More New Finds

Beach Gardens Resort & Marina

After perusing Bliss Landing, we continued south to Beach Gardens Resort & Marina, where we had a moorage reservation for the night.  Located south of Powell River near Grief Point, Beach Gardens is a convenient stop along Malaspina Strait, with reasonable moorage rates and an excellent restaurant called The Seasider, which opened in late 2017. 

The Classy Bar at Beach Gardens

The restaurant’s interior sports a new design with a separate classy bar.  The outdoor patio has new furnishings with large umbrellas and a cozy fire pit for the cooler evenings; the same great views of Malaspina Strait can be enjoyed from both the dining room and patio. 

The Lovely Patio overlooking Malaspina Strait

If for no other reason, the excellent meals are worth the stop. 

The delicious Steak Bleu Cheese Salad

We shared the fabulous Steak Bleu Cheese Salad with strip loin, candied walnuts, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and pea shoots with a honey vinaigrette; we also shared the Herb-Roasted Chicken Breast with seasonal vegetables, spinach and nugget potatoes in chicken Jus.

The delectable Herb-Roasted Checken Breast

For dessert, we finished with a Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble. Other dishes included the Braised Clams with fennel sausage, local beer, orange rind, red chili and warm baguette with hand-cut frites; or you can try the Maple Pecan Salmon served with nugget potatoes and seasoned vegetables with a rhubarb chutney.  As long as you are having dinner, put a load of laundry in the new laundry facility which is now easier to access, located adjacent to the Beer & Wine Store.  The following morning, we motored south along the northeastern shore of Malaspina Strait looking for possible new anchorages.  McRae Cove, located east of McRae Islet, where Jervis Inlet joins Malaspina Strait, looks to be well-protected.  The entrance is rather narrow with charted rocks.

The entrance to McRae Cove

Investigating further, we were pleased to find a consistent flat sandy bottom, with anchoring depths of 10 feet at zero tide; watch for the drying area at the head of the cove.

The scenic cove has room for two or three boats to anchor

A channel leads to the back cove and is larger than it appears on the charts with room for two or three boats to anchor.

Scenic McRae Cove has windows to Malaspina Strait

The cove is rather scenic with windows to Malaspina Strait and a couple of homes on the north shore.  Continuing south, we reached our final destination of Pender Harbour to spend a few nights catching up on business.  Stay tuned for more updates.