Sturt Bay - Texada
We wanted to try a new place so, instead of stopping off at Powell River, we headed to Sturt Bay, across the strait from Powell, just south of the northeast corner of Texada Island. It was a four hour journey and some of us took advantage of the time to take a nap. Yes, that is a hammock and it sways with the waves. Poor guy, you would think he had worked so hard… NOT!
Sturt Bay is home to the Texada Boating Club with a great little marina. Sylvia met us to welcome us and help get everyone safely dock. We got all five boats on a dock, including the trophy, with room to spare. Sylvia fell in love with the Trophy and advised us it may not be there in the morning (but it still was).
From the water, Texada looks uninhabitated, but that was not the case and what a treat we found. Sturt Bay is quite large with plenty of room to anchor, and several docks at the marina. There are warnings to anchor at your own risk due to a fair amount of old logging equipment at the bottom which can foul your anchor. It seems that was the way of the past… don’t want to haul it back to land? Just leave it where it is, or dump it in the bay. As the day ended, there were quite a few boats anchored out.
After everyone was settled in, we took a walk into their little town. We enjoy seeing the local area but the one thing we always want is a grocery store and this had a great one. There was also a little cafe and the dinner special was liver and onions. I thought that was great - I was the only one! We all ate on our boats.
Happy hour was at the picnic tables under a canopy on the dock with our maps and books. Where were we going to go next? Each days journey needs a destination and we were excited to get into Desolation Sound.
The day was a hot one and the water was a delightful 74 degrees. Dave H and I couldn’t resist and jumped in every chance we could. The warm salt water is rather buoyant and we swam from boat to boat chatting and enjoying the coolness. As the evening wound down, David, Holly, Keith, and I played Mexican Train Deluxe (mexican train with a twist). The competitive spirit was evident and the girls didn’t fair to well but we had a good time.
This was such a quaint, inviting place and we were glad we stopped. We all enjoy trying something new - it’s part of the adventure.
The following morning, Keith and I left an hour early and headed over to Powell River to fuel up. We then met up with our fleet headed north into Desolation Sound.
Route from Secret Cove northwest to Sturt Bay on Texada Island, quick jump over to Powell River and then north into Desolation Sound
