Lasted Visited 9-5-08
Reasons to Visit
- Good place to escape from Wells Passage when the wind and waves are working against your boat.
- Although the Lagoon is large, there are some nice cozy anchorages to be found
- Good Holding
- Good Kayaking, but it takes a bit of paddeling to explore the large Lagoon.
- The challenge of Booker Passage
Minus
- You have to go though Booker Passage.
- Once you in you need to wait for the tide before you can leave.
Things to Do
- Relax
- Explore via Dinghy or Kayak
- Prawing
Location
Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia
Approach
The entrance channel to Booker Lagoon is straight forward until to get to Booker Passage. If you do not want to negotiate Booker Passage into the main Lagoon, there is an anchorage on the West side of the channel just South of the entrance to Booker Passage. (see anchor symbol on the chart below) This is a popular spot so you cannot always be assurad that space will be available.
Booker Passage does require careful planning to arrive at high slack.
It's a one boat passage so be certain to announce your attention before entering the Passage from either direction. You cannot see the other end of the passage so before you commit make certain there is no oppposing traffic. Being such a narrow passage, you cannot trun around if you meet a boat coming on a reciprocal heading.
We calcualted High Slack tide by adding 10 minutes to the High Tide at Alert Bay. At High Slack, the current was not a factor in the passage.
The route though the Booker Passe is narrow adn is not a straight line. Pay close attention to your charts and post a spotter on the bow. As you'll see from the video of our Eastbound exit though the Passage you are sometime pointing directly at an obstruction before making a turn to stay in the channel. Go a slow as you can while making headway and maintaining good steerage.
Booker Lagoon entrance - NOT FOR NAVIAGTION
The Entrance to Booker Lagoon via Booker Passage -NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Booker Lagoon is a large, well protected refuge from Wells Passage. The lagoon is surrounded by a number of coves that provide for cozy anchorages. After poking our bow into all the suitable anchorages, we chose the small cove in the Northeast corner of the Lagoon. We like to be along on the hook, and the small size of the cove seemed the perfect place to seek solitude.
booker_lagoon
Booker Lagoon -NOT FOR NAVIGATION
We anchored so our boat was about 80-100 yards from all obstructions. This position gave us plenty of room to swing and a great view back out to the large Lagoon.
Booker Lagoon anchorage detail - NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Northeast Corner Cove Anchorage -NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Stop-Motion Video of Booker Passage Going Eastbound- Click Image to View Video - NOT FOR NAVIGATION
This video was recorded at High Slack tide. Some, but not all, hidden obstructions are marked in red.