Queen's Sound

 July 25 - 27:  The McNaughton Group

Shearwater Marina

We left Shearwater this morning; replenished after internet access, laundry, fresh produce and restaurant meals.  We headed SW into a complex of low lying islands, rocks, bays, sounds, inlets and coves collectively named "Queen's Sound".  It's only been 20 years or so that this area has been adequately charted.  Still, there are so many known rocks and hazards that there are bound to be many uncharted ones as well.  We hope we do not find any.  There are so many islands that most are collected into groups rather than having individual names.  The islands are low, offering little protection from the Pacific if the wind and seas kick up so we must keep a close eye to the weather, too.

This area is home to the Heiltsuk First Nations People who have lived here for thousands of years.  The names Hakai, Kildadt, Nalau, etc all reflect their history. Today, Bella Bella, near Shearwater, is the center of their community.

Low Tide

Today, we anchored off the NE corner of the McNaughton Group in an unnamed bay that the locals call Latta Cove. In the evening, we (Rolynn) noticed the pronounced odor of diesel exhaust as we ran the generator.  The following morning I investigated the problem and found a small hole in the generator's metal exhaust elbow which was emitting exhaust into the engine room and, eventually,  into the living area.  A word of explanation.  Most boats have a "wet exhaust" system on both their main and generator engines.  Sea water is taken in via a "raw water" pump.  After cooling the engine the same water is mixed with the exhaust gasses to cool them and to help muffle the sound.  This mixing occurs in the exhaust elbow.  The combination of heat and salt water eventually causes the metal elbow to corrode and a hole results.  A chunk of spare rubber exhaust hose and some hose clamps solved the problem until we return to home port and order a replacement elbow. 

Restored Canadian "Woodie" - 100 Years Old

Later in the morning we moved a little further south through Sans Peur Passage to the central basin of the McNaughton Group.   From here we hope to visit the Goose Group, the outermost islands.  But, the anchorage there is exposed so we need a combination of settled weather and no fog, an unusual combination since no fog usually means at least some wind. 
July 28 - 31:  Saturday we headed out Cultus Sound, along the eastern edge of Hunter Island and into Queen's Sound proper.  Soon, we cut back into Spitfire Channel to a secure but unremarkable anchorage for the night.  Having given up on the Goose Group we headed SW to a similar spot named Triquet Island in the Breadner Group.  The exposed sides of these islands are rugged, wind blown shores with crashing waves even on the calmer days.  But, the protected sides often have nice sand beaches.  Such is the case with Triquet. There is a nice cove on the north shore with a sand beach.  After anchoring we poked around the outer side of the island in the dinghy.  

Intrepid at Triquet Island - Pacific Beyond

From here the only thing to the east is Siberia at not quite 4000 miles, although one could make a short detour and hit the last of the Aleutian Islands.  We could see the Goose Islands about 10 miles to the NW but it was never clear enough, long enough for us to make the effort to venture out.  It was calm until about 20:00 when a little swell crept into the cove, catching us on our beam.  So we rolled a little until the tide fell about 3:00 AM.

Queen's Sound

Reflections at Clare Island

Monday, we wound our way through Brydon Channel and the Kittyhawk Group, across Kildadt Sound to a tiny, unnamed cove at the south end of Clare Island.  The entrance is skinny with an uncharted reef extending from the north shore but there is room inside for one boat to swing at anchor.  A very nice spot.

Tuesday, we listened to the weather and changed our thoughts.  We had planned to go around the corner to little Judd Cove then head south across Hakai Passage to Pruth Bay on Wednesday.  But, EC is now calling for pretty good wind Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM.  That would make crossing Hakai with Pacific swells on our beam uncomfortable so we decided to head directly to Pruth today.  From here we will head across Fitz Hugh to Fish Egg Inlet.  Fitz High can get snotty in a south wind such as the 30 Kn called for.  But, there appears to be a window Thursday AM which we hope to capture.