Desolation Sound

Desolation Sound
by Pat Karis
, 13 June 2021

Eight Malaspina Naturalists arrived at Lund to take a boat trip to Desolation Sound.  Our captain ”extra-ordinairre” Jonas shared with us that he had left Whale Town on Cortez Island, that morning, 2 and a half hours prior to arriving in Lund…at 9:45.

After a few minutes of instruction around protocol inside and outside of the boat, we proceeded to get settled — unloading our gear and finding a comfortable place to sit.  There were outer decks open to all with lots of seating space.  Sitting inside was also an option that one member chose.  A little history about the Misty Isles ~ she is 43 feet in length and is a GAFF rigged schooner with a certified capacity for 12 passengers and two crew members.  She is also a ”well-loved and respected member of the west coast maritime community and a Desolation Sound icon !!

Shortly after leaving Lund, we headed north into the Copeland Islands where we drifted past many historically significant landmarks.  The weather was warm and overcast, to begin with, with many changing cloud formations floating past us above.  Later on, we ventured into Prideaux Haven, where we dropped anchor for lunch.  One of our very hot crew members, Sharon, decided to dive off the top of the boat, cooling off in the ocean waters.  We enjoyed our lunches that we brought.  Jonas’s wife surprised us with individual packages of cookies that she had baked just for us., to be served with the tea/coffee that was provided by the Misty Isles.  Yum, delicious — what a nice treat!!

Indeed, the Misty Isles is well maintained and very comfortable.  And the hospitality and knowledge of our host/captain was very impressive.  At times the boat was put on automatic pilot, so Jonas could mingle with us and point out places of interest.  At one point, we decided to venture up to and into Refuge Cove.  Unfortunately, our schedule/time didn’t allow us time to disembark from the the ship, but we did have time to sail in past some of the local shops and landmarks, etc.   Next Time!!

After a full day of being out on the water, our crew sailed back into Lund.  A great day was had by all .. thank-you, Misty Isles for another awesome day out on the water — we’ll tell our friends and other members what a great time we had !!