Anchoring in Moulds Bay on Quadra Island

Heriot Bay Inn and Marina

We found a good weather window to take our boat out on the ocean, or the chuck as we call it now that we live in Powell River. 

We keep our boat set with essentials, so all we needed were personal items and ice chests with food, drinks and lots of ice.

We left on Saturday to time our arrival at the Heriot Bay Inn on Quadra Island for an early dinner on their outside deck. Then we went over to nearby Rebecca Spit Marina Park, but it was way too crowded.

Anchored in Moulds Bay.

Wayne remembered a private spot not far away on Quadra called Moulds Bay, so that's where we headed. As we rounded the point I half expected to see another boat already there, but we lucked out.

Moulds Bay is exposed to the south, but in settled weather it was calm.

We spent two nights and one mostly sun filled day floating on the hook. We saw an orca on the way in, and eagles, a heron, ducks and an otter at the anchorage. Only a few boats passed by and several kayakers paddled through. It's also listed as a scuba diving spot.

Moulds Bay can be found west of the Breton Islands on Quadra's east coast not far north ofRebecca Spit. It's just off a small passage leading to Hoskyn Channel between Quadra and Read Island.

Enjoying a good book at Moulds Bay anchorage.

The Dreamspeaker Guide by Anne and Laurence Yeadon-Jones lists Moulds Bay as a temporary anchorage that is sheltered from all directions except the south. We were looking at a weekend of settled weather so felt comfortable anchoring there for two nights.

Beautiful reflections on a calm afternoon.

It's a small anchorage with enough room for one boat to swing at anchor. There are two privately owned cabins on the shore, but while we were there, they were unoccupied. That was nice for us, and probably the owners as well.

One interesting thing I learned from the guide is that there are interesting rock formations on shore. There is one large dike (a vertical band within the granite cliff) and several smaller ones. I'm a bit of a rock hound, so this was fun to discover.

A large dike in the granite cliffs on shore.

At the end of the day, the breeze calmed and the ocean became glassy.

Sunset reflections in Moulds Bay.

The next day we relaxed and read and fixed simple meals on-board.

Leaving Moulds Bay looking back at the protective islets.

A northwest wind kicked up on Monday morning, so we left through the passage to Hoskyn Channel and headed south to go around the north side of Cortes Island looking for more protected waters.

Leaving Hoskyn Channel heading south towards Sutil Channel and Cortes Island.

A trip on the chuck wouldn't be complete without trying a little bit of fishing. Nothing was biting, but it was fun to troll and relax in the warm sunshine. -- Margy