What’s New With Us
July took us deeper into the northern reaches of the Broughton Archipelago on Vestri. We spent the month hopping between remote, scenic anchorages, waiting out stretches of gray and rainy weather typical of the BC coast this year, and soaking up some truly spectacular wildlife moments. We also put a few power-system upgrades and products through real-world testing and shared the details in videos.
Wildlife & Anchorages
Belleisle Sound & Moore Bay / Burly Bay: Explored an anchorage off Kingcome Inlet, then moved to Moore Bay and on to Burly Bay with a stop at Sullivan Bay Marina. Peaceful, scenic, and classic Broughton cruising.
Blair Islet: One of the highlights – remote, wild, and very scenic, tucked between the islet and the mainland near Burly Bay. Five days of solitude, low-tide dinghy explorations of intertidal life (sea stars, anemones, sea cucumbers, barnacles), and Anne spotting a seal eating an octopus!
Blackfish Sound: A standout sunny day packed with wildlife, a pack of young sea otters playing around the boat, orcas, multiple humpbacks, a massive eagle feeding frenzy on bait balls, and cruise ships passing through. We also managed some successful crabbing.
Carriden Bay: Five mostly solitary nights with a black bear foraging at low tide (seen twice), views of Mount Stephens, and good anchor holding despite being a bit open to east winds.
Drury Inlet & Muirhead Islands: Careful timing through Stuart Narrows (currents up to 6–7 knots), then a quiet one-boat anchorage among the islets at the end of the inlet. Dinghy explorations revealed more black bears crunching mussels, kingfishers, herons, seals, eagles, and stunning calm-water reflections. A real gem.
Carter Passage to Port McNeill: After more rain, we threaded a narrow high-tide passage into a peaceful notch in Carter Passage (between Broughton and North Broughton Islands). Spotted bears foraging mussels again, hummingbirds, herons, seals, kingfishers, and heard the haunting calls of a pair of loons.
On July 27 we crossed Queen Charlotte Strait in light winds and a few rain squalls and anchored in the busy but protected Port McNeill Harbour for resupply after more than two weeks out.
Port McNeill marinas as seen from our boat anchored in the bay
July was a little grayer, cooler and rainier than ideal even by Broughton standards, so good weather windows and solid anchorage protection mattered. Still, the sunny stretches in the low 20s °C were perfect for dinghy puttering and flybridge happy hours.
Power Systems & Product Reviews
I also put some serious time into documenting and testing this season’s off-grid setup:
Solar Array Update – 1440 watts total on the CHB 34: pair of 195 W Renogy ShadowFlux on the flybridge rails, two 200 W BougeRV Yuma CIGS flexible panels on the bimini, a 450 W ZOUPW folding panel on the port quarter, and a 200 W Bluetti up forward. Excellent shading tolerance and strong output even in the mixed BC weather.
BougeRV 60 A Sunflow Solar Charge Controller: Bluetooth monitoring, solid heatsink (no fans), lithium-friendly features.
Vatrer 460 Ah LiFePO4 – Longer-Term Marine Update: Now in its second season and serving as our primary house bank. Cycled hard (down to ~30 % and back up), charged at up to 100 A and discharged near 150 A with no issues. Opened it up for inspection, still looking factory-fresh inside, cells perfectly balanced, no corrosion.
BougeRV portable on-demand propane camping shower boat demo and review update. I found if I collect a 5-gallon bucket of fresh rainwater (not hard up here), I can get a nice hot shower and conserve water in our main tank.
July ended on the dock in Port McNeill for a few days loading up on groceries, water, and fuel, then heading back out.
Fingers crossed August brings longer stretches of warm sunny summer weather as we keep exploring this gorgeous stretch of the BC coast.
Recent Posts & Videos
Here’s a quick list of what went up on the website (and corresponding YouTube videos) in July:
Our Boat’s Solar Panel Setup – 1440 watts on a CHB 34 Foot Trawler
Vatrer 460AH LiFePO4 Battery Review – Longer-Term Marine Update
New Explorations! Journey up Drury Inlet to Muirhead Islands
Carriden Bay Anchorage – More Summer Boating in the Broughtons
Fun Summer Day in Blackfish Sound! Sea Otters, Orca, Eagles and Cruise Ships
Exploring an Anchorage in Belleisle Sound off Kingcome Inlet
Image of the Month
Until Next Time
Thanks so much for following along with our 2026 boating season.
Cheers! Ray
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Beautiful photo 😊
The wet dreary days are offset by the stunning beauty of the scenery and amazing wildlife you encounter around the next corner! What a magical experience! Keep the photos and video coming, there wonderful to view a world some of us may never have the opportunity to experience. Thank you Ray and Anne.