We only did 3 day trips off Cortes Island in September. All 3 days were quite calm - the first with a little rain, the second cloudy, and the third sunny. Six of us stayed at the 'Smelt Bay Beach House' while the other two stayed in a place nearer Mansons Landing. Some in our group have visited Cortes before, maybe 4 earlier trips, so reaching the island was familiar. Drive to Campbell River from Nanaimo, take the ferry to Quadra (~10 minutes), cross quickly to Heriot Bay, and take the ferry to Cortes (~40 minutes). Of course, waiting in line for the ferry can be the time consumer.
Note: most (perhaps all) photos throughout this report were from Steve and Trish.
The check in time at Smelt Bay, when we reached Cortes was 4 PM; so
attempting to kayak before that was unattractive (e.g. abandoning all
our stuff in the cars whilst kayaking). So our first kayak day was the
next morning.
Eli and I (mostly Eli) provided dinner, a Persian Stew. Pam & Kathy provided a salad. By meal time, all 8 of us had gathered for dinner. At some point post dinner, Pam & Kathy left for their separate accommodations.
Day 1
From our VRBO, we lugged the kayaks across the road to the beach (not at all far). Then we headed in the light and intermittent rain north toward Mansons Landing, slightly exceeding that goal. We saw river otters, loons, cormorants, Bonaparte gulls, etc. There was some discussion, "Were those really loons?", but then the loons responded with one of their signature calls.
When dinnertime rolled around, Nelson & Audrey provided the meal while Pam & Kathy again brought a salad.
Day 2
On this day, we drove to Cortes Bay as our launch spot. We then paddled south just passing Twin Islands. We saw many seals, eagles, cormorants, sea stars, and urchins. Once again it was calm, however no rain. Note: this part of the Cortes is actually quite close to the mainland, but there is no connecting ferry.
The dinner chefs were Trish and Steve and, once again, Pam and Kathy brought a salad.
Day 3
On this sunny day we launched from Gorge Harbour, through the narrow opening, then north toward Whaletown. Early on, we stopped at Shark Spit collecting sand dollars and other shells. Our lunch was at Whaletown, on a rock outcropping above the water's edge.
Well, who was to prepare dinner? We all had turns, with Pam & Kathy always bringing a salad. The floating restaurant at Gorge Harbour isn't merely closed; it had been razed. However, fortune smiled upon us and our friends in Tiber Bay (Ralph & Maureen) bravely invited all 8 of us for a clam feast, clams from their bay! We even more bravely made our way on the gravel road to Tiber Bay. We brought some food and assorted wines to accompany the clams. The weather allowed us to dine outside on their deck, looking east to the sea with the mainland in the background - truly a stunning view.
Day 4
No kayaking this day. We grabbed the Cortes ferry and then the Quadra ferry and made our way south. Eli and I stayed overnight with Audrey and Nelson in their splendid home on the Nanaimo River. The next morning we headed home to Sandpoint, starting with the 5:15 AM ferry from Duke Point to Tsawwassen.
