Shoal Bay, East Thurlow Island

I feel like our adventure has now truly begun, as we are heading to areas of cruising in the PNW that we have never explored. Coming from San Diego, CA, any place you cruise in the PNW is a definite adventure, but it just gets better the further north you go. And today, we started cruising north of where we have previously cruised in the PNW. While we know we want to cruise North to Alaska, we are flexible where we go and are looking for new and exciting opportunities to explore. Today, I feel we hit the jackpot!

We departed Campbell River, Vancouver Island, this morning. Brad started the engines at 7:55am and by 8:10am we were at the fuel dock. We took on 298 litres for a total of $435.35 cdn (ouch). We were off the fuel dock by 8:30am and headed to Seymour Narrows, trying to pass thru close to slack tide at 10am. We cruised North at a slow pace, also conserving fuel.

For those boaters reading our blog and not familiar with currents, here are some tidbits for Seymour Narrows for this morning:

8:30am 7.7 nm
9:00am 5.2nm
9:15am 3.9nm
9:30am 2.4nm
9:45am .9 nm

We passed thru Seymour Narrows at 9:30am, catching the benefits of a 2.4nm current taking us further north. We cruised by Quadra Island, going into Nodales Channel, passing Sonora Island. Camelon Harbor on Sonora Island is one of our favorite anchorages, but this time we passed this opportunity. We reached Shoal Bay on East Thurlow Island about 12:30pm and were on anchor @12:40pm. LAT: 50 27.486N LONG 125 21.912 W.

While on anchor we decided to move, but first took time to have a cup of soup for lunch. We then decided that prior to moving anchorages and then launching the dinghy, we'd simply tie up on the government dock and walk up to check out the Shoal Bay Lodge and later re-anchor.

Our initial impression of walking up to the Shoal Bay Lodge was that we were approaching someone's home with a fantastic view of the bay. But signs were posted that the "pub" was this way and there was a heartwarming feeling of welcome as we approached the Lodge. We were soon greeted by Mark MacDonald, owner of Shoal Bay Lodge, and found him very friendly. After chatting for a bit, and told that we could walk thru the gardens and area, Mark took us out for a walk and shared insights on the history of Shoal Bay and his dreams for the Lodge and area. He showed us the gardens, his home he is building, a pad for where he is building a home for his father, as well as a laundry building where boaters are welcome to do laundry and take showers.

It is clear to me that Mark as a broad list of talents and an exceptional internal compass for how to travel through life. Shoal Bay is clearly a unique setting for a boater. It offers fishing, crabbing, hiking and much more. As a Southern California boater, it is an experience of a lifetime to visit Shoal Bay. And if you are handy (e.g. framing, electricity, gardening, etc.) this may be a place that you'll find you can apply your talents to help Mark build his dream, where so many can also enjoy!

We feel very fortunate to have stopped by Shoal Bay Lodge, this type of experience is what makes a PNW cruise, for a So. Cal boater, with the cost and effort. We definitely want to encourage others to make a cruise to Shoal bay a priority....but at the same time, we understand that Mark and other boater's also want to keep Shoal Bay a pristine spot to visit and not one that is overcrowded as so many boating resort destination spots have become.

And we hope we get a chance to visit Shoal Bay Lodge again, especially when we cruise South later this summer.

Here are some photos of Shoal Bay: