People and Places: Echo Bay

October-November 2006

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Diana Mumford

In August we took our new (to us) 35 foot Chris Craft up the BC coast. Loafer II proved to be a great mothership for our family of three and easily carried our kayaks on her wheelhouse roof. With the range a big boat allows, we managed to get ourselves as far as Port McNeill on Northern Vancouver Island in the time we had available, finding great paddling in and around anchorages along the way.

These waters draw us like a magnet and fuel our wintertime dreams of next year’s cruise. We enjoy being immersed in the work-a-day world of fishboats, whale watch operators, tugs and coastal freighters—and away from the crowds down south.

After fishing and watching the whales in Johnstone Strait for a few days, and reprovisioning in McNeill, we headed into the back country of the Broughton Archipelago. We wanted to amble around in this maze of islands and re-acquaint ourselves with some favorite spots. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting with some folks in the Echo Bay area of Gilford Island.

Echo Bay is the site of an ancient First Nations settlement dating back thousands of years. The community hall and school (six students this year) sit on a midden at the head of the bay, and pictographs adorn the rock face that rises vertically from the water. It has long been a gathering place for people who come in by boat, the main means of transportation in the Broughton. The Echo Bay Marine Park with paddle-in campsites, walking trail, pit toilet and wharf for small boats, invites exploration ashore.

We tied up alongside the Windsong Sea Village Resort floats and met up with some old friends who just happened to be there on their liveaboard sailboat. They regaled us with video footage of their encounter with humpback whales in Cramer Passage the day before.

Happy Hour on the dock attracted visiting boaters and people from the floating rental cabins, as well as some locals—Carol Ellison, a.k.a. The Bead Lady, who with her husband Jerry manages the resort, as well as co-owner Christine, and Billy Proctor who lives around the point. We swapped lots of good fish stories, as well as some great anecdotes about the history of the Broughton!

The next day we bought one of Alexandra Morton’s books from Windsong’s Ark Gallery and some bread and fuel from the Echo Bay Resort on the other side of the bay, and then headed over to have a visit with Bruce and Josée McMorran and their children, who run the Buffer Zone Resort nearby. Bruce and Josée offer year-round family and small group holidays, including guided kayak tours, and they had invited us to come by for a visit.

Bruce explained the significance of the name—the ‘Buffer Zone’ is a place to go for something between a wilderness camping experience and the luxuries of home. Here you sleep in a warm bed with a solid roof over your head, shower in hot water and are treated to meals prepared by Josée in a rustic setting. You get the best of both worlds—an intimate wilderness experience, but with comfort and freedom from laundry, cooking and cleaning.

People can retreat for an extended stay, or make a (prearranged) rest stop in the middle of a kayak expedition. You can choose from a one bed floating cabin complete with sauna; hostel accommodation with six bedrooms and a common room; or a one-room, on-land cabin with bunk beds and a magnificent view up the channel. Meals are prepared and served in the main house, family style, with flexibility for individual needs and preferences.

Although they have accommodation and kayaks for up to twelve people, if you book as a group, you will likely be the only guests, and can take advantage of Bruce and Josée’s willingness to customize your experience—from kid-friendly, home-based family retreats to daylong explorations of the islands of the Broughton.

They have recently acquired a solid, powerful boat capable of carrying your kayaks, and will pick you up and drop you off wherever is convenient.

After waving good bye to them, we motored over to Billy Proctor’s dock and visited his museum full of artifacts he’s picked up during his lifetime in the area. The museum has everything from arrowheads to newspapers to hand crank sewing machines, documenting human occupation of the Broughton from ancient people to more recent immigrants. We bought some books written by Billy and some coffee mugs made by his neighbor, Yvonne Maximchuk and headed off with a ‘see you next year’ parting.

Schedules what they are, we couldn’t stay long in the Broughton, but there’s no doubt that we’ll be heading back there just as soon as we can, to drink in the healing atmosphere of this beautiful corner of the world.

© Diana Mumford.

BROUGHTON ARCHIPELAGO ACCOMMODATIONS
Buffer Zone Wilderness Resort: www.bufferzoneresort.com
Bruce and Josée McMorran, 250-230-0088, vision@oberon.ark.com

Echo Bay Resort: www.echobayresort.com
Nancy and Bob Richter, 250-974-7139, echo@echobayresort.com

Pierre’s Bay Lodge & Marina: www.pierresbay.com
Pierre Landry, 250-949-2503, info@pierresbay.com

Windsong Sea Village Resort: www.alertbay.com/windsong
Jim O’Donnell, 250-956-3339, windecho@island.net.