Northern BC Coast

Location:  Prince Rupert, BC

It was all anchorages between Shearwater (the end of the last blog) and Prince Rupert.  We finished re-provisioning and doing chores and today we head to Larsen Harbour before we cross the Hecate Strait to Haida Gwaii. 

This is a video of the pacific white-sided dolphins riding our bow wake near Echo Bay in the Broughton Islands.  

Thursday, July 20^th, Shearwater to Rescue Bay:  The voyage from Shearwater to Rescue Bay was uneventful.  We went through Perceval Rapids with about 2 knots against us but it was short and benign.  We arrived at Rescue Bay about 14:30 and dropped anchor in 35’ of water.  We were the first boat into the anchorage, followed by three boats arriving shortly after we did and then three additional boats arriving later that evening.  We spent the afternoon moving “stuff” around in the steering flat, putting heavy stuff low and aft and moving electrical and electronic stuff back into the climate controlled atmosphere of the cabin.  We moved our snorkeling stuff out from under the settee and dedicated a storage compartment to fishing stuff. 

Welcome to Shearwater sign and carving of a grizzly.

Friday, July 21^st, Rescue Bay to Culpepper Lagoon (Kynoch Inlet):  Our original destination for the day was Windy Bay via Fiordland but we studied our charts and guidebooks and decided to go up Kynoch Inlet and anchor in Culpepper Lagoon instead.  In the guidebooks, Culpepper Lagoon is described as "off the beaten path and rarely visited but amazingly beautiful".  It’s located in the Fiordland Recreation Area and is surrounded by steep granite cliffs.  On the voyage up Mathieson Channel we spotted a whale feeding.  Shortly after that, Dave spotted a bear swimming across the channel.  We had read that bears were good swimmers and this proved it.  The channel was about 1.5 nm wide at the place he was crossing.  We spotted him about mid-channel swimming from the east bank to the west bank.  We slowed down and as we approached, he started back to the east, then changed his mind and continued west. 

Kynoch Falls is on the north side of the inlet just past the entrance.  There are numerous water falls coming down the rock walls on both sides of the inlet all the way to the head of Culpepper Lagoon. 

Kynoch Falls

Snow field and tunnel, Kynoch Inlet just before the rapids into Culpepper Lagoon

To enter Culpepper Lagoon, you have to transit a short rapids which we did near slack water.  We dropped off our prawn and crab traps and anchored at the head of the lagoon near the creek.  Most of the lagoon is very deep, greater than 100 feet, and it shoals quickly at the head near the creek making anchoring tricky.  There was 60 feet of water below our keel where we dropped the anchor and as we backed to set it, it shoaled to 4.5 feet.  Another boat came into the lagoon, nosed around, didn’t find any place to anchor that it was comfortable with and went back out the rapids.  We launched the dinghy and trolled around the perimeter of the lagoon for salmon.  Dave caught a small rock fish, which we released, and nothing else.  We studied the shoal area near the creek as we came back to the boat, decided our fathometer wasn’t lying, knew that the tide was going to fall at least another 10 feet and, if we didn’t want to end up on high ground, we needed to re-anchor somewhere further away from the shoal area.  We nosed around and finally decided on a spot in the southeast corner of the lagoon in 100 feet of water.  The water was like glass, there was virtually no wind and we had a peaceful night.

Reflections of the surrounding mountains and shoreline in Culpepper Lagoon.

Saturday, July 22^nd, Culpepper Lagoon to Windy Bay:  To time the rapids leaving the lagoon, we didn’t heave anchor until after lunch.  The morning was rainy and overcast and we spent the time doing boat chores.  We pulled our traps on the way out of the lagoon; both were empty.  It was a short run to Windy Bay.  We arrived about 15:30 and anchored in 65 feet of water in the northeast corner of the bay.  There were no other boats around and we had the whole bay to ourselves.

Windy Bay the morning we left.  Another calm, mirror-like anchorage.

