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Mothership Meandering
Separation Anxiety
Queen Charlotte Strait is the name of
the body of water where Vancouver
Island diverges from the Mainland of British
Columbia just north of Johnstone Strait.
This is not to be confused with the strait
bounding the Queen
Charlotte Islands
well to the north of
here—Hecate Strait,
aptly named after the
Greek goddess of the
underworld.
W h i l e Q u e e n
Charlotte Strait can
also be a hellion at
times, in calmer conditions you can safely
enjoy the many weather-beaten islets
fringing its eastern side.
I remember one trip, blessed with early
calm, as we explored this fringe of islets:
me standing on top of the wheelhouse
watching for rocks and scanning for future
paddling spots; Laurie below, steering while
delighting in the many scoters and auklets
we were passing.
As that morning wound on, however, the
wind started to blow up to the point that
we finally abandoned our northwesterly
progress and ducked into Wells Passage
where we were protected from the now
rough waters of Queen Charlotte Strait.
Wells Passage is an entryway to a veritable
maze of inner waterways—Grappler Sound,
Kenneth Passage, Mackenzie Sound, Nepah
Lagoon...
Early morning is a magical
time for paddling. It’s usually
still and you feel wonderfully
at peace as your bow slips
through the mirroring waters,
the shore’s reflections
multiplying in your wake.
With so many protected bays and
lagoons in which to anchor, where should
we go? Scanning our guidebooks, we
noticed that nearby Drury Inlet had a
cluster of rocks and islets at its head, exactly
the sort of formation
in which we love to
paddle. There was also
an interesting looking
offshoot into Actaeon
Sound leading to an
inner lagoon—lots to
explore by kayak!
Since our tide and
current tables showed
that slack water was just ending at the entry
to Drury, we decided to go for it.
With the help of our guidebook, we
navigated past the hazards at the narrowest
part of Stuart Narrows and proceeded west
up the Inlet, finding it to be a considerable
body of water. The low surrounding land
was forested with second growth timber
as it had obviously been heavily logged
over the years, and some recent logging
scars caught the eye. Perhaps this feature,
and the fact there are so many other
good anchorages nearby, kept Drury from
becoming popular with boaters—certainly
we saw few boats here.
Reaching the Muirhead Islands near the
head of the Inlet, we found a small notch
where we dropped anchor. I launched the
kayaks off the side as Laurie readied our
paddles and gear. ➝
Story and photo
by Alan Wilson
New • Demos • Rentals
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Seasonal Warehouse
Call 604 715-7174
June/July 2004 www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
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