SV Cariba

Heading south!

As I was saying in our last blog post.. we were getting a bit tired of damp and foggy conditions in the Broughtons. I know.. no where was having a great summer yet, but we did notice that it sounded a bit warmer and nicer to the south. We decided to continue our trek south and left Waddington Bay around noon without any fog. We timed our departure to take advantage of the current and it paid off as we had at least 2 knots with us and we cruised along at 9 knots at Ripple Bluff in Knight Inlet.

MIA – Summer and Wilson.. but we have bears!

Alert Bay was a great stop but it was time to move on an attempt to explore the area known as the Broughtons. This term describes a large number of islands and inlets with a vast number of coves to choose from on the mainland side of Queen Charlotte Strait. At first we felt quite overwhelmed at the number of anchorages to choose from and all the recommended stops in both the Waggonner’s cruising guide and the Dreamspeaker book. Too be honest I would open the guides and then shut them quickly again as I couldn’t plan a route that would encompass all we wanted to see. Trip planning became easier as we got closer to the area and of course had to pick our routes based on weather, currents, and of course tides…. Like that isn’t new!

Over the top…. literally!

We left Winter Harbour on July 21^st. Our plan was to sail to Sea Otter Cove and then conquer Cape Scott and the Nahwitti Bar which we see as two of the last few major big challenges in our circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. The weather forecast was favorable with SE winds to get us to Sea Otter and then light southerlies changing to NW for rounding Cape Scott the next day.. or so we thought!