Into the Broughton Archipelago

We enjoyed our visit to Lagoon Cove, but decided to push on into the Broughton Archipelago, so-named for the numerous islands in the vicinity of Broughton Island, itself a very large island.
It was a bit cool and showery as we set out, motorsailing (wind on the nose again) northbound, across Knight Inlet into Tribune Channel. At one point a pod of Pacific Whitesided Dolphins swam by, but didn't come over to the boat to investigate or accomany us, as they often do. Kelcy made up a terrific stir-fry as we continued underway - so far we have had no sign of impending seasickness from her. After proceeding 22 miles we tied up in Kwatsi Bay, and were greeted by 3 other Canadian sailboats already tied up.






Happy Hour at Kwatsi Bay



It is a common practice for such places to have Happy/Appy Hours, so we all sat around the deck of the dock, sharing stories and appies, and consuming a bit of wine & beer. By 1800 we all headed back to our boats and prepared supper....we had some steaks which needed to be bbq'd, so that was dinner. Then a relaxing evening in the cockpit, sipping wine, and visiting with Al, one of the other boaters. Another quiet night, with occasional rainshowers pattering on the deck, was followed by a cool but somewhat sunny morning.
We had a delicious omelette prepared by Shane, for breakfast, before showering and tidying up the boat....then set off back into Tribune Channel, and then southbound in Queen Charlotte Strait, past Viner Sound and into Echo Bay.





This float home has been pulled up onto the rocks at the entrance to Echo Bay, the bay so-named for the effects of the cliffs behind the home.




We arrived by 1300, and met up with Pierre, who runs the marina. We had arranged with him to do some work in exchange for free moorage, so shortly after our arrival we were painting a new verandah on the store. Then it was showers and laundry, and a bit of relaxation time, with internet available. Unfortunately, my calls on Skype seemed to get garbled, in spite of a good wifi signal.






Pierre's Lodge at Echo Bay





So back to emailing and catching up on the Blog. Shane volunteered to repair our sailcover which needed some restitching, and did a very professional job of it. Dinner, wine, and a bit of hot chocolate to round off the evening, and all was well with the world. Although we're presently sitting in very light winds, the forecast is for gale force Southeast late tonight and into the morning, so we may end up staying here and extra day, or head for Alert Bay in the afternoon if the wind has eased enough by then. Stay tuned!