Day 9 - Forward Bay (coastal mainland) to Lagoon Cove (Cracroft Island)

Up at the crack of dawn, we were kind of surprised to see we were one of the last boats remaining in the bay. I guess everyone had the same idea we did – head into Johnstone Strait first thing. Our “friend” who anchored a wee bit too close to us was also gone. We wouldn’t have to blow our air horn at him to “Wake Up!” and move his freaking boat so we could leave. Too bad, that actually would have been kind of fun.

The air had definitely changed overnight. The cool breeze had turned quite frigid, and thick clouds hinted that we may not see the sun today at all. Up came the anchor and off we went to see what Johnstone Strait had in store for us.

Cap’n Adam was at the helm again, through some swirly waters of Sunderland Channel north of Hardwicke Island. And into Johnstone Strait we plunged. In addition to strong currents and strong winds, this passage is also a busy shipping lane. Freighters and cruise ships pass through here regularly; it is most prudent take heed. Our plan was to tuck into Port Neville if things got too rough, which was about half way through our estimated 4 hour trip. Although the winds were cold and strong (we even donned everybody’s favourite – the survival suits!!), we were travelling with an ebb tide, and the waters were quite flat. Better to be too cautious than not cautious enough.

We cruised right by Port Neville, exited Johnstone Strait and headed counter-clockwise around East Cracroft Island. Through Havannah Channel and Chatham Channel we saw a pod of about 15 porpoises splashing and swimming and having a grand old time (it seemed to us). Through “The Blow Hole” between Minstrel Island and East Cracroft, we were now at Lagoon Cove, a protected little spot with a private marina. It was early afternoon and the sky was now blue again, the sun reminding us of his strength. Not wanting to spend money on moorage, we found a spot in a secluded bay to throw the anchor down, then dingied to the marina to check it all out. The harbinger Bill was most friendly, inviting us to explore the walking trails and facilities at our leisure.

We are now at the very edge of our destination, the Broughton Archipelago. Tomorrow we will enter it proper, and begin our 3 week exploration of this special corner of British Columbia.

Day 8 - Thurston Bay to Forward Bay (coastal mainland)

We awoke in our secluded little anchorage and turned on the VHF radio weather forecast. They were calling for gale force winds in the Johnstone Strait in the coming days, a small stretch of which we need to pass through to get to the heart of the Broughton Archipelago. We had a decision to make – go as originally planned today to the Shoal Bay Music Festival (a mere 90 minute trip from here) and pass through Johnstone Strait as the storm brews, or get as far as we can today so that we can enter Johnstone Strait in the early morning hours, when winds are usually at their calmest. Since we had already relaxed a bit with short motoring days as of late, and since heading into gale force winds makes for a choppy, sucky ride, we opted for the latter option.

We travelled up Nodales Channel and into Cordero Channel north of East Thurlow Island. As we passed by the mouth of Shoal Bay we saw many a boat anchored or tied to the government dock, all about to get their groove on. But we continued along Cordero Channel past West Thurlow Island, for the first time overlapping part of our journey from last summer. Cap’n Adam navigated the turbulent water as we made our way west, passing briefly though pockets of internet reception. Between the coastal mainland and Hardwick Island we crossed the aptly named Whirlpool Rapids, then tucked ourselves into Forward Harbour, a popular anchorage in a bay of the coastal mainland. We shared this spot with 16 other boats, some of whom decided to anchor ominously close to each other. This is one of the advantages of an aluminum boat – if someone arrives late and decides unwisely (despite a warning) to anchor too close to us, it is not our boat that will get damaged if we smash into each other during the night. We may get a bit of their paint on our boat, but they will need to repair the gaping hole ripped into their fibreglass hull.

We dingied to shore as the sun was getting ready to leave us for the day, and followed a flotsam-and-jetsom marked path to a small beach on the other side of the spit. A nice little hike through ferns, fallen trees, salal, cedars and firs. An early night tonight, as we will get up early tomorrow morning for our trip through the Johnstone Strait.