Sunday, July 23^rd, Windy Bay to Bishop Bay Hot Springs:  We heaved anchor at 7:15 to catch slack water at Hiekish narrows and to ride the flood tide north up Princess Royal Channel and into Ursula Channel.  It was close to the new moon which means higher high tides, lower low tides and stronger currents; it also means that the logs and debris that has been up high on the shore floats free.  We saw lots of logs and rafts of flotsam.  The fog closed in as we neared the narrows.  We used our radar and sounded our whistle as we went through.  Because it had been rainy and overcast the last few days, our solar hadn’t been charging the batteries.  We have an aftermarket alternator on the main engine that we can clutch in to charge the house battery bank and that we can use to run the oven while we are underway.  We clutched in and used the oven to make bread.  I’m trying out a new cookbook “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” that was recommended by a couple who I met at The Latch in Sidney.  I’m pleased to say that the first loaf turned out nicely.  As we turned the corner from Fraser Reach to Ursula Channel, we slowed down to 3 knots and tried trolling for salmon but no luck.

A tree floating by just north of Hiekish Narrows.

We turned into Bishop Bay and while I was setting up the crab and prawn traps, Dave saw a humpback whale breach just off the bow.  The whale breached a few more times than swam to the north side of the bay and slapped his flipper on the surface of the water.  We watched until he stopped, dropped off our traps and anchored to the south of the hot springs dock. 

From the dock, a ramp and a boardwalk lead to the hot springs.  The hot springs are two small pools.  The inner pool, covered with a lean-to type structure, is filled from a hot water pipe.  The uncovered outer pool is filled from the overflow of the inner pool.  The inner pool is about the temperature of a typical hot tub and the outer pool is a little bit cooler.  We sat in the hot springs for about 40 minutes and chatted with a couple from Vancouver.

Dave sitting in the inner pool at Bishop Bay Hot Springs.

Monday, July 24^th, Bishop Bay to Lowe Inlet/Nettles Basin:  Monday morning we heaved anchor about 7:30.  We pulled up our traps, both empty, while listening to the whale spout in the background.  We spotted two whales feeding as we exited the inlet and saw a pod of porpoises feeding as we turned into Ursula Channel.  Fishing was open for purse seiners around Gribbell Island and we watched a few of them setting their nets as we entered Wright Sound.  We turned into Lowe Inlet about 13:00, set our traps and anchored in front of Verney Falls in 50 feet of water.  The current flowing west from the falls holds the bow of the boat pointing towards the falls so we had a great view.  After lunch we launched our kayaks and paddled around Nettles Basin.  We went up to the falls to watch the salmon jumping; we could see hundreds circling in the pool just north of the falls waiting to go up the creek to spawn.  While we were there, we saw a bear come down to fish for his lunch. 

Dave in his kayak at the base of Verney Falls.

We paddled over to the old fish weir on the northeast side of the basin and then crossed and explored the areas on the west and south sides.  It was high tide and we glided over areas that were dry at low tide.  After supper we sat up on monkey island to watch the falls and to look for bears, but we didn’t see any.

Stone wall around a clam garden, only visible at low tide, on the beach to the north of Verney Falls.
According to one of our books, clams were a primary food source for the people who lived here
thousands of years ago.  Clams were also a status symbol.  People with high status were allowed
to dig clams on the main clam beach.  People with lower status had to dog clams on lesser
beaches.  This is where the clam garden came in.  Rocks were gathered from the sandy beach area
and piled in a ring along the low-tide perimeter.  The removal of the rocks from the beach made
more room for the clams and the rock wall prevented the beach from eroding.
Reference:  Full Moon, Flood Tide by Bill Proctor and Yvonne Maximchuk

Tuesday, July 25^th, Lowe Inlet to Pillsbury Cove, Prince Rupert:  A lazy morning as we waited for the current to change so that we could get a push north.  We watched two kayakers from a sailboat go ashore just north of the falls, and while they were looking around, a bear came out of the woods.  They waved their paddles around to scare him away and worked their way back to the kayaks as the bear disappeared back into the woods. 

Bear on the clam beach near Verney Falls.

We heaved anchor about 10:00 and went to pick up our traps.  The crab trap was empty but the prawn trap had about 15 large prawns in it.  We drifted while we stowed the prawns then headed out into Grenville Channel. 

B with the prawn trap in Lowe's Inlet.  We caught about 15 large prawns.

