Our day began before dawn in order to catch the high slack tide needed to safely exit Kent Inlet. This time we transitted spot on high tide, so the current was negligible. The plan this morning was to get back on the inside of the Inside Passage and stay in Oliver Cove tonight on our way to more interesting places.
We were delighted to discover that the timing for our departure from Kent put us on a good schedule for catching a push from tidal currents for most of the day. Anything to help our fuel economy makes us happy. The weather when we left still had some clouds and fog, but an impenetrable blanket of low cloud no longer covered us.
The seas weren’t too bad, despite crossing a few stretches open to the ocean. Unsurprisingly, the further inland we got, the calmer it became. Meyers Passage was uneventful. We traversed it about half tide, which meant we had a fair amount of current pushing us and a minimum of 16 feet of water under the boat. The seaweed was thick, though, in the narrows. Luckily, the boat traffic keeps a fairly clear channel through the middle of it, which was helpful both for navigating and keeping one’s propellers untangled.
On our way to Klemtu, we came across our first red tide. I’ve heard of it before, but never seen the actual algal bloom. It smelled not very nice.
We paused in Klemtu to look around from the water, but didn’t actually stop in, since we didn’t need any fuel or groceries. Also, it wasn’t clear where we could tie up.
We got to Oliver Cove around 1 PM, and it was just blah. Also, after the solitude of the outer passage, it felt like there were way too many boats around. We couldn’t imagine sitting there all afternoon, so we decided to take advantage of the current from the flood tide and push all the way to our next planned stop at remote Roscoe Inlet and just stay there two nights.
Coming inland means we get to see mountains again, and that makes me so happy. The coastal lowlands were pretty, but for me, nothing beats a great towering mass of rock to improve a view. It’s not Alaska with it’s snow-covered peaks, but even the lower hills here delight with their funky tree-covered mounts and undulations.
Roscoe Inlet is about 25 miles long, so it’s a commitment to visit. The first half of the inlet is lovely in the way the whole area is lovely. Once we passed through the narrows, though, the scenery became truly spectacular. The last twenty miles were full of steep granite domes springing up from the water. The trees cling where they can, but it is a precarious existence as evidenced by frequent landslide scars on the hillsides. We went all the way to the head of the inlet to anchor, and it was well worth the effort.
As you can see, the clouds have not cleared yet, but we can see the mountains, so all is forgiven. And the forecast is for sunshine, so time will solve that problem. It was an early start and a 12-hour day cruising, so no dinghy rides tonight. We will report back on the shrimp catch and any shore adventures tomorrow.
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