09/03 - 09/18 - Desolation Sound 2005

Lyle,
Meander and crew hope to be able to join the C-brats for the first week of the desolation cruise. We'd been looking forward to this for a while. Unfortunately a close friend is heading to the terminal stages in his battle with lung cancer. Depending on how long he can continue the fight will determine whether we can make the trip or not. We're hopeful that he can last well past September but we're needing to be flexible about our trip to be able to be there for him and his family.
We just had Meander out for a weekend cruise in the Gulf Islands. Had a fantastic time. We stopped at a low tide clam shell beach between Ruxton and DeCourcy Islands, ( I think this is in one of Catman's pictures) anchored in a bout 2 ft of water and stepped off the swim grid to shore. This has to be one of the best features about a C-Dory. :beer A couple in a boat visiting from Seattle that was anchored out in deeper water even had to swim over to check out how the heck we managed to do that. I told them to sell there deep v and get a C-Dory! :mrgreen:
Hope to see the C-brats in Desolation and share a :beer in September.
Ron
 
Pam and I are still planning on this trip. I will know for sure the end of July if it's two weeks or one. Thinking two at this time.

Will leave River City Monday, September 5 early, driving to Lund or Cambell River and launching the next morning. Haven't any other plans besides getting up there, catching up with the pack somewhere and hanging out.
 
Hope it is two weeks, Tim, since we are only doing the second week, would enjoy cruising with you and learning a fishing tip or two...
True Story":3ia272nk said:
Pam and I are still planning on this trip. I will know for sure the end of July if it's two weeks or one. Thinking two at this time.

Will leave River City Monday, September 5 early, driving to Lund or Cambell River and launching the next morning. Haven't any other plans besides getting up there, catching up with the pack somewhere and hanging out.
Click to expand...
 
Waiting to hear about the results of a special elk hunt drawing Pat, but my chances are slim and I'm not holding my breath.

Pam indicated we were going on a boat trip and not a fishing excursion so most of the fishing gear will be staying home to make room for stuff like food and clothes. Will bring a pole and gear to mooch for salmon and maybe a few jigs for bottom fish and thats it. If you would like, I can e-mail you a list of basic gear you could bring if you wanted to fish. If you already have a pole, it wouldn't take much of an investment to get outfitted.

Tim
 
Tim,
I do a little bottom fishing for smaller fish but have not done any salmon fishing. I would be interested in your basic list. I plan to bring one heavy pole and one medium pole and just a little gear. Don't know if it is worth while to bring a crab trap for desolation - any idea?

Thanks,
Steve
 
Tim,
I don't know what's wrong with these women. They don't seem to want to live with the cockpit full of fishing gear and fish blood for two weeks.

I plan on bringing my downriggers & some salmon gear with me. Some Tomic plugs, Coyote spoons and bait gear. This is the only two weeks of the year that I get to spend some time fishing. I probably fish a little more than Shelley would like, but we compromise on time use. There may be mornings or evenings when we can get in a little fishing even while traveling around.
Lyle
 
Is anyone going to be in Desolation in late August? I expect to be there then and don't know if I'll still be there for the September rendezvous. Late August is a great time to be there. Most boats have left by then and the weather is usually perfect.
 
Scamp, not sure about late August, but I hope you're still around when several of us arrive the first week of September.

Good call, Meander Ron. Indeed, that's Bambina beached on the sand south of Ruxton. I think a prize should be awarded for such perspicacious pupils. I know a river~rat down south who, if you send me your address, will expedite delicious frozen aquatic creatures. Congratulations, and I hope you too can join us while we invite ourselves to play in your back yard. I liked Lyle's invitation to Canadians. Beautiful country, delightful denizens, I hope we can net a bunch of you. And I don't even care if you're lurkers or Brats who just didn't sign up. See you there.

Cute*C, loved your personal photos. Folks, for an appetizer before the September smorgasbord, take a peek at pictures 22 and 23 at cutesie.


Lyle, no way are you getting in my way as leader. Heck, we're all leaders on this gig. My ego, while more detectable than Halcyon Bill's, has been clocked at up to 30 per cent slower than average. I'm going for both weeks, and leaving Skyline Friday September 2nd. Anyone who wants to join me or e-mail me for any reason, feel free.

I think the Broughtons are a big bite, and Nancy H knows of what he writes. Course, your boat is bigger and can more dependably scoot from there south to Desolation. Whatever you decide works for me. Besides, I'm just one piece to our colorful quilt. I like our plan to meet at Gorge Harbor on the 10th, and every other day rallies the second week are realistic because after a while you folks are going to tire of my garlic.

