Bedwell Harbour

The weather is changing. There is a chill in the air and clouds in the sky. No rain yet. We went over to Port Browning on North Pender Island. The marina and resort had been for sale and it looks like the new management has cleaned the place up nicely. It cost $1.15/foot to dock here and another $8/day for power. That’s why we anchor out so much. It is more peaceful…and cheap. We walked up to the little village and went to our favorite coffee shop for a latte and a sticky bun. Next door there is a new restaurant, Fish on Pender. They appear to be an expansion of Fish on 5th in Sidney. The one in Sidney makes excellent halibut fish n’ chips with yam fries if you want them (I love them). We may try this place some time. We have to decide our itinerary for the next 2 weeks. When do we re-enter the USA, when do we return to Anacortes and put Aquila to bed for the winter? Our completely selfish and wonderful summer has to end soon.

Bedwell Harbour

We went over to Poet’s Cove without Merlin today. I couldn’t take him in to the spa and Fred thought he might have brunch while he is waiting for me. I have been to this spa before. It is lovely and had one of the most unique features I have ever seen. The sauna is a steam cave. It is just outside of the building and appears to be made of huge rocks, except the door. Inside there is a water feature which makes the steam. They have towels and water bottle available outside the entrance. I like to get there a little early because if one has a treatment scheduled then the use of the steam cave and the hot tube are gratis. I had a lovely massage and then I threw in a facial. I came out of there feeling like a warm, pampered kitten. Fred had taken a long (about 4 miles) walk out to one end of the island and back while I was being pampered. We then had a delicious lunch on the outside deck before returning to Aquila. We then all took a nap. I am gradually using up all the frozen meat and perishables on the boat. I still have some frozen crab meat and we had that for dinner.

Fulford Harbour to Bedwell Harbour - 2 hours, 10 miles

It is a very short trip to our next (and probably last in Canada) stop. We love Bedwell Harbour on south Pender Island. We love the resort here, Poet’s Cove http://www.poetscove.com but also a dinghy ride the five miles to Port Browning on North Pender Harbour. After we anchored we went over to Poet’s cove to have a latte and let Merlin play on the beach. Fred usually goes up to the main lobby of the resort and sits out on a deck and reads the newspaper. Merlin and I had a fine time. He gets into the water just enough to get muddy. A fellow asked if his dogs could visit their cousin. He had a ruby and a black & tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. His dogs had a summer cut which I guess looks like a puppy cut on a poodle. Their tails we untouched but they had been clipped everywhere else. They sure looked easier to maintain but the beautiful flowing hair was gone as well as all the distinctive feathering on the chest and feet. I had considered this look once but decided to just keep up his maintenance. There had just been a wedding on the patio and the arch and chairs were still set up. The bride (young and lovely in a strapless gown) were wandering around for their photos. I even think I saw the photographer take one or two of Merlin. When Fred joined us he said he had made an appointment for me to get a massage tomorrow. Oh boy!

Ganges Harbour to Fulford Harbour - 2 hours, 10 miles

I was reading in the Island newsletter about the different towns. We didn’t remember going to Fulford Harbour on the other side of Saltspring Island. So, we decided to go and check it out. We were a little surprised that there were hardly any pleasure boats at anchor and the government dock looks like it will only hold 3-4 boats. We anchored out and took the dinghy over to “town” and found out that it consists of a ferry dock, grocery store, small restaurant, art gallery (closed) and thank God, a coffee shop. We had delicious lattes and sat at the outside table looking at overgrown yards and streets without sidewalks. The Gulf Islands are known for the artistic people who live here. We have found them to be “very Berkeley”. What I mean is most people wear Birkenstocks or sandals and wear tie dye or hemp clothing. Actually they look quite comfortable. No homeless people on the streets and the whole area has a welcoming and accepting feeling.

Nanaimo to Ganges - 5 hours, 34 miles

It is another big jump for us as we travel through Dodd Narrows today. We entered the narrows ½ hour before slack tide and had no difficulty. We spend most of the morning in Trincomali Channel. We are going to Ganges Harbour on Saltspring Island. There was plenty of room in the anchorage. The only problem we noted was that there is frequent float plane arrivals and departures all day long. Those things are noisy! It stopped a little after sundown. We remember Ganges as having lovely little art and jewelry galleries. Somehow it all seems bigger and busier. We thought coming on a week day would be peaceful. It’s not. The town is still charming and great to walk through. It does have an awesome hardware store which carries everything from nuts & bolts to kitchen & pet supplies. We didn’t go into the grocery store, but it is nice to know it is there.

