Pierre's Echo Bay Marine Resort
16 August 2018 | Turnbull Cove, BC
Sunny and hot (still)
Billy Proctor
When we were in Port Harvey, we decided to take advantage of the internet and make a couple of reservations, one at Lagoon Cove and one at Pierre's Echo Bay Marine Resort. Pierre's is famous for its dinners. They serve prime rib on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Roasted pig on Monday and Saturday and Halibut fish and chips on Wednesday. So we booked in for Wednesday along with Paula and Mike from Verstovia who we have been travelling with on and off.
Lately we have had fog in the mornings, burning off by around 10am, and today was no exception. So we just enjoyed a leisurely morning in the cockpit, getting underway after the fog lifted. Our route was just seven miles, so we took a few scenic diversions, arriving at Pierre's in early afternoon.
After lunch and signing in, buying a few supplies, we were off on a short hike across to Billy Proctor's. After 15 minutes on a very up-and-down trail, we came out at Billy's museum, with Billy sitting quietly on a bench out front. Billy is a widely known local character, now in his early 80's. He has spent his entire life in the Broughtons, except when away fishing. Except for one fishing trip to Alaska, he has not been outside British Columbia. He has two daughters, both with university degrees. A man of contrasts. He still holds a commercial licence and has a boat, but hasn't fished for years.
He cleaned off a space on the bench and invited me to sit down. His museum consists of things he has found on the beaches or dug up in the area. It contains, among lots of other things, old arrowheads, glass Japanese fishing floats, old bottles of all sizes, colours and shapes, an early two man chain saw, and lots more. When asked what's inside, he replied "Just some old junk." Sitting in the warm afternoon sun, we talked for over an hour on topics ranging from the area history, the current state of the fishery, politics and much more. But it was time to head back for Pierre's fish and chips. Before we left, we went into his tiny bookstore where he sells books relating to the area, including a couple he has written, one of which we bought. He rang in the sale on an enormous ancient cash register, still in perfect working order. A very enjoyable afternoon.
Back at Pierre's, we sat down with Paula and Mike and two other couples, both from Seattle. In the marina there were about 25 boats (one other sailboat), only three of which were Canadian. The rest were from the US. And that has been typical here, at least 80% of the boats from the US.
Dinner was buffet style with halibut, home cut fries and cole slaw. Dessert was key lime pie. And it lived up to its reputation! Everyone waddled away happy.
Next morning we said good by to Paula and Mike. They were starting back south to Saltspring Island where they live and we headed off north-west for more exploration. Our destination was Turnbull Cove where we could hike up to a lake for a swim. Up Sutlej Channel, we passed , Tribune Channel, Kingscomb Inlet and pulled in to Sullivan Bay Marina. We topped off our fuel (lots of motoring here) and bought more supplies, including wine and beer which had run out. Up Dunsany Passage, into Grappler Sound, through a couple of narrows with swirling currents slowing us to just two knots, and we turned into beautiful Turnbull Cove. A large anchorage, there were only four other boats, so lots of room to anchor. Another beautiful evening after another hot and sunny day. Since we began sailing in late June we have had just one day of rain. Great for cruising, but all the marinas are running out of water, and the forests are tinder dry! The forecast shows showers and cooler weather the day after tomorrow. I guess we should hope for it.