This is going to be a heck of a good time.
 
Hi All,

We are planning on being up there the first week and a couple days into the second. Don has to be back to school by Thursday, I think, so that will give us time to get home and settled back in. We have no idea where or when we will launch. We're just kind of watching what others will do and will try to hook up with someone for the trip up.

Looking forward to all the fun!

Don and Dee

P.S. Since we missed the Christenings at Blakely, would it be appropriate to do it on this trip? Is there anyone who will be there who can help us? We don't know anything about it.
 
Does anybody have any information about cell coverage in the Desolation Sound area? If we're spread out when we get there it might be easier to find one another by cell rather than vhf.

It may be a long shot, but when we were in Barkley Sound last September the cell coverage was great. Better and clearer than at home. There was a cell tower on the tallest hill overlooking the Sound and the signal reached almost everywhere. Hopefully there may be something similar at Desolation Sound.
Lyle
 
Lyle, that would be nice. Just think, crystal clear, spontaneous cell phone conversations with participating Desolation Brats. My dad would have liked that. He and my mom first took the family there in '70. Comparatively funky fone stuff back then.

Does anyone have any experience with cell phones in Desolation?
Sorry, Lyle. I just asked the same question you did. I'm just excited to know the answer.
 
OK, yesterday we sat down to look at meal planning for this gig, and were wondering a few things. How are people thinking about what they are gong to bring from the U.S. versus buy in Canada? We will have a chance to provision up in Nanaimo, but can you buy much in Desolation Sound? I am assuming there are a few marina stores, but it doesn't seem prudent to depend on buying much in Desolation...The Canadian regs we have seen are a bit ambiguous, but seem much more liberal than what the U.S. allows going the other way. Beef, pork and chicken can apparently be brought into Canada in quantities for personal consumption. It at least seems logical to get fresh vegetables and fruit in Nanaimo or in Canada. What about restaurants for the occasional meal out? We have kind of learned to enjoy doing that (particularly on the Chesapeake, eat your hearts out, guys!). Anyway, would love to hear what other folks are planning to do...
 
Nancy H Larry, how did you and your fun first mate meal plan when you were up there recently?
Pat, Refuge Cove, Lund, Big Bay and some other places have small stores, but stocking up in Nanaimo is my plan. And there must be a store and restaurant in Gorge Harbor. Too, last time up I enjoyed three DS restaurants: Big Bay, Cordero's floating four star surprise and Blind Channel. Maybe a trip to Costco before we leave.
 
Shelley's the meal planner in our boat, but I can discuss this a little. When we go to Vancouver Island in September, we always stop in Nanaimo and shop for the trip. B.C. has great sausages, cheeses and wines. I believe better than most of the Northwest. The selection is better than further up the island in Campbell River.

We also plan to eat in restaurants when given the opportunity. Waggoner's gives a rundown on restaurants in different stops. Gorge Harbour apparently has a very good one. Cordero channel area has several. I hope to catch some fish. A good ling cod or salmon helps the larder.

We always buy our fruits and vegetables after we cross the border. Nanaimo is a good sized town and has lots of options for large grocery stores.

I am wondering about packing some of the food we bring from home in a cooler with dry ice. Does anyone have any experience with dry ice? If you us too much will it crack a plastic cooler?
Lyle
 
Catman,

We usually bring all of our canned and packaged groceries with us from the USA and fill in the fresh food from the small stores.

I think the Refuge Cove store has the best selection of produce in Desolation Sound.

Campbell River is the closest place for a full supermarket.

Nanimo had a super market near the city docks. I haven't been there recently so I don't know exact details.

The Desolation Sound area is only busy with tourist boaters in the summer. After that, there are only locals who probably stock up in Campbell River.
 
Thanks, Larry. Heck, if Refuge Cove has the best selection of produce in Desolation Sound, we're in good shape. Refuge, while not centrally located, is pretty darn close to five places I want to visit.
 
Last night I stopped by Shilshole on my way home. Big changes planned for that marina. East of the fuel dock there are finger piers jutting north/south on both sides of the main causeway. An extreme makeover is underway. Stunning sunset, by the way.

At any rate, I picked up a free copy of Northwest Yachting, the oversized local publication which focuses on Pacific Northwest boaters. Included is a feature by noted boat builder Sam Devlin, chronicling his trip from Olympia to Alaska. This month's chapter stops at Port Hardy. I bring this up because he highlights stops in Desolation Sound. One photo shows his group anchored in Teakerne Arm. Refreshing Cassel Lake spills a waterfall at their stern. Grab a copy.
 
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