Nanaimo

There are few pleasure boats on the docks here. I guess after Labor Day things quiet down everywhere. We took a long walk after breakfast and Merlin got to say hello to many Canadian dogs. Nanaimo has a lovely colonnade across the waterfront that connects to a large green area. By the quay there are many rocks down to the waterline. An artist has made stacks of these stones that defy gravity. We were admiring them when a fellow on the bench said he had made them this morning. He said they are transient because people throw rocks at them or the water and waves tumble the towers. We have seen similar “rock piles” along the water in Sausalito, CA.

Comox to Nanaimo - 8 hours, 57 miles

What a bright and sunny day! Not a cloud in the sky the whole trip today. The Straight of Georgia remains a giant pond. It is so clear that we could see Mt. Baker in the distance in Washington. We decided we would stay on the dock in Nanaimo. It is so convenient to walking paths and shops. We like to do a starboard tie because the helm seat is on that side of the boat and the skipper can open the pilot house door and see what is going on. In order to tie up on the starboard side Fred pulled into the way and rotated the boat 180 degrees. However, there were boats on the other side of the way. Fred made the turn and placed us on the dock and did it perfectly. I don’t think we had 2 feet of clearance on either side, but he did it! He really impressed the other boaters.

April Point Cove to Comox - 6 ½ hours, 37 miles

We were able to get internet this morning and found out the lack of activity on shore is because the resort closed on September 7th. Oh well, I guess we won’t get a restaurant meal or a massage today. As we head out of the cove we experienced a great deal of turbulence. When we finally make it out into Discovery Passage the current is running 4-5 knots against us! We didn’t check ahead and we certainly are the only fools out here going south in this current. At this rate we will arrive in Comox tomorrow… Well, things finally righted themselves and we will get into Comox a little before sunset. We decided to anchor outside of the breakwater for the marina. There are a lot of mooring buoys out here but we aren’t sure if the are public or private. We went for a dinghy ride. First we checked out of the lovely seals lying on top of the floating breakwater. There must have been a hundred! We went into the marina to tie up at a dinghy dock to go for a walk and maybe dinner. Well, we couldn’t find one. All of the floats went up to a locked gate. We finally found a tidal grid with steps all the way into the water. There was no one there so we tied up to the railing of the stairs. We thought the tide was falling so we tied up accordingly. You guessed it, the tide was still rising. When we returned to the dinghy (after a nice walk on land) the dinghy was wedged between the railing and the stairs. We had to stand of the tube to force us free. By this time we are tied in little knots. We went back to the boat for a small dinner and a spectacular sunset.

Port Neville to April Point Cove - 9½ hours, 52.4 miles

We were going to leave at 6 AM to catch Seymour Narrows at slack at 1 PM. However, the fog was so thick and it was still dark so we tried to wait out the fog. We saw two otters up on the dock. As soon as they saw us they were back in the water very quickly. We finally started engines about 11 AM. The tides run quite fast here and we had to fight an incoming tide to get off the dock without hitting anything. Fortunately Fred and the twin Perkins won. Fred really needed the radar this morning. The fog burned off to a spectacular sunny day. We have high mountain peaks to port (left) and green rolling hills to starboard (right). There is very little other traffic. We have a sailboat and two fishing back in the distance. Our plan is to anchor just before Seymour Narrows at Plumper Sound until slack tide at 7 PM. We arrived on schedule at 5 PM & anchored in a pretty bay. However, we are near resorts and larger communities now and there are small speed boats all over the place. We enjoyed the sun until time to start the engines again at 6:30 PM. We were right on time to enter the Narrows. However, a cruise ship (Coral Princess) was bigger and faster so we followed her through. We are heading to April Point Cove which has a small anchorage and an upscale fishing resort. As we are getting closer to our destination the sun finally set and there is no moon. Beautiful stars, but they weren’t any help to us. We were guided almost completely by the chart potter (GPS). As we neared the cove we had our spotlight on looking for the buoy marking the bar into the cove. The buoy was only visible by our spotlight hitting the reflective numbers. Yes, we were on the correct course and entered the cove with the red buoy to starboard. The dock is visible with several large vessels (75-100 feet). The anchorage is small and shallow but we slipped past the docks and saw there was one sailboat already anchored. We really couldn’t see the shore so we anchored with the dock, sailboat and GPS to guide us. We got a good hold in 20 feet. We are both exhausted. We haven’t traveled after dark since we were in San Francisco Bay.

