Thursday, June 6, 2024
Our very silent night in Douglas Bay was disturbed at about 6 am by the noise of the generator on the power boat anchored not far from us, so Walt got up and dressed and decided to motor through Chatham Channel (which needs to be traversed at slack water because it’s very shallow and narrow) all the way to Lagoon Cove, one of our favorite places in the Broughton Archipelago. I tried and failed to go back to sleep, and so I did some French lessons and posted Wednesday’s blog entry as we motored into a headwind along Johnstone Strait on a splendid, sun-drenched morning.
Our passage through Chatham Channel, which contained huge beds of kelp on one side and whose shores were thickly strewn with stones of all sizes and shapes, was very easy, and after motoring through a snug shortcut, Braesail and her crew arrived in the small marina (that has dock space for about a dozen boats) at gorgeous Lagoon Cove at noon. There were helpful staff members at the dock to catch our mooring lines, and after visiting with the Dan and Kellie, the owners, with whom we’ve become acquainted over the course of previous visits, and with some also-recently-arrived fellow sailors, we registered at the office and ate a sandwich lunch. Walt needed the excellent connectivity at the dock in order to download some files, and so, while he worked, I went for a walk on the marina grounds above the cove on a spectacularly beautiful afternoon.
The extensive grounds above the docks feature, near the owners’ house at the top of the bank, lovely flower gardens brimming with brilliant orange poppies, variously colored columbine, wild roses, and blossoming thimble berry bushes, among other fragrant blooms, and a huge grassy meadow where you can play table tennis and bean-bag toss and help chop wood, and from which you can enjoy beautiful over-water views. Trails lead into the forest, and a small stream gurgles down a bank and under a bridge while birds exercise their singing voices. How can one not fall in love with such an idyllic place, especially on a brilliantly sunny day cooled by a refreshing little breeze?
Lagoon Cove’s owners are extremely kind and helpful, and provide freshly-caught prawns every afternoon for guests as part of an appetizer potluck served on a deck in front of a delightful “club house,” furnished with books, CDs, puzzles, games, freezers for fish, etc., with a gigantic workshop and tool shed occupying the rest of the building behind it.
I baked berry muffins as my contribution to the Happy Hour potluck, and Walt and I had a splendid time eating and chatting with Kellie and Dan and with our fellow boaters about our home ports and backgrounds, our vessels, our adventures, problems encountered and resolved, and such. We spent the rest of the tranquil evening reading, writing, working on computer projects, planning the upcoming week’s travels, listening to the distinctive bird calls, and being so grateful for this amazing spot and the people who frequent and maintain it!
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 