Since my last post, we have been totally off the grid in Simoom Sound and Greenway Sound. No cell service, no wi-fi, no people, no houses, just a few crappy Atlantic Salmon Fish Farms. They actually litter the coves here in the Broughtons and believe me, no one I talk to about them likes having them in the bays but that’s a whole different post!

The joy of exploring the Broughton is the remote, beautiful areas that you often have all to yourself. Don’t worry, we still have VHF radio access to the Canadian Coast Guard should anything happen.

We spent our Fourth of July, peacefully hanging on the anchor in O’Brien Bay which is in Simoom Sound. For two days we explored the area in our trusty 13 ft Boston Whaler that we tow behind the Beach House. We did a bit of fishing and prawning but neither produce any dinner options. The kayaking in the bay was awesome, so much to look at on shore and in the water. I spent about 30 minutes just floating and watching a beautiful bald eagle in a snag tree just up on shore.

 

 

 

We checked out an abandon logging camp in hopes of finding a road that was walkable but after finding some fresh bear scat, we decided maybe to get back on the water. Whistles, an air horn, and bear mace are in our arsenal of “Hello Mr. Bear” greeting tools. We have been told that there aren’t many Grizzly Bears in this area, especially on the islands as there isn’t enough territory for them here. But black and brown bears are definitely in the area although we haven’t seen any on our Bentley shore leaves yet.

 

 

 

Getting Bentley to shore for some exercise and constitutionals has been a challenge up here in the Broughtons. The shorelines are steep to and have no little if any real shoreline. We look for small islets or sometimes big rocks that we can get teh whaler up to. Bentley is really sure footed so he can climb up and over the rocks.

 

 

We headed over to Greenway Sound for one night and anchored in a sweet little cove, behind an islet where the small tidal outflow from Broughton Lagoon rippled out just behind the Beach House. 

 

 

 

Broughton Lagoon is a quiet, secluded, uncharted saltwater lake approximately three miles long.There are dolphins that fish and play in the lagoon so we decided to go exploring in the whaler. 

While this lagoon sounds calm and peaceful is guarded by tidal gates where turbulent, fast-flowing water, hazardous rocks and restricted space for maneuvering make things difficult. We had read that the best time to transit into the lagoon was high water. After consulting the tide tables, the closest one being quite always from where were but we knew it was not HW slack. As we puttered around exploring, a small boat headed into the channel for the lagoon. So off we went, blissfully unaware of just how crazy Mother Nature can be.

They didn’t come back so we figured it was okay to go…the first part of the channel was whirlpools but no serious rapids but as we turned the sharp corner, holy crap Batman it was a raging torrent of water for about 100 yards. I was sitting on the bow of the whaler taking video when Wally said, “there is a tight turn ahead so hold on”. I immediately saw the turbulent water ahead and a wall of water. For a spilt second I thought about getting up and going around to the seat next to Wally but the water was pushing so hard and fast that I knew that would be a crazy move. Plus, I was worried about Bentley who was standing next to me. I quickly stuck my iphone under my left butt cheek, grab onto Bents and the railing of the Whaler…just in time … as we hit the first wall of the waterfall. Then the swirling, whirling mass of water turned into a 2-3 foot wall of water. Wally didn’t lose his cool and powered the whaler through it, thankfully we have a 50 hp engine. Bentley was thrown down as I held on for dear life…in what seemed like an eternity but was really just a few seconds we crested over the huge outfall and into calmer water, then into the lagoon itself. WOW….I was shaken but we were all okay. Okay, that scared the crap out of me, not living to you!!! We took a nice leisurely cruise around the lagoon, got Bentley to shore for a break and tied off to an overhanging tree in the shade to regroup. 

Thanks to limited wifi bandwidth at the marina we are staying at, there is no video so sorry, you will have to believe it was as terrifying as I make it out to be 🙂

 

Meanwhile the other boat roared around for about 20 minutes and then headed back out again…Well, not following that crazy boat again, so we decided to hang out for at least an hour and wait for the tidal exchange to slow down.

While motoring around we saw 4-5 porpoise and followed them for a bit while they fished. It would be crazy to have seen them in that small, narrow  channel coming or going. I bet they have a better sense of timing that we did! 

After one peek down the raging channel, it was evident that the water was definite less turbulent but we gave it another 20 minutes then headed through. I was tense as we approached, ready for another death-defying pass. So we started in, this time I was in the back seat beside Wally, with Bentley tucked between my legs. It was fast-moving and turbulent but no huge walls of water. We might have dropped down over a small outfalls but it was actually fun this time …wow, what a difference 90 minutes makes!!!

The water was calm in the bay as we motored back to the Beach House. After a stiff drink and showers, we all felt good again. Just in case you are wondering, Bentley didn’t have a stiff drink but he sure deserved one too!

Later we explored Greenway Sound in the whaler and found a marine park and trail but headed back to the boat as there was rain coming and what looked like a serious squall.