summer! toba wilderness marina
Date: July 27, 2018
Time Start: 7:20 a.m.
Time Finish: 12:30 p.m.
Cruise From: Roscoe Bay
Cruise To: Toba Inlet Wilderness Marina
Engine Hours Start: 845
Engine Hours Finish: 849
Weather/sea conditions: Hazy, smokey, with sun and hot, into the 90's
It's time to leave Roscoe Bay, heading out while the tide is in our favor to pass through the entrance. The morning is still and quiet, with the sun just rising over the silhouetted mountain tops. Once we are out in the channel, we drift while we have our breakfast, reflecting on the destinations that stretch out in three directions from where we are - Roscoe Bay, Pendrell Sound, and Prideaux Haven/Laura Cove/Melanie Cove. We could so easily return to any of them from this point at the confluence of Waddington and Homfray Channels!
Time Start: 7:20 a.m.
Time Finish: 12:30 p.m.
Cruise From: Roscoe Bay
Cruise To: Toba Inlet Wilderness Marina
Engine Hours Start: 845
Engine Hours Finish: 849
Weather/sea conditions: Hazy, smokey, with sun and hot, into the 90's
It's time to leave Roscoe Bay, heading out while the tide is in our favor to pass through the entrance. The morning is still and quiet, with the sun just rising over the silhouetted mountain tops. Once we are out in the channel, we drift while we have our breakfast, reflecting on the destinations that stretch out in three directions from where we are - Roscoe Bay, Pendrell Sound, and Prideaux Haven/Laura Cove/Melanie Cove. We could so easily return to any of them from this point at the confluence of Waddington and Homfray Channels!
We cruise up Waddington Channel, where we pass oyster operations and then Walsh Cove, one of the many wonderful cruising destinations for boaters. We have anchored there in the past and have great memories of paddling through the many small islets and finding the pictographs on the rocky bluffs.
Reaching Bean Point light, we are ready to cross Pryce Channel to Toba Inlet and the Toba Wilderness Marina. We enter a basin of high snow topped mountains, but are disappointed to have hazy, smoke filled skies from forest fires muting our views today.
We have enough time before check in at the marina to explore Toba Inlet, and oh! what a waterfall! The cliffs are so straight-sided, dropping to depths of over a thousand feet along the shore. We love the colorful rocks, too, along with their bands of bright green algae and dark colored mussels.
With impaired views of the mountains due to the smoke, we turn around and make our way to the marina, imagining how spectacular it would be here with clear skies.
Quinn, the marina dockhand, assists with our lines when we arrive and shows us his technique of tying the lines to the dock. The marina is in quite the setting with mountain views in all directions, and it will be full today. We are small in comparison to the yachts that surround us on the dock. They include the dark blue American Tug that was anchored at Princess Louisa during our stay there, and "Tenedos". We seem to bump into Tenedos and crew wherever we go! We even saw them come to shore to explore oyster cove while we were in Pendrell Sound.
The shoreside pavilion is a great spot to meet and chat with other boaters, or to just relax and enjoy the scenery. A small building has restrooms, laundry, and library with books and videos. A map lays out the nearby hiking trails.
One of the boats is having freshily caught rockfish for dinner tonight!
The day is steamy hot, in the 90's and muggy. It is really buggy ashore, too. Dan opts to hike, but I take a pass. He climbs high above the marina to get some hazy views. He is melting when he returns, and wanting to swim. We aren't able to find a good access point for swimming and opt for shore showers instead.
In the evening, the mountains are as clear as they are going to be today. Even with the haze, they exude a quiet beauty.
A full moon rises on this warm summer night.