Sensory Overload



Mountain Backdrop and Ocean Spray along Rocky Shore 



Blenheim Rock and Ocean Spray



Nearing McNaughton Island Group



The weather on May 19th was clear, calm, and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  We took advantage of the good weather and cruised to the McNaughton Island Group located along Queen Charlotte Strait in Queens Sound rather than taking the more traveled “Inside Passage” route through Fitz Hugh Sound and Fisher Channel.  The McNaughton Group is seldom visited by pleasure boats, and I understand why.  Even with no wind, we had large ocean swells as we headed north from Pruth Bay.  Since the waves were far apart, “Got d’ Fever” was gently lifted and dropped as the swells passed under us. -- every now and then it looked like a wall of water coming our way, a little unnerving, but we got used to the idea.  We could see the beautiful mountains along the “Inside Passage” a great backdrop to the ocean swells crashing over small islands and islets out at sea - a sensory overload of beauty.  To add to the excitement, our Raymarine display of Vector Charts suddenly went blank – no islands, no mainland, or routes shown; it was like we had fallen off the edge of the earth!  We did have a backup however since we simultaneously use Raster Charts on our PC computer.  We soon realized that our Raymarine unit was operational; we just needed to put in a different electronic chip for the next segment of charts - not exactly a great place for boaters to have to switch over charts.  We arrived at our anchorage in the McNaughton Group (west of Hunter Island) around noon.  A paradise for kayakers, our anchorage was completely secluded and provided excellent protection.  It is interesting to note that many of the McNaughton islands and islets are named after WWII aircraft.  This group of islands appears small on the charts, but they actually cover a large area; as one reader put it, the enormity of the B.C. Coast never ceases to amaze!



Calm Anchorage in McNaughton's