2012 Trip 4 - Pacific Swift

Since our last mail home on the 12th we have been very busy. On the morning after the Paella we set sail and enjoyed once again the NW wind that seems to always be on our side. Sailing south and into Kyoquot for a short visit. Kyuquot is a small community located about two hours south of the Brooks Peninsula. In the early days this used to be a thriving fishing community with trollers everywhere. Today it is quieter and more sport fishing and ecotourism is the mainstay for the locals. We are always welcomed by the locals here when we visit. Our trainees had the chance to walk around and spend some money topping up on some special treats from the store. leaving after a couple of hours we were sailing again towards Rugged point another couple of hours south. Our plan was to anchor up with the Grace and have a double mug with both boats. All went as planned and everyone enjoyed have time to meet the other boat's crew and trainees. On the 14th we spent the morning on the glorious Rugged Point beach playing games and just walking the expansive beach. Rugged beach is similar to Long Beach near Tofino except we have the beach to ourselves. After lunch sails were set again to catch the NW wind and continue South. We chose Esperanza Inlet as a destination.
There is a small inlet named Langford Harbour on the south side of the entrance to Esperanza. We found calm seas and a lovely quiet harbour for the night. This day was spiced with whale sightings, sea otters and sea lions.
Anchor up by 0800hrs and underway with Hot Springs Cove in our sights for a destination. We did a short stop on the north side of Hesquait Peninsula to check out a small hardly noticeable anchorage. I had seen a photograph of a small square rigged sailing vessel anchored here in an old history book detailing the early 1900's on the west coast. Most of the time we pass by here it is too rough to get close enough to have a look. Today was calm so in we went. The harbour is named Homias Cove and it was beautiful. Large sea lion colonies greeted us on the way in and as we hove to while the zodiac went in to check depths we watched with amazement as these spectacular swimmers darted under the Swift close enough for us to watch them below. With not quite enough time to go ashore and walk to the Estevan Lighthouse (which was our plan) we continued on our way. We may return tomorrow if the weather permits. at Estevan Point we set sail and enjoyed a relaxing sail for the remaining ten miles to Hot Springs Cove. All of us have just returned from a hot bath in the springs while watching the sun set over the calm Pacific. A wonderful end to a very full couple of days moving south.
All are well.