Echo Bay, Kwatsi Bay & Viner Sound

Pierre His Own Self
Wednesday & Thursday: Stayed at Pierre’s in Echo Bay. They do a prime rib dinner with all the fixins and dessert for $30. It is excellent. Pierre and Tove have lived and worked at odd jobs in the Braughtons for 30+ years. About 12 years ago they built a small marina in nearby Scott’s Cove literally out of nothing but old logs. Over time they became a popular stopping place. Three years ago they partnered up with another couple and bought the existing Echo Bay and adjoining Windsong Resorts and began improving it as they moved their buildings from Scott’s Cove. It is now the busiest marina in the area. They have a regular schedule of meals and events.


Echo Party Tent
Friday & Saturday: We made the short (1:45) run to one of our favorite places on the coast – Kwatsi Bay. Anca, who is Dutch by birth, and Max began this little marina 12 years ago and we have been coming here since 2001. They dragged longs onto the shore, winched up a little cabin and scrounged up floats from abandoned fish farms to use as docks. They have raised their kids, Russell and Marika, here who are now 15 and 17 or so. For the first few years they had no ramp to shore so they rowed back and forth countless times per day. A couple of years ago Max shot a couger under the cabin that was stalking the kids. Notice in the adjoining picture of the Kwatsi docks the landslide that almost took out their cabin as they were sleeping one winter night.

Cliffside Docks at Echo Bay
It’s a small marina, only 12 boats or so. Consequently, there are ample opportunities to get to know folks and we see many year after year, including Jim, a retired pharmacist from Seattle who spends every summer here. We’ll stay two nights but we will be back later with Rolynn’s sister and her daughter.




Kwatsi Bay
Sunday, Monday & Tuesday: We are in Viner Sound, not far from Echo Bay. It’s a nice spot with four mooring buoys. This is usually a good crabbing spot and we can sometimes see bears on the beach at low tide. This year the commercial crabbers have cleaned out most of the best spots so the crabbing has not been good for boaters. The fisheries people shut down commercial prawning early, though, so that has been pretty good for us. We (Rolynn) used Sunday morning to clean the boat while I offered
helpful suggestions. We heard from our friends Stan and Diane Heirshberg aboard “Crossroads”. They are back from Alaska and we will meet them at Echo Bay this Wednesday for prime rib dinner. ( I told you it was good.) The weather is stuck in a pattern. Overcast or misty in the mornings, clearing by about noon and late afternoon sun.

Kwatsi PotLuck
Monday – 4:00 AM: We were awaken by much huffing and snorting from the water next to the boat. Figured it was a harbor seal. Turned out the noise was a small pod of orcas hunting dolphins in the bay. The whales herded the dolphins into a tight group then munched them down for breakfast. The orcas we see in the San Juan Islands are resident pods that feed on salmon. The orcas up here are transient hunters that feed mostly on seals and dolphins. A few days ago we spoke with a fellow who conducts sampling studies on behalf of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). He told us that a couple of years ago he encountered an orca superpod, a grouping of all of the transient pods. The official count was over 600. Must have been quite a sight.