Blunden Harbor is on the British Columbia mainland, opposite Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. It is a favorite jumping-off spot for the bottom of Queen Charlotte Sound, for the open portion of the trip north via the inside passage. Blunden is totally protected from weather, and includes a set of tidal falls on the north arm of the harbor.

We’ve had sun for the last few days, a change from what we were used to in Southeast Alaska – and we’re looking forward to more as we move closer to the equator. This morning the lighting was wonderful for a few minutes, with the sunlight filtered by a thin layer of clouds. The dark clouds to the north made it possible to balance the light on our hull with the sky, the result of which is above. Here’s a little quiz to test your powers of observation. What’s different on Wind Horse?

A tighter photo here. Catch it yet? We’ve removed the ladder on the forward end of the house, as well as the Dorade vents. This was done as an experiment, to see if it made a difference in our visibility forward (to better watch for debris). The effect from inside looking out is nothing short of amazing. As we don’t expect the Dorade vents to be open until we get closer to the tropics, and the ladder is not used that often, this svelte look may be maintained for a while.

Harbors like this always have an interesting mix of boats and people. This is a local boat from Port Hardy. As with most sailboats in this area, a lot of thought went into her cockpit protection.

She had previously had a soft dodger. The owner tired of replacing the fabric, and built this very nice looking hard dodger. Note the handrails and solar panels.

On the other side of the harbor sat this Erickson. She’s tucked into the cove with bow and stern lines ashore.

She has a heavy stainless steel frame, which does duty as a mainsheet attachment point, and integrates an instrument pod.

One of the decisions you have to make about outside protection is whether it is to be a working area under sail, or an extra room, more like an enclosed flying bridge. This is the latter approach. Not as nice to look at, but it does offer a lot of extra space.

This Canadian-built trawler has some interesting details.

They have a reel winch, with chain close to the anchor, and then wire rode. This is the first time we’ve seen these rubber dock line snubbers used on a rode like this. The owners say they work well.

On the aft deck they have added this fixed awning. Note the edge detail and the way the entire structure slopes aft to shed water.

The area surrounding the harbor has interesting visual textures, which change with the tide. As the range right now is on the order of 18 feet (5.2m) there is a lot of difference between high and low water.

Near high water we did an exploration cruise in the dinghy and found this piece of driftwood waiting for a really high tide to refloat itself.

The entrance to the salt water lagoon is reported to be usable by small yachts at high slack water. Judging from our check with the dink, you would have to be very small and have a high degree of tolerance for adrenaline while negotiating this narrow and shallow entrance. At low water there is a 16-foot (5m) waterfall here!