The fog had cleared by the time we left Prideaux Haven. This was our view as we approached the entrance on our way out of the anchorage. The clouds had lifted a bit, and even though it was still cloudy, we could see some of the mountain tops.

Refuge Cove, on West Redonda Island, is a main supply point for boats traveling in Desolation Sound. The facility includes a fuel dock and a store with basic supplies, a small selection of fresh vegetables, dairy items, frozen foods, a full liquor store, a post office, and a small café/gift shop. Their moorage includes power and WiFi, so we decided to head over there.

It was foggy in Prideaux Haven when we got up on the day we were leaving. We were hopeful it would lift before we left…and it did!

The rain and wind finally let up this morning, and we got the boat dried off and were underway to Refuge Cove at 0915. We found light northwest wind along the way and we had a smooth run for the short distance, arriving at Refuge Cove at 1030, in light rain.

This is the front of the Refuge Cove store, as viewed from the dock.

There were only two other boats on the docks when we arrived. We haven’t been here in several years, and found the place a bit run down. The docks and store are showing their age, and need some updating. They were in the process of replacing planks on the fuel dock while we were there. It’s hard to maintain these small facilities in the remote cruising areas. They definitely take a beating in the winter months.

It rained all day while we were there. Light in mid-day, then heavier in the late afternoon and evening. Guess we’re still stuck in the wet for a while longer!

There was very little at the store. Hardly any fresh vegetables (they said the supply boat was due tomorrow…) and not much in the way of dairy either. They said boating traffic should pick up in July when they expect to be better stocked. Fortunately, we didn’t need anything. The café/gift shop was closed, we think just until July, but it was hard to tell. It looked pretty run down too.

On one side of the store, Refuge Cove has a good assortment of basic food items.

On the other side of the store, Refuge Cove has a large selection of fishing equipment, some hardware items, a small supply of marine goods, games and toys, books, trinkets, a few T-shirts and sweatshirts, etc.

Inside the Refuge Cove store is a good supply of beer, wine and liquor.

Turned out that their power was available only from 0800 to 1800. That was a disappointment, but at least we had power for the afternoon. An independent company provides WiFi service here, and we signed up for one day for $10. It also was available only until 1800, and it was a really poor connection. Our signal was frequently dropped in the middle of loading pages. We had a chance to check our email and do some basic things, but gave up on trying to work on this blog or any other image-heavy websites. It was just too frustrating to have pages freeze up for an unknown period of time and/or lose any entries that were in process when the connection went down.

It was a good night to fix Chicken Burritos. I had chicken breasts in the freezer, and all the other ingredients on board. This is a good cruising recipe because it’s easy and quick, and is one of our favorites. Perfect for tonight’s dreary conditions.

The filling for my chicken burrito recipe cooks on the stove top. Here it is, just done cooking and ready to put inside flour tortillas, which are then topped with salsa and sour cream. This recipe makes enough for six servings, so we get to enjoy leftovers.

The cats enjoyed being at Refuge Cove because there were a dozen or so crows busy looking for food in the nearby trees and on the beach. The cats enjoyed watching them, but we weren’t very happy with all the squawking crows…