Finally it was time to move beaches and Rugged Point was our next stop.   NW gales were blowing at Solander which meant a 20+ kn sail downwind in with just the jenny up.  Adesso covered the 25 miles to Rugged Point in quick order.  Anchored out of the wind we set out on more beach walks which Tilly loves ( I think she actually got tired here!)  At Sue met Leona from Victoria whom she had not seen in 20 years – wow small world.  We also met John Hazen who was on a Flicka, maybe the worlds smallest production offshore capable sail boat.  Josh always had a soft spot for Flicka’s so John invited him for a tour.  His story is interesting, originally from Hawaii where he made Hand boards, he sailed his Ficka south to Tahiti and back, then to Port Townsend where he currently lives aboard!  Legs tired from big beaches we were off to Queen cove and through the Tahsis Inlet which I had never travelled through before.  At the end of this was the call of Hot Springs Cove!

John aboard his Flicka off rugged point

The beaches close to Columbia Cove is the big drawing card for us.  The paddle/surfboards got blown-up and we hit the beach to spend a couple of glorious days in the warm sun.  It was so hot, walking on the sand required foot wear!   Josh Sue and I spend may hours in the small surf, we made a temporary camp and sun shade for lunches; in general hung out taking in the seemingly endless beauty.

Josh on the paddle board.

Lunch with our new beach furniture.

Al and Sandy aboard Marova

The trip to Winter Harbour was uneventful even though we stopped for an hour to try our hand at fishing.  Boats around us were catching fish but alas our limited fishing skills were not enough fool the fish there.  Winter Harbour was once a center of the busy trolling fleet and after that a sports fishing center, today its is VERY quiet with maybe 20 sport fishing boats and the odd cruiser of which we were one of three present.  We wanted to walk the boardwalk and decided to moore on the dock to support the local facilities, besides that SE was going to blow through.  Here we met Al and Sandy aboard Marova and Fraser 41.  Al had in previous years done a circle through the South Pacific returning via Japan and now were doing a little shake down cruise before heading south to Mexico and the Caribbean.  We truly enjoyed their company and listening to cruising stories over the occasional drink!  The wind a Solander on the end of Brooks Peninsula  (windiest headland on Vancouver Island) was supposed to switch back to NW in the morning so we would leave for Columbia Cove to spend a few days.

Josh holding his Red Snapper, Yummmm!

The next morning heading out of Quatsino with Marova we were surprised to find glassy seas. In fact it was flat calm all the way to Solander.  We took the opportunity to get up close for a look at that rugged headland and give Josh a chance to fish.  Not only was the Solander a beautiful site but in 15 min we caught a Coho Salmon, Red Snapper and a large rock cod.  Whales we feeding off the bow of our boat while all this was going on!  Almost on cue the NW started and we sailed off around the corner to enjoy a salmon feast with the Marova crew.

Map of Cape Scott area.

The bird with its new adornment.

With the NW looking like it would take a day rest in a few days we headed North.  Our first destination was one of the largest native settlements in Queen Charolette Strait.  Here we met for the second time Angus on Nootka Rose who was headed north this summer.  We searched the beach in front of the village site for treasures and Sue was the big winner finding a trading bead which was added to the boat bird!

Next morning we were off to Port Hardy for fuel, water, food and beer. The first foggy morning was present and I had a chance to check the radar out.  Hooray works great, though I must say the operators manual of the Raymarine E80 is not light reading!!  As Adesso is new to us, and has many systems, its always great when I try one for the first time in real situations and it just works as it should!  I must mention here that the Port Hardy’s fuel dock is in a tight spot and Adesso with out a bow thruster can be a challenge maneuvering.  This is a skill that is improving but … I’m sure that  am the subject of others entertainment as I learn!  From here a quick trip to Port Alexander for the night and off to Sea Otter Cove in the am.

At anchor in Port Alexander

I think Josh’s truck needs some repair!

Port Alexander was new to us and proved to be a surprise.  With NW gales blowing late in the day we were anchored in this beautiful inlet while the wind raged at its mouth.  A trail across the island lead us to an old logging site where Josh tried his hand at driving.  The wind dropped over night and the fog returned.  The summer “high” weather pattern on the west coast is NW gales late in the day, that fall off in the evening only to return the next after the morning fog burns off.  The early morning start for Cape Scott  found confused seas, fog and no wind but we did have company, a Fraser 41 left Bull Harbour as we went by so we could just see each other through the fog or on radar as we rounded Cape Scott.  The NW started up, and we sailed out of the fog into another spectacular sunny day.   Sea Otter Cove is a great hurricane hole but we stop because of the hike to Lowrie Bay.  Here we had our first ocean swim on the Pacific side of Vancouver Island and Josh found another Japanese glass ball on the beach!   The weather was calling of a burst of SE to arrive but the sunshine to continue  (very unusual) so at 6 am we were off to Winter Harbour to walk on the board walk.

Our trip up into the Broughton Group was uneventful with the wind gods giving us a short break in the relentless NW gales in Johnston Strait that we were beating into.  Our first extended stop was with Bruce and Josee McMorran in Simoon Sound just north of Echo Bay.  We have known them since our Cortes Island days and they own the Paddlers Inn.

