From Hot Springs Cove we went into Clayoquot Sound. Clayoquot Sound is best known for Tofino, the town at its center, but the inlets, channels, and anchorages are wonderful cruising areas.
Our first anchorage was Bottleneck Bay in Sydney Inlet. The bay gets its name from the narrow entrance channel, which looks a little intimidating at first. We found at least 25 feet of water mid-channel and current doesn’t seem to run strongly. Inside is a large, secure, well-protected anchorage.
The next day we headed for Bacchante Bay, which is billed as one of the more scenic anchorages in the area. Along the way we made a quick stop at Young Bay, just south of Bottleneck Bay. A river leads from Young Bay to a large lake, and we wanted to see if it was navigable in the dinghy. Unfortunately it was not…fallen trees blocked the way, but it was fun to explore anyway.
Ashore, a few remnants from a pilchard reduction plant are still visible.
After our brief stop, we continued to Bacchante Bay. Tree-covered mountains rise steeply all around. At the head of the bay, a river flows in and the delta it creates is a good area to explore by dinghy or kayak. The bay itself is huge and the entire thing is shallow enough to anchor comfortably.
The last few days have been rainy and wet, so we’ve spent a bunch of time in front of the computers, catching up on blogging and finalizing the details for the 2018 Slowboat Flotilla to Alaska.
Tomorrow we head to Tofino.