Port McNeill to Port Neville - 6 hours, 43 miles

The morning started out very nicely. We walked up to get a latte then Fred went and paid for moorage while I filled the water tank. It was cloudy but looked like it was going to clear. We traveled south-east in Johnstone Straight all day. The water here can be anything but it was smooth as glass today. We had to use the radar for a short period of time and we are so pleased that it works well enough to pick out a group of kayakers and a log boom. Fortunately the fog cleared in time to dodge logs. This is a common problem in Johnstone Straight. Logs get loose from the booms and become a serious hazard if one isn’t paying attention. For a few hours the sun was shining and everything looked so beautiful after a few days of rain. When we pulled into Port Neville we had to doge the bull kelp patches as usual. It was better today because we are at high tide. We are aiming for the dock because it is simple and free. There is no one else there so we have our choice of 3-4 places depending upon the size of boat. We took the one right in front. Merlin had a little time of running on the docks before the rain started again. Because of our experience in June (6/10) with an over zealous deer, we did not venture up on the land.

Port McNeill

The wind howled and it rained sidewise for two days. We are in a good slip but the boat was rolling so badly at times I (Joan) had to lie down because I felt seasick. We had no leaks and were snug as bugs. On Thursday night we went out for Mexican food at Bo Banees in the mall. We eat there every time we are in town and it is always good.

Port Hardy to Port McNeill - 3 hours, 21 miles

We have a peaceful day and are heading to one of our favorite ports. We are experiencing some rollers coming off Queen Charlotte Sound, but otherwise the sears are smooth. About half way between the two ports we noticed some dorsal fins to starboard. They are orcas! We stopped the engines and drifted a bit as we watched them play. This is our first orca sighting of the season. When they moved off we continued our journey. We hate buying fuel in Canada because it is so much more expensive that the US. Of course both are better than in 2008. Prudence dictated that we fill up in Port McNeill because we still have a long way to go. We put in 224 gallons at about $3.59/gallon. There are two marinas right next to each other now. The government dock and now the Fuel Dock Marina. We decided to stay at the fuel dock marina for a change. The young man at the fuel dock said they provided many services and to check out their website. www.portmcneill.com This marina is closer to the Laundromat but the other one is closer to the coffee shop. Decisions, decisions…

Port Hardy

We were going to leave this morning but the winds came up during the night and there is Gale Warnings for Queen Charlotte Straight. We are seeing winds up to 29 knots here on the dock.

Fury Cove to Port Hardy - 6 ½ hours, 55 miles

We left the cove about 6:30 AM, as soon as it was light enough to see. Unfortunately it is so overcast we don’t have a pretty sunrise. This is a big day. We are passing around Cape Caution which is a large protuberance of British Columbia mainland north of Vancouver Island. We had 3-4 foot ocean swells for about 4 hours crossing Queen Charlotte Sound. This really wasn’t too bad. It would have been a nightmare (and we wouldn’t have left) if the wind was up. The wind was almost nothing as we entered Queen Charlotte Straight and headed to Port Hardy. Port Hardy has three dock areas. We have usually stayed at the Quarterdeck Marina which has water & power on the docks, but is about a mile from shopping. The two public wharfs are usually full of fishing boats. However, when we entered Port Hardy Bay we saw that there was room on the public dock downtown. We tied up and there was only a sailboat already there. No power or water, however. That’s OK. We have our generator and water maker. We took Merlin out for a walk (he was thrilled!) and to wander. Of course we found the latte place. I plan to grocery shop in Port McNeill. Later in the afternoon the fishing boats came but the dock was not full.

Shearwater to Fury Cove - 7 ½ hours, 52 miles

It is a beautiful, clear, sunny day. We are headed to our last stop in northern BC. The water is almost like a pond. We are traveling into Fitz Hugh Sound which is partially open to the ocean. We stopped at Fury Cove. This is one of the prettiest coves in BC. One passes into an outer cove and then into the anchorage. The cove is made up of several small islets. One can see right out to Fitz Hugh Sound-ocean. There are white beaches made up of crushed shells. It is sandy at the water’s edge and progresses to unbroken shells near the high water mark. We took the dinghy over to explore. It was lovely and I didn’t have to worry about letting Merlin run free.

Windy Bay to Shearwater - 8 hours, 60 miles

Windy Bay to Shearwater 8 hours 60 miles

Khutze Inlet to Windy Bay - 5 hours, 33 miles

We usually like to spend 2-3 days here but the weather is terrible, so we just keep on our southward journey.

Coghlan anchorage to Khutze Inlet - 6 hours, 42 miles

It was raining all day but no heavy winds. This made our passage through Wright Sound, McKay Reach, Fraser Reach, Graham Reach. We didn’t see any whales but we saw dozens of beautiful waterfalls. We anchored in front of the tallest waterfall in Khutze Inlet. We love it here. We were alone there until late afternoon when another boat arrived. Because it kept raining we didn’t put the kayaks in the water. Khutze River flows into the inlet and is lovely and meandering. We have kayaked there in the past.

