Bend Island to Lagoon Cove

Bend Island turned out to be a delightful anchorage and we had a peaceful night.

Calm weather makes almost any anchorage drama free. However, we did very much enjoy the views and the interesting rock formations that line the shorelines.

sunrise bend island

low water reveals the rocks in bend island anchorage

drying bar in bend island pass looking north

one more view of the bend island anchorage

Next stop is Lagoon Cove, our second visit this trip. Why?  Because we like it so much and we really want to support Dan and Kelly maintain Lagoon Cove as a premier stop for cruisers in the area.

Unlike our first visit in May, where we were alone for the first day, Dan said they are fully booked for the two days we will be here, including the “honeymoon/overflow” dock. Always good to have reservations! Karen especially loves the fact that you can book online, so it’s easy with Starlink.

perfeectly calm day enroute to lagoon cove

Dan manages the dock space extremely well. He always has a plan, making visits stress free. He and Kelly or their staff are always there to catch lines. It’s a truly welcoming marina.

We like to arrive earlier in the day (before lunch), when boats from the previous night have departed but before the afternoon crowds arrive. We took on some water, did a bunch of boat chores, worked on the blog and prepared our happy hour contribution. We call it Lagoon Cove dip, because I developed it a few years ago on these very docks, and it’s always a hit.

Happy Hour was delightful, as always, with a wide range of edibles including the prawns supplied by Dan and Kelly. We stayed on the deck for a long while, happily ensconced under an umbrella and chatting with dock neighbors.

a good time is had by all at the lagoon cove happy hour

Pearl Pass to Bend Island

Today we are going to take a roundabout route to our destination, Bend Island in Clio Channel. We want to see some whales so we’re taking a detour through Blackfish Sound.

fog cleaning in pearl pass, one of the beautiful views in this anchorage

It was a reasonably calm day, so it was comfortable to drift at idle in the Sound. We were soon rewarded by seeing a humpback and her calf. We watched for an hour as they fed just off Compton Island.

mom and calf in blackfish sound

Another feature of Blackfish Sound (which is not always visible) is the breathtaking scenery. Snow capped mountain ranges to the East and Vancouver Island mountains to the West. Clear skies and unlimited visibility made for a delightful spot to stop and watch Mother Nature’s glory.

We went briefly out into Johnstone Strait before turning off into Baronet Passage. Currents were not favorable, so we had a slow ride. There was very little traffic, though we saw some AIS targets in Potts Lagoon as we passed by.

Our destination for the night is Bend Island. This anchorage puts us close to Lagoon Cove, our next stop – where we like to arrive reasonably early as the docks are less crowded.

Bend Island is new to us. Karen read about it in the Waggoner Guide.  There are anchorages in both the east and west ends just off the drying area behind the island. We chose the east end, which was more favorable given the winds and fetch in Clio Channel.

oceanflyer anchored in east end of bend island

The drying area behind the island is very well defined on the charts and depending on the tide height, you can clearly see the line of demarcation between drying area and deeper water through distinct changes in water color.

low tide bings the drying areas into focus

The key to anchoring here is determining the balance between water depth and distance back to the drying shoal. We anchored in 50 feet at high tide and put out 200 feet of rode. That was enough to keep us off the shoal and our swing circle just within the width of the anchorage. In anchorages such as this, the boat often tends to just move back and forth in the center of the channel with very little movement towards the shorelines, so we weren’t too worried.

We anchored early enough in the day that we saw a full tide change and confirmed how the boat moved in the current and winds. It was a strange picture, as rather than facing into the wind with our stern to the drying shoal, we often set crosswise in the channel, bow and stern to the rocky shorelines.

we’ll be back to Bend Island anchorage

Rather than set an anchor circle on the Garmin MFD, I set an anchor polygon with the left and right sides narrower than the front to back. That way, especially when sitting crosswise, if we got an unexpected move toward one of the shorelines, we would get an alarm in plenty of time to react.

We were, once again, all alone in this anchorage. It has very a remote feeling despite being not far off Johnstone Strait or from Lagoon Cove.

Monday Anchorage to Pearl Pass

We had a good night in Monday Anchorage. There is some fetch that can be felt, but it was minimal and did not bother us.

Today we are off to anchor in Pearl Pass and visit Mimkwamlis , an abandoned First Nations site on Village Island.

Pearl Pass is an unusual “anchorage”.  We have visited often, first learning about it in the Dreamspeaker guide. We have never found another boat in this anchorage. It simply does not look like your typical place to set the hook. With Crease Island and Mound Island anchorages close by, it’s easily overlooked. Pearl Pass became a favorite before Starlink because it had reliable cell service. We would anchor here and catch up on work, back in the day.

the view to the west from pearl pass

The obstructions are well marked and if you enter at low tide, you get a better look at the kelp patches. Anchor in 15-20 feet with good holding, although set your anchor with a soft tug.

The biggest problem with the anchorage is finding a spot amongst the crab pots. We’ve always made it work, but it takes a moment to scope out all the parameters. So be patient, and you’ll find your spot.

