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 IMAGINE
exploring a newly-charted area of the coast in your
own boat. The release of CHS Chart 3940, covering previously
uncharted Spiller Channel to Roscoe Inlet, the area
north of Bella Bella, has opened up 300 square miles
of wildemess, and the cruising community is rushing
to visit this pristine area for the first time ever.
For years, only a few intrepid individuals
ventured into Spiller Channel, Spiller Inlet, Ellerslie
Lagoon, Bullock Channel, Briggs Inlet and Briggs Lagoon.
Early native inhabitants knew the area, and local fishermen
and loggers visited it from time to time. But recreational
boaters have been reluctant to cruise the 50 miles of
uncharted waterways. Lacking information about depths
or hazards such as shoals, rocks and tidal rapids, most
felt too uncomfortable to chart their own way. But starting
in May of this year, many boaters began snapping up
the new chart and have already used it to explore this
unique cruising ground.
This season's explorers were not disappointed
with their discoveries. Spiller Channel, Spiller Inlet
and the inlets to the east have beautiful scenery and
some fine anchorages that promise to become favorite
destinations of those who want to strike out on their
own, leaving ferryboat and cruise-ship routes behind.
Close to the popular facilities of
Shearwater and Bella Bella, this region offers challenges
within the abilities of most cruisers. Although Spiller
Channel and Roscoe Inlet are somewhat remote and out
of radio range for weather broadcasts, they have what
visitors to the north coast are looking for—waterfalls,
tidal lagoons, lakes, primitive hiking trails, solitude
and quiet.
 GEM
Spiller Channel begins amid the low cedar forests at
Seaforth Channel east of Ivory Island lightstation.
The channel is wide and has depths to nearly 1,600'.
Sixteen miles from its entrance the channel splits:
Spiller Inlet leads north on a less overpowering scale
for another 10 miles; Ellerslie Bay lies at the northeastern
head of Spiller Channel.
The gem of the region, Ellerslie Falls,
lies at the head of Spiller Channel, inside Ellerslie
Lagoon. This roaring cascade, one of the largest and
most beautiful we've seen on the B.C. coast, drops from
Ellerslie Lake 100' above, then takes a final plunge
of 30' into the lagoon. You can approach the falls as
closely as you dare by inflatable or small cruising
boat and anchor temporarily in the stream for a closeup
view of the roaring water. However, the shallow, rocky
bottom here has poor holding, so for a quieter, safer
anchorage, move out of the stream a short distance to
the northwest where holding is good in 12'.
Hikers can enjoy a 20-minute walk through
rainforest to Ellerslie Lake on an overgrown logging
trail that skirts the falls. The trail--unmarked and
a bit difficult to locate--starts from a small mud beach
on the south shore, about 200 yards west of the falls.
You can land and haul your dinghy onto this beach. Since
much of the trail is muddy and slippery, you need to
wear boots. If you take children or animals on the trail,
supervise them carefully--it's possible to climb down
directly along the edge of the falls where a slip or
fall could be fatal. There's pleasant swimming to the
south of the falls but when you wade into the lake,
be careful to avoid old logs.
 Narrow
tidal rapids at the entrance to Ellerslie Lagoon restrict
entry to high-water slack, with a minimum depth of about
5' on an 11' tide, or 8' on a 14' tide at Bella Bella.
When the lagoon is ebbing, the rapids become turbulent
white water. If you want to take your boat inside, it's
best to reconnoitre first with your dinghy. A quarter-mile
east of the entrance there's a shoal with the same or
possibly less water than in the narrows themselves.
Favor the north shore as you cross the shoal, and treat
the depths shown on Chart 3940 with skepticism--it's
difficult to see the bottom due to the muskeg water.
(Tidal range in the lagoon is less than half that of
Spiller Channel.)
If your boat has twin screws, a draft
over 4' or is over 40' in length, you can avoid the
rocky sill in Ellerslie Lagoon and anchor two miles
away in East Anchorage, then take your dinghy through
the narrows near high water, spend the day exploring
the lagoon and climbing the trail to the top of the
falls, then come out again near high water.