Ship Anchorage to Coghlan Anchorage - 5 ½ hours, 33 miles

It’s a beautiful, sunny day to finish our transit of Grenville Channel. Unfortunately the davit still does not work because it is missing the shock strut (lift strut) that would have saved Fred’s finger in Juneau. So, no dinghy rides today.

Prince Rupert to Ship Anchorage - 7 ¾ hours, 48 miles

We have another long day so we left Prince Rupert at 7 AM. In the past we have had to dodge fishing boats as we leave Prince Rupert Harbour. Not today. Our only challenge was foggy patches. Fortunately there is very little boat traffic. As we entered Grenville Channel we had 25 knot wind and about 2 foot chop. It was also pouring rain. Bumpy but not too bad. We are heading to an anchorage about half way through Grenville Channel. We were going to go back into Klewnuggit Anchorage (about 5 miles) which would take us an additional hour to anchor. Instead we decided to go into Ship Anchorage. The area is not far off the channel and would not be acceptable in bad weather. The anchorage is narrow and quite deep. There was a sailboat already in the best spot at the head of the anchorage. Fred putted around the edges until we found a likely spot in about 70 feet. He got a nice bite on the anchor. It is still raining hard but there is no wind. I hate when it rains all day like this because poor Merlin can’t run freely in and out on the decks. Who wants a soaking wet dog on the furniture? Fred has found the Pac-10 station on the XM radio. He is a big Cal Berkeley football fan. Their season opener is on at 7 PM tonight at Berkeley. We listened to 3 quarters of the game and Cal was up 46-6 points so we figured we knew that they beat Maryland pretty good. Hope they don’t get too full of themselves. It is so strange being in a small anchorage in northern British Columbia listening to a live broadcast of the game come in loud and clear. We can’t even receive marine weather here…

Prince Rupert

Our pedicures were great. They appear to only have two chairs and they placed them next to each other back behind a screen. Very cozy and we both loved it. We then needed to do a small amount of shopping before we head out tomorrow. I went up to the dock office to pay for our moorage and I noticed an animal carrier on the floor with some milk in a dish nearby. I was then showed a 5 week old puppy. She’s a Heinz 57 breed but looks like a miniature golden lab. She has small paws so I don’t think she will be a very big dog. Sure was adorable, though. As we were finishing dinner I saw two people outside of our boat waving their arms. It was the folks from the sailboat, Nexus. We are both leaving Prince Rupert about 7 AM tomorrow. We will probably run into them again.

Tree Point Anchorage to Prince Rupert - 5 hours, 41 miles

Back to British Columbia, Canada
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise. Just enough clouds to make it interesting. We have another calm beautiful day for cruising. Dixon Entrance is the barrier between Alaska and British Columbia and is open to the ocean. We have never seen the water here so calm. The water was like a pond. What a pleasure! Fred called Canadian Customs and Border Control when we crossed into Canadian waters. He had to give them pertinent numbers from the boat and our passports. There isn’t a specific place where a boater goes to clear Customs. The officer said to stay on the boat once we dock and if no one shows up to inspect the boat by 2:15 PM we would be free to leave the boat and go about our business. We called ahead to make a reservation at the dock of the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club. It is the closest to town. Unfortunately the best slips are already taken so we have to anchor on a side tie on the outside, exposed to “rocking & rolling”. We went to get a latte at “Cowpuccinos”, located in Cow Bay. We watched a cruise ship pull up the Prince Rupert’s only cruise ship dock. Suddenly this sleepy little town seemed full of people. We saw a nice salon in our wanderings and we both made an appointment for a pedicure in the morning. Fred thought it would be a good idea to have fish & chips at the pub tonight. The place was packed on a Thursday night. I guess a lot of people were tired of eating on the cruise ship. We really don’t understand it. We never missed dinner aboard ship on our cruises.

July and August Photos

Ketchikan to Tree Point Anchorage - 7 ¾, 53 miles

Sadly, we are heading to our last stop in Alaska. We have been up here since July 5th. Some of the locals thought we had moved there permanently. We’re not ready to be up there in winter yet. The sun is peaking through the clouds and the sky is beautiful. We only had about 5-10 mph winds today and the water is rippled. We had planned to stop at Foggy Bay but as we progressed the water remained calm so we went down to Tree Point Anchorage. This will shave 3-4 hours off of our trip tomorrow. This anchorage is quite large but completely exposed to southerly winds. Fortunately that wasn’t a problem. We saw 4 fishing boats come in to anchor but no other pleasure craft.

