Category: Desolation Sound

ach time we return to Quartz Bay, on Cortes Island, we expect to find the 36-hectare (88-acre) property that wraps around much of the bay has been sold to a developer with plans to...

Sometimes you surprise yourself, remembering how long it has been since you last sailed to a place you once loved, and likely still will.

There are so many wonderful anchorages in the Desolation Sound area and here are a few of the favourites.

This bay, off Okisollo Channel and the northeast shore of Quadra Island, and next to the popular Octopus Islands, might be the perfect anchorage — excellent shelter, moderate depths with good holding and adventures ashore.

Its proximity to Seymour Rapids and the Discovery Passage might be part of the reason Kanish Bay is an afterthought for many boaters.

The Cordero Islands north of Desolation Sound offer a wonderfully unexpected escape from schedules, foul weather and an even more foul pandemic.

Making a voyage around Cortes Island can be a vacation on its own, with lovely, safe anchorages, amazing hikes and quirky local residents.

Pendrell Sound is a gorgeous anchorage, but an odd tidal quirk maintains water temperatures that are out of this world.

On that day in 1958 it was the largest non-nuclear man-made explosion in history and it tamed the twin peaks of Ripple Rock. The maritime hazard had taken a high toll on shipping and claimed many lives. The rapids at flow are still a handful for any vessel.

Once inside Roscoe Bay, you might want to stay forever, especially if you lose your tide tables.