The views in all quadrants can be spectacular on a clear day like today.

loooking east into pearl pass

Pearl Pass is also a great base to visit Mimkwamlis [“village with rock and island out front”], most often referred to as Mamalilikulla, which is really the name of the First Nation tribe associated with the uninhabited village. It’s their ancestral home. It’s only about a mile away from Pearl Pass by dinghy. You could also anchor the big boat in the bay off the docks.

very nice dock at Mimkwamlis

Visiting Mimkwamlis requires permission, as the uplands are protected Indian Reserve land. You can get permission via an online request to the Mamalilikulla First Nation Band office. There is a fee to tie up your dinghy ($1/foot) and a $20 fee per person to visit. Most of the remains are from the early twenty century when the village was abandoned. So, no ancient relics, but we nevertheless always find it interesting to visit historical places.

it an easy process to gain permission to the site

As you walk along the path with the falling structures  and longhouse remains on your left and the drying bay on your right you can use your imagination to see what this settlement must have been like. Like many settlements,  they have a defense against raiding parties making a surprise attack. In this case it is a large drying bay that helps protect vessels from landing on the near shore in all but the highest tides.

mother nature is winning the battle on the man made structures

loooking back toward the bay in front of Mimkwamlis

counld not find out if this is a modern structure or has an older history

Our one disappointment was that there was no information about the the history of Mimkwamlis on-site. We hope this is added so visitors understand more about where they are.

large beach reveals as the tide goes out. eventually the whole bay dries

abanoned engine is becomming part of the beach

a guided kayak tour visits Mimkwamlis

the drying bay in from of the settlement

As we were leaving, the Band’s guardian boat docked. We spent a while chatting with the lead guardian who is running the program. He lived in Mimkwamlis as a child and has some great insight about life there. We enjoyed speaking with him, as it added much needed history to our visit.

We took the dinghy in a narrow rocky passage in an attempt to approach the beach in front of the village. Like Haida raiders in the past, we were kept away by rocks and very shallow water!

Sullivan Bay to Booker Lagoon

It’s been a long time since we visited Booker Lagoon – about 17 years –  so this year it is on our list of stops.

nice ride on the way to booker lagoon

The lagoon is guarded by a narrows. It’s short but has a dogleg approach from Cullen Harbour, making for a blind entrance until you make the 90-degree turn. Therefore, a Sécurité call is in order going both ways.

To predict the slack water, we use Alert Bay about ½ hour after either high or low.

We accidentally miscalculated slack, and entered with about 2kts of adverse current, with enough swirlies that we needed to add a bit of power. We saw 14’ at 11:59am on an 6-foot tide.

We had our choice of lagoon “arms” to anchor in,  but we went with our previous favorite, a one-boat cove in the NNW corner, protected by a small islet and drying area.

out spot in the one boat cove

looking our from our anchorage

another view shows two of the other arms in booker lagoon

one more view

cozy in booker lagoon

Eventually all the arms had a boat or two in them, but because they are so large, no one was lacking enough space.

We did our typical circumnavigation to check out our neighbors and scout for other locations we might like to try on our visit. The only other spot that appealed was the small cove just around the corner from the narrows in the SE corner. It has the added feature of looking out to the narrows so you can watch boats pass in or out. It is also seems to offer protection from SW winds, which our favorite spot does not. It also hangs on to the sunshine later into the afternoon. A smaller Grand Banks was anchored there, and we chatted about the Broughtons for a while before moving on.

We then went back though the narrows to check the current flows closer to max. We went through just fine in the dinghy. The outer harbour, Cullen, was full of boats. While views from there are pretty, we aren’t sure why boats prefer to anchor in a crowd out there and be exposed to fetch. Next, we explored the other “entrance” to the lagoon. It located between Long Island and Broughton Island. At 3:40pm we saw 13’ on an 8.7-foot tide. It is narrow and best transited in a small shallow draft boat or dinghy. But fun to explore, nevertheless.

The lagoon is large – our tour was 8.6 nautical miles and took us about 2 hours to complete.

Sullivan Bay Lay Day

The big event this morning is cinnamon buns. We placed our order yesterday. Scoping out the general store door via binoculars, Karen was at the store right at 9am, harvesting the sweet treats as the trays were brought into the store from the restaurant.

They were much better than we remembered from two years ago, and rank them at the top of all marina cinnamon buns. A quick nuke, some butter, and all is well with the world.

cinnamon buns on board this fine morning

Our decision to stay a second night was driven by the opportunity to eat off the boat. Karen had reached out to Sullivan Bay earlier in the year to learn the days the restaurant was open. We signed up for dinner when we made moorage reservations, and were happy to find out Friday is prime rib dinner. Rumor has it that we will not be alone as they are sold out tonight for dinner.

In the afternoon, after completing boat chores and walking the docks, we were sitting in the saloon working on the blog when Karen called out “whales breaching!”

Sure enough, out in the bay were two whales breaching. Not once, not twice but both continued multiple times. After a prolonged display of breaching, they turned to flipper slapping. Again, many, many slaps were made by both animals. Next came tail slapping, as one whale started to swim off the other followed in a nose down attitude and gave a continuous display of tail slapping. We lost count at 20. Crowds formed on the docks to watch the action.

In 21 years of cruising the PNW, that was undoubtedly the most amazing display of breaching, flipper and tail slapping we have ever witnessed.

To top off the day, we enjoyed the prime rib dinner held every Friday in season. It was a full house and the meal was very, very good. Even Karen, who is not a red meat person, really enjoyed her meal. The menu was prime rib, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans or broccoli, Yorkshire pudding, Caesar salad and a dessert of fig cake, with a creamy layer topped by a toffee glaze. Kudos to Chef Mark!

great service and great food at sulivan bay

sunset view from sullivan bay