Adesso at rest infront of the Paddlers Inn

This beautiful spot in the Broughton’s caters to kayakers that want a break from camping or a base to paddle out of.  The cabins are rustic but have all the important amenities, bed, hot water, shower, kitchen and spectacular views.  We spent a couple of days visiting, hiking and in general, hanging out. Josh and I successfully did our first engine fix on the fly.  The kill switch stopped working when we arrives at the Inn.  It turned out to be a loose wire on the kill solenoid which should have taken maybe 5 min. to fix but….. To access this wire and get a screw driver on it we had to take the whole solenoid off the engine.  Yanmar gets a negative on this design feature which took us an hour to correct!   It was here that Sue and Josh made the decision to head around Vancouver Island and not north, so plans were made to head for fuel, water and groceries.

We needed to get out of town for the summer and our inclination was a trip around Vancouver Island. I was thinking of heading north of Vancouver Island but you do risk leaving the warmer weather behind, which is hard to do in the Pacific Northwest where the warm months are so few.  Josh’s cousin Matt was coming out to the coast for a 10 day trip through Desolation Sound so that is where our summer plans would begin.  The first thing these two boys did was to build a potato gun and stock the boat with amo ( potatoes ) and fuel ( Finesse hair spray ).  They then proceeded to impress all with their marksmanship both on and off the boat!

Desolation was sunny, warm, beautiful and uncrowded.  We feel so lucky to have such an amazing cruising ground close to home!  Our first stop Henry Bay just got us off the dock and on the beach. The plan was to end up in Gorge Harbor on Cortes Island in front of Wendy and Hubert’s for a couple of days.  The short story is below with potato gun activity a common thread through all of the days.

Unwin Lake for swimming,hiking and beach fires.

Forbes Bay for paddleboards up the river, hikes and prawns!

Walsh Cove to swim and heard the fish stories of those big ones that got away. Here we met Garth, Merrien and Nolan on Ocean Frog who invited us for happy hour.  It always great to meet like minded sailors who care for the impact we humans are having on space ship earth!

Von Donop Inlet with a stop to swim in Robertson Lake, more fires and the boys got stuck in the tidal lagoon for a few hours!

Lambert Beach in Evans Bay on Reid Island to hike trails and more fires.

 It is amazing that even having lived in the area for over 25 years we still do not tire of the beauty and cruising diversity. The BC Coast is a spectacular part of the world and the people of Cortes hold a special place in our hearts.  Our couple of days with friends on Cortes was filled with music, great company and of course food but alas Matt had a bus to catch in Campbell River so off we went to send him off and head north.

On Hubert and Wendy’s mooring in the Gorge.

Well its not often that we would head off to a destination 30 nm away for the weekend but our good  friends and neighbours for many years the Calino’s were leaving Cortes Island and throwing a party!   Lucky for us Friday after work delivered  15 to 20 knot of wind going in the direction we were going!  By 8:30 pm we were tied up to Hubert and Wendy’s mooring in Gorge Harbour just in time for a late dinner and libation!  Saturday was sunny and glorious  with so much visiting old freinds  that spilled over onto waterfront decks at happy hour.  Cortes Island has such a great community and is surrounded by one of the great cruising grounds of the world ( in my opinion of course)!  Fathers day pancakes followed Sunday am and off to Comox but today the Yanmar did the heavy pushing.  Still a beautiful trip that ended with salmon BBQ on our boat.  Whew, my cheeks were worn out from smiling. We appreciate so much, Adesso, the friends and the water born life we have the opportunity to experience.

A view down Gorge Harbour .

Quick look of the area.

Needing a break from the working world we decided to make the dash to Desolation
Sound for a three day weekend.  Leaving late Friday afternoon Adesso got to stretch her wings across the Salish Sea (Strait of Georga) with 15 to 20 knots blowing from the south east!  This put us almost hard on the wind for most of the 20 mile crossing and with full sail she was clocking 9 kt SOG. The plan was to spend a night in the Copeland Islands and then on to Unwin Lake area for a day relaxing!  Being a long weekend there were a few boats around the Copeland’s  but our favorite anchorage at Unwin was to ourselves.  The anchorage we call Buddha Bay is named because a boater has concreted a “Laughing Buddha” statue in the granite wall above.  It is in the picture below, see if you can find it!  We had a sunny warm day to enjoy this beautiful spot and had our first lake swim of the year to top it off!.  The return on Sunday was windless so the engine did all the work.  A little excitement was caused by our engine overheating which turned out to be a faulty thermostat.  Another part of the steep learning curve of owning a new boat.  I”m now learning all about the Yanmar 4JH2-HTE!

At rest in this beautiful Bay

Jean Guy was hoping for a sail back to Canada but alas it was the motor most of the way! After clearing customs and making to trip to the Victoria Airport to pay our tax (ouch),  Jean Guy had to return to is wife before she started looking for a new husband!!  Rom at Custom Yacht Sales arranged a berth for a couple of days  so we could off-load all the spares etc that came with the Passport and load in some of our personal effects so we could cruise!

At rest in Mill Bay

Whew – a trip to Comox with the van later, we traveled the short trip to Mill Bay from Sidney where we were to spend a couple of days with family and settle in to our new home.  We knew Adesso came with a few projects but these first week would be going through the boat to find out “really” what we bought!  Our hope was of course that we will not find too many surprises.  In the mean time Sues sister Dawn and family are going join us on a day trip to a small beach a couple of hours away, the sails are up!!    Yes this boat loves to sail and I can’t wait for more.

The sails are UP!

Sues response to having the sails up was – fantastic!  After a great hike and a couple of hours on the beach it was back to Mill Bay .  We have summer sailing plans but needed to be back in Comox to move into our rental house.