Day 25 - Cortes and the Laughing Oyster


After filling up the water tanks and a send off from Sarah at 7am, we had another uneventful crossing through Dent and Yuculta rapids and made it through Uganda Passage to Manson’s landing at the Northwestern edge of Cortes island in good time for 10am.  We had planned a day at Hague Lake and kayaking through the Lagoon but the weather was still cold and cloudy so it turned into a visit to the Natural Foods Co-op for a breakfast of homemade pastries and a tour of the Museum followed by a walk down to the Lake and a nap on the amazing white sand beach listening to the sounds of kids playing In the water.  We all felt a bit weird seeing so many people again and cars on the road after being so isolated up the coast the past 3 weeks. We are sure the big city will take some getting used to when we are back next week. 

We took the trail through the forest back to the Lagoon and the tide was high enough for an exploration by dingy.  The same abandoned boats from last year were still in the lagoon, looking like they are on the verge of sinking and we are all wondering what the rules are around cleaning up all of these abandoned boats we have seen on this trip up the passage, the pollution associated with these is not insignificant and we are surprised they aren’t rules around owners having to deal with them, no one seems to care.

We had reservations at the Laughing Oyster restaurant in Okeover Inlet at 730pm so after a late lunch we had to depart Mansons by 5pm to head over for the 20 mile trip to the Inlet.  The tide was ebbing so I had to bump up the throttles to maintain 10 knots to get there in time.  We could see as we approached that the government dock was full so we anchored in nearby Penrose Bay and took the tender in.  

This was our first real “uptown” dinner of the trip and the Oyster did not disappoint.  We were seated in possibly the best table in the restaurant with a direct sunset view over the inlet.  Delicious  food, excellent company and conversation and attentive wait staff all combined for a first class dining experience that seemed to put the finishing touch on an amazing trip. We left the dock just as the sun was setting and followed our anchor light home for a glass of port on the upper deck under a half moon and the last glimmers of the waning sun shining through a gap in the trees.  

Tommorrow we have a long run down to the entrance of Sechelt Inlet where will overnight at one of my favourite anchorages in Hotham Sound before timing our entry through Skookumchuck Rapids into the inlet for a visit with Deanna. 

Crib scores Captain - 4, Patti - 6, Roman - 3


Running time 5 hours, 226L used, 321L remaining, 7 hours range. 








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