The currents in Grenville Channel meet about 2/3 of the way north of the south entrance.  This means at the south end of the channel the currents flood north and ebb south and at the north end of the channel they do the opposite – they flood south and ebb north.  In the narrow part of the channel, just south of the meeting point, the currents can run up to 9 knots.  The entrance to Lowe Inlet was south of the narrows and the meeting point, so we timed our exit to get to the narrows at slack water, catch the last of the flood up to the meeting point and then catch the ebb up the north end of the channel.  Our original plan was to stop and anchor in Lawson Harbour, a run of about 40 nm.  We were making good time and decided to go ahead and continue on to Prince Rupert, another 20 nm.  As we got closer to Prince Rupert, we picked up a cell signal, checked our e-mails and caught up with the electronic world.  We called two marinas in Prince Rupert to see if they had dock space but both were full.  We decided to anchor across the channel in Pillsbury Cove.  The water wasn’t deep enough for the prawn trap, but the crabbing is supposed to be good.  We dropped off the crab trap and anchored in 35 feet of water on the north side of the cove. 

Wednesday, July 26^th, Pillsbury Cove:  It rained most of the night and almost all day so “Rainy Rupert” is living up to its reputation.  We decided to stay on the boat to do boat chores.  We spent most of the day studying the charts and our guide books for our trip to Haida Gwaii / Gwaii Haanas and came up with a rough itinerary.  We ran the generator to charge our batteries so I made bread and baked a homemade pizza for supper.

Home made pizza is a success.

Thursday, July 27^th, Pillsbury Cove to Prince Rupert:  I called the Prince Rupert marinas this morning and the Yacht Club had space at the dock for us.  We launched the dinghy to go check our crab trap:  one crab, one starfish and one rockfish, we let them all go.  We went ashore to look for the petroglyph The Man Who Fell from Heaven but we never did find it.

Dave measuring the crab we caught.

We had lunch then heaved anchor to move across the channel to the yacht club, about 4 nm, 30 minutes.  We spent the afternoon wandering around town, doing some shopping and Dave got a haircut.  The guy who waited on us at the marine supply store is married to the daughter of the couple, CoCo and Walter, who own the Italian Restaurant in San Sebastian, Mexico – we did some reminiscing and sharing stories with him – just goes to show what a small world it is. 

Friday - Sunday, July 28 – 30, Prince Rupert:  We’ve been spending our time in town running errands, buying parts, getting groceries and supplies and checking out the local community, restaurants and bars.  We’re waiting for a weather window to cross the Hecate Strait to Haida Gwaii.  It looks like it will be nice for a crossing on Tuesday.  Today (Monday) we’ll leave Prince Rupert and go to Larsen Harbour, on the north coast of Banks Island, to stage for the crossing. 

Until next time...

Desolation Sound, The Broughtons and Cape Caution

Location:  Shearwater, BC

At the end of the last blog we were in Westview re-provisioning and running errands.  We left Westview on the morning of July 4^th and headed into Desolation Sound.  The voyage was calm and clear with light winds.  I set up the crab trap and the prawn trap and we dropped them off on our way into the anchorage at Prideaux Haven.  The main anchorage area there was fairly full so we eased our way into Melanie Cove and dropped the hook.

B setting up the prawn and crab traps on our way into Desolation Sound.

The breakwater at the mill in Powell River, just north of Westview, is made up of old Liberty Ships. 

Dave working on the fresh water pump.

On our way into the anchorage, our fresh water pump quit working.  Dave removed it and replaced it with the spare and we were back in business.  He disassembled the pump, did some cleaning and tested it.  It seemed to be working so we put it away as our spare, but, we’ll get another one to have on the shelf just in case.  We spent the afternoon on the boat, did a few chores, some reading and some people watching.  The anchorage was busy and people were out swimming, kayaking and touring around on their dinghies.

Wednesday, July 5^th, Melanie Cove:  We took the dinghy to the head of Melanie Cove and hiked the trail through the woods to Laura Cove.  There are a few fruit trees there and we found one with some ripe cherries.  When we got back to Melanie Cove, the tide had gone out and our dinghy was high and dry.  Another boater helped us drag it to the water.  We got to test our new “dinghy dragging” handles that Dave set up just for that purpose.  They are a little short so he’ll lengthen them before we need them again.  After lunch we went out to check our traps.  We were both surprised when we pulled up the prawn trap and there was something in it, 15 prawns and some other crawfish like creatures.  The crab trap was empty.  We reset both before going back to the boat.  We spent the rest of the afternoon calculating times for traversing Yuculta Rapids, Gillard Passage and Dent Rapids, relaxing and reading our books. 

A hike through the woods between Melanie Cove and Laura Cove.

B hauling in the prawn trap.

Fresh prawns sauteed in lemon butter and cilantro.

