back South (catching a flight to Nova Scotia at the end of July). We also met up with Chanter, who had family visiting them (5 people on a 34-foot sailboat!) -- we properly socialized with Chanter later once family had to leave.

We've re-provisioned in Port McNeill, and are now in old favourite Sointula. Always relaxing.

Chanter left today for the Cape Caution area. We plan to leave tomorrow morning and also head to near to Cape Caution. After that will depend on weather and us....

Repairs and more delays...

June 25, 2021
Decided to head up to Ha'thayim/VonDonop... a little closer to the rapids but still in warm water (swimming in the sea).

Just as we were coming to our usual anchor spot, our gear shift at the binnacle stopped working. After a minute of (usual) confusion, we found we could still use the gear shift at the inside steering.

After anchoring, we inspected the cable in the engine room. Didn't look good (we eventually found it had snapped within), so a trip to Campbell River for repair would be required. Of course, it was Friday afternoon, so nothing could be done until Monday morning.

We also had a very tiny leak (1 drop/day) at a joint in our hydraulic steering (duscovered the day we left Vancouver), so we decided to get it looked at too.

We headed over to Discovery Marina on Sunday, and were at the Ocean Pacific Boatyard at 8am Monday morning. Although very busy, a mechanic came to our boat by 11am.

Gear shift was simple (a new cable). The tiny hydraulic leak seemed more problematic. It was so small, Mike the mechanic seemed to feel we shouldn't "open a can of worms". But since we were there and had his attention, we decided to try taking off the connection. Doing so, Mike couldn't see anything wrong, and importantly, the flared connection was nothing standard. To replace would mean replacing 2-3 metres of copper line. Parts would need to be ordered. There was always the small chance the fitting simply needed tightening. We decided to have Mike put alback and tighten, and we'd reconsider issue in the off season.

After two nights in Campbell River, we headed back to Von Donop (we couldn't go North from CR because Seymour Narrows was flooding strongly (12+ knots) against us.

We had lost at least 4 days due to this repair trip. By then, the gales in Johnstone Strait had started up. We would have to wait for another window.

On the other hand, Von Donop was nearly empty, not even 25% of the usual number of boats. And the weather was sunny and the ocean temperature warm (22°C).

We were planning to meet up with cruising friends (SV Carousel and SV Chanter) up in the Broughtons, supposedly tomorrow or the next day. But delays (COVID-19 restrictions, 2nd shots, repairs) and then Johnstone Strait gales have set us back.

Never a good idea to try to adhere to a schedule when cruising. The cruising gods will have other ideas.

Frankly, we felt like spending more time in Desolation Sound; we had hot weather, warm swimning to cool off, and once-in-a-lifetime empty anchorages (anchorages that will be filled-up soon, especially if the USA/Canada border reopens late July).

So, we headed from Von Donop back down to Roscoe Bay in Desolation Sound, which we found also nearly empty (only 4 boats, compared to 30+) and warm swimming.

On another positive note: we have yet to see a drip from the hydraulic steering!

Great sail... intraprovincial travel now allowed

June 17, 2021
The within-BC travel restrictions have been lifted. Yay!

Had a great downwind sail from Pender Harbour to Powell River (25nm) then motored to Cortes Bay. Very empty.

Did some rambling (hiking) through the myriad of trails in K'Was Park on Cortes. Lovely day. Anchorage quiet; RVYC docks almost empty, and, of course, Seattle Yacht Club docks empty.

Great to have Desolation Sound just for BC boaters (that will change soon).

Summer cruising...

June 14, 2021
Where we are going and for how long is up in the air, but today we began our Summer cruise. Motored up to Pender Harbour.

British Columbia has had regional travel restrictions (due to COVID-19), which meant we could not sail to the Gulf Islands or, indeed, 90% of the BC coast. (Boaters on Vancouver Island, by contrast, could cruise 90% of the coast below the top of Vancouver Island.) These restrictions are due to be lifted tomorrow... we hope.

We decided to delay leaving due to the restrictions AND so we could get our 2nd vaccine shots (Moderna) before leaving. The second shots laid us liw in bed with flu-like symptoms for more than 24 hours. So, more of a delay. But, we're now fully vaccinated!

We will head out to Cortes Island tomorrow - - expecting a sail - - assuming restrictions lifted.

We don't know where we'll go this Summer. BC Parks and Conservancies North of Cape Caution remain "closed", likely at the request of local First Nations. Haida Gwaii opens to us July 1st, but one nornally goes up the mainland coast, where Parks are closed. West Coast of Vancouver Island is mostly open. We'll see.

"UPDATED" NAVIONICS AND C-MAP CHARTS ARE OFTEN NOT "UP-TO-DATE" (Canada)

UPDATES (Sept 25, 2021): I have reached the conclusion that you cannot depend upon Navionics (or CMAP) charts to be "up-to-date" within a reasonable time. I find too many incidences of CHS chart updates (for new rocks, shallows, etc) that are not shown on Navionics, even several months later.  

