Von Donop

A very nice sail today from Squirrel Cove to Von Donop Marine Park, still on Cortes Island. Although we ended up only a couple of miles from where we started, the trip itself was about 15 miles, up one side of a long, narrow piece of Cortes Island and down the other side.

We were able to sail downwind (and with a favorable current) for about 3 hours, heading north. When we reached the top of the island and started to turn to go south, the wind died completely, and we were forced to motor the rest of the way (about another 1-1/2 hours). For this area of the world, that is considered a pretty good sail. In these small channels and fiords, consistent winds, especially in the right direction, are rare.

Von Dolop Inlet itself is almost 3 miles long and rather narrow in spots as it twists and turns, almost dividing Cortes Island in two. B.C. Parks, in partnership with the Klahoose First Nation, declared the inlet and surrounding lands a marine park in 1994. Apparently it can be quite busy in summer but right now there are only 4 boats here, including us, in a bay that could easily handle 50 or more. It is so calm here that the water looks like glass and the quiet is almost spooky.

The weather is holding up nicely - probably about 23C this afternoon - not too hard to take.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com/