Saturna, Wallace and Russell Islands

Anyone paying much attention to the recent posts will notice that I have managed to do a lot of trips aboard Aeolus recently. Well, the boys and I are just back from yet another week of sailing up in the Gulf Islands and have more tales to tell! With the boys on summer break and me not working at the moment, there has been no impediment to getting out for extended periods of time. And of course, my desire for trips is insatiable.

Me on top of Saturna Island, looking South

This latest trip began with a quick night at Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island, as this is the closest good anchorage to the Bedwell Harbor customs dock for Canada entry. The next morning we zoomed through customs and headed over to Winter Cove for a few days at Saturna Island. The winds were calm and so we motored. Winter Cove is a really lovely little hurricane hole of an anchorage. That first day the boys and I played on the beach and went over to Boat Pass to watch the rushing current go through. It's quite a spectacle if you haven't seen it. When flooding, the water rushes out of Winter Cove toward the Straits of Georgia, and reverse for ebb. Speeds can be quite high, and the passageway so narrow, that the hydraulics involved are just wonderful to watch.

Elliott and Owen on top of Saturna looking West

The next day we set out for a walk I had long desired, and that was to reach the high point on Saturna Island that looks west out over the San Juans toward the Olympic mountains. It is a somewhat tedious walk on roads from Winter Cove to the main village, and then a steepish walk up a gravel road to the summit. One way distance was about 5 miles. A quick plug for the village store having a good assortment of tasty treats! Total elevation change for the hike is close to 2,000 feet, because there is a good hill between Winter Cove and the main village you must climb over before beginning the true ascent of the 500 meter peak. The boys powered right up no problem, though we were passed by several cars of people who looked sympathetically out at us as they churned up the road. We pitied them in return. The views at the top are wonderful, of course, and well worth the effort at least once. But having done this, I don't think I'll return too soon as the road to the top and the TV antennae take away from the place feeling wild and the overall experience is not as stunning as much more remote places like on Stuart Island.

Later that day we inflated our two person kayak and I paddled the boys over to Boat Pass in order to play with the current. It was ebbing at the time, and so I paddled hard against the 2-3 knot current to reach the outside. The boys loved it, of course, and we did it twice. The ride back in is a blast, and a no-effort ride.

We left Saturna and Winter Cove and headed up to Wallace Island and Conover Cover for our next few days. This is a sweet little spot and much adored by the cruising masses. There is a rope swing in the north part of the cove and the boys and I love a good rope swing like nobody's business. Elliott and I jumped off that swing many, many times into the lovely clean water of the Cove. We spent a few days here lazing around and swimming and playing frisbee and just being alive. The water temperature here is noticeably warmer than just a few miles south as you are edging towards the truly warmer waters in the northern Straits. Surface readings in the cove said 65 degrees, which is a hell of a lot better than the 50 degrees down in the San Juans.

One bit of adventure we experienced is that for the first time in my sailing life we drug anchor while stern tied. There was a bit of wind hitting the boat on the beam and the tackle drug, to my amazement. We had to act quickly as the cove is tiny and there is really no room for swinging around without hitting the rocks or another boat. I had to reset my anchor with a full 5:1 scope as the bottom there is so completely torn up that there is seemingly no holding. Keep in mind, my ground tackle is a thing of beauty with a 35lb CQR and 3/8 BBB chain. I'VE NEVER DRUG ANCHOR EVER, and we did here at Conover. Keep in mind if you are going there.

A cool thing on Wallace is that one of the old resort houses has been converted into a gallery of boat names over the years. People salvage whatever wood they find and create a sort of plaque with their boat name and maybe their years of visitation. Some of them are fancy and nice enough that I think they were created at home and brought to Wallace.

Met a nice father and boys while there and they quickly became playmates for Elliott and Owen. The owner built his own boat and sails it around the Gulf Islands for a few weeks each summer. She's small and light, which works well for the generally light winds and small seas in the Gulf.

Sunset from Conover Cove, Wallace Island

Finally, we left Wallace and went north around Salt Spring, simply because I love Sansum Narrows, on our way to Russell Island for our first ever visit. Again there was no wind, but the scenery is stunning and we had some helpful current. Having looked over at Russell many times from our stays at Portland Island, I decided it was time to giver her a try. Turns out she is quite a great little gem and I expect she will join our regular circuit in the years ahead. The anchorage is quite large and easy as there is a 30 foot shelf that extends from the NW corner of the island. On this night there were 13 boats with us in the anchorage, and one rude/ignorant enough to anchor well within our turning circle which annoyed me greatly. They were even members of the Vancouver Yacht Club so I think their club would have been ashamed of their behavior.

Russell is I think unique in having a family presence from the homestead days still in the National Park. The park likes to make much of the fact there is a Hawaiian history at this and other nearby islands, but when you read a bit you find out that the people were all intermarried with native people and the European population. Anyway, there is an old homestead that allows descendants of the original families to provide interpretive services. This is a wonderful thing, and really provides a connection to the recent human history of these islands. So many others are reverting to the wild without any sense of their human history, either native or settler.

Looking from Russell north to Salt Spring

There is a short loop trail that goes around the west edge of the island and there are many beautiful beaches and coves and points. It is a paradise for photographers or painters. The beaches are quite special, with white sand and shells. The water is unfortunately frigid, as the island is too far south to benefit from the northern warming, but on that one 90 day you might jump in.

Our trip back to Friday Harbor was highlighted by Elliott seeing a baby Orca jump clear out of the water right behind our boat. When Owen and I turned to look, it did it again!!! Couldn't have been more than 50 yards away.

So another week of sailing in the Gulf Islands of BC and another week of adventure with my boys. Now we get a week at home to prepare for the grand trip of the summer beginning this Friday the 29th: three weeks of sailing up to and around Desolation Sound and back again!! Oh my buddha, I must be dreaming!