Exploring Quatsino Sound

Anxious to get out on our first multiday sailing trip of 2024 we planned trip up Quatsino sound on the west coast of Northern Vancouver Island.  We left Winter Harbour in late May and returned early June – in total we were gone 12 days. During our trip we explored several different anchorages and small communities. Our stops included:

• Pamphlet Cove
• Port Alice
• Julian Cove
• Varney Bay
• Coal Harbour
• Pamphlet Cove (return trip)

This trip included a first for us, in order to sail to Varney Bay and Coal Harbour we had to navigate Quatsino Narrows. Quatsino Narrows is a ‘narrow’ channel that connects Holberg Inlet to the eastern end of Quatsino Sound

This post focuses on Pamphlet Cove.

Pamphlet Cove

Pamphlet Cove (formally known as Quiet Cove) is located on the north side of Drake Island in Quatsino Sound. Quiet Cove was the home to Frigon’s Hotel in the late 1890’s. More fascinating information on Drake Island and surrounding area can be found here.

Pamphlet Cove is one of the stops on the Cape Scott Marine Trail which is just one of the trails maintained by BC Marine Trails.

Quatsino Sound is the northernmost of the five sounds along the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Being novice sailors, and a little past our ‘best before’ date – but still a ways to our expiry date (hopefully), we are cautious and spend a fair amount of time researching our trips and anchorages.  One of our favorite guides is the Salish Sea Guides. Salish Sea Guides mentions Pamphlet Cove as a worthwhile stop.

Our starting point for this trip was Winter Harbour BC. Winter Harbour is about 18 nautical miles from Pamphlet Cove.

The trip took us just over 5 hours. It was still unseasonably cool and the sun peaked in and out of the clouds from time to time. We hoisted the sails for part of the trip, even though there really was not enough wind once we passed Cliffe Point. None the less it was nice having the engine off and just listening to the water lapping against the hull and the birds singing as we sailed along at 2 knots.

Entering Pamphlet Cove

Finding Pamphlet Cove was straight forward using our chart plotter. The entrance is easy to see and navigate. There is a row of kelp across the entrance, Joy stood watch on the bow and we were able to navigate around the worst of the kelp but we still had to cross through some of the kelp.

We anchored in about 11 meters of water The anchorage is well protected from the wind however there is often waves from the passing boats – mostly sport fishing boats and a few commercial fishing vessels.

Exploring Pamphlet Cove

Once anchored we took our tender to shore to explore. This is when we noticed the BC Marine Trail signage. Right where we beached our tender there was the remains of a tidal grid. Such a simple design could be so effective.

Further on the shore was the remains of an old boat, just the ribs remained. We wondered how long it had been resting here and how much longer before it completely disintegrated.

The next day at high tide we explored the sizable lagoon on the South Side of Pamphlet cove (at the head of the Cove). Once we crossed the imaginary line between the cove and the lagoon we were in a different world. The water was smooth as glass and crystal clear. There were several areas to beach our tender and explore. We always find it interesting to see land that is under water at high tides and exposed during low tides – there are pools of water that are home to so much sea life.

We spent 2 nights at this mostly quiet anchorage. We were the only boat there, other than the occasional wake from passing boats in the channel it was extremely peaceful. Below are a few of the photos we took. Hope you enjoy!

Next Stops

From Pamphlet Cove we sailed to Port Alice. We have visited Port Alice previously and our blog can be found here. We spent a few very enjoyable days in Port Alice, enjoyed what has now become a tradition; having our morning coffee at the Foggy Mountain Coffee Company and dinner at McWilkie’s. We were even lucky enough to be able to take in a local craft show at the Community Center!

Our next blog will focus on our sail to and through Quatsino Narrows.

Thanks for reading!