In my view, relying solely/primarily on Navionics charts is not safe.

June 3, 2023: (i) There is new (May, 2023) CHS detailed charting for Tasu Sound (Haida Gwaii) on vector charts. Navionics does not yet include this new charting. Stay tuned! (ii) The new rock and sunken wreck in Thetis Island's North Cove charted by CHS in the Fall of 2021 are still not indicated on Navionics, 1.5 years later! 

December 2023: More than TWO YEARS LATER, Navionics finally includes Thetis Island North Cove updates  ALSO: Navionics now includes new Haida Gwaii charts (5 mos later...). 

February 2024: C-MAP finally includes the new (May/June 2023) Haida Gwaii Charts.

 

You may think (hope) that your just "updated" Navionics or C-MAP charts  are now "up-to-date". This is not necessarily the case (applies to both app and card-based updates).

Recently, checking "Notices to Mariners" (NOTMAR: https://www.notmar.gc.ca/monthly-mensuel-en.php) by Canadian Hydrographic Services (CHS), I noticed the February version indicated newly discovered rocks/shallows in the general area near Discovery Islands and Desolation Sound.

Below are images from official CHS Raster charts from May 2020 and June 2021:

The updated CHS charts (June, 2021) show the two new drying rocks in Manson Passage (top, right) and the 0.3m shallows in Plunger Pass (bottom, right). Both are dangerous to most boats (especially the shallow area in Plunger Pass, which we passed through last summer).

 

What about Navionics and C-MAP? As of June 7, 2021, neither show these updates. This includes the C-MAP App and C-Map SD card (card purchased in May, 2021) as well as the Navionics App (as well as the online viewer).

Manson Passage: Navionics (June, 2021, not accurate)

 

Plunger Passage: Navionics (June, 2021, not accurate)

Manson Passage: C-MAP (June, 2021, not accurate)

Plunger Passage: C-MAP (June, 2021, not accurate)

At least 3 months after CHS issued a NOTMAR about these rocks/shallows, yet they are still not shown on "updated" Navionics or C-MAP charts.

 

Update (August, 2021): Navionics finally updated the above locations by August 14th, 2021. By December 2021, C-MAP updated these locations.

 

HOWEVER:

The September CHS NOTMAR had new shallows, rocks and wrecks. For example: Here's another  "new" rock and a wreck (North Cove, Thetis Island) shown on the up-to-date CHS raster chart, but not (yet, as of November 20)) on the just-updated Navionics or CMAP:

Keep an eye out to see how long it takes Navionics (or CMAP) to include these updates! 

November 20, 2021: neither Navionics or CMAP have included this September update.)

January 2022: Navionics still doesn't include this update, whereas CMAP does. 

June 2023: Navionics STILL DOES NOT INCLUDE THESE HAZARDS (1.5 years after they were updated by CHS!)

 

IN CONTRAST, O-CHARTS SEEM TO QUICKLY UPDATE:

O-Charts (https://www.o-charts.org/) makes CHS ENC Vector charts available for OpenCPN  at a very reasonable annual price (20 Euros for Pacific Coast of Canada). These charts can be updated monthly, and are supposed to be the same as CHS ENC charts. 

(OpenCPN is an excellent free/near-free chartplotter software for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android.)

 

By March, 2021, the O-Charts for Manson and Plunger Passages included the February update:

Manson Passage: O-Charts (March, 2021 -- accurate!)

Plunger Passage: O-Charts (March, 2021 -- accurate!)

Update: just checked earlier NOTMAR editions: current Navionics and C-MAP missing more rocks/shallows in other areas of BC! (O-charts, however, are correctly updated.)

CONCLUSION: Commercial charts such as Navionics or C-MAP may NOT be up-to-date (even though you just "updated" them). "New" rocks and shallows shown on up-to-date official charts may be missing on Navionics and/or C-MAP!

 

On Pelagia, we ensure our CHS charts are up-to-date. Though we also have Navionics and C-MAP, we but put much greater trust on the CHS raster charts (we are still getting used to the O-charts -- so far, so good.)

Short cruise over to Gambier Island (May, 2021)

Port Graves (from Bert's Bluff, Gambier Island)

First time out before the Summer. Headed over to Gambier Island (Howe Sound) and anchored for a couple nights near Camp Artaban.

Did a long hike, first up to Bert's Bluff, then along a route-only "trail" (trail markers but no "trail") from Bert's Bluff to Lost Lake, then back to Artaban via a real trail (albeit, not easy). A tiring day!

Didn't get much "sailing" in, but it was nice to get out (especially since we hadn't skied since March).

[The Provincial Health Officer ordered Whistler-Blackcomb Ski Area to close back in March, due to Covid. Not unexpected, given the large number of visitors to Whistler from Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and even, somehow, the USA. Whistler's case numbers exploded in February/March.]