Desolation Sound to Shoal Bay

Today we got to sleep in. The team really needed it, as we’ve been running on 3-6 hours of sleep a night. It was wonderful to sleep until 9:00 am, and then get up and enjoy fresh baked scones and fruit, prepared by our beloved chef. We sat at the front of the boat in the sun, eating breakfast and taking in one of the most incredible views imaginable. Desolation Sound, and the area we anchored, Prideaux Haven is unbearably beautiful.

We set out at 10:30 am, again with calm seas and sunny, warm weather. Along the way, we sailed up close to a waterfall and had a photo op. We considered stopping to take in a one-hour hike to a swimming hole, but decided against it when the captain realized we needed to hit some rapids at low tide and the side trip might screw up our timing. We continued on and hit the rapids at the perfect time – it didn’t even seem like a rapid at all. We were joined for a short while by porpoises. We saw a dozen sea lions lounging on a rock, and have see an equal number of eagles hanging out in the trees.

Just a short while after be passed through the rapids, we pulled into Shoal Bay. What a treat Shoal Bay is. It is a beautiful, grassy area bay with a half dozen buildings (and an equal number of residents). It once house 5000 people (most were loggers). It was a pretty complete little town in the day with a post office, store and brothel. Now, there are only a few ramshackled old houses, and four or so new buildings erected by the new owners. The owners have been hacking away at the vines and weeds that have come in over the decades and reclaimed the land. Recently, they uncovered a small old shack that was still in pretty good shape. The fenced it in and have turned it into a chicken coop. The lodge and restaurant or completely off the grid, and a bulk of their energy is solar. In one section of the newly reclaimed land they’ve planted a garden surrounded by a 10-foot high fence to keep the deer out.



I’d arranged to have a crab feed at Shoal Bay and it was a huge hit. They’d baked fresh rolls, caught 80, yes 80 Dungeness crab for our feast (for 50 people) prepared three different salads and a cake. They had a full bar and the most gorgeous view. The participants were very happy.