Meyers Chuck to Ketchikan - 5 ½ hours

We left Meyers Chuck at 9:30 AM. It’s cloudy, but it isn’t raining at least. The trip down Clarence Straight was wonderful compared to what little we saw of it yesterday. The waves are only 1-2 feet and the wind is 20 knots on the bow. There weren’t many boats in Tongass Narrows either. We headed straight for Petro Marine to fill up. We took 110 gallons at $ 2.41 per gallon. We decided to try a new marina this time. There are three main ones for Ketchikan and we usually stay at Bar Harbor. It is about 1 ½ miles from downtown. However, the Safeway is closer to Bar Harbor than to the other marinas. We are staying at City Front. It is actually that. We just go up the ramp to the tourist area/great shopping. We didn’t need to do any big shopping because we will be crossing the border into Canada in a few days.

Wrangell to Meyers Chuck - 8 hours, 57 miles

We expected some rough water today so we left at 6 AM. It is raining and gloomy too. The water was pretty good (less than 1 foot chop) in Zimovia Straight but as soon as we entered Clarence Straight the water proved to be as the weather report said. Up to 25 mph winds with seas about 4 feet. It was uncomfortable and nerve-wracking. Merlin always gets “needy” when we are underway. I was at the helm and had Merlin sitting on the helm seat and I stood in front of him for awhile. Merlin decided to change position as we were hit with a wave and the poor guy wound up on his backside on the floor with his feet in the air and his eyes like saucers. Of course I grabbed him to make sure he was OK. I was feeling guilty too and Fred is standing there laughing! Merlin was unharmed and stayed in my arms for the duration. We were so happy to pull into Meyers Chuck. The high waves stopped at the entrance. Fred had a bit of a time keeping us off the rocks. There was plenty of room on the dock and we tied up without incident. It was raining so hard that we never left the boat.

Wrangell

Well, the sailboat left at 6 AM this morning because they are on a timeline and can’t wait any longer. We could handle the seas but we don’t want to. We’ll get out of here tomorrow am. It is rainy and depressing so we are staying in.

Wrangell

We have spoken with our new friends on NEXUS (30’ sailboat) about heading out of here in the morning. All is well until the 4 PM weather report. The winds are at 25 knots and the seas are 5 feet in Clarence Passage (our final destination for the day). Maybe we should find a slip and move here. I wrenched my back (while dusting no less). I am alternating between ice packs and the TENS unit. Boring…
http://arthritis.about.com/od/assistivedevicesgadgets/g/tensunit.htm

I was stir crazy so we went out to pizza tonight at the Marine Bar & Hungry Beaver. We’ve never been in before because it just looks like a bar from the outside. But inside it looks more like a sports bar pizza joint.

Wrangell

Today is day 14 of Fred’s finger injury. I have the supplies to remove his stitches but the finger looks very tender, even though it is healing well (no infection, etc). We decided it’s Fred’s turn to go to the local hospital.

Wrangell, Anan Bear Observatory

It is raining so we wore our rain boots and brought our raingear. We want to be able to sit outside on the deck and watch the bears. We get the knock on the boat to get on the Alaska Vistas boat at about 8:30 AM. We then head out of the harbour and around to a dock facing the channel for boarding. First thing everyone does is head up the dock to get a latte. We then boarded and found out that there were only five of us a boat which held over ten. I got to sit up in front with the driver. This is one of those smallish aluminum jet boats that have a draft of two feet at idle and 4 inches when it is up on a plane. The trip to Anan took about an hour. We stopped when I saw the puff from a whale but he never showed himself again. At Anan there is no dock, we just have to pull up close to the muddy shore and get off the boat from a ladder which comes down from the bow. It is close to low tide so that apparently makes this more difficult. We are very glad of the boots. There is one outhouse here and one by the observatory. Both are exposed to possible bear visits so one never goes off alone. We first has a small talk from a ranger about the area and what we are about to see. We are allowed to bring almost anything with us in our backpacks but NO FOOD. Water bottle was OK. By this time we are expecting to see a bear around every corner and hanging from the trees. Unfortunately this was not to be. After a moderately strenuous walk to the observatory through spectacular rainforest, the decks above Anan Creek emerge. We didn’t see a bear at all for about 30 minutes. Then we saw a black, furry head sticking out from between two boulders in the creek. The water is madly rushing here and looks to be a milky, caramel color. It is hard to see any salmon in the water but we see one jumping frequently. Eventually we saw a total of three black bears and no brown bears. We got home from there about 2 PM. I went for a walk to the end of town and saw some children selling stones at tables that they set up by the ferry terminal. They stones all held a piece of raw garnet. Following is information about the garnets from the local paper;
"Why the Garnet Stands? -- In the streets of Wrangell, you sometimes encounter kids selling garnets the way children other places sell lemonade. The gems come from the Garnet Ledge, near the mouth of the Stikine River, a mine that is still productive recreationally 130 years after its discovery. A visit to the mine isn't worth the effort for most travelers, but the story is interesting. The ledge was mined commercially from 1907 to 1936 by the first all-woman corporation in the nation, a group of investors from Minneapolis. Its current ownership is unusual, too: A 1962 deed gave the mine to all the children of Wrangell, which is interpreted to mean that only children have the right to remove the stones. You can get a water taxi out there, but take a Wrangell child along if you intend to take garnets. Of course, it's easier simply to buy garnets from a kid at a card table in the street." http://www.wrangell.com/visitors/attractions/sightseeing/garnet/index.html

