On August 20th, we left Lund after checking on our fifth wheel trailer and took the pickup truck for a much-needed drive to Powell River and back. After three months boating up to the Broughtons, we were back at our Lund home base. Coming down from the Blind Channel area, we had first stopped in Campbell River for food and fresh water, which is much better than Lund water.
Now we head out for another six weeks of boating around Desolation Sound through the last weeks of summer and into early fall. We wanted a quiet spot with water warm enough to swim off the boat. It started a bit breezy but was supposed to calm once we got into the islands and Desolation Sound.
Just as we rounded the corner, we spotted orcas, the latest in a stretch of good luck seeing them, including on the way down Cordero Channel. We slowed right down, kept our distance with the zoom lenses, and watched them meander along Cortes Island with breaches, spy hops and tail slaps.
The popular Desolation Sound anchorages looked packed, so we skipped them for now and headed down Malaspina Inlet toward Grace Harbour. We never made it there. Instead, we found an empty little anchorage behind the tiny Cochran Islands that we had scouted a couple of years ago.
Anne got in for the first swim of the season even though the water was only 17C with a bit of current. We stayed several days sharing the spot with a couple of other boats, merganser ducks, eagles, ravens and seals. One day, orcas even came into the anchorage.
The shore is loaded with Pacific oysters, and both the provincial and federal sites showed it open for harvest, so I paddled over, collected a bunch, made pan-fried oysters and a layered casserole with crackers, cream of mushroom soup, eggs, green onions, butter and cheddar, then froze extras.
Beautiful, quiet stay. Now we are moving on to find a new location for the end of August. Stay tuned!
Check out the 2026 Boating Season Playlist
