July 19 – July 25, 2023
Sea otters, a sacred island, a black bear, a rock fish, another gorgeous beach, a raft up with friends, a couple good sailing days, and more – made for a magical tour of Kyuquot Sound. Leaving the Bunsby Islands we considered several options on the charts for anchoring within dinghy distance of Walter’s Cove. As we neared the area, it looked like Clanninick Cove would be the most favorable, and turning into it we were greeted by a large raft of sea otters hanging out in the kelp bed at the south west corner. The giant bay was otherwise empty and surrounded by luscious green trees, hill sides, and a shallow mud flat where a river emptied into the sea.
After lunch we set out to explore the Mission Group Islands in the dinghy. This group of islands are mostly native land with one of the islands, Ahmacinnit, considered a sacred burial ground following a battle between the Kyuquot and several other local bands in the mid 1800s. Our Douglass cruising guide for this area states, “A member of the Kyuquot Band told us that their concern for the sanctuary of Ahmacinnit Island is so great that if a yacht were stranded on the island, they would not come to its rescue!” We kept a respectful distance as we passed by the eerie black rock and tree covered island into Barter Cove. One of the other islands surrounding this cove, Kamlis, has a burial site hidden just under the low branches of trees near the shore – a cross barely visible as we passed by. Aktis Island on the other side of the cove housed a few small structures along it’s eastern shore that appear to be falling into disrepair now. We left Barter Cove through a narrow passage between Aktis and Kamlis Islands, and turned west to explore the coast of Spring Island. Along a small portion of it’s coast sat a row of military style tents that I believe might be a kayaking camp. Around the corner of Spring Island where we thought we’d seen some sea caves as we passed in the big boat – we found them to be blow holes from closer view.
Though we likely could have explored this area all afternoon we were anxious to stretch our legs, and so headed over to Walter’s Cove. Walter’s Cove is a small port and fishing village with fuel, water, a store, and a restaurant on the south, Walter’s Island side, and a Kyuquot first nation village on the north coast. The entrance is narrow and winding and we were grateful we had not attempted it in with the big boat. Though we learned later, if we had shown up in the big boat, the store might have opened for us. As it was I’d read the store hours incorrectly and it was not open on this day; thankfully we weren’t in any desperate need of provisions. We walked around the waterfront on a small path that lined the shore and passed by a few small fishing resorts and over to the small cafe that wasn’t open until dinner that day. We opted not to wait around and hiked back to the dinghy after taking a small detour to a tiny beach on the other side of the island. Back at the dock we met a kind fisher person who’d been coming to Walter’s Cove for years for his week long fishing vacations. He told us about a cool trek up the river from Clanninick Cove to see a giant Cedar tree but, unfortunately, the tide wasn’t right that evening for us to make the trip, and we planned to leave the next day.
As we left the large cove in the morning we again passed by the large raft of sea otters, turning south east this time to head for Kyuquot Sound. As we rounded into Kyuquot Channel the winds filled in and we sailed with just our head sail from Rugged Point up to just outside Hankin Cove, with our fishing line in the water, enjoying the gorgeous crystal aqua blue water flanked by endless tree covered hills. Taking the narrow entrance into Hankin Cove we turned the corner into one of the most serene places I’ve ever seen. It was free of other boats, and the contrast of the blue blue water against the surrounding multi shades of green trees glowing in the afternoon sun was spectacular. After getting anchored, Alex went back to fishing and I took off on my paddleboard to explore. One of my greater concerns happened on this paddling adventure as of course I’d taken nothing with me; no radio, camera, phone, bear spray, etc. As I was paddling towards one corner, where a small creek trickled out into the cove, I stopped dead when I heard a loud rustling at the edge of the trees followed by a black bear emerging from the woods along the shore. Thankfully I was at least a hundred feet from the shore at the time. The bear seemed to look in my direction for a few seconds and uninterested went back to searching the creek bed for food. I slowly started paddling backwards as silently as I could while I continued to watch it. I tried to make it back to the boat in time for Alex to see but it had gone back into the trees by the time I made it. And, while I was gone he had caught us a rock fish for dinner!!
We enjoyed a couple of glorious days here seeing all kinds of sea life by paddle board – seals that followed us around from a distance, all colors and sizes of sea stars – a few at least a foot wide, red spiny sea cucumbers, mussels and massive oysters, fried egg jellyfish, and many small fishes. In a small lagoon area, where we could paddle in at high tide, I picked some sea asparagus that I soaked in freshwater for a couple hours, and then fried in some oil, and put on our homemade sourdough pizza for dinner. The water was relatively warm here, at least compared to the rest of the coast, and I took advantage one warm sunny afternoon to take a quick swim off the boat. We attempted dropping the crab pots, a bit outside the cove in deeper water, with no luck at catching any again. Exploring in the dinghy just outside the cove we found many ruins from old logging operations, and spotted some mink and kingfishers.
On Saturday, wanting to take advantage of a specific weather window to anchor at the fairly exposed Rugged Point, we made our way back out to the very edge of Kyuquot Sound. Rugged point was another touted must stop along our route but is only suitable to anchor there in calm weather or a southerly wind. On our arrival a number of other boats were anchored including our friends on Tangent, and we tucked in just behind them. A bit of swell still wrapped around the point so it was rolly but we were well enough protected from the weather otherwise, and only planned to stay one night. The water had seemed to change color and become this wild green/blue almost milky color, it was quite stunning, but we later learned it was from a massive algae bloom in the area – which many locals speculated was related to the warming water temperatures.
Rugged Point consists of two beaches, one on the side where we anchored was calm and housed several groups of kayak campers, the other a short hike across the spit of land is exposed to the pacific swell. Alex, I, Marie, and Alex of Tangent walked the length of the aptly named rugged beach of hard packed white and black sand with wind swept patterns and many beach combing delights. Several large rock outcroppings require hiking through the woods at several points when the tide is high, and then you get to a long stretch of open beach. We found sand dollars, huge clam shells, pieces of coral, and some pickle-weed sea kelp. After stopping to snack, and discussing the finer points of body surfing, Alex of Chandelle decided the waves were large enough to warrant getting in and we all soon followed into the water. It was chilly but so worth it for a glorious swim, and my Alex helped coach Alex and Marie on catching a wave and we all gave it a few tries. Sublime! On our way back to the boats we got to see a float plane land and back right up to the beach to pick up a couple of the kayak campers!
Our last stop in Kyuquot sound was Dixie Cove, a very well protected spot, to wait out some weather, and to get a few boat projects done while it rained. Tangent rafted to us here which made sharing dinner responsibilities super easy and fun. The first night Tangent hosted a pizza marathon which was certainly the highlight of our cooking adventures together! Somehow I failed to get any pictures of these delicious creations. We made progress on our project list, and even did a bit of laundry by hand once the rain cleared. I led a yoga class for Marie and Alex on their bow, and we explored around Copp Island on our paddle boards enjoying the views deep down through the clear water. Leaving Dixie Cove on Wednesday the race with Tangent was on…
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