Sunday, June 23, 2024
Rain fell off and on throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning in super-secluded Dixie Cove, and Hans and Martin spent some peaceful time in Braesail’s cockpit watching the effects of the shifting vapors, breezes, and light on trees and rocks and water surfaces and taking many photos.
After looking at forecasts regarding precipitation, wind, and wave heights and periodicities, and reports of current conditions from nearby weather stations and buoys, we decided to leave our magical misty cove and head back into Kyuquot Sound and then south into the ocean again. We left at about 11:30 am and by the time we were literally “at sea,” we didn’t have much wind but DID find seven-to-eight-foot swells and wind waves lifting and lowering Braesail and swinging her about at approximately eight-second intervals as we motored.
The rain continued for most of our travel time of about five hours, the skies were leaden, heavy mist cloaked the shore-side hills, and the water was charcoal-gray trimmed with bursts of white-lace foam when waves lifted the boat, swept under her, and then broke, or splashed over the bow and foredeck. Our course was lined with innumerable rocks, reefs, islets, and islands on which the surf crashed and exploded skyward in fountains and geysers of snowy spray, and navigation necessitated a great deal of care and focus on Helmsman Walter’s part! Martin took some outstanding photos of the surf, and we all loved watching it as it broke on rocks seen and unseen.
Our ride was very rocky and rolly as “confused seas,” produced by the conflicts among “regular” ocean swells, wind-driven waves, and other waves reflected by rocks and shores created a “washing machine” effect, and as the seas tossed and heaved and billowed in every direction, so did we! It was quite a relief to change direction and head back toward the shore and the shelter and smoother water surfaces provided by the reefs and islands!
We dropped anchor at about 4:30 pm in an expansive cove in Nuchatlitz Provincial Park, a large body of water surrounded by little lagoons, rocky islands, wooded shores, pebble beaches, a few houses, and the almost invisible remains of a First Nations village, with high hills rising in the distance. Though we’d anchored at a considerable distance, the muffled roar of the surf pounding the rocks and reefs just outside the cove could be heard from our cockpit, as could the deep “hooom” of a horn buoy over three miles away!
We ate an early “snack supper,” after which Hans and Martin took Coracle out and about to investigate the lagoons and the beach, to hike around one of the islands, and to take more photos while the weather was dry with “filtered sunshine” dripping into the ruffled water. They returned from their investigations with marvelous pictures,
we shared mixed-berry cobbler for a late dessert, and planned to visit the small town of Zeballos on Monday.
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 