 Thursday, July 6^th, Melanie Cove to Von Donop Inlet:  We heaved anchor about 7:45 and motored out of Melanie Cove.  We stopped and picked up our traps; the crab trap was empty but the prawn trap had 10 in it.  Our original plan was to go to Teakerne Arm but we decided to try Von Donop Inlet on the west side of Cortes Island instead.  We set our traps outside the inlet then stopped to watch two humpback whales feeding nearby.  We anchored on the west side of the inlet.  It was warm so we hung around in the shade of the boat and relaxed.  We have finally done enough boat chores that we can sit and read without feeling guilty.  I finished a book called The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant.  About a rare and sacred Sitka Spruce tree in Haida Gwaii, the author does an excellent job of weaving together the history of logging in BC and the culture of the Haida people.  A bald eagle was perched in a tree just off the stern so we watched it while eating our supper.

Friday, July 7^th, Von Donop to Shoal Bay:  Based on our calculations to catch the rapids at slack water, we didn’t need to heave anchor until 13:30.  We spent the morning exploring the inlet with our kayaks.  It was almost low tide so it was interesting to see the mussels, clams and oysters along the shores.  We had our lunch then left the anchorage a little early so that we would have time to pick up our prawn and crab traps.  The crab trap was empty but the prawn trap had a few in it.  We stowed everything and headed north.  There were a lot of other boats headed in the same direction with all of them converging just prior to Yuculta Rapids.  The cruising guides do a good job of describing how to transit the rapids, how to time them in sequence to hit Dent near slack without getting pushed around too much at Yuculta and Gillard and how to use the back eddies to help you along.  Here is a link to a short video of Dent Rapids.  All three rapids are close together, within 4 nm of each other and can run up to 10 knots. We got to Yuculta about 14:30, an hour before slack water, and pushed through with about 3 knots of current against us.  One small sailboat hit the rapids and then seemed to be standing still as the current pushed against their bow.  Two fast power boats passed them and the wakes caused the sailboat to rock and roll while making very little forward progress.  The next rapid was Gillard and then Dent which we hit right at slack.  The ebb current flows north here so we got a nice push out of Dent and up to Shoal Bay.  We dropped anchor about 18:00 and settled in for the night.

Oysters at low tide, Von Donop Inlet.

View up Phillips Arm from Shoal Bay.

 Saturday, July 8^th, Shoal Bay to Forward Harbour:  We had two rapids to traverse today, Greene Point and Whirlpool.  Both can run up to 7 knots, so again, timing for our transit was critical.  We spent the morning doing boat chores and Dave rigged up some fishing gear.  We heaved anchor after lunch and tried to do some trolling for salmon along the way.  Our normal cruise speed was too fast, so we motored at about 3.0 knots.  That was still too much for the fishing gear we had rigged so we decided to pull in our lines.  We caught the rapids on schedule and went through with no issues.  We anchored in Forward Harbour, Douglas Bay about 17:30 with three other boats.  Dave barbequed ribs for supper and we watched 2 more boats come into the anchorage.  It rained overnight and was still sprinkling the next morning.

Sunday, July 9^th, Forward Harbour to Port Harvey:  We heaved anchor about 7:30 to catch the ebb tide in Johnstone Strait and to arrive at the turn to Port Harvey at slack water.  In the Strait, the wind was blowing 25-30 knots from the west and the current was ebbing towards the west, so we had opposing wind and current.  This creates short steep waves and the ride was very lumpy.  We heard people talking on the VHF radio about the conditions, stating that they weren’t prepared for it to be so bad and some of the things they didn’t tie down were lost over the side.  We pulled into Port Harvey about 11:30 and got safely tied up at the dock.  Two boats came in later that afternoon.  One of them had lost a porthole window while crossing the Strait and their V-berth filled with water.  They hung their bedding out on their bow so that it could dry in the wind. 

Seabiscuit at the Port Harvey dock.

We stayed in Port Harvey for two nights.  Port Harvey Marine Resort is known for their pizza, which we had Sunday night, and their cinnamon buns, which we had for breakfast on Monday morning.  Monday, Dave did engine maintenance.  I planned our voyage to Prince Rupert and across the Hecate Strait to Haida Gwaii then went for a walk in the woods with Barb and Steve (Starbright) from Portland, OR.  Port Harvey has their restaurant and facilities built on a barge at the head of the docks.  In November 2015, the barge, along with the store and restaurant sank.  They have since refloated the barge and are in the process of rebuilding.  The restaurant building is finished and they cook the pizzas there.  The building for the store is built and they are still in the process of outfitting it.  The owners, George and Gail, are very friendly and welcoming and are slowly getting the place back to what it once was.

