Kynumpt Harbour is just a few miles from Shearwater/Bella
Bella, which is the principal resupply point on this section of coast. They
have fuel and water (neither of which we need) and, more importantly, liquor
and groceries.
We didn’t need much, but since we’ll probably be hanging out
on the Central Coast for five or six more days I wanted to pick up some fresh
produce and some more beer. Bella Bella is a native village, and the grocery
store was surprisingly well stocked given this remote location. Lots of fresh
berries, melons, vegetables, etc. We
made it in and out in 15 minutes and were back on our way.
Let’s take a brief digression and talk about self
sufficiency. I’ll preface this discussion by saying that I much prefer being
anchored to being tied up in a marina. Anything that extends the time between
marina visits is a good thing…
When I was cruising on the C-Dory, the limiting factor was
fuel. With only 50 gallons, I had to stop for fuel every few hundred miles,
long before I’d run out of water or fresh food.
Safe Harbour carries
370 gallons of fuel and has a useful range of over 1000 nautical miles. I never
worry about fuel. Fill up in Anacortes, Ketchikan, and Juneau and I’m good.
Water, though, is an issue. I carry 150 gallons of fresh
water, but that goes quickly. Showers, dishes, flushing the toilet…it all adds
up. We’ve been using about 30-40 gallons a day.
Enter the watermaker. I bought a secondhand Katadyn
PowerSurvivor 160 last summer on my way south, and finally got around to
installing it just before leaving this summer. It’s awesome. It runs off the 12
volt DC system and uses about 20 amps making 6-7 gallons per hour. This doesn’t
sound like much, but I tend to run it whenever I’m underway since the
alternator makes plenty of electricity. Since I tend to average about 6 hours
underway each day, I make enough water to keep up with use.
So fuel and water aren’t limiting factors, but fresh produce
is. Hence the stop in Bella Bella. Digression over…
The weather has turned hot! Think mid-70s, maybe even 80.
After Bella Bella we headed for Codville Lagoon. Codville is a big, well
protected and reasonably scenic anchorage, but its real charm is Sagar Lake.
Sagar Lake is accessed via a short (1.2 km, 10 minutes of hiking in flip
flops), mostly-boardwalk trail. The best part, though, is the lake’s improbably
sandy shoreline.
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| Codville Lagoon anchorage |
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| So calm! |
We relaxed in sun, swam, drank a few beers and ate snacks.
Perfect afternoon!
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| Sagar Lake |
The weather looks like it will stay hot for a few more days,
so we’re going to continue the beach theme. Next stop, Pruth Bay.
20.44 nm today
2810.21 nm total
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