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.