Day 19 - Drury Inlet to Broughton Lagoon

Up at the crack of dawn – we knew if we wanted to get through Stuart Narrows we had to go when the tide was ebbing. With no morning fog just some clouds and light showers, we hoisted the anchor just after 7:30 am, and headed back out into the islands.

We got through the narrows with no problem, then headed north through Grappler Sound, around Kinnaird Island, and into Sullivan Bay.

We’ve seen 3 different “cultures” so far during this trip. The modern “British Columbia” culture (which those of us who live here are used to) prevails at most marinas and towns along the coast. We’ve also visited the First Nations culture – evidence of their thousands of years of history in the south Broughton Islands, and a current reflection of modern life at Alert Bay. We also saw a small piece of Finnish culture – Sointula being built around communal ideals, a sense of harmony & balance, and mutual respect of each other’s property.

And then, we visited our fourth culture – Americans in British Columbia. Sullivan Bay has an international airport with daily float plane service from Seattle. There is a huge dock which proudly accommodates boats of all sizes. And it seemed – the bigger, then better. Walking up to the main buildings, it is the Stars and Stripes greeting visitors, the Maple Leaf inconspicuously tucked around the other side of the entrance. This community of long docks, float homes, loud booming conversations, and giant fuel burning power boats had a kitchy feel to it which I don’t think was intentional. We did enjoy the one-hole golf course built at the very end of the “road”, but the old guy cruising around the docks on his segway pretty much summed it up for us. Add some very expensive provisions, and an hour here was all we needed.

Leaving Sullivan Bay we headed east along Sutlej Channel and into Greenway Sound until we arrived just outside of Broughton Lagoon on Broughton Island. Once settled, we took the dingy for an exploration. As we entered the very narrow channel leading to the lagoon, we realized this was going to be no easy task, as white water and extremely strong current almost overpowered the dingy. We headed back to the catamaran to figure out the tide’s schedule.

Two hours later we tried again. On much calmer waters (which we knew would only be calm while the tide was slack) we coasted into the lagoon, letting the current carry us over the frothy water. We entered an absolutely HUGE lagoon, and were shocked and awed to realize that as we were shot into the protected waters we were completely surrounded by a pod of Pacific White Water Dolphins. They were probably happily eating dinner when a silent dinghy with 2 humans suddenly floated in. We bobbed up and down and soaked in our surroundings, letting the swirly waters take the dingy where it wanted. Soon, a seal we had seen on the outside of the lagoon joined us, also seemingly surprised to see us there.

Although we wanted to stay in the lagoon, we knew we had to get going while the going was still good. By the time we were pushed back out, the ebbing current was getting very strong again. Early dinner and early sleeps after another big day at sea.

Day 18 - Polkinghorne Islands to Drury Inlet

We woke up to a haunting fog surrounding the boat. Thick, and grey, and heavy. Deep silence all around us, with no wind movement and no visibility in any direction. We were not very far from shore, our memories told us. But now we could not see past the end of the bow or the stern.

Our range of visibility opened up a little bit over breakfast. We still couldn’t safely pull up the anchor, but we could have fun in the dingy checking out the little islands all around us. First Cap’n Adam had to row the dinghy through a tangle of kelp at mouth of our little bay. Then we dingied at low-throttle wherever we could. And we found a huge tidal lagoon with its own waterfall.

Returning to our bay, still in the thick fog and back through the forest of kelp, we noticed a few seals sitting on a submerged rock. As we passed by, several tiny seal heads popped up all around them. Soon there were about a dozen or so sets of sea dog eyes, ranging from very small to fully grown, watching our movements. So this is the quiet and special we felt coming in here last night – there are at least a few litters of seals, with their mommas! A seal nursery!

We quietly returned to the boat, and watched for an hour or so as the fog slowly lifted. Sitting on the bow of the boat, I was entertained by 3 young seal pups, popping their heads up ever closer to the boat. They seemed to be playing a game of chicken, each one getting a little closer than the last one had. Before too long, it was only 1 baby seal who kept closing in. I sat as still as I could. It finally freaked itself out on its last attempt, and splashed away dramatically. I giggled silently to myself, and hoped they would return, but their game was over.

After lunch we were ready to continue on our way. Today we decided to leave the archipelago a bit, and explore Drury Inlet of the coastal mainland. With our regal crown mountains still ahead as our bearing, we motored to the mouth of the inlet. We passed through Stuart Narrows, which we were cautious of as the tidal current can get very strong there. We will have to time our journey back out of this inlet for the same reason.

Now don’t get me wrong, all of British Columbia is beautiful. But entering Drury Inlet (more like, “Dreary Inlet”) we felt an instant shift. The trees looked a little more wind beaten and haggard. The flat strips of land on either side of the inlet have been logged a few times, their scars are not hidden. The rolling gentle landscape of the Broughton Archipelago was replaced with some hard-angled and functional coastline. We had left the magic of the village of islands.

We found a nice spot to throw down the anchor, in a cluster of small islets called the Muirhead Islands. But we both agreed that we would head back out into the archipelago tomorrow, as soon as the fog and the tidal current allowed us to go.