PROTECTED ANCHORAGE One of the more
protected passages and anchorages at the upper end of
Spiller Channel lies 1 l/2 miles south-southwest of
Ellerslie Bay, between a large, unnamed island and Coldwell
Peninsula to the east. These two land masses create
a large body of smooth water sheltered from both southerly
storm winds and prevailing northwest winds, as well
as the occasional katabatic winds of Spiller Channel
itself. We refer to the restricted passage between the
island and Coldwell Peninsula as Nash Passage in honor
of Dr. Roderick Frazier Nash, environmental historian
and author who, with his 26' diesel trawler Forevergreen,
helped us gather information for this article. Anchor
in the middle of Nash Passage, off the creek on the
mainland side of the S-turn in 6'. The bottom is sand
and mud with good holding.
About 1 1/4 miles south of Nash Passage,
in what we call Fish Weir Cove, we discovered a small
fishing weir--a man-made stone "fence" used
to trap fish, perhaps the best preserved of any weir
we've seen on the coast. Natives took advantage of a
natural curve at the north entrance to the cove to create
a semi-circular barrier, and the stones, all still neatly
in place, form an almost perfectly horizontal line.
Study the chart and you'll understand why this spot
was chosen: a series of inland lakes and creeks that
feed this cove were probably great spawning grounds
for salmon.
ADVENTURE If you still want adventure
after you've mastered the entrance to Ellerslie Lagoon,
you may want to visit the unnamed inlet that cuts three
miles into Don Peninsula, about three miles north of
Yeo Cove. Although the entrance is rock-strewn and somewhat
hazardous, you'll be rewarded inside where fish and
wildlife abound.
Briggs Inlet, another beautiful but
seldom-visited fjord, has a narrows that flows at 5kts
or more, with moderate turbulence. Emily Bay, just north
of the narrows, provides good shelter. For a short but
physically challenging hike, take the primitive trail
to Emily Lake that starts at an old fisheries cabin
at the head of the bay. Cross a roaring creek on a sagging
log bridge and scramble up through waterlogged trees
to the outlet of the lake. Again, wear boots and watch
for slippery surfaces. Take along a pair of binoculars--the
bird life at Emily Lake is spectacular.
At the head of the inlet, Briggs Lagoon
has narrow, fast-flowing rapids with a "hole-in-the-wall"
entrance that should be attempted only at high-water
slack. Favor the south shore to avoid a dangerous rock,
awash at low water, that extends from the north shore
to midchannel. Width of the entrance is less than 30'
at low water. Inside the lagoon you can find several
well-sheltered anchorage sites.
A short, ill-defined animal trail
connects the head of Briggs Lagoon to Boukind Bay in
Roscoe Inlet, but demands good route finding skills
and some agility. Wear boots and carry a whistle or
harmonica to announce your presence to resident bear.
This particular spit of land allows you a view of Roscoe
Inlet within 15 minutes; by boat, it takes several hours
to reach the same spot.
 The
north side of Briggs Lagoon is only 3/4-mile from the
south arm of Ellerslie Lake. Although we have not found
an easy way to hike up the creek from Briggs Lagoon,
determined cruisers or portaging kayakers might be able
to push through along the west side of the creek that
feeds the bitter end of the lagoon. Until an easier
route opens up, some "pioneers" are having
their kayaks flown in from Bella Bella so they can explore
the upper reaches of l0-mile-long Ellerslie Lake.
An important caveat: until the entrances
to Ellerslie and Briggs lagoons are better documented,
you need to develop your own strategy for timing a passage
through the tidal rapids. Arrive well before high water
and reconnoitre first. This is part of the fun!
ROSCOE INLET Roscoe Inlet--shown previously
only on small-scale Chart 3729-- appears in larger scale
on the new Chart 3940, and it too will receive the interest
it deserves. Roscoe Inlet has some of the most scenic
and striking granite faces and domes that you'll find
just miles off the Inside Passage. The head of Roscoe
Inlet receives little tidal flow, and swimming off your
boat is a real joy where the fresh surface water reaches
depths of 3-4' and attains temperatures of 24° C
during long summer days. As you swim, you can watch
bear combing the beach, staring with curiosity at these
"blond, tanned salmon."
On some days this summer, we encountered
a half-dozen boats; on past trips, before Chart 3940,
boats were a rare sight. And as we were completing our
research in July, we met the crew of the Greenpeace
vessel Moby Dick, headed into the area to determine
its ecological importance. So don't miss the fun--plan
now to be part of the first contingent to explore Spiller
Channel and experience the excitement of opening up
a newly-charted wilderness.
Don Douglass and wife Réanne
Hemingway-Douglass have cruised 150,000 miles from 60°
N to 56° S. Their fourth cruising guide, Exploring
The North Coast of B.C., to be published this winter,
will include a detailed chapter on the Spiller Channel
region.
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