Pierless Blog - 2025-06-18 - Von Donop Inlet to Refuge Cove

 June 18:

As much as we enjoyed Von Donop, it was time to move on.  By now, we had a good routine for loading the dinghy on deck and the paddle boards into their cradle.  Once loaded, we fired up the engine and began raising the anchor.  It came up clean (as it has at most of our anchorages so far), and we were soon motoring down the inlet toward Sutil Channel.  Today's goal is Refuge Cove on West Redonda island, a trip of about 17 nautical miles which should take four hours.

We departed at 7:15 to hedge on the current through Lewis Channel.  We knew the tides, but did not have information on current direction at this time, so we timed our departure toward the next tide change.  This way, if we were lucky, we would have a following current for a couple of hours.  If we were wrong, we only had foul current for two hours.

No wind - On way to Refuge Cove

The morning was clear and windless.  Heavy haze of the past week gave depth to the mountains as we motored along.  Other than the drone of the engine, it was a still and peaceful start to the day.  Our plan was to round the north end of Cortez Island and head southeast down Lewis Channel.  We guessed wrong on the current, so had 1 - 1.5 Kts against us as we started down the channel...

Lewis Channel proved to be a pleasant surprise.  It is a deep fjord with a steep rocky shores dotted with many rocky cliffs.  We were able to motor 200 feet from shore in depths often exceeding 500 feet!  There were many eagles along the way as well.  We observed two mature bald eagles along the shore as a third eagle that we thought might be a golden flew at them.  Expecting some kind of territorial dispute, we were surprised that it was a juvenile who landed next to the adults with no ensuing drama.

Pierless at the Refuge guest dock

As the current changed, we picked up speed toward Refuge Cove.  Arriving at noon, we topped off our fuel tank, moved Pierless to the guest moorage area and settled in for a rest day in "civilization".  At this point, "civilization" means a general store, laundry and showers!

General Store at Refuge Cove

We enjoyed lunch and a beer at the restaurant, explored the docks, store and other facilities, then relaxed on the boat.  

Refuge Cove Restaurant

As at New Castle, Refuge Cove had nesting boxes for Purple Martins.  They are the largest of the swallow family and are very social.  Preferring to nest in groups, they appear to enjoy sitting on their "verandas" to socialize and watch the world.  Their call is quite melodic and it was fun watching them in the harbor.  Dave plans to build nests for them at his home in the near future.

Purple Martins

Pierless at guest dock (top center)

Refuge Cove

Refuge Cove

- Brian

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments are now open to everyone.

Popular posts from this blog

Pierless Blog - 2025 - Vancouver Island Circumnavigation

Image
 Pierless Adventures - Vancouver Island 2025 I bought Pierless in Mazatlan, MX.  In 2023, I sailed north from Mazatlan, leaving the boat in Ventura California.  Last year I finished the trip north, bringing Pierless home to Washington after 3,000 miles of solo sailing. This year I will enjoy taking trips that I want to do versus trips I have to do - starting with a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island during the month of June.  This is a good month for the trip as fog won't be as prevalent, days will be longer and the coastal winds have made their shift to the NW, allowing for better sailing home on the outer coast.  The plan is to circle the island counter-clockwise to make the best use of these winds.. I will have company on this trip in the person of Dave.  He will meet me in Anacortes where I keep the boat.  We plan to move north on the east coast of the island quickly.  Once in the vicinity of the Broughton Marine Provincial Park, we will slo...
Read more

Pierless Blog - 2025-06-11 - Launch

Image
 Day 1, June 11: It has been a frustration 10 days...  One of the pre-launch projects was to install a new propeller shaft.  There were several problems with how the new shaft was manufactured and after three attempts we decided to just go with the old shaft and deal with the new one after the trip.  This change in perspective was thanks to Tracy when we told her we were likely to cancel the trip entirely.  Her wise comment was "why not just put the old one back in?  It got you here from Mexico."  Sometimes you can get too close to a problem and need a little independent perspective...  Pre Launch Due to tides, our launch was scheduled for 4 p.m.  No problems with the launch (leaks, engine, etc.), so we headed out of Anacortes determined to make as many miles as possible before dark.  We selected a few possibilities to choose from, depending on our speed along the way.  Our hope was to make it to Canoe Island near the east side of S...
Read more

Pierless Blog - 2025-06-19/20 - Refuge Cove to Laura Cove/Desolation Sound

Image
 June 19-20: We left Refuge Cove at 10:30 a.m. for Laura Cove in Desolation Cove.  This would be short but pleasant trip of about 13 NM or about 3 hours, and would be our first anchorage in Desolation Sound proper.  The provincial park is fairly large, but this section is the most frequented area of the park. Passing Martin Islands We made the most of the short trip, passing inside the Martin Islands then between Morgan and Melville islands.  I do enjoy passing close to land when depths allow!   Morgan and Melville Islands Threading William and Scobell Islands Laura Cove is a real gem in the Desolation Sound archipelago- smaller than other anchorages and well protected.  We wove our way through the channels and rocks to our anchorage toward the end of the cove.  There were two other boats at the anchorage and everyone was stern-tied.  Stern-tying is an effective way to accommodate more boats in an anchorage.  You drop your anchor, then b...
Read more