Alexander Inlet to Tom Bay

Our destination today isn't far, but the morning is anything but leisurely.

The alarm goes off at seven, and although we don't raise the anchor until nine, those two hours disappear quickly. Showers. Coffee. Launch the dinghy to retrieve the prawn traps. The reward for yesterday's effort is a welcome one—68 beautiful spot prawns. They are cleaned, packed away for tonight's dinner, and the dinghy is hoisted back aboard. With the course entered into the chartplotter, we're finally ready to get underway.

Our route to Tom Bay includes a planned stop at Klemtu, one of the larger First Nations communities along this stretch of coast. We have a simple shopping list: refill a dinghy fuel can, take on about 60 gallons of fresh water, and visit the community's newly opened Band Store.

Before arriving, we call the fuel dock on VHF Channel 6 to make sure our plan fits with their schedule. The dock attendant couldn't have been more welcoming. We quickly topped off one fuel container, then filled our water tanks with what has earned a reputation among cruisers as excellent drinking water.

The real highlight, however, turns out to be the new Band Store.

The modern building opened only last month, and we had heard favorable reports from other boaters. Even so, it exceeded our expectations. The store is bright, spacious, and remarkably well stocked. Like most grocery stores serving remote coastal communities, there are a few empty shelves from time to time, but the produce looked fresh, the meat selection was impressive, and the overall selection was better than we anticipated.

impressive new band store at klemtu

One thoughtful addition over the previous store is a small café attached to the market. Freshly baked muffins proved impossible to resist, so we picked up a couple to enjoy as an early lunch while underway.

As we continued toward Tom Bay, the persistent high-pressure system remained firmly in control. The skies were a flawless blue, yet the horizon had taken on the familiar smoky haze that often accompanies long periods of summer high pressure. Nearby mountains stood out in crisp detail, while those farther away gradually faded into soft blue silhouettes.

Boat traffic remained almost nonexistent. We crossed paths with only a single cruising yacht during the day, and as we departed Klemtu, a lone 25-foot sailboat was just arriving at the fuel dock. Encounters like these are a reminder of how quickly the crowds disappear once you venture beyond the more popular cruising routes.

Tom Bay is less of a destination than a convenient overnight stop that fits tomorrow's schedule. Still, we've learned that even the simplest anchorages can surprise you. When we visited in June of 2024, three black bears wandered the shoreline, providing an evening's entertainment from the cockpit.

Tom Bay looking west to mathieson channel

you cannot see the old logging roads from the anchorage

the old log dump is the only feature of past looging you can still see

Being nearly a month later in the season, we aren't expecting a repeat performance.

A quiet anchorage, another dinner of fresh spot prawns, and perhaps one more colorful sunset will be more than enough to end another memorable day on British Columbia's central coast.