The Joy of Desolation

The rain is gently falling on the roof, dripping off the rails to the water below. Water that revealed jellyfish coming up to the surface at the sound of our generator as it charged the batteries for the night. It’s easy to understand why Prideaux Haven is a favorite anchorage in the Desolation Sound area. After the eight hours spent working our way up the British Columbia shoreline from Pender Harbor, it is a stark and welcomed introduction to the different feeling you get in the Sound. As a huge marine park, it contains lots of small bays and protective islands that leave all varieties of anchorages for spending a quiet night. And no developed shoreline.

It took five days to get here. Of course the first two of those days was spent touring a bit of the San Juan Islands with Kent and Mariah with their three mates-in-training. They helped us pack the boat with supplies and luggage, and learning where things were and how they worked. Our chariot for this trip is a 46 foot DeFever of traditional trawler design, with a walk-around side deck and flybridge and lots of cabinet space. Ideal for a crew of seven.

We navigated the range of the San Juan islands to reach Reid Harbor, of Stuart Island, nearly the closest island to the Canadian Border. After anchoring, Kent’s family took the dinghy and hunted for treasure along the shore. Kent and Jansen even jumped in the water at the end of the day for a very quick swim. Not as cold as Superior, they reported, but most of us were dubious. We also circumnavigated San Juan Island the next day in search of killer whales. In a previous trip with Eric we stumbled across them in the same area, but not this time. 

After sending them off on a ferry back to their car for part two of their vacation, we went on to Nanaimo to pick up Evelyn so we could celebrate her very recent retirement on board as we explored remote landscapes where mountains meet water. The crossing of the Strait of Georgia, which can sometimes be a bit rough from wind and waves, was a bit rough from wind and waves. Fortunately, Hele Mai was equipped with stabilizers that helped smooth the trip.

Following smooth waters in the lee of Welcome Passage and Texada Island, we ended our day in Pender Harbor at the little community of Madeira Park. It was there we had the first “discovery,” a beautiful resort that included a very fine restaurant with very, very fine food with an outstanding view of the harbor from their balcony. Discoveries, in this sense, are places, sights, or phenomena you don’t expect at all, that dramatically flavor your experience. We usually stumble on several during a voyage like this.

The following day was another relatively long voyage to enter the destination inherent in all those hours of planning and dreaming this past winter - Desolation Sound. The Sound itself is the largest marine park on the pacific coast of Canada, with lots of totally or partially enclosed anchorages protected by high cliffs, islands, or mountainsides. It is tranquility defined, as we experienced during our one night stay in Melanie Bay, part of Prideaux Haven. 

A kayaking trip Evelyn and I took the next morning during a very low tide revealed that which lies below the surface of the sea. All kinds of organisms like the purple ochre sea star and their abundant mussel food source unintentionally drying themselves, waiting for the return of their habitat. There is little as peaceful as the sound of a kayak paddle pulling water in the quiet of nature, when surrounded by a rain forest in the lee of sea coast mountains. 

But Desolation Sound represents an entire cruising playground that replicates the best of the sound over a very broad area filled with inlets, passages, islands, coves, and bays. That’s what we’ll be spending the next week exploring, looking for those surprise discoveries.