Every summer there are places we visit that are beautiful, places that are interesting, and a few that stay with us long after we’ve pulled up the anchor.
They aren’t necessarily the grandest destinations or the places everyone tells you that you absolutely must visit. Sometimes it’s a spectacular anchorage. Sometimes it’s what you discover when you take the dinghy ashore. And sometimes you can’t quite explain it; you simply leave thinking; I want to come back here.
We’ve covered a lot of water aboard As You Wish II this summer, and for me these are my five highlights!
These are my Five Places I Visited This Summer That I’d Go Back to Tomorrow!
1. Eveleigh Island, Desolation Sound – For the Anchorage
There is something about anchoring among the islands of Desolation Sound that never gets old, and Eveleigh Island was one of those places where I found myself looking around and thinking, this is exactly why we have a boat.
It gave us what I love in an anchorage: beautiful surroundings, enough protection to settle in comfortably, and that wonderful feeling of being tucked away from the rest of the world. Once the anchor was down and the boat was settled, there was nowhere else we needed to be. It is a short dinghy ride to Prideaux Haven but without the crowds. And the orcas still found us!
2. Von Donop Inlet, Cortes Island – For Getting Away from It All
Von Donop Inlet feels like you’ve travelled much farther than you actually have. The long inlet cuts deeply into the northwest side of Cortes Island, and as you make your way farther inside, the outside world seems to disappear behind you. This isn’t somewhere I’d choose because there is a long list of things to do ashore. That’s precisely the attraction. It’s a place to slow down.
Explore by dinghy. Take the dogs ashore. Make dinner on the boat. Watch the light change on the shoreline. Listen to the sort of quiet you don’t notice until you’ve been away from it for a while. And again, the orcas found us!
3. Tribune Bay, Hornby Island – For the Surprise
I knew Tribune Bay would have a spectacular beach. What I didn’t expect was the provisioning.
We anchored in that gorgeous sweep of water, took the dinghy ashore and discovered that within about a ten-minute walk we could reach Hornby’s little commercial hub.
Suddenly our beach day also included the Hornby Island Co-op, the Gas Bar with hardware downstairs, Ringside Market, the garden shop and Hornby Island Bakery & Pizzeria. And ice cream.
For a boater, this is the kind of discovery that feels disproportionately exciting. You arrive expecting sand and scenery and discover you can also replenish the galley, pick up something you’ve forgotten, find a few treats and have lunch.
Tribune Bay reminded me why I love exploring destinations from the water. You can research an anchorage, study the charts and read all the cruising information you want, but there is nearly always something you don’t discover until you step ashore. And sometimes it’s a really good pizza. I mean, really good.
4. Octopus Islands Marine Provincial Park – For the Exploring
Tucked along the northeast side of Quadra Island, the park is a collection of little islands, narrow passages and protected coves that practically begs you to put the dinghy in the water and go exploring. This is gunkholing at its very best.
We spent hours poking around the islands, slipping through little channels, looking into coves and finding places that you would simply cruise past on a bigger boat. There always seemed to be another corner worth investigating.
Then there is the famous cabin, an old homestead covered with decades’ worth of boat names, plaques, and mementos left behind by visiting boaters. It’s quirky, wonderfully West Coast and feels a little like signing the guest book at the end of the road.
At the back of Waiatt Bay, you can walk the forest trail across Quadra Island to Small Inlet, another beautiful anchorage on the other side. I love a destination that lets me see where I might anchor next from where I’m anchored now.
Octopus Islands reminded me that sometimes the best boating destinations aren’t about what there is to do. They’re about having enough little places to explore that you completely lose track of what time it is. And that may be the very definition of a good day on the water.
5. Roscoe Bay – For the Reward
Roscoe Bay makes you work just a little bit for your anchorage, which may be part of why I like it so much. The entrance is shallow, and you need to watch the tide. This isn’t one of those places where I would simply point the boat toward the bay and wander in without doing my homework. Once you’re through the entrance, though, everything changes.
Inside is a wonderfully protected anchorage surrounded by forest, with much of the anchoring in roughly 20 to 30 feet of water. There are plenty of stern-tie pins along the shoreline, making it a great place to tuck the boat in and settle down for a few days.
But my favourite part of Roscoe Bay is ashore. From the head of the bay, a trail leads through the forest to Black Lake. It’s a beautiful, almost meditative walk, quiet, green and wonderfully removed from everything. At the end is the reward: a freshwater lake that warms up enough in summer for a glorious swim. There is something particularly wonderful about swimming in warm fresh water after days of swimming in salt water.
Roscoe Bay is the kind of anchorage I would return to because the whole experience feels like a little adventure: time the tide, navigate the entrance, secure the boat, walk through the forest and jump into a warm lake. Sometimes the best anchorages make you earn them.
It’s Not Always About the Destination
Five different places to visit for five completely different reasons.
Eveleigh Island reminds me how wonderful it is to simply anchor somewhere beautiful and stay put.
Von Donop reminds me how good it feels to disconnect, to tuck deep into a protected anchorage where the rest of the world suddenly seems very far away.
Tribune Bay reminds me that some of the best parts of boating are the things you weren’t expecting to find at all. In this case, a spectacular beach, great provisioning and a really good pizza.
Octopus Islands is about exploring, gunkholing through little passages, visiting the Cabin of Signs and walking through the forest to see Small Inlet on the other side.
And Roscoe Bay is about the reward. You watch the tide, carefully navigate the shallow entrance, stern-tie the boat and then walk through a beautiful forest to Black Lake for a warm freshwater swim.
Perhaps that’s why I don’t really have a list of the “best” places we’ve visited. I’m not sure such a list exists.
The place I want on a sunny afternoon isn’t necessarily the place I want when the wind comes up. The anchorage I love for three quiet days isn’t necessarily where I want to be when I’m craving somewhere new to explore, a walk ashore or a little civilization.
That’s one of the things I love most about boating in the Pacific Northwest. Within a relatively small stretch of coastline, five anchorages can give you five completely different experiences.
