Lagoon Cove Marina – A Must-See When Cruising the Broughton Islands – This day was somewhat bittersweet! Although we were still in the Broughton Islands, we were heading south to our last stop, Lagoon Cove Marina, before high-tailing it 254 miles back to the USA. It was windy and the water was rough when we departed Pierre’s Echo Bay for our 25-mile cruise into Knight Inlet and finally, our last stop in the Broughton Islands... Lagoon Cove Marina. This is a full-service marina located at the north end of E. Cracroft Island, just southeast of the Broughton Archipelago. The setting is well-protected…

It's All About the Pig Roast! – We first heard about Pierre's Echo Bay while we were researching the Broughton Islands for our 2016 summer cruise. We made a point of visiting their booth at the Seattle Boat Show earlier that year while we were collecting information for our upcoming cruise. Owners Pierre and Tove Landry were at the booth when we stopped by to see what they were all about. Their reputation proceeded them, as we already knew about their famous feasts from other boaters. In talking to them and others at the show, we gained a little glimpse…

Visiting the Billy Proctor Museum – The next morning, after arriving at Pierre's Echo Bay, we took a short walk. We made our way over a bumpy well-worn path starting at the marina, over a bridge,  through the woods, and finally a big open field, to Billy's Museum. Billy Proctor, fisherman, logger, and beachcomber, is a living legend in these parts. Billy was born and raised in the Broughton Islands. Over the years he has gained a vast personal knowledge of what it was like to live in this remote area. Billy started collecting the impressive memorabilia found in his…

Cruising Along a Fluid Highway Around the Islands – When exploring new cruising territory, like we are right now in the Broughtons, we will often spend the whole day traveling in and out of bays, coves, and sounds. We’ll skirt around islands and stick our bow into a shallow inlet to investigate the setting. Our day will be spent watching for wildlife, especially bears foraging for food along the beaches. With limited time in the Broughtons and with so much territory to cover, it just makes sense to maximize our exposure this way. We usually have a trip planned out ahead of…

Joe Cove – Located on the South Side of Eden Island – Today we moved a whopping 12 miles. It was a foggy, damp and still day, everything looked grey and green, even the water. We were determined to head back out into Queen Charlotte Straight in our quest to find those elusive whales. Again no luck on that front, but the fog made our cruise through Arrow Passage, Sunday Harbour and Misty Passage that much more remarkable, from a visual perspective. We can only imagine what it would have been like on a sunny day. We entered Joe Cove on Eden Island…

Waddington Bay – Located Off Bonwick Island – After waking up to thick fog, we departed Goat Island and cruised up Knight Inlet for seven miles in search of whales. Having no luck finding any, we retraced our path through extremely calm water, moving in and out of the dense fog to make our way to the mouth of Knight Inlet. We skirted into a channel by Midsummer Island and out into the base of Queen Charlotte Strait. Still idling through heavy fog, not seeing much past the bow of Kismet we went up Arrow Passage, still looking for whales. With none yet to…

Welcome to Alert Bay –  Having provisioned in Port McNeill, we were good for another two weeks while exploring the Broughton Archipelago. The first stop, in Alert Bay, an aboriginal cultural destination. Alert Bay is home to about 1,300 Namgis people, a First Nations band within the larger Kwakwaka'wakw nation of northern Vancouver Island. The members of the village community coexist side-by-side, in harmony with the largely non-native population that resides in the village on the south side of Cormorant Island. We tied up at the Government Marina for a few hours. Our mission was to walk around the village, grab some lunch and…