Tuesday, July 11^th, Port Harvey to Kwatsi Bay:  We left Port Harvey about 9:30 for the voyage to Kwatsi Bay, about 4 hours away.  We had to go through the rapids at Chatham Narrows. Although it was running at 3+ knots, compared to some of the others it was very tame with only laminar flow and no whirlpools or overfalls.  We saw a few whales along the way and as we got near Kwatsi Bay we spotted a black bear on a rock beach.  We went closer to watch him.  He was turning over rocks and eating the goodies that he found beneath them.  We dropped off our prawn and crab traps about ½ mile from the marina and then pulled alongside the dock.  There were a few folks sitting along the dock so we joined them for a chitchat.  Most nights the marina has a get together on the dock and tonight was happy hour.  Everyone brought their own drinks and a snack to share.  There was enough food that we didn’t need to eat supper.  We got to know some of the other boaters and enjoyed a pleasant evening.  A pod of about 50 dolphins entered the cove around sunset and circled around as they chased their supper.  It was amazing to see them splashing and churning up the water along the shore.

Wednesday we did a few boat chores and then joined the coffee klatch on the dock.  After lunch, we launched the dinghy and went to the nearby shore for a walk to a waterfall.  We went for a ride out the inlet into nearby Watson Cove to look at a waterfall there.  We saw a few eagles.  On the way back in we checked our crab trap.  No crab but there was one small fish inside.  We let him go then went back to the dock.  The owners of Kwatsi Bay, Anca and Max, are replacing some of the boards on their dock so Dave helped for a while.  The event of the evening was pot luck supper.  We enjoyed listening to stories and telling a few of our own.

Coffee klatch at Kwatsi Bay

Waterfall near Kwatsi Bay

Bald eagle flying near Watson Cove

Thursday, July 13^th, Kwatsi Bay to Echo Bay:  We left Kwatsi Bay about 9:45 after settling our bill and buying a new fleece.  We picked up our prawn trap on the way out.  Only one prawn and a few small cod so we let them all go.  It was a nice short cruise to Echo Bay, about 2 hours, with calm water and light winds.  Just before pulling into the bay, we went through a large pod of dolphins.  They came close to the boat to ride the bow wake.  We enjoyed watching them jump and splash.  We tied up at the dock at Pierre’s, across the dock from Fred and John (Nord Lys), who we met at Kwatsi Bay.  Billy Proctor’s Museum is a short walk thru the woods so we spent the afternoon there.  Billy Proctor is a local fisherman who has spent most of his life in the Echo Bay / Blackfish Sound area.  He is something of a local legend and has written two books with the help of a local artist, Yvonne Maximchuk.  Both are interesting: Tide Rips & Back Eddies includes stories of Billy’s fishing days, local characters, logging, etc.  Full Moon, Flood Tide includes descriptions of the local islands and some of the characters who lived amongst them.  The museum is interesting with a lot of local artifacts and items that Billy has collected along the shore and in his travels.  Nearby is a replica of a hand logger’s cabin and a one room schoolhouse, both built by Billy.  He also has a gift / book shop so we bought a few books: Totem Poles and Tea by Hughina Harold, about her time as a teacher / nurse on Village Island in the 1920s; Grizzlies in their Backyard by Beth Day about the Stantons who lived in the wilderness of Knight Inlet for 37 years starting in 1919; plus Billy’s Full Moon, Flood Tide.

Billy Proctor's Museum

Thursday night was BBQ Prime Rib night at Pierre’s.  They have a large dining hall and serve buffet style.  By the time we got to the prime rib at the end of the buffet, our plates were so loaded with potatoes, salad, carrots, asparagus, corn and rolls that they had to put the slab of prime rib across the top.  The food was delicious and plentiful.  We sat with Fred and John (Nord Lys) and Marianne (LionHeart) and enjoyed a pleasant evening.  Friday we hung around the boat and did boat chores and laundry along with reading of our new books.  Mark and Peg (Tenacity) and Marianne stopped by for happy hour.

