Pierless Blog - 2026-05-31 Port McNeill to Allison Harbour

May 31th - Sunday- Departure Time 5:30 a.m.   37 Nm Traveled 

We left Port McNeill at 5:30 a.m. in clear/calm conditions.  The ebb current pushed us NW past Malcom Island and into Queen Charlotte Strait.  This crossing puts us back on the mainland side, away from and north of Vancouver Island.  Our destination is Allison Harbour, a good staging location for rounding notorious Cape Caution on our way north.  It has lots of room for many boats, so the odds of finding no room are pretty slim.  This is often a consideration in this area where anchorages become fewer and smaller.  If you arrive to find no room, you may have to push on for hours to the next anchorage...

Leaving Port McNeill

Route to Allison Harbour

Our route to Allison Harbour take us in a northwest direction, pretty much into the wind.  We motored, motor-sailed and sailed part of the way.  It became exciting when the wind freshened and we had to reduce sail!

Dave at the helm

Nice to be sailing for a change!

We arrived at Allison Harbor in the mid-afternoon.  There was only one sailboat at the anchorage, so plenty of room.  There are many places to explore within the harbour.  Lagoons, inlets, etc.  Unfortunately, we were too tired to "play", so took a nap.  We did meet our neighbors.  They motored over in their dinghy on their way to explore one of the lagoons.  They happened to be from Bellingham.  Our neighbor boat at McNeill was also from Bellingham.  What are the odds?

Allison Harbour - from Cruising with Phoenix

It was a quiet and restful night as we prepared for another early departure.  I think we are both looking forward to shorter days and more exploring along the way.