Pruth Bay to Millbrook Cove

With rain settling in for the next several days, it seemed like a good opportunity to make some southbound progress.

Our destination today was Millbrook Cove, with a predetermined bailout option if the conditions deteriorated before we reached Smith Sound. Fortunately, that contingency never came into play.

The run down Fitz Hugh Sound could hardly have been better. A favorable current gave us a welcome push, the wind remained light, and the seas were mostly calm. Once we cleared the southern end of Calvert Island and became exposed to the Pacific, the swell built as expected, but never to the point of making the ride uncomfortable. It was one of those days that reminds you why weather windows are worth waiting for—a perfect opportunity to put some miles behind you.

Millbrook Cove, just inside Smith Sound, is a convenient staging anchorage for boats preparing to round Cape Caution. Although it appears small on the chart, we found considerably more room than expected. We followed a sailboat into the anchorage, joining one boat already at anchor. By nightfall, five boats had comfortably settled in, and with careful anchor placement we believe the cove could accommodate another boat or two if necessary.

Millbrook Cove

For those planning a visit, a few observations may be helpful. The drying flat to the northwest extends all the way to the old pilings, and the drying area to the north-northwest reaches farther than it first appears.

Boats seem to split almost evenly between the two available entrances. The passage between the larger islet and the mainland is the more direct route, but it is shallower and should be transited with appropriate attention to the tide. The alternate entrance, between the two islets, is deeper but requires a more deliberate approach. Favor the larger islet, delay the turn to starboard until well into the gap, and give the western point of the smaller islet a generous berth. The charted depths hint at this, but cutting the corner at lower stages of the tide brings the bottom much closer than most skippers would find comfortable.

Following that deeper route between the two islets, our sounder never displayed less than 30 feet, with the tide at +3.0 feet referenced to Leroy Bay.