Echo Bay Halibut Rod

Saturday morning Dave changed the oil on the main engine.  I walked over to Billy’s Museum with Peg and Mark.  We spent the afternoon reading then went to Tenacity for happy hour before heading to Pierre’s dining hall for the Saturday night pig roast.  This is a highlight at Pierre’s, with Pierre providing the pig and the boaters bringing a potluck dish for everyone to share.  We sat with Peg and Mark and some boaters from Vancouver and enjoyed another festive evening.

Saturday night pig roast at Pierre's Echo Bay

Sunday, July 16^th, Echo Bay to Fury Cove:  We left Pierre’s at 7:15 to make our run north towards Cape Caution.  Rounding Cape Caution is one of the few open water passages required when cruising between the southern and northern areas of BC and up to SE Alaska.  Planning to round the cape requires looking at the timing of the ebb and flood tides, along with wind and sea conditions.  The weather was calm with light winds, minimal sea and swell and the ebb current running north in our favor.  Our goal for the day was an anchorage somewhere south of Cape Caution so that we would be set up to go around on Monday.  As we neared our selected anchorage, the weather continued to improve.  We decided to take advantage of the good conditions so we continued on around the cape.  We ran into some chop near Slingsby Channel which was still ebbing as we went by.  Other than that, the ride was fairly smooth.  We pulled into Fury Cove about 17:30 – a voyage of 80 nm, the longest we’ve done this cruising season.  We made good time as we got a push from the ebb running north before rounding Cape Caution and from the flood running north between the Cape and Fury Cove.  There were 11 other boats in the cove when we arrived; we found a spot in about 50 feet of water and dropped the anchor.  

Monday, July 17^th, Fury Cove to Codville Lagoon:  We hung around Fury Cove until 13:30 to catch the flood tide going north.  We put the crab trap out near the stern and did some boat chores.  After lunch we heaved anchor, pulled up the crab trap, empty, and got underway.  We heard over the VHF radio that gill net fishing was open for the day in Area 8 and it wasn’t long before we started to see the fishing boats.  Near Uganda Point, in Fitz Hugh Sound, the boats were so thick it was like running an obstacle course, weaving between the boats and the nets off of their sterns.  We saw salmon leaping from the water in several places so the fish were definitely there.  As we approached our turn into Lagoon Cove, there was another plethora of fishing boats.  We wove our way through and entered Codville Lagoon via the narrow inlet.  We were greeted by two bald eagles.  We anchored near the head of the east cove in about 35 feet of water along with 6 other boats.

The entrance to Codville Lagoon

Tuesday, July 18^th, Codville Lagoon to Ocean Falls:  The voyage from Codville Lagoon to Ocean Falls was uneventful.  We hauled the anchor about 8:15, passed a few casual fishing vessels along the way and tied up to the dock at Ocean Falls about 11:30.  We walked up to the dam and Link Lake at the head of Cousins Inlet.  Ocean Falls is an former mill town.  Most of the buildings are abandoned and in a sad state of disrepair.  The docks are nice and the water is fresh and clean so we filled our water tank.

The Link Lake dam near Ocean Falls

A black bear print near Link Lake

Wednesday, July 19^th, Ocean Falls to Shearwater:  We left Ocean Falls about 7:30 for the scenic cruise through Gunboat Passage to Shearwater.  Shearwater is a bustling place with a marina, grocery store, laundry, showers, coffee shop and helicopter pad.  The marina used to be a WWII seaplane base for the Royal Canadian Air Force.  The docks were full  so we are anchored across the bay near Kliki Island.  We took the dinghy over to the resort to pick up a few groceries and to have supper at the pub.

Our destination for today is Rescue Bay about 36 nm from here.  Until next time...

Princess Louisa Inlet

Location:  Powell River/Westview Harbour, BC

Close up view of Chatterbox Falls, Princess Louisa Inlet

At the end of the last blog, we were in Anacortes, waiting for boiler parts.  We did a lot of boat chores, then decided to head out to Hunter Bay on the east side of Lopez Island for the weekend.  The forecast was windy and rainy so it was a good time to stay aboard and do more boat chores.  

Seal on the docks, Cap Sante Marina, Anacortes, WA

Sunday it cleared up enough to launch the dinghy and take a trip to the county dock and a walk along the island shores.  We found a fender floating near shore so we rescued it.

Puddy helping me with my boat chore of extending our dinghy cover.
Our old dinghy was 10 feet long and the new one is 11.5 feet long.
I added a piece of Sunbrella to our existing cover so that it would fit the new dinghy.