Wrangell

We are really excited. We are in Wrangell, AK and will be going to the Anan Bear Observatory tomorrow. Hope we get some great photos. We expect to be in Ketchikan by the end of the week. We are going with Alaska Vistas tour group. They dock their jet boats over in Reliance Harbour near us. Fred walked over when they came back this afternoon and told them we are scheduled for the trip tomorrow and could we get on the boat here instead of walking all the way through town (about 1 mile) in the rain. They said sure no problem and would even come knock on the hull at the right time. Hope we get some great photos. We expect to be in Ketchikan by the end of the week.

Petersburg to Wrangell - 7 hours, 43 miles

We tried to time leaving Petersburg with the tides because as we leave to harbour, we are immediately in Wrangell Narrows. As with all the other “narrows” we have encountered, current is a big issue. For about an hour we have a wonderful 3-5 knot push. However, once we reached the mid-point of the narrows, the current changed and we had to push against 1-2 knots for most of the way south. We are again struck by how few vessels we are seeing. Once we reached Sumner Straight the water was smooth as glass and there was enough fog to create a “white-out”. This part of the trip was actually quite boring. We again were in Reliance Harbor in Wrangell. There are only three other boats on the dock.

Petersburg

Poor Fred wasn’t able to do some of the maintenance chores he like to do because of his injured finger. I won’t be able to take the stitches out for another week. I have been having some trouble hearing recently and we are sure it is just a wax in the ear thing. It isn’t getting any better. A really well kept gill netter came in and docked next to us. The name of the boat was Norsemen and he had a good haul of pink salmon. They were beautiful. As he was handing them down from his boat to a friend with a wheelbarrow I leaned over the rail and held my arms out. I told him just one would be fine. We all laughed… Later this afternoon he calls Fred over and hands him two beautiful salmon fillets. Unfortunately I hadn’t baked recently and we had no goodies to give him in exchange (although he didn’t ask for anything).

Fanshaw Bay to Petersburg - 5 ¾ hours, 40.5 miles

We woke up to flat seas and no wind. However, we had heavy fog too. It was time to pull anchor and head to Petersburg. We were in and out of zero visibility several times in Frederick Sound. The water was like glass and the radar worked beautifully. Fortunately we only saw a few other boaters and/or fishermen. We requested to be placed in the South Harbor this time. It is newer and has nicer docks that the North Harbor. We were surprised that the harbor was almost empty. I know that the fishing fleet is out now but there are not many pleasure boats either.

Fanshaw Bay

We are stuck, no; we have chosen to stick here one more day. The weather is still awful and the winds have already reached 46 mph. Not sure what the gusts are. We are warm and dry and the anchor is well set. It is noisy, however. Merlin seems oblivious and wants to go out on the deck to play. I’m not sure how he would stand up to the winds and the rain coming sideways.

Fanshaw Bay

We planned on spending at least today here. The storm is going strong. We had winds up to 40 mph. 1 As those of you who have been aboard know, we are warm and dry and very comfortable.

Tracy Arm Cove to Fanshaw Bay - 5 ¾ hours, 41 miles

We traveled down Stephens Passage today. We had about two foot chop but we were going the same direction so it wasn’t too bad at all. We tucked into Cleveland Passage in Fanshaw Bay, just inside of Whitney Island. It appeared to be better situated for the prevailing winds than where we anchored last time (7/13). The weather reports that high winds and rain are expected by tonight. We are about 36 miles from our next port, Petersburg so we are staying here.

