After two glorious weeks of picture-perfect boating weather and sensory overload during our exploration of Canada’s Desolation Sound, the time had come to start working our way south/southeast. We had a calm but overcast day to exit Desolation sound from our anchorage in Roscoe Bay. Up next, was Jervis and Princess Louisa Inlets and the much talked about Chatterbox Falls, but first we had to explore a few of the little fishing villages along British Columbia’s “Sunshine Coast.” Our first stop was Lund (below), a busy, picturesque, seaside village, 120km north of Vancouver, only eight miles south of Desolation Sound. The village has only about three hundred year-round residents but is host to a lot more during the warm weather season. Not only is it close to Desolation Sound Provincial Marine Park but also the Copeland Islands, Okeover Inlet, and tropical Savary Island.

During our brief stay in Lund, we learned a lot about the area called the Sunshine Coast, a region of the southern mainland coast of British Columbia, on the eastern shore of the Strait of Georgia, just northwest of Vancouver. The Sunshine Coast is British Columbia’s best-kept secret, stretching over 180km of coastline from Langdale to Lund with many quaint, tiny coastal communities in between, assessable only by boat or ferry, it has its fair share of desirable weather and is known for its many cultural activities including resident artist’s gallery exhibits, outdoor recreation, and many festive community events.

After roughing it in the wilderness of British Columbia, cruising in saltwater without a real bath, and stowing garbage in the far corner of the cockpit, the boat needed a good cleaning, a pump out, fuel, and freshwater – needless to say, Lund Small Craft Harbour was a welcome stop. After accomplishing all of the above, we still found time to tour the historic, 110-year-old, Lund Hotel and walked all over the small town.

During a rainy evening, we enjoyed an excellent fish and chips dinner at the Boardwalk Restaurant located in the harbor, right across from our slip at the marina.

This is one of the car ferries we saw delivering boats to the village (above). One morning we visited Nancy’s (below) for some fresh cinnamon rolls and ate them outside in the warm sun next to a palm tree. Guess it really is the Sunshine Coast.

The Lund Hotel has a helicopter pad (below) adjacent to their lawn. We imagine a lot of locals travel this way instead of taking the ferries or personal boats. Seaplanes are very prevalent in this neck of the woods.

We found this bike (above) an interesting way to advertise a bike rental and repair business on Savary Island. It was located near the Lund Water Taxi building.

The small marina office offers an outdoor boater’s lounge with a beautiful rustic chair (below) to use for accessing the internet.

An interesting factoid about this small fishing village is that it sits at the northernmost point of Route 101, mile 0. If you were to start in Lund on Route 101 and drive south you could end up at the tip of South America, all on this historic highway.

When asking Fran (below), Lund’s Harbormaster and one of the friendliest we’ve met, about available transportation to Powell River (an 18-mile trip), for a provisioning run, she volunteered to lend us her car. We had not been to a full-fledged grocery store in well over two weeks, our supplies were low and I needed to visit a marine hardware store we had heard that Powell River had everything we could possibly need, it is a real hub of activity.

Thanks again, Fran!

We always enjoy visiting other countries while boating to see all the different products they have on their shelves. On this trip we were introduced to Sour Cabbage Heads (above), packaged up in a sour marinade, we suppose.

On the ride into town, we couldn’t help but notice how the road was lined with deliciously ripe, ready-to-pick, wild blackberries. If you’ve read some of our prior posts you already know this is a real bonus find for us, we just can’t get over how abundant this wild berry crop is all over the Pacific Northwest. On our return trip to Lund, we found a dirt road off the main highway (below) and made a roadside stop to pick several bags of the plump, black, juicy fruit, using some of our shopping bags to collect them, enough for three or four days of breakfast snacks, blackberry pancakes. One night Lisa improvised a little and produced a blackberry cobbler with a little whipped cream on top. Yum!

So relieved we got to reprovision at the big stores in Powell River. We saved a lot of money by going to a bigger town and got everything we needed to sustain ourselves during our trip to Chatterbox Falls.

One of the things we love to do when boating is walking the docks and see all the unusual boats tied up. This one, not far from our slip, was intriguing with its unique anchor mount on the bow of the boat.

This beautiful sculpture of King Neptune stands guard over the harbor at Lund.

The post Leaving Desolation Sound for the Village of Lund, British Columbia appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.

First stop, Grace Harbour – Striking out on our own to explore Desolation Sound –

We left Gorge Harbour mid-morning to find yet another perfect boating day awaiting us. History states that Captain George Vancouver first sailed the waters of the Sound in 1792, thinking the landscape remote and forbidding, he named it Desolation Sound. We think he must have had a run of bad weather to have taken such a gloomy stance on such a diverse and stunningly beautiful area, but we’d have to admit that the name has a certain draw to it.

With Cortes Island behind us we headed for Desolation Sound Marina Park, a large dedicated group of islands, along with a bit of mainland BC, set aside as a marine park in 1973 for the benefit of recreational boaters, campers, and hikers. Our goal for the first day out was to head to an anchorage in Grace Harbour, a well-protected cove a large sheltered bay located in Malaspina Inlet, surrounded by Gifford Peninsula. We heard about it from another boater.

As we made the turn at the southern tip of Cortes we were greeted with an incredible sight as we motored on, hills growing into peaks and eventually a few snow-capped mountains way off in the distance.

Grace Harbour’s inner bay, where we anchored, is surrounded by forest and is almost entirely landlocked. We enjoyed a pleasant dinghy ride around the harbour, met a few of our neighbors, grilled some fish for dinner, had a few stimulating games of dominoes, and watched a beautiful sunset grace the harbor.

Two new items this trip out, we bought a set of new, wood, folding chairs for extra seating in the cockpit and we added a spool with a line for stern tying. Another Ranger Tug owner had made the suggestion to attach it to the bimini railing and it works perfectly there, can’t wait to try it out.

Grace Harbour was a photographer’s dream subject tonight.

The post Our First Night Out In Desolation Sound – Anchored in Grace Harbour appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.