Rode for Desolation Sound
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Not to impugn Desolation Sound, a magnificent area, but if you have time consider visiting Waiatt Bay near the Octopus Islands. Lots of room, well protected, mostly shallow (30 ft) bottom even away from the shore, good holding, easy beach landing, very scenic, & not crowded. I doubt you’d need to beef up your ground tackle much to hang in there. The locals in here may disagree (but see #7), from my few visits to DS, it’s crowded. There might be barely room enough to deploy your wished for full scope in the midst of the other boats and rocky shores. Sometimes (often) a stern anchor or line to shore is needed. Also, a power boat haven there it seems—water toys, kids, “loud” music, some Honda generators, etc. All that which power boaters like to do.
Arriving to the Octopus Islands is more challenging than DS b/c of the narrow passes to enter the area. Swift tidal flow except at or near slack tide. Better, they say, to enter the passes at slack ebb tide; plan accordingly. The further, the rougher or tougher, and the colder means the fewer the neighbors.
Arriving to the Octopus Islands is more challenging than DS b/c of the narrow passes to enter the area. Swift tidal flow except at or near slack tide. Better, they say, to enter the passes at slack ebb tide; plan accordingly. The further, the rougher or tougher, and the colder means the fewer the neighbors.
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The time not to visit Desolation is mid-June to mid-Sep otherwise it can be mystical. A return trip by the end of June will put you against the flood of boats heading North. If you can hit a good weather window between mid-May and mid-June, I would highly recommend a trip up to Princess Louisa to see the spring runoff at Chatterbox Falls. It will be something that you will always remember. Waiatt Bay, even during mid-summer months, is a go to anchorage for the reasons @Kings Gambit has discussed. It seems that anytime you stick in a navigational pass that needs a bit of thought to it, most folks avoid it like the plague. If timed correctly transiting the Hole-in--the-Wall is well worth it.
Not surprisingly, those are the months when I’ve visited via bareboat charter.
For our OP. A stern line that you can take ashore is an essential piece of equipment in that area, as well as others in BC. Many of the spots have rings ashore through which to pass a stern line back to the boat. No, one does not, or should not, tie to the shore ring!! If you must leave unexpectedly you’re not gonna want to send crew ashore (nighttime, cold, wet) in a dinghy to untie, etc., at possibly 10 ft higher from the water than when you tied it there.This means you might need a lot of that line.
Many boats carry a spool of yellow 3-strand polypropylene line to use as stern ties. I’ve even seen boats where the rope spool is mounted on a frame at the stern on a horizontal pole so it can be spooled off, then wound back up through the ring ashore on recovery.
Regarding Princess Louisa Inlet; yes it’s beautiful. It’s something like 40 n.mi. up those reaches with virtually no place to turn out once underway before the entrance at Malibu Rapids. Another narrow pass with turns and potentially swift tidal flows. Once again, guides recommend passing at the time of slack tide. The fly in the buttermilk is that one really must pass in DAYLIGHT! Forty n.mi. is usually a long, slow trip in a sailboat. If the slack tide is at, or near, twilight or even later and/or you are late arriving, or even if arriving early but having to wait for slack near the twilight; very stressful. That’s a beginner’s mistake. Trust me. You do not want to arrive to that situation of failing light and tidal flow suboptimal to decide to enter the Malibu Rapids, your first time, in a sailboat!
Yes, one has to think about what’s ahead.
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Princess Louisa inlet really is a magical place. The one time I went we anchored the night before in well protected Dark Cove in the Jervis inlet. It was a bit less than 30 nm from there to Malibu which gave us some extra wiggle room to have a good time window to pass through the rapids.Regarding Princess Louisa Inlet; yes it’s beautiful. It’s something like 40 n.mi. up those reaches with virtually no place to turn out once underway before the entrance at Malibu Rapids. Another narrow pass with turns and potentially swift tidal flows. Once again, guides recommend passing at the time of slack tide. The fly in the buttermilk is that one really must pass in DAYLIGHT! Forty n.mi. is usually a long, slow trip in a sailboat. If the slack tide is at, or near, twilight or even later and/or you are late arriving, or even if arriving early but having to wait for slack near the twilight; very stressful. That’s a beginner’s mistake. Trust me. You do not want to arrive to that situation of failing light and tidal flow suboptimal to decide to enter the Malibu Rapids, your first time, in a sailboat!
Interesting story (for me anyway): We were buddy boating with my friend whose grandfather (maybe his great grandfather) developed the Malibu club in the 1940's. My friend has the same name as his grandfather and when we stopped by what is now the Young Life Malibu Club and mentioned my friend's name and relationship we were treated like royalty, invited to lunch and got the grand tour. It was fun. There were still remnants of a totem pole his grandfather had had made that showed members of his then family.
