North of Naniamo- Grace Harbor

Is this wolf poop?

The boat salvage operation

The Shack at the clam garden

The Clam Garden. Lots of calms here. 

The boat salvage operation

The remains of Ian's Fish Fry

Ian on the bow through the Copeland Island Channel

Sunrise out of Naniamo

We headed out of Naniamo on Thursday at 6:00 PM to get across the Whiskey Golf torpedo range in the Straits before it opened for business. The Whiskey Golf area is out of bounds for non-military craft between 8:00 PM and 6:00 PM, so we were happen to clear the far side boundary at 7:50. The crossing over the Straits of Georgia was rolly, but it was a fine ride. Once we got across and headed up past Pender Harbor things got much smoother and much more interesting. As we have been crossing the Straits there has been very little to look at other than waves, now we had some nice scenery with the norther portions of the Sunshine Coast and the Malaspina Strait. We really started to relax once we got past Lund (a tiny harbor) and moved down the Copeland Channel which is a narrow channel between the tiny Copeland Island and the mainland. It would be a great place to have a smaller boat or Kayaks to explore.

As we passed through the Copeland Channel we were hailed by Analiese, Duncan and Cora. They have been traveling on their 26' boat (Aquanaught) for the past week and a half in Desolation Sound and the Broughton Islands. We arranged to meet at the end of the day. We then made our way up to the southern end of Desolation Sound and tucked into Grace Harbor at 3:00 pm. We made great time. The tides and winds worked with us and we cruised at 9 knots much of the way, mostly due to a back eddy up Texada Island. We had a fun evening with Analiese, Duncan and Cora as they shared their wealth of knowledge about the area. Duncan shared his fishing skills with Ian. Ian managed to catch two small flounders and he had them fried up for dinner to go with our homemade pizza. 

Grace Harbor has been our home for the past few days. A wonderful little spot that extends a mile from the Malaspina inlet. It is totally protected from the weather and nestled in a very nice forest of Doug firs and Madrone. When we arrived at the harbor we noticed a sign that said "Danger Oil Spill" written on some plywood, but gave it little notice. It turns out a 50 foot boat burned and sank in the middle of the harbor a few days before. The morning after we arrived the salvage team moved in with two large barges, tugs and a excavator. They entertained the whole bay for the bay. People just hung out in the dingys and kayaks watching from the side lines. It took all day to get most of the boat up and they are working on it still as I type. 

We explored the surroundings by kayak and tender and found an old abandoned shack. Next to the shack was a big flat tidepool area that was exposed at low tide. The flats were filled with clam shells and tiny crabs. Talking with another visitor (who's son worked is an archeologist that worked at the site last year), it turns out the area is a cultural site and is the location of an old native clam bed. The native people modified certain areas along the coast to raise clams. This one was an important site as was the location of many regular gatherings. There were also lots of ripe blackberries within the site and Jeff and Ian stayed busy picking berries for a pie, while Vikki painted. 

The bay is so nice, we are going to spend another day and walk some of the trails, bake a pie and relax a bit more before we head out to the next destination.