What a trip! Here is our route in the Desolation Sound (right side of map) and Broughton Archipelago (heart-shaped) areas (see summary at the end of this post):
It rained pretty much the whole time we were at Gorge Harbour. We’d been before, and hope to return one day and have a different experience. It’s nice, and worth a redo.
On Thursday we pulled out of Gorge Harbour headed for Comox, across the Strait of Georgia. Enroute, Nick checked out Fords Cove (Ford Cove on charts) and we decided to check it out. It would make our trip to Nanaimo on Friday a bit shorter.
We enjoyed Fords Cove! Nice little store at the restaurant, decent docks with power. The trail to Shingle Spit, where the ferry terminal is, is really good. I didn’t do the entire thing, and Nick said there was some road walking at the end. All-in-all though, a nicely maintained and beautiful trail. It’s part of a much bigger system in Mt. Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park.
Fords Cove Marina docks:
Views of the restaurant:
Sandstone beach area:
Trail head, trail map, and trail view:
It spritzed a little but we were able to set up our chairs and table and share a nice bottle of Tranche Pape with our boat buddies.
The cruise on Friday from Ford Cove to Nanaimo was mostly good but quite bumpy for the last bit. It was a sunny afternoon and we took a walk to a couple of places, McLean’s Specialty Foods and Red’s Bakery for Nanaimo Bars.
We shared some of Deb’s Pete’s rose wine on the dock and then loaded in the dinghies for dinner at the Dinghy Dock Pub.
Nick and I decided, that due to weather/wind forecasted for the San Juan Islands, we would make Saturday a long day and get all the way home. We said our goodbyes to the Aris crew – they stayed another night in Nanaimo before heading south. Great to have friends to cruise with!
Regardless of distance we wanted to travel, transiting Dodd Narrows needed to happen early. So we awoke at 4:30 am and were off the dock before the sun was up.
Our last day of cruising we saw one lone Orca not long after passing through the narrows. First and only Orca sighting of this trip.
After 64 nautical miles and nine hours, we arrived in Skyline, packed up the car and hit the road for home.
Trip Summary:
5th trip of the year
30 days
650 nautical miles
18 places visited
9 new destinations
*I’m counting Kwatsi Bay even thought we didn’t stay overnight.
A favorite part for all of us was Lagoon Cove. We still marvel at the awesome happy hours with all the free prawns we could eat and all the prawn heads we wanted for crab bait (supplied by owners), successful crabbing, great outdoor crab cooking area with everything needed (supplied by owners), beautiful scenery, great kayaking, loaner bear spray, easy restroom access, super friendly and welcoming owners, Lagoon Cove gear in the Emporium. I may be forgetting something. It was great…really.
I didn’t realize how many of Mike’s Relive videos I hadn’t posted! We so appreciate his efforts. These videos show a different perspective, with a lot of details not captured in my blog posts. (Thanks again, Mike!)
Here you go:
Blind Channel to Toba Wilderness
We are home for a couple of weeks and will head out again in mid-July for the San Juan Islands and Victoria. We are excited to be having the Moor Life crew aboard for some of this time. Drake and Beth, Nick’s cousin and his wife, are the ones that had us aboard their boat in January 2023 from Key West to New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Stay tuned…
Touch of Gray AT362 
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