Broughtons–Stopford, Jennis Bay & The Red Shoe

Hello Mark/Bob,

We found two very good things on our recent trip (August 23-September 12, 2011) in the Broughton Archipelago, which we thought you might find interesting.

1. We anchored in Stopford Bay, Cypress Harbour 8/30/2011, we found the fish farm in Miller Bay empty, and the logging site at Berry Cove with no evidence of activity. Friends who were on another boat used the logging road and found it very clear and good for dog walking. We anchored in about 25' about mid-way between the BC Parks red sign, and a red sign on the opposing shore which was hand made saying GForce. We were quite cautious about the nearby rock, shown on all our charts. We scrutinized the bay in our dingy for over an hour, from every possible spot with our. depth sounder, and while we are sure the rock must be there, the only thing we could find was a depth of 14' on an approximate 4' tide. We took the walk described by you and found the rock grotto and pond, reported by Gil Flanagan. Our two dogs got quite suitably muddy at the ponds edge. This was one of our favorite anchorages of the trip, most probably because we did anchor in Stopford. Our friends who anchored elsewhere in Cypress, were blown about a bit, but Stopford was almost magical in its beauty, and serenity.

2. September 5-6, 2011 we went to Jennis Bay. We were warmly welcomed by Kim and Kent Marshall (as you probably know Kim is Allison’s gorgeous sister who has taken over). There were three other boats there, and even though is was “after the season” so to speak, Kim put on a delectable happy hour table. Kim is outgoing and friendly, and Kent has everything building and improving at a rapid pace. Kim comes with a legal background and really has a good grasp of all the business end of running a marina. She has a wonderful bubbly personality, and while we miss very much Allison and her family, we are thrilled that Jennis Bay will continue. In the morning Kim had special blended coffee she gets from Vancouver Island, and warm muffins for us, and lots of fun anecdotes of her time at Jennis Bay when she was a child. We look forward to stopping at Jennis Bay in the future, and can highly recommend it.

A final happy unplanned event was our stop at Port Harvey Marina Resort on September 10, 2011. By this time pretty much all the boats have headed home, and we stopped in unexpectedly almost at dusk. George welcomed us, and what a warm and friendly person he turned out to be. He is a real treasure, and the dogs loved the place. I think its the first Marina we’ve ever stopped at where the owner said, just let your dogs run, its all our land, and they are free to enjoy it!!! I only regret that I had not read about the cafe “The Red Shoe,” before we started our trip. They already have an amazing collection, and you can be sure that before we return I will find a very special red shoe to take to the cafe with us....What fun!!!

The Very Best to all of you at Waggoner,
Art and Chris Capps
M/V “Lucky Puppy” (AT41)