Harmony Islands, Hotham Sound

POWELL RIVER to HARMONY ISLANDS MARINE PARK: 15 nm / 3 hrs

We left Powell River about 11 AM and headed to Hotham Sound - not a long trip but we saw 2 humpbacks on the way. We cut the engines which added an extra hour to the trip, so we arrived at Harmony Islands later than anticipated. I did get some great video thought.

Hotham Sound wasn’t originally on the itinerary - the plan was to get all the way up the Jervis Inlet to Vancouver Bay on our way to Princess Louisa’s Inlet to put ourself in a good spot to wait until slack tide for the Malibu rapids. HOWEVER, as always happens with us at the tail end of our trips, we decided we’d Princess Louisa’s another time. :) That way we can be back in Booth Bay for at least a couple days with Kelsey and the kids.

We were so glad we made the change - Harmony Islands has been - by far - our favourite stop. Hotham Sound is very protected and the water incredibly warm. Just before you get to the Islands, there is a waterfall on the east side of the sound that comes down from Freil Lake - a lot of people will collect the fresh water but we wanted to anchor before exploring the area.

The forecast said the winds would be very mild so we anchored on the west side of the islands - most do the east where there’s supposed to be a couple of stern ties chains. There’s not a lot of room for a bunch of boats, but there was only 2 or 3 boats the whole time we were there - and no one on the side we anchored. It was a little trick to get a hold - very rocky bottom - but after 3 or 4 skips along the bottom, the anchor got a firm hold and we were good the entire stay.

The water was incredible - crystal clear, no waves or currents, WARM (20C at any time of the day), and no jelly fish. Wasps were non-existent but there were a few mosquitoes - nothing annoying and the bites didn’t itch for more than a second. The temperature was 27/28C, so we paddle boarded and swam every day - although I was a little worried about the family of seals (like 15+) who spent their days sunning on a rock very close by! Every once in a while a big one or some babies would come to check us out.

We ended up spending 3 nights here so we’ve got 2 days to get to Salt Spring. Our first stop is Smuggler Cove - I wanted to anchor in Buccaneer Bay where the beaches are gorgeous, but with little protection, the forecasted NWesterlies would make for a very uncomfortable night.Read more