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| The head of James Bay. |
Entrance:
52°41.308’N,
128°12.194’W
Disclaimer: This blog article is not to be
used for navigation. It is solely an
account of our personal experience and anchor location in Kynoch Inlet during
calm weather conditions. What worked for
us at one particular time is no guarantee or indication that it will work for
others. There are no services and any
boat that enters should be self-sufficient.
When it comes to what I consider a
“destination”, James Bay doesn’t actually cut the mustard
– the protection isn’t the best and, at first glance, it doesn’t seem to have
much going for it scenically. But I’ve
been known to be wrong a time or two (or three or four) in my life, and this
would be one of those times. James Bay is definitely a destination, but not why
I originally thought.
At first I was going to add it to
our series because of three simple reasons: 1) we stayed in the anchorage for
three nights; 2) it’s only 14 nautical miles from the boundary of Fiordland
Recreational Reserve, making it a convenient base to explore the park; and 3) I
had a pretty special wildlife experience there.
But I’ve learned more since our visit.
Like it’s
part of the Pooley Island Conservancy.
And that James Bay Creek is a
habitat for the elusive Spirit Bear, or Kermode.
The Kermode is a subspecies of the
black bear that lives along the central and north coast of British Columbia
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| The James Creek Estuary. |
So, what’s the catch?
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| A former logging operation scars the western shoreline to James Bay. |
There’s a recently abandoned
logging operation set up along the western shore of the bay. But the anchorage is well-beyond that point
and it can’t be easily seen . . . neither can the clear-cutting. And it’s open to southerly weather and inflow
winds from Mathieson Channel. It gets a
little lumpy with stronger breezes. BUT if the wind is blowing less than 10
knots, the impact is minimal inside the anchorage.
Anchor in 20 metres (66 feet) off
the northeast corner near the head of the bay.
The holding is good in sand and mud with plenty of swing room, but watch
for shoaling from the river mouth.
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| The view out to Mathieson Channel is beautiful. |
Things
to Do:
- Watch the shore for wildlife (wolves and bears).
- Take a walk along the former logging road (be bear aware).
- Kayak.
- Take a short dinghy trip up-river at high tide.
- Visit Fiordland Recreational Area.
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