Laura Cove to Refuge Cove

It had been a long time since we last visited Refuge Cove, long enough that our memory of the place was mostly centered on one thing: the store.

That has changed.

Refuge Cove has grown into a much more complete cruising stop, and almost everything we saw was an improvement.

The community is organized as a cooperative, with both residents and local businesses participating as members. That cooperative operates the docks and helps support what has become a surprisingly complete collection of services for such a small place in the middle of Desolation Sound.

the sancuary know as refuge cove

There is fuel, a floating trash dock , a grocery store, gift shop, gallery and restaurant. Water is available on the docks, although there is no shore power. Visiting boats can also tie up for as long as four hours at no charge, which makes Refuge Cove an easy stop for cruisers who simply need to reprovision and move on.

There is, however, a rhythm to the place.

The rush begins around 10:00 in the morning and continues until about 3:30 in the afternoon. Boats arrive, crews scatter ashore to buy groceries or fuel, perhaps have lunch, and then cast off again for their next anchorage.

Come before or after that window and finding a space on the dock is usually much easier.

Naturally, we arrived around noon.

Despite hitting Refuge Cove right in the middle of the busy period, we were still able to find a place for OceanFlyer and tie up.

oceanflyer finds a spot in the cross dock, still room for more

From there, we joined the routine.

We stocked up on groceries, wandered through the gift shop and gallery, filled our water tanks and made a trip to the trash barge. By evening, with most of the daytime traffic gone, things had quieted considerably and we settled onto the restaurant patio for dinner overlooking the cove.

good look at the layout of reguge cove docks

Rather than leave, we decided to stay overnight, paying $2 per foot for moorage.

What struck us most was how useful Refuge Cove has become.

From anchorages throughout Desolation Sound, it is close enough that cruisers regularly make the trip by dinghy. From Laura Cove, where we had spent the previous night, it is an especially easy run. Others arrive by boat from nearby anchorages simply to take on supplies, dispose of trash or enjoy a meal before heading back out.

the cove to the NW is a pleasent anchorage

It has become something of a small oasis for cruisers moving through Desolation Sound.

That was not how we remembered it.

On our last visit, the store was the primary attraction. Today, Refuge Cove feels like a real cruising hub—still small, still informal, but now offering enough services to make it a genuinely useful stop.

the garbage floating dock just off the entrance island. $2 a bag.

Some places we revisit are best left as memories.

Refuge Cove was better the second time around.

We’ll be stopping again.