Octopus Islands, Neville Bay

 

We are now back to the more crowded side of things. This big, beautiful bay has about 25 boats at anchor. Such an easy spot, but tricky to get to. Lots of room - 45 feet of water everywhere - really well protected. Our passage down Johnstone Strait today was interesting and thankfully, uneventful. Vancouver called it the nastiest stretch of water in the world. The wind funnels down the strait and the currents are very strong. On one side of the Straits we had a 3.5 knot push going our direction, on the other side a large eddy line and 3.5 knots going the other way. The wind and current were with us today, but if the current and wind oppose each you can have 30 knots of wind, 3 foot vertical waves, whirlpools and enough current to overwhelm a small boat. Conditions can change in a few hours. At the far end of the Strait, Seymore Narrows can run up to seventeen knots with whirlpool rapids. During Vancouver’s explorations there was an enormous rock right in the middle of the Narrows. The Canadians blasted it out early last century. We sailed today - downwind with the current, but I can’t image trying to explore these waters without an auxiliary engine. The currents, tides, and rapids must have been tough on those early sailboats. Many were lost. We’ll stay here and hike for a few days. There’s a nice swimming lake and lots of little islands to explore by dinghy.