June 11th Thursday

From: West Thurlow Island To: Sonora Island
Start time: 0800        Finish time: 1600      Distance: 41 km.
Tide: Cordero Islands
0541     1.7
1123     2.9
1648     2.0
2318     4.0

Current: Green Point Rapids
Turns   Max     kts
             0424    -5.5
0605    1046   +4.5
1332    1708   -4.2
1840    2257   +3.6

     I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. but ended up sleeping in this morning until 6:00. I would miss slack tide at Green Point Rapids. I packed up and decided I would go and have a look anyhow and wait if need be for next slack.  At least the weather had improved overnight, the forecast for Johnstone Strait was 15 to 20 in the morning then increasing to 25 to 30 knots in the afternoon, but it was much calmer here in Chancellor Channel.
     Just before the rapids I paddled past the old village site of Matlatan  (meaning calm point) there was once a number of houses here but after a fire in 1892 it remained mostly abandoned.  Although it is marked on the charts as IR, I don’t think anyone has occupied the site since the early 1900’s. It looks like it had been logged a few years ago.

mountain views in Cordero Channel 

     It was two and a half hours past slack and the rapids didn’t look too bad so I stayed out in the main current and then quickly cut in behind Cordero Island. I was now in calm water and out of the tidal current.  Making my way down Cordero Channel I was taking advantage of the flood tide and was really enjoying some stunning scenery of the coast mountains.

 Mountain scenery in Cordero Channel

I turned into Shoal Bay on East Thurlow Island around 11:00 for a rest. Here I talked to the owner about what I might expect for wind in Nodales Channel. He said that Nodales was noted for almost always calm weather, this was very good news.
     Shoal Bay was once a busy gold mining town with a population of around five thousand in the late 1800’s.  As I paddled out of the bay I was trying to imagine what it must have been like here back in the day when it had three hotels, a post office, a general store and a couple of brothels in this sleepy little bay. You would never know that looking at it now. 

Shoal Bay

     I paddled down Nodales with only the occasional gust of wind coming out of the west, crossed over to Sonora Island and followed the shore into Discovery Passage where I was back in the wind and waves again. I set up camp in an old cabin on Sonora Island almost across from Chatham Point lighthouse.

My home for the night

 

A nice view from my bedroom 

As I ate my dinner I looked out the window and watched the cruise ships go by. The amount of salmon berries around was a little concerning - I hope Mr. Black Bear leaves me alone tonight. The marine weather report says15 to 20 knots in the morning, hopefully I’ll be in Heriot Bay tomorrow. Hit the sack around 8:30 for a good night’s rest.

The view from my cabin window