Cape Caution Going North
29 June 2022 | Cape Caution and Fury Cove
Donald Rushmer
Well, we did get up at 4:10, made some coffee and tea and hot cereal, and were underway at 5:00 AM. Sky was clear and wind was calm in the harbor, but upon leaving we entered more fog, navigating with GPS, AIS and radar as we entered the southern portion of Queen Charlotte Strait. Our destination is Fury Cove, a protected anchorage on Penrose Island on the northern entrance of Rivers Inlet, most importantly north of Cape Caution and about 70 miles away. Doesn't seem like far, but it is an all day jaunt when you averaging 5-6 MPH.
Cape Caution is considered the unofficial demarcation between the southern mainland BC coast and the northern one, mostly because it is the first area that is fully exposed to open ocean for about 40 miles. When crossing it, caution is indeed advised. We had monitored the weather forecast for a window of calm weather and today was the one - the forecast calling for windy and rainy weather later. Interestingly, the presence of fog is a good thing as it is most often present in calmer, less windy seas.
It was a beautiful day, weather remained calm and as we motored along, we passed several sea otters laying on their backs eating their morning meals. The highlight of the first portion of our trip came later when we were joined by a group of 8-10 Dalls Porpoises swimming along with and under our boat for 20 minutes of so. Strikingly beautiful and playful animals, ruffly 6-8 feet long with black and white markings reminiscent of mini killer whales, clearly enjoying life as we enjoyed them!
By around noon and as we approached Cape Caution, the fog dissipated and we enjoyed bright sunshine. We began to encounter ocean swells from the northwest with wave heights we estimated to be 2-3 meters. By about 3:00, and well past the Cape, we entered calmer waters of Fitzhugh Sound in the lee of Calvert Island but experienced increasing winds from the northwest. We raised our sails, only to find that our mainsail had suffered even more damage from the gale a few days ago than we thought. We were delighted that the fix we did at Shoal Bay held marvelously, but the guide at the top of the sail had cracked. As important, it was clear that a baton on the trailing edge of the sail was broken in half and a second one was missing altogether. The sail worked but with an excess of flapping, which was discouraging.
We arrived in Fury Cove at about 6:00 PM after 13 hours underway. There were a number of boats anchored there, all either just in from the south or preparing for the journey there. We were very tired, but were in great spirits, having accomplished the crossing in perfect weather and seas and arriving safely at our destination. Needless to say, sleep came early after we anchored.
Fury Cove is delightful and we elected to take a rest day there. Protected from wind and seas, with white shell beaches on the west shore - clearly middens created by First Nation inhabitants centuries or even millennia ago and of course deer walking along the beach. We need to ask daughter Julia if she knows of them.
We awoke around midnight to a brilliant display of lightning, thunder and pelting rain. The next day was cool and rainy. We spent time doing sail repairs, fixing the broken baton and finding the perfect replacement during a walk on the beach to replace the missing one. Once again, optimism abounds about the possibilities for our repaired sail! We had a wonderful chat with Steve and Joannie about plans for travel north (to be mentioned later) and life on a sailboat. Steve gave words to thoughts we had been having as well - sailing is a series of problems needing creative solutions. Frankly, that is part of what makes it so great!