It’s
Way Back Wednesday, an opportunity to dig through the files and pull out an old
blog post to shed some new light on it. Over the years, I’ve written several
posts about anchorages we’ve stayed in, including first-hand anchoring
information (i.e. holding, protection, GPS coordinates), historical information
and things to do. To date, I’ve done 26 of these (they can all be found on our Destinations
page) and they’re some of my favourite posts. For the next six months, I’ll be
highlighting one every Wednesday (from south to north) and adding a few new
ones in where I can. This week, it’s a return to Bute Inlet (you can read the
original post here).
Disclaimer: This blog article is not to be
used for navigation. It is purely an
account of our personal experience in Bute Inlet, a remote wilderness location,
during settled weather conditions. There
are no services or VHF reception and any boat that enters should be
self-sufficient.
With some cruising destinations, it’s all about what lies
at the end of the road – a sandy
beach, a waterfall, a special hike. With others, it’s what takes place along
the way. Bute Inlet, one of British Columbia’s longest and deepest fjords, falls into the
latter category. It’s here that boaters will find themselves surrounded by mile
after mile of high, steep mountains and snow-capped peaks as they sail deep
into the mainland and through some of the most beautiful scenery in and around the
Desolation Sound area.
There’s
no question that both David and I are fjord people – we can’t get enough of
them – and one of the things we’ve tried to accomplish during the years we’ve
been cruising the Inside Passage is to explore as many as we can. But try as we
might one fjord, more than any other, has eluded us until recently because of
inclement weather – Bute Inlet. In June of 2016, the forecast was in our favour
so we seized the opportunity when we could. Unfortunately, our plans to spend a
few nights exploring and enjoying several of its anchorages would have to
change.
Every
Experience is Different
There
isn’t a lot of information written about Bute Inlet in the cruising guides and
what there is, is out of date and doesn’t provide a complete picture. Some
guides have opted to use generalized statements and singular accounts to
describe an area that is unpredictable, remote and has its own micro-climate
thanks, in part, to the steep mountain ranges and large ice fields. For
example, the Waggoner Cruising Guide has been printing the following account
from correspondents Gil and Karen Flanagan for several years regarding the head
of Bute Inlet, Waddington Harbour:
There is no
protection from wind, but we had no wind. We didn’t see much driftwood on the
beach, either. We doubt if inflow winds blow hard or long, probably because
even on hot days the massive ice fields in the mountains above preclude high
land temperatures (p. 267).
And Dreamspeaker makes a similar claim in their
guide, “A Dreamspeaker Cruising Guide: Desolation Sound”:
Afternoon inflow winds occur during
settled, sunny weather. They are generally light but can be accelerated by the
inlet’s length and steep-sided shoreline (p. 111).
While both statements stem from personal
experience and Bute Inlet surely has its share of fine days, they’re both
somewhat misleading. Inflow winds can blow hard and long . . . and
they can
reach the entire length of the inlet. Our personal experience is an example of
that. The day we went up-inlet, it was sunny and warm. But the further we
sailed, the less settled the weather became. The inflow winds didn’t die out;
instead, they built to a steady 20 to 25 knots, running the entire length of
the inlet. Some cruisers we know had a similar experience and turned around
before reaching Waddington Harbour when katabatic winds
knocked their sailboat on its side. And while Bute Inlet is better known for
strong outflow winds, inflow winds deserve just as much consideration because
what few anchorages there are along the 35-mile inlet don’t offer adequate
protection.
Lack of Anchoring Possibilities
Before
our trip up-inlet, we studied the charts and cruising guides and had a few
anchorages in mind: Leask Creek, Orford Bay
and Waddington Harbour, in particular. But by the time we reached the head of the inlet on
our first day, both David and I were concerned about the changing weather and
were ready to get out of there so the only first-hand information we have is
for Waddington Harbour. Here’s what the Flanagans had to say in Waggoner Cruising Guide:
Waddington Harbour, at the head of Bute Inlet, has a lot of good anchoring spots in
10 to 50 foot depths (p. 267).
Like so many heads of inlets we’ve visited
over the years, Waddington Harbour is a roadstead
anchorage at best, and we didn’t feel that there were a lot of good anchoring
opportunities despite its shallow depths. Additionally, the flats at the head
of the inlet shoal rapidly and the milky, glacial waters make reading the
bottom more difficult so careful sounding was required (though there was
agreement between the charted depths and the depths we saw along the southeast
corner). We were able to find a place
to anchor (50°53.64 N, 124°47.65 W) that got us out of the bulk of the wind,
but the better protected spots were fouled with deadheads (logs that stand
upright in the water with only a few inches or feet showing) and logging
equipment from the Southgate River operation that occupies the southeastern
section of the bay.
What
we can tell you about the other anchorages I mentioned is that none of them
provide protection from inflow winds and Leask Creek has been taken over by
(what appears to be) a high-dollar fishing resort (we later found out it was an
expansion of Michelle Pfieffer’s home), Orford Bay is home to a large-scale
logging operation and Waddington Harbour, as I’ve already mentioned, is a
roadstead anchorage only suitable in settled conditions. There’s also a little
nook along the eastern shore just south of the Orford River at 50°34.38 N,
124°52.46 W (mentioned in Waggoner) that looks like it would provide some
protection from inflow and outflow winds on the chart but we didn’t take a look
at it ourselves.
Despite
their inclusion of the Flanagan account, the 2016 edition of Waggoner Cruising
Guide has the most helpful advice when it comes to the anchorages inside Bute
Inlet:
Except in small
areas near the mouths of rivers and at the head of the inlet, it is not good
for anchorage. Usually, the bottom drops away steeply, making a stern-tie to
shore necessary. Anchorages should be chosen with an eye to strong inflow
winds during the afternoon, followed by calm, then by icy outflow winds in
the morning (p. 267).
And the Douglass guide, “Exploring the South Coast of British
Columbia”, provides the most information, devoting two and a half pages to Bute
Inlet, including excerpts from Sailing Directions.
Our
Thoughts
At the end of the day,
we’re glad that we finally had the opportunity to make a run up Bute Inlet:
It’s a beautiful fjord with arguably the most dramatic and striking scenery in
the Desolation Sound area. The shore is lined with steep, rugged mountains but
they’ve been heavily logged along the entire length and, for us, that’s huge
downside (along with the lack of good anchorages). It’s also very wide,
spanning over a mile at its narrowest point, and lacks the intimacy of many of
the other fjords along the Inside
Passage. And for what’s
considered to be a wilderness destination, there’s a lot in the way of
commercial development. Having spent so much time along the Central and North
Coast of British Columbia exploring pristine fjords, Bute Inlet is somewhat of
a letdown and we won’t be back. But if time doesn’t allow a trip beyond Cape Caution, Bute Inlet might be a good alternative for those in search of a more
remote cruising experience closer to home.
4 comments
Gorgeous! It's funny how tricky it is to get a perfect anchorage. We're in a completely unprotected spot at the moment and hate the wind. Today, the wind has completely died and it's hot....where's the breeze? Then it's either too deep, too shallow, poor holding, too buggy, or too many other boats. I am very hard to please!
ReplyDeleteLol. You and me both!
DeleteTricky spot to visit. It's been so long since we've anchored that I'm not sure I'll be able to adapt back to a life in search of the perfect anchorage, or at least one that allows you a decent night's sleep.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean but I promise you, it's just like riding a bike!
Delete