Provisioning at Heriot Bay on Quadra Island

The Proximity of Heriot Bay to Desolation Sound,
Gave Us Another Option for Provisioning

The need to provision mid-way through our month-long stay required a major shopping trip. Unlike our two-week trip to Desolation Sound three years ago. Since we are consuming breakfast, lunch, and dinner – all on the boat every day, we eventually ran out of the supplies that keep our bodies happily fueled.

Provisioning while cruising in Desolation Sound for a longer stay is a little bit of a challenge. The options nearby are limited to Refuge Cove. Although centrally located within Desolation Sound, the products available at Refuge Cove are limited and quite expensive. It’s a fun stop! If you are only staying a week or two in Desolation, you won’t starve. You can catch up on most chores, use wifi, enjoy a freshly baked cinnamon roll, fuel up and restock the propane and water tanks. Just like we would at any marina. But thrifty boaters that we are, after two weeks we were anxious to find an alternative source. We were happy to hear about Heriot Bay.

Heriot Bay is on Quadra Island between Vancouver Island and Discovery Islands

Initially, we thought we’d have to go all the way back to Campbell River to re-stock. Pauline and Ed, sailors on Spirit, tipped us off to this small town with a regular-sized grocery store. It’s a shorter trip than going all the way around the bottom of Quadra Island to Campbell River. To cinch the deal, we had never been to Heriot Bay before – we were curious about what we might find.

We nixed anchoring at Rebecca’s Spit, on a very windy day to stay at the Government Dock, located near Heriot Bay Inn’s docks. Although not free, it was very inexpensive. It’s sort of a first come first docked sort of rule with options for water, power, and free wifi that worked quite well. It took us a couple of trips around the dock to find an open space, and we finally did. On that windy day, it was a little tricky to get into, but with the help of a friendly boater, we made it in without hitting anything. Kudos to Captain Jim!

Lots of fishing boats docked in Heriot Bay. There is quite a community of people coming and going all day and night. The marina office (below) is located at the top of the ramp at the Government Docks. Not much in the way of amenities – no restrooms or showers, but our main goal was to stock up at the grocery store.

To get to the grocery store, we had to walk along this inlet (shown at low tide). The Government Docks are to the left and we had to walk all the way around to the docks on the far right

Heriot Bay Inn is sort of a focal point in this harbor. It has a restaurant, bar, laundromat, marina, and even an RV park on the grounds.

We stayed an extra night in the bay because we heard a band would be playing in the bar at Heriot Bay Inn. We need that kind of activity once in a while when boating for long periods. It kind of recharges the batteries.

The last of the provisioning chores was to fuel up at Heriot Bay before we headed back to Desolation Sound for two more weeks. I loved the system they used for the different fuel nozzles, pretty rudimentary, but unique.