July 3, 2007 – Tenedos Bay

Our departure from Cortes was wet. We had made an attempt to catch crab at the entrance to Cortes Bay, and did not meet with success. So score one for Cae on the mussel foraging and zero for Bob on the crab hunting. The next stop on the itinerary was Tenedos Bay, located approximately 13 miles North of Cortes. We rounded Mink Island to the North and headed into Tenedos. Tenedos is the first stop in Desolation Sound. Prior to this, we had merely been in the Strait of Georgia.

Upon entering Tenedos, there are four distinct anchoring areas. We explored all four, and then decided on choosing the Northern most cove. On the GPS this cove showed 33 feet deep until you hit land, and it was not a joke. We are tucked back into a cove with two mountains and one large hill on our three sides with just the West exposed. There is a sheer rock cliff to our North which we estimated to be well over 500 – 700 feet. When you look at our mast which is 56 feet in the foreground, the sense for the cliff is apparent. It is so tight with cliffs around use, that we echo when talking. Cooper last night found out he could bark, and dog would bark back. It took him a while to get tired of the game, especially once he figured it would howl as well. The other notable thing about this cove was the plethora of jellyfish. Literally thousands of them ranging from the size of a quarter up to almost 8 inches across. We wondered if maybe it is a breeding ground for them.
Anchoring was interesting. We dropped our anchor off the bow and then stern tied to the rocks behind us. That got a little interesting, but after several failed attempts, we were tucked in safely for the night. The shores surrounding us are covered with oysters and the rocks with wild blackberries. Unfortunately they weren’t ripe, but we’ll probably find some later in the week.



Around the corner from our anchorage is a path leading to Lake Unwin. This lake is about a quarter to half a mile up a very easy trail. We had heard it was a great place to swim, however we found it to have too many logs against the shore to be enjoyable. Instead of following the path back the way we came, we headed towards the sound of rushing water and discovered a fast moving stream that was about 10 feet wide. Assuming it would eventually dump out into the water, we decided to use it as our path. At its deepest, the stream was probably a little over 3 feet. After hiking through muggy woods, it was a refreshing break. Cooper for his part demonstrated that while only 13 pounds and standing a little over a foot, he can navigate any amount of water. He also showed off some pretty impressive leaping from log to log. Ali on the other hand, enjoyed the trip down in Dad’s arms. And what day would be complete without Cooper landing in the water? Of course when he jumped from the dinghy to the boat he missed again. Splash! So far he is maintaining once a day!
THE RAIN HAS STOPPED! We awoke this morning to a beautiful clear day. The sun is peaking in around the cliffs and into our little cove. It is looking like it is going to be a great day.