Barkley Sound, a Variety of Destinations

Enchanting Pinkerton Islands

From Toquart Bay, we continued motoring around Barkley Sound, searching out options for pleasure boaters with a variety of choices in mind.  We circled around Mayne Bay into Entrance Inlet to investigate the cute fishing lodge in Cigarette Cove, a nice option for small fishing boats, and found anchorage in the cove suitable for larger boats 50 feet and under. 

Float Homes are hidden among the nooks and crannies of the Pinkertons

Heading through Sechart Channel, we entered the enchanting Pinkerton Islands, offering many nooks and crannies for anchorage.  A few private homes are tucked in among the maze of islands. 

The Pinkerton Island Group is a popular kayaking destination

The beautiful Sechart Lodge, located on the east end of the island group, is a popular kayak destination providing easy access to the Pinkertons. Located northeast of the Pinkertons is one of the prettiest destinations for pleasure cruisers; a very scenic cove, tucked behind Vernon Bay, is home to Eagle Nook Resort & Spa. 

Beautiful Scenery on the way to Eagle Nook Resort

Eagle Nook offers 100 plus feet of side-tie for visiting boats, a nice restaurant, and hiking trails. 

Eagle Nook Resort is tucked inside a scenic bay behind Vernon Bay

The bay is lovely but too deep for anchorage; however, Eagle Nook has one guest buoy located nearby.  Unfortunately, the facility was still closed for the season and would not be opening for another three or four days. 

The Attractive Eagle Nook Resort & Spa

It was now late afternoon and time to find a place to stay for the night.  Continuing east through Junction Pass, we entered San Mateo Bay and discovered a small public float.  Two sport fishing boats were tied on one side of the float, leaving plenty of room for us to tie up on the other side. 

A Public Float is available for pleasure cruisers in San Mateo Bay

We had a fun impromptu social gathering on the dock with the other two couples from Comox and Nanaimo.  They had trailered their boats to Port Alberni, at the head of Alberni Inlet, and motored into Barkley Sound for some seasonal fishing. 

While it is possible to anchor in San Mateo Bay close to shore, the float seems to be a better option.  Barkley Sound definitely has a wide variety of cruising destinations each with its own character: Bamfield, Ucluelet, the Broken Group, the Pinkertons and other areas, including Port Alberni, each offer something unique.  This realization prompted the idea of coming up with symbols to indicate their character, like emojis; let’s call them eboatjis.  We started thinking about all of the pictorial ways to describe each boating destination.  Perhaps we should start an eboatji contest?!