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A number of PaNNTOA members are planning to use this year’s rendezvous in Sidney as a jump off for a longer cruise in Canadian waters. Any suggestions for provisioning locations as you head up north? How about “do not miss” anchorages? This will be the first time some of our members have been any further north than Sucia!
How far north do you think you will go? We’ve been to the Broughton’s several times and past Cape Caution once. We’d be glad to share some of our experiences.
If you are departing from Sydney on the trip north you certainly will want to take advantage of the stores there to provision. Thats are as good as you’re going to get. Other good options as you proceed north are Ganges, Ladysmith and Nanaimo, all with decent stores easily accessible from you boat. Once you cross the straits, Pender Harbor has a nicely stocked store. as you go north from there Powell River is good, Lund is fair and then Gorge Harbor becomes the slightly disappointing norm.
Do Not Miss anchorages are plentiful in every direction. Get out the Waggoners!
Port McNeill has a good IGA and laundry near North Island Marina. I don’t think of any laundries in the Broughtons. Food and water were both scarce in the Broughtons last summer.
Refuge Cove just outside of Desolation has laundry, ice cream in the store and a little restaurant. There is an independent barge off the marina where you pay to get rid of your garbage.
North of Cape Caution, you need to be pretty self-sufficient for food, water and spare parts. When we were up there a few years ago, Shearwater had no water and we had to go to Ocean Falls to tank up. Oyster Bay and Discovery Cove (Troup Passage) were two of our favorite secluded anchorages.
Get the Douglass book, Exploring the North Coast of BC, before you go. It is much more helpful than Wagoneers once you get around the Cape.
We’ve been to S.E. Alaska seven times, which necessitated cruising in BC. Agreed with the comment about Sydney is a good provisioning port and Nanaimo is as well. Good store in Pender Harbor once you cross Strait of Georgia. Not too fond of Campbell River. We’ve often anchored in Squirrel Cove in the Desolation Sound area. The Octopus Islands are a favorite anchorage. Port McNeill is good for provisioning and has a boat supply store in walking distance. We like Allison Harbor as a staging spot to go around Caution and then on to Fury Cove or Fry Pan. Bella Bella is good for water and they have a store there. Good anchorages are to be had at Bottleneck Cove, Kutze Inlet, and Lowe Inlet on your way to Prince Rupert. P.R. has good stores and some nice restaurants if you want a break from cooking on board. Agree with the comment of getting the Douglass book Exploring the North Coast of British Columbia. We prefer anchoring to marinas but you have to do laundry and provision once in awhile!
Moonshadow is taking a month and headed to Princess Louisa inlet and points north such as the broughtons.
We found the Dreamspeaker guides a pleasure. The Douglas was execellent, the Dreamspeakers beautiful.
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