August 10, 2013 ~ Muirhead Islands to Hoy Bay

Last night the cloud cover looked a little threatening, like it might even rain overnight.  It didn’t, but the dew was pretty thick this morning – as was the fog.  Combined with the mirror smooth water it was very picturesque.

Erin baked some cinnamon rolls, but the refrigerator package had been squished in the fridge and had opened.  They were okay but they didn’t rise like you’d expect.  She made the most of that, creating a dish of baked French toast with sausage and blueberries.  I’m glad the cinnamon rolls didn’t turn out right!

We’ve really enjoyed our stay here at the Muirhead Islands – there are so many places to explore and it’s just so scenic.  We’ll definitely return here in the future when we’re up this way.  Through our little gap that’s open to the main channel we saw two or three Nordic tugs cruise by in the late morning, after the slack at Stuart Narrows.  We’ve pretty much had the place to ourselves, with just one other boat that anchored some distance away in MacGowan Bay the first night.  We weren’t sure where the Nordics were headed, but they didn’t come in within sight of us.

The cloud cover took quite a bit longer to burn off today, so we had a cool and damp morning.  I stowed the dinghy, as we would be leaving in the afternoon to catch the next slack at Stuart Narrows.  The sun broke through the clouds and it turned into a warm and sunny day just as it was time to get underway – about 3 o’clock in the afternoon.  As we raised the anchor and moved a bit in our harbor we could see one of the Nordic tugs anchored in the next little bay over – the one we passed up when we came in.

We headed out past the Keith Islets following one of our dinghy ride routes – the one that didn’t pass over any rocks!  One last scenic ride in the Muirheads as we left our anchorage.  We cruised along at 7 knots, passing Jennis Bay on the way to Stuart Narrows, where we arrived about 45 minutes before slack.  The current was only about one knot or so against us – hardly noticeable at all.

We had decided to head towards Hoy Bay instead of Claydon – it’s new to us, and it’s next to Hopetown Passage, where Erin hopes to find some shells at low tide tomorrow.  Hopetown Passage is a shortcut into McKenzie Sound, but only at high tide, and only for folks with local knowledge and shallow draft boats.  I doubt if our chart shows all the rocks.  At first I thought the entrance area might be a good anchorage, but apparently the current can run through there at around 7 knots – not good for an anchorage.

We’re the only boat here in Hoy Bay.  It’s a bit open to the east, but most of the breezes the past several days have come from the west.  We have a great view of a vertical rock face to the east, but our view of those gorgeous mountain peaks is blocked by the treed hills surrounding the bay.