2023 Trip Highlights and Stats

This year was pretty amazing for trips and experiences on Kaos. Tons of anchorages, spectacular views, and all with close friends.

The Numbers

• 2824 nautical miles
• 369 hours underway
• 116 different moves from place to place
• 185 days spent away from home port
  • 85 days at various docks
  • 93 days at anchor
  • 3 days on mooring buoys

I would have liked to have spent more days at anchor, but I always feel that way! Here are some highlights from the year.

Early Winter in Canada - Gulf Islands & Vancouver

I love cruising in the off-season - beautiful vistas with the cold air and snow, empty anchorages, and interesting weather and storms. This trip provided all of those things! I was buddy boating with my friend Tom on Equinox during this trip.

The trip started in the Gulf Islands - Winter Cove, Genoa Bay, Mill Bay, and Ganges Harbour. We hid out in Ganges for a few days during a snowstorm with a lot of wind, spent some time at Moby's, and then crossed the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver.

Vancouver was awesome - and it snowed quite a bit. The harbour also started freezing somehow and was quite crazy to see. I stayed at Coal Harbour Marina ($$$) due to other arrangements not working out. It was pretty expensive, but it was nice for a few days to wait out the storm and winds.

We ended up needing to leave Vancouver and decided to head to Halkett Bay in Howe Sound for a night. The ice was still an issue for a while out until Pt. Atkinson, but cleared up pretty quickly. I stern tied in Halkett Bay and we had a quiet night before crossing the Strait of Georgia in the morning.

We ended up at Wallace Island which we explored for a few days. It was pretty tricky to stern tie Kaos in a spot with enough depth, and we had a bit of a windstorm that meant for some extra pressure on the stern line. I also started getting really sick and ended up having to go to the hospital in Friday Harbor for strep throat! I was so sick that while docking there, I dropped my phone in the water - you never really realize how much you depend on your phone until you don't have it in a remote location.

All in all it was a fantastic winter trip with almost zero other boats out and about. Lots of snow, wind, and beautiful views.

Broughtons: April-May-June

Duration: 60 days
995 nautical miles
39 days at anchor, 21 days at docks

This was my favorite trip of the year because it was with two other boats full of amazing people - Equinox and Fortitude. We had a phenomenal time, and visited places none of us had been before. This trip is too much to summarize here - it deserves its own article which is in the works!

The trip started with the three of us all coming from different locations, and getting trapped on various sides of the Strait of Georgia during a multi-day long storm. After we connected in Heriot Bay, we made our way up into the Octopus Islands, and then as quickly as possible up into the Broughtons. We enjoyed a solid 4 weeks of cruising together before Fortitude left to head to Alaska. Equinox and I continued to cruise for another 4+ weeks.

Early season cruising in the Broughtons was absolutely worth it. On the way south, Equinox and I visited Vancouver again, and spent a week or so in the Gulf Islands before heading south back into the US.

Desolation: August-September-October

Duration: 69 days
1008 nautical miles
31 days at anchor, 35 days at docks, 3 days on a mooring ball

Another amazing trip with Equinox and visits from a few other boaters. This one definitely deserves a whole article too - coming soon! Here are some highlights...

We started out with a couple of days in the Gulf Islands and reconnected with Fortutide who had just gotten back from being in Alaska all summer. Equinox and I then scooted over to Jedediah Island Marine Park - this was the first time we had been there, and I cannot believe I've passed this by for 25+ years! It deserves more time than our 4 days there. We ended up in the Copelands and ran into several other friends who hung out for a day or so, and then up into Desolation. Lots of stern ties on this trip!

Anchorages included spots like Tenedos Bay, Ramsay Arm, Prideaux Haven, Beaver Inlet, Princess Louisa Inlet, Garden Bay, Cortes Bay, Pendrell Sound and many more. Another fantastic trip with good company and both familiar and new anchorages, plus a few windstorms thrown in for good measure.

I can't wait to share more details on the two big trips, and of course the new trips we'll take on our new boat....more on that in a few weeks!