On Monday we got a call saying our boiler part had arrived and was ready for installation.  Tuesday morning we headed back to Anacortes.  We tied up at the marina and I walked into town to pick up a few packages at the post office and to get some sandwiches for lunch.  We have discovered that package and mail delivery to “General Delivery” at any U. S. Post Office works really well.  Just show up with an ID and tell them you have a package/mail to pick up.  

Costica, the Kabola distributer, came down to the boat and installed the new burner that afternoon.  He and Dave did some tests and made some adjustments, and, we are pleased to say, it has been running like a charm.  The factory will do some analytics on the original burner to figure out what the issue was.

Tuesday afternoon, as we were walking to the hardware store, we found four large fenders near the marina dumpsters.  All were good, inflated with no rips, tears or holes, just a little dirty.  We loaded them into a dock cart and hauled them back to the boat.  If purchased new, fenders this size cost about $150 apiece so we felt like we found a small gold mine.  

Our four "new" fenders on the bow waiting to be stowed.

Wednesday morning we borrowed a pair of marina bikes and peddled around town running errands.  We picked up a spool of 3/8” poly line to use as a stern tie, dropped our main engine workshop manual at the office supply store to have it spiral bound, then stopped at West Marine, the pet store, the cherry stand, the auto parts store and the hardware store.  That was enough biking around so we returned to the marina for lunch and to finish our laundry.  After lunch, a few more errands, some boat chores and a trip to Safeway to get some groceries.

Dave riding on a marina bike.

Thursday morning we left the Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes, hopefully for the last time this summer.  We are finally heading north.  Our first stop was the anchorage on the north side of Jones Island.  We anchored in the middle of the cove, had lunch and then launched the kayaks for a paddle along the shore and a walk around the east side of the island.  

Dave paddling his kayak, Jones Island, WA

We surprised a raccoon eating clams along the shore.  Jones Island, WA.

B hiking on Jones Island and Seabiscuit anchored in the cove.

Sunset, Jones Island, WA

Friday we crossed the U.S. / Canada border and cruised into Ganges.  We tried a few of the local restaurants and did some major provisioning at the local market, Saturday farmer’s market and the liquor stores.

Fiddler at the Ganges Saturday Market.  There are chalk circles marked on the pathways
for buskers.  Each busker can spend a defined period of time in each circle then must move on.
It seems to work and gives a variety of artists the opportunity to perform.

Our bounty from the Ganges Saturday Market:  scallions, beets, swiss chard, asparagus,
mushrooms, lettuce, strawberries, raspberries and some basil plants.

Sunday we left the Ganges Marina about 9:30 to time for slack water at Porlier Pass.  Porlier Pass runs between Galiano Island and Valdes Island and is one of the passes leading from the Gulf Islands into the Strait of Georgia.  Currents can run up to over 9 knots and create lots of turbulence so it is important to go through as close to slack water as possible.  Our destination for the day was Page’s Resort and Marina in Silva Bay, Gabriola Island.

On our voyage from Ganges to Silva Bay we rolled over the 15,000 nautical mile mark on our trip log.

View of the Porlier Pass light house from the stern.

We tied up at the docks early afternoon and got busy with boat chores.  I worked on adding lines to our “new” fenders and culled a bunch of old, smaller fenders out of our forward locker so that there was room to store the “new” ones.  Dave worked on installing partitions around the new heater fan coils under the dining bench so that we can move our spare parts back up from the steering flat.  For supper, we walked over to the restaurant/pub at Silva Bay Resort.

Deer grazing on Galiano Island.

Sunset, Silva Bay, Galiano Island, BC

Float plane in Silva Bay.  We saw this plane taking off and landing numerous times
during the day.  A guy at the pub said the pilot had made 24 trips in and out of the bay that day.

As with most boats, we listen to the VHF radio during our voyages.  We typically scan several channels including 16 plus the Coast Guard working channels, VTS channels and local marina channels.  On our way south down the Ganges Channel, we heard an interesting call come over the radio.  The call was to the Coast Guard from a sailing vessel near Active Pass.  They reported that they had seen two drones in the water.  The sail boat provided a detailed description:  “one was orange and one was green, both with protrusions out the top, probably for the propellers.  Both were traveling about 3 knots, in F1 formation, following the ferry near Active Pass.”  The Coast Guard took the information and said they would check into it.  Later that morning, we heard another call on the radio, from Coast Guard to Coast Guard.  They had received a phone call regarding the drones that were reported earlier.  It turned out that the drones were a pair of crab trap buoys being pushed by the current.

