We like backpacking and camping, so we were looking forward to the remote locations and scenic wonders of the The Broughton archipelago, an area north of Vancouver island, just before you enter Queen Charlotte Strait and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. What we quickly discovered, however, is that while being “off the grid” for your vacation can be a welcome respite, trying to live your life that way becomes a bit more challenging. And, the same remoteness that meant few boats in the anchorages, also meant limited shore side developments – in many cases, we couldn’t even get onto shore because the forest was so thick and there were no trails. Despite the challenges, we still saw some amazing scenery and wildlife, and had some adventures with new friends.
A trip to the Broughton’s begins with navigating some tide driven rapids and the Johnstone Strait. As with the other rapids, the key is to arrive at slack water. But, with the Johnstone Strait, the additional wrinkle is to ensure that you also don’t have a wind against current situation, which can quickly form large standing waves (we’d gotten a taste of that with Ellie in English Bay, and didn’t want to repeat it). In general, in the summer, the wind flows strongly from the NW down the strait, but every so often, a low pressure system causes the wind to switch from the SE. So, the travel up the strait requires navigating a complex interplay of wind forecasts (often wrong), current forecasts (sometimes wrong), and locations of overnight anchorages.
Our path northward took us the “back way” up Beazley Passage and the surge narrows where we stopped at Waitt Bay for a great hike to crystal clear Newton Lake for a freshwater swim, to Shoal Bay where we saw a lighting started fire on the hillside, to Blind Channel Marina where we had a great meal at their restaurant.
Our first real Broughton stop did not disappoint, in Kwatsi Bay we were treated to towering cliffs and an enormous black bear right on shore behind our boat. At the next stop, in Simoom Sound, the only other boat there happened to be the same one that was at Kwatsi, so we got to meet Bill and Anne Knox aboard Mystic Dancer, a Fleming 53. They invited us over to dinner, but at the arranged time Anne showed up at our boat in her kayak explaining that Bill was missing in action! An avid fisherman and prawner, Bill had taken his dinghy several miles away and the engine died. No one else entered the sound for hours so eventually he called the Victoria coastguard (thank goodness he had a radio onboard), and the coast guard eventually was able to contact Anne via their Starlink internet (more on that later). We managed to go find him and used Ol’ Stinky to tow his dinghy back home. We still got to have that salmon dinner, and it tasted all the better after that adventure!
The furthest north we got was Turnbull Cove, and while beautiful, like the other spots there was no cell coverage and not much way to get ashore (the forests here are DENSE). We did meet Jim and Linda anchored on a Nordhavn 52 right behind us, and over cocktails Jim told us all about their Starlink internet (Jim is a pretty impressive engineer). While originally we had scoffed at the idea of needing to be connected at all times, we have recognized the importance of staying connected to family and friends while we’re out here. Since the boat is also our home, it’s important to be able to do routine things like banking and finding YouTube videos about how to fix stuff on the boat. Not to mention watch the occasional World Cup game. So, Starlink is probably in our future, we just need to figure out how to mount the antenna and power it.
After a couple weeks in the Broughton’s, we needed some groceries so we headed off to Port McNeil, where in addition to stocking up on produce and paper towels, we took the ferry over to nearby Alert Bay where we saw a traditional dance performance, and Sointula where we took a rainy hike through bogs and ancient forests. Also in Port McNeil, we wandered into a whale conservation office, where we showed them some photos and videos of whales we took in Wells Passage just before our gorgeous sail across Queen Charlotte Strait. Not only were they able to identify the whales as a mother and calf humpback, but by using the distinctive coloring on the underside of the fluke, they could tell us ours was a specific Humpback named Guardian, who had been visiting these waters since 2013. It was amazing to learn about these incredible mammals and so special that we got to see them while under sail so close to the boat.
Once leaving Port McNeil, we entered the Broughton Provincial Marine park itself, which is characterized by hundreds of tiny islets, all with 2 or 3 trees and not much else. We took our paddleboard to have picnics on several of them while watching the sunset near Waddington Bay and Crease Islands, and this was a real highlight of the trip. We finished up with a spot in the marina at Lagoon Cove, famous for their all you can eat prawn happy hour! And they even had a trail ashore you could hike, so of course we did that as well (no bears luckily!).
Overall, we loved our time in the Broughton’s, but I think we were surprised to find that we missed some development – trails, things to do on shore, even a small town – and also the connection to family and friends that in today’s world relies on the internet. So, we learned that we might be more “city mice” than we thought, even if we still love the scenic beautify and solitude of remote areas.
Next up, we're leaving the cold water, often rainy Broughton's and headed for the warm waters of Desolation Sound, where Brett's dad is flying in by seaplane to meet us.
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