Hi Len. I've found a number of anchorages around Desolation Sound that receive little to no traffic even during the peak season, as you say. Last season I tried to find a place to drop in Grace Harbor, but was way too crowded so I moved on to a place where I was the only boat. Stayed there a couple of days then moved to another place where there was only one other boat besides ours.
We had a very similar experience in July last year. Passed on Grace, moved on and stayed 4 days rather than the planned 1.
Thanks for the tips, there’s lots of gold to be found it seems. We do prefer to avoid the crowds, especially those chartered power boats that drop 2:1 scope at low tide and don’t back down. We’ll try to hit she shoulder.
How does your windlass handle the thimble and shackle joint between chain and rope? I understand the joint is more sound than splicing directly to chain, but I also understand a 3 strand splice to chain only costs 10% of tensile strength, and we prefer to keep all our processes as simple and idiot proof as possible. How would I get a thimble and shackle past the gypsy and into the anchor locker?
For splicing 3 strand to 5/16” G4, Practical Sailor recommends the “chain long splice” and provides a description of the process. A video would be much more instructive, but I cannot find any on doing a chain long splice. Any wisdom or thoughts in regards to achieving a strong splice to 5/16” chain? I believe my line is 9/16, though it may be 5/8”.
Simple answer, you can’t!
Not without manually grabbing the line before the thimble get to the gypsy. Pulling the anchor rode in manually to the chain then inserting the chain in the gypsy.
This places the crew member manning the anchor system in a dangerous situation.
You are much safer to use the largest 3 strand nylon rode you can that will work in your windlass and use a chain to rope splice.
I posted this on another thread. It may help.
www.boatingmag.com
How to Make a Rope-to-Chain Splice | Boating Mag
Learn how to create a rope-to-chain splice using a three-strand rope.
www.boatingmag.com
For several years I’ve used what we’re calling here a “chain long splice” for my stern anchor, but it will also pass through the gypsy as the bower. It’s 9/16” 3-strand rope long sliced to 5/16” chain. I replace it after a couple of seasons b/c it’s exposed to chaffing more so than the 3-strand splice at the last link (post #32). It’s probably stronger than the type of #32 b/c the strands are not bent 180 deg around a link, etc. It’s easy to make following an illustration.
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That's correct, you can't pass the thimble through the gypsy.
In my case I have two sides of a horizontal windlass, the rope side and the chain side. When I am bringing in my secondary anchor - the one that is the rode/chain combo, I am handling the rope as i pull in the line. When my line gets to the thimble, it would be exactly the same if I had a rope to chain splice, I have to manually pick the line over to the chain gypsy. So I only have about a foot to pull to get past the thimble and engage the chain into the chain side.
It is not at all dangerous.
I always have either myself or a crew member at the bow pulling anchor and dropping anchor. So there is no notable difference which method I use. But a rope to chain splice will not last as long and likely more prone to chafe than using s thimble.
If you are desiring to both drop and pull your anchor without being at the bow, and wish for a more automatic process - then you want the splice. Just inspect it often and thoroughly.
dj
You must take care of the long chain splice. The major strands are unlaid so they can be individually woven through the chain links as in a normal rope splice. So, the strands within the strands also open up (unwind partially) allowing significant prolonged exposure to seawater and bottom sediments, etc. Bottom sediments are potentially abrasive to the smaller nylon strands. The splice should be throughly rinsed after use (when returned to dock). I soak mine in fresh water with Woolite as my rigger/splicer has recommended. Resplice every couple of seasons.
Been there, done that. Much prefer a splice with a thimble. Long splice seems to cause the chain at the splice to corrode much faster than otherwise, even when doing a fresh water rinse after each cruise.
I think I’m going with the simple 3 strand splice mentioned by JSSailem above. It seems the easiest to replicate for regular maintenance, should anything show signs of wear. That said, does anybody have suggestions as to what I should do with the old 100’ of chain, aside from secondary rode? Much of it is beyond serviceable life.
Seems simple enough, however, be sure you can get all three strands of your rope through the last link before you go too far. Ours would only accept two with a struggle, which is why I went with a long splice, but then went back to a thimble splice because the long splice was very difficult as well.
Do you have a spare anchoring system? Never used ours yet, but then again you never know when it might come in handy. Stuff happens. On our cruise last season, almost had to cut my main anchor loose because it was hung up on the bottom in Sturt Bay. That would have meant the loss of the anchor and chain. I do have a back up just in case.