We left Silva Bay early Monday afternoon and crossed the Strait of Georgia to the BC mainland.  The crossing was a little lumpy with short, choppy waves and winds blowing 15 – 20 knots.  We entered Secret Cove about 16:30 and anchored in the south arm of the cove.  The anchorage was calm with no other boats around and we enjoyed happy hour and supper on the stern. 

The anchorage in the south arm of Secret Cove, BC

Tuesday morning we left the Secret Cove anchorage about 6:30 and headed towards Harmony Islands.  As we were pulling around the east side of the islands and preparing to anchor, I switched on the windlass to lower the anchor chain out of the hawsepipe.  Our windlass started to rotate continuously and wouldn’t shut down.  Finally the breaker tripped.  We positioned the boat to anchor along the mainland coast in about 25 feet of water and let the anchor free fall into the water.  Dave did some troubleshooting and decided the issue was the on/off switch on the windlass.  We dug our spare switch out of storage and he replaced the old one.  That didn’t solve the problem so out came the windlass manuals.  Dave decided to investigate the windlass control box.  He opened the box and found that the relay contacts inside were burned and extremely dirty.  He cleaned the contacts, re-assembled the box and we did some testing.  Everything worked so he put it all back together and we added some windlass parts to our ordering list.

Dave working on the windlass, Harmony Islands, BC

Looking north from the stern as we were leaving Harmony Islands, BC.

We hoisted anchor about 10:45 Wednesday morning and began our journey to Princess Louisa Sound.  In order to get into the sound, it is important to time for slack water at Malibu Rapids which is narrow, with a blind S turn and currents that can run up to 9 knots.  We arrived a little early so we waited outside the entrance with 3 other boats until slack.  Once you get past the rapids, the head of the Princess Louisa Inlet is about 4 miles further in.  The granite walls along the inlet are steep and over 6000’ high with lots of waterfalls coming from the snowfields above.  Chatterbox Falls, which comes down ~1800 feet, is at the head of the inlet, just to the north of the park dock.  According to the guide books, this is “the “holy grail” for cruising people from all over the world” and it is easy to see why.  There was space for us on the inside of the park dock near the plane float so we tied alongside.  We stayed for three days and kept busy walking up to Chatterbox Falls, taking the dinghy out for a spin, hiking in the woods near McDonald Island and kayaking around the coves.  We set up the bimini and the deck chairs on monkey island which gave us a great spot to watch the boats and sea planes come and go.  We wanted to swim as it was warm in the inlet but the ranger’s bulletin board advised not to as the “Lion’s Mane” jellyfish were abundant and can cause skin blisters.

View from the stern as we cruised north toward Malibu Rapids and Princess Louisa Inlet.

Entering Princess Louisa Inlet via Malibu Rapids at slack water.  The totem pole, flag
and ramp belong to a youth camp located on the west side of the rapids.

Chatterbox Falls at the head of Princess Louisa Inlet.

Float plane coming in to the dock, Princess Louisa Inlet.

The forest near Chatterbox Falls, Princess Louisa Inlet.

The forest near McDonald Island, Princess Louisa Inlet.

Waterfall on the east shore of the cove, Princess Louisa Inlet.

Dave helping a pilot turn around her float plane, Princess Louisa Inlet.
That's Seabiscuit's starboard bow in the lower left corner of the photo.

Heading south out of Princess Louisa Inlet toward Malibu Rapids.

Saturday morning we left the dock along with two other boats to catch the 7:45 slack at Malibu Rapids.   The cruise south was uneventful.  We arrived at Harmony Islands about 12:30 and were greeted by two bald eagles sitting in a tree on the south point of the south islands.  We anchored up along the mainland on the east side of the islands.  We spent the afternoon reading on the stern, doing boat chores and watching other boats cruise and anchor among the islands.  

Freil Falls (left) and a landslide (right), BC mainland coast near Harmony Islands.

Two bald eagles in a tree on the south point of the south island, Harmony Islands, BC.

This morning, Sunday, July 2^nd, we cruised to Powell River / Westview Harbour in Malaspina Strait.  We are planning to stay here for two nights to get some supplies, do laundry and take advantage of the internet.

Until next time...