Our first night
in Desolation Sound Marine Park was spent anchored in Galley Bay. This was a
‘hidden gem’ pointed out to us by other sailors, meant to cut the long trip
from Powell River to Prideaux Haven into two days. It was a lovely little cove,
although we could see several cabins from our anchorage.
We had a surprise
waiting for us the next morning. As Kathleen was doing the dishes, she
mentioned that we seemed to be running out of water. Impossible, we thought, we
just filled it up…not realizing that there had been a kink in the hose leading
to the tank. If there is one thing that you can’t function without on a boat,
it’s fresh water and we were told that many things were not readily available
in Desolation Sound, including fuel, produce and fresh water.
After a few
stressful moments, we remembered that we were not, in fact, that desolate. We
all had excellent 3G access through our iPhones, and were able to search out
the nearest marina that had a fresh water supply. We pulled our anchor and
enjoyed a short 2-hour sail to Refuge Cove. We tied up, filled our tanks with
fresh water, and popped into the the little general store. We came out with
herb Boursin cheese, gourmet crackers and Magnum ice cream bars. Desolation,
indeed!
From Refuge Cove,
we headed into Prideaux Haven. Prideaux Haven is one of the primary
destinations for boaters in Deso, so even after we studied the detailed charts
and it looked a little tricky, we figured it would be easy to see. Not so! We
nearly passed the entrance, even though it was a bright sunny day and we were
meandering at quite a leisurely pace. Once we passed through the first narrow
entrance, we knew we could spend weeks just anchored in this one tiny area. It
is one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen: it is so sheltered that
the wind barely reaches you and the water is glassy. Anywhere you looked, there
were views of snow-capped mountain ranges, treed hills, and beautiful rock
formations. The water was clear and full of moon jellyfish. We stayed for
several days.
We left Prideaux
Haven on a drizzly morning, headed to Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island, via a
side-trip to see the waterfall at Teakerne Arm. It was OK, but certainly
oversold as a picturesque destination. We arrived in Squirrel Cove in the afternoon, just as the
rain was increasing. Squirrel Cove is the main First Nations settlement on
Cortes Island, and the marina and general store for the small town are located
out on the open water (not in a sheltered cove, as many of the other wharfs
are). We decided to moor for the night anyways, as we needed some power and
fuel, and anchoring isn’t nearly as much fun in the rain. Our plan was to head
into the anchorage or up for another day-trip the next morning.
The rain
increased, and we all decided we were taking a ‘day off’. We shopped in the
extremely well-provisioned general store, did laundry, took long showers, and
rented movies. We checked out the little craft co-op, which opened for a few
hours one day, and picked salmonberries by the side of the road. John talked
his way into buying some fresh spot prawns on the last day of the fishing
season, so we enjoyed delicious seafood as well.
We left Squirrel
Cove heading around Cortes Island towards Gorge Harbour. Taking its moniker
from the large rock faces that surround the entrance, Gorge Harbour was pretty
much the opposite from Squirrel Cove. The central part of the harbour is a
large marine resort, newly renovated and quite swanky. We tied up in between
multi-million dollar boats and immediately jumped into the hot tub with a view
of the harbour. Good times living in desolation!
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