Owner of a lonely heart

July 15, 2020. Bottleneck Cove to Bacchante Bay. 12.3 NM

 

The blue sky was gone when I woke up this morning, replaced by a low, thick fog. It wasn’t raining, though, and it had the feel of something that might burn off as the sun warmed up the day. Sure enough, by about 0730, patches of blue started to break through. I waited for awhile to bring up the anchor, but by 0930, some wind was starting to get into the anchorage. It’s a lot easier to bring the anchor up when it’s calm, especially when I’m doing it on my own, so I set about getting ready to go. I decided to raise the main in the anchorage, with the promise of some wind out in the channel. Navigating back through the narrow entrance of bottleneck cove with the added windage of the sail was a calculated risk, but it all went fine. The tide was up, and there was more room than when I came in the night before.

I turned into Sydney inlet, against a pretty stiff headwind as I headed back towards open water, but I didn’t bother to tack, since I knew I would be turning again soon, and the wind would change. Sure enough, as I turned west into Shelter Inlet, the wind died, then came alive again directly behind me. I pushed the sail out, and got a nice motor sailing assist as I made my way around fishing boats and crab pots scattered here and there. The day warmed up. For the first time since we left Nanaimo, I didn’t need my full sailing pants, and I was warm enough in shirt sleeves. The full enclosure is finally open, and the fickle wind made its way through the cockpit without resistance. Around every point the wind either changed speed, or direction, or both. I used it when I could, though, and made good time to the end of the inlet, and rising peaks that marked Bacchante Bay.

Among those mountains somewhere is Bacchante Bay

As I came through the entrance, all I could think was, “Wow!” Tall peaks rose straight up either side of the bay, and the end was marked by a large, grassy creek delta, green in the sun. I dropped the anchor just a bit to the west of midline, and took a break. I was feeling pretty tired, so I took a break, and made lunch. Getting some food in me provided some energy, and I fired up the watermaker, planning on a shower later this evening. The solar kept the batteries full as the watermaker ran, and it was fun to know that in effect, I was turning sunshine into fresh water.

As the watermaker hummed away at it’s work, I sat in the cockpit, and read my book. After about an hour and half, the tank was starting to show full again, so I shut down the watermaker. It was about 1530, and the afternoon wind was blowing fully up the bay, but it seemed like my best opportunity to go exploring on the paddleboard. I tossed it in the water, and wearing a backpack with a VHF radio and the InReach, I paddled to the head of the bay.

Right away, I saw Watta Creek emptying into the bay, not far from the boat. That was probably why the watermaker ran so well. I was really turning brackish water, not full salt water, into fresh water, which I think is less of a load for reverse osmosis process on the watermaker.

Watt Creek

The tide was high enough that I managed to paddle partway up the shallow Watta Creek. Eventually, though, I started catching the fin on some shallow rocks, so I got off the board and lifted it onto a dry spot. Then I carried on up the creek a way, trying hard not to slip on the slimy green algae coating the rocks. I came to some rapids, and there was a deep pool just below them that looked too inviting to pass up. I stripped down to just my neoprene water boats, and started to make my way in. By the time the water was up to my mid-thighs, the mountain fresh chill made me think better of a full dip, and the thought of a warm shower on the boat started to be more appealing. I beat a retreat back to the rockyshore, and put my clothes back on.

Rapids, and a cold swimming hole

Working my way back out to the bay, I turned and paddled along the grassy estuary. I could see a bear grazing like a cow not far up. He didn’t see me, and I managed to get some distant pictures. As soon as I was directly upwind of him, though, he lifted his head and looked around. I still don’t know if he saw me, or just smelled me, but he loped a bit further away in the grass, then settled back to grazing.

Bear grazing at the head of Bacchante Bay

I turned up the bay, and pushed hard on the paddle for about half an hour against the wind and tide to make it back to the entrance to the bay. It didn’t take long to cross the bay, and I explored the nooks and crannies on the other side as I coasted downwind back to the boat. At one point, I heard a “snuff” and a loud “sploosh” right behind me. I turned around, but only saw the spreading rings in the water where whatever it was had dived a few feet away from me. I assumed it was another curious seal, but never did see exactly what was swimming out in the bay with me.

There are some places you can get to on a paddleboard that would be impossible on anything else

Safely back on the boat, I fired up the barbecue, and cooked up a burger. I am down to canned vegetables, so I made some mushy peas on the stove to go with dinner. I’m looking forward to doing some re-stocking in Tofino.

Bacchante Bay is definitely one of the most dramatic anchorages I’ve been in yet

On the stereo: Yes, singing “Owner of a Lonely Heart”. Definitely better than the owner of a broken heart.

Later: A bit of an amusing post script to that. After writing for the day, I decided it was time to clean myself up a bit. My beard is getting a bit unruly, and I have lots of fresh water, so I decided to go ahead and shave, and have a shower. The easiest place to shave was on the swim platform, since that keeps all the hair from getting inside the boat. Embracing the whole Robinson Crusoe isolation of being in this magnificent place alone, I stripped down for my shower, then went on the back deck and shaved my beard to a more manageable length. The sun had set early due to the high walls of the cliffs beside me, but it was still warm outside, so not unpleasant. I considered showering out there too, but decided to head inside for that.

Just after my shower, I was getting dried and looked out the window, and wouldn’t you know it, another boat was heading into the anchorage! It’s a pretty big sailboat called Last Dance. There at at least four people on board that I can see, and one of them is a little kid running around on deck. It seems like one of them was teaching the other how to anchor, although I think they might have been speaking Chinese. It is hard to tell for sure, as they are all the way across the anchorage, but sound really carries over the water in this otherwise silent place.

Anyway, if they had showed up half an hour earlier, they might have had a bit of an eyeful as they came in to anchor. The timing turned out OK, though, and I managed to remain discreet. I guess I am not quite as alone as I thought!