Juneau to Tracy Arm Cove - 7 hours, 46 miles

Our first stop after we cleared the breakwater was to head over to the fuel dock, just across Gastineau Channel. We filled up with 335 gallons at approximately $2.40/gallon (including tax). Fred is doing quite well with nine functioning fingers. You know, we are getting tired of going back and forth to the same places. We are heading again to Tracy Arm Cove for the night. I know we have a lot of time left before we need to return home, it is a little sad to make the turn south for the season instead of continuing north.

Juneau

Plans were made to be changed. We are definitely leaving Dodge, I mean Juneau tomorrow. Fred decided we needed to treat ourselves to dinner at the Hangar on the Wharf.

Juneau

The pain didn't really kick in until today. Fred really feels miserable. However, the meds work well, even if they put him to sleep. Our plan now is to try and get out of here on Thursday.

Juneau

All our guests are gone and all we have left is dirty laundry and sweet memories. All of you that joined us are missed. Well, we were hoping to get out of Juneau by tomorrow. Life gets complicated. This morning Fred was on the upper deck working on the davit. It slipped and sliced into Fred's left middle finger. He wasn't doing well, so I went out on knocked on boat hulls (boats don’t have doorbells) nearby to see if there was a man who could help us. Janet on “Artic Explorer” (49' DeFever) grabbed her car keys and away we went to Bartlett Hospital in Juneau. (I made her some brownies) Fred was taken in very quickly. The MD numbed Fred's finger and explored. They took him off to x-ray on the gurney. He pretty much separated the finger tissue from his nail bed and broke off part of the bone at the tip. A PA (physician's assistant) came in to sew him up. I lost count of the stitches after 20. They put on a huge, padded dressing and gave him a prescription for an antibiotic and pain med. We took a cab home and Fred took a pain pill & tried to relax. Now all he has to do is keep the hand elevated and the dressing dry. Sure glad this happened in the USA instead of Canada. I don't thing our insurance would have covered it there.

Juneau

Saturday, August 1 – Sunday, August 9
Our travel with Jason and Kelli was the same as with Ann & Heather. We had a lovely time and it was nice getting to know Kelli better.

Juneau

We are very excited about the arrival of our next guests, Jason and his girlfriend, Kelli Nelson. We have only met Kelli once before so this will be interesting. We both liked her very much from a lunch we had together at home (in California) at Alice’s on skyline Boulevard.

Juneau

We are sad to see Heather & Ann getting ready to leave. Fred made us some awesome chocolate chip pancakes (waffle maker & mix from William Sonoma). We exchange hugs and kisses and they are gone at 10:30 by taxi to the airport at Auke Bay. Taxi’s are quite expensive here so we didn’t go with them. Now it is time to do laundry and restock the larder for the arrival of our next guests.

Juneau

This is Ann & Heather’s last full day in Juneau (and with us). Today we got up and ready to leave the boat by 11am. Fred stayed on the boat (“been there/done that”). Heather, Ann and I went down to the Mt Robert’s Tram first since the mountain was clear as a bell and not a cloud hovering over it. So we bought our tickets ($27/each!) and headed up. We went and saw the Eagle they have in captivity up there. It’s the same one I saw last time up there. It was shot by someone with a BB gun 3 years ago, and is now blind in one eye. It can never live on its own again, so it is being taken care of. We were taking pictures of the view down to the cruise ship docks and town, when one young woman in her 20’s asked if we would like a pic of all 3 of us, which we did. We ended up chatting with her and her friend a while who were both crew on one of the Princess Cruise ships below. Both work in the child care/activity programs. And one wants to be a nurse, so that gave me and her something to chat about for a few. That same woman just spent a year in Amsterdam, now the season on a ship, then Italy for a year starting in Sept, then a year in Africa for a year after that to help medical personal over there. Talk about ambition. Anyway, we saw what there was to see, did the gift shop thing, and headed back down. It was probably 2:30pm at this point and we hadn’t had lunch, so we were hungry. We ended up at the ‘Twisted Fish Company’ near the cruise ship docks. Everything was excellent! After eating we bought our round trip shuttle tickets to Mendenhall Glacier ($7/each way). The sky was amazingly blue and really warm (low 80’s) The glacier was as beautiful as I remember, only a lot more crowded with people. We only stayed half an hour, and then headed back to town for some last minute shopping. We ended back up at ‘The Hangar on the Wharf’ for our dinner reservations. Heather & Ann treated us again to dinner. The fish (halibut) & chips are excellent. Really very nice of them. Heather & Ann packed all of their stuff up once we got back. And now Heather is up at 11:30pm, alone, burning the rest of all of our photos and videos to CDs to take home with them.

Tracy Arm Cove to Juneau - 6 ½ hours, 46 miles

Ann saw Dall porpoises in the bow wake, Heather & I were sleeping. They did get to see a couple more whales blowing and swimming by in the distance. Ann & Heather spent their last hours cruising by sitting on the bow in the cold watching the water, jumping salmon, waves, cruise ships, and the many fishing boats that speckle the coast. There are spots of blue sky here and there, so hopefully the weather is mild when we get into town later this afternoon. We arrived back to Juneau around 2pm. We just freshened up and went into town. After docking, we headed straight for the cruise ship doc to check out city/glacier tour info. But think we are just going to take the shuttle back and forth to Mendenhall in the morning ($7/each way). We just went shopping for today. When in this one large superstore of a souvenir shop (was kind of like the Hilo Hattie’s of Juneau, for those familiar with Hilo Hattie’s), they had several TVs on in the store playing various things. But one as on a news station playing Palin footage with the headlines “The Countdown” and “The Goodbye Girl”. I was fully aware that she was officially leaving office as of yesterday, but being out at sea for the last 6 days, it slipped my mind. So I thought it interesting that we were in Juneau at the time she left office (even if she was technically in Fairbanks). From talking to some people up here from cabbies to store employees to seeing some funny mockery of her on a store display (I have pics), I get the jist that she wasn’t well supported up here. Our cab driver this morning even said that every house surrounding the Governor’s Mansion had Obama signed displayed. There aren’t many restaurants in the shopping district. We picked out a hole in the wall Mexican place called ‘El Sombrero’ for dinner, since the touristy saloon we wanted to eat at was a mad house. It was decent. Outside of a store was a newspaper stand, with the Juneau Empire (I think it’s called) with a pic of Palin and the headline “It’s Official”. Heather picked up a copy to save. We then walked back to the boat, after a quick detour to the local grocery store for some ice cream to bring back for dessert.

Ford’s Terror to Dawes Glacier toTracy Arm Cove - 8 hour, 47 miles

Fog delayed our departure. It was ethereal seeing the sailboat in the mist. It was as if it was floating in the air. Eventually we headed off on our 3 hour ride to Dawes Glacier, in the sun. We made our way to within ½ a mile of Dawes Glacier which is further than last time. There was a dense ice field up ahead which made our stopping point very specific. We turned the boat off and just sat there for a while to take in the view and take the obligatory million photos. It was great the weather was so nice. Heather played ball with Merlin on the bow. On the way back Heather spotted Dall porpoises. In the channel next to Sumdum Glacier, Fred spotted a whale’s back and tail going into the water right in that area. The rest of us didn’t see it, so we put the boat in idle and went on the lookout. We ended up seeing its back and spout a few more times before we continued on our way back to the cove for the night. This is our guests last night anchoring out before heading back to Juneau. So Heather & Ann wanted to take the kayaks out one last time. We put them in the water, and Heather tipped hers enough while getting in, to allow some water in. We watched ‘The Reader’ after dinner which I thought was good.

Inside Ford’s Terror to Outside Ford’s Terror - 1 hour, 4.3 miles

We woke up this morning to sunshine… amazing. We watched eagles fly around as we had breakfast. By mid-day the sun started to go away, but still warmer here at 63 degrees than it has been. We decided to take the dinghy down and go over to this gorgeous waterfall we saw on the way in. We are on the downswing of the trip. Today we will play around in here, then pass Ford’s Terror narrows between 4-5pm at slack high tide, then weather depending, go kayaking on the other side by the waterfalls. There was a sailboat in the bay when we exited Ford’s Terror and it looked like they were debating entering Ford’s Terror because of the way they were going around the bay. Heather and Ann went kayaking outside the narrows to check out some icebergs and waterfalls. We saw a seal or 2 that kept popping up all over. The couple from the sailboat (Sylvia & Rolf) came over by dinghy to ask about the narrows and what was inside Ford’s Terror. They are from Switzerland and originally sailed from Europe, across the Atlantic and made their way to Hawaii, Canada and Alaska. Now they leave their boat here, and fly home every winter to work. They were telling the story about entering Alaska one time, and the humorous hassle with customs. And they said “Well I guess Canada is pretty lenient about people growing pot, and apparently they smuggle it on Swiss sailboats.” They were joking and it was pretty funny. The also told of their 19 day trip last year from New Zealand to the South Pacific. Interesting stuff. We are anchored right next to a waterfall so we are listening to that this evening.

Tracy Arm Cove to Ford’s Terror, inside - 6 hours, 27 miles

We left a bit later today because be had to be at Ford’s Terror rapids at slack high tide, which was around 4:15pm. We don’t dare go through at low water slack, although it has been done. The visibility is almost 0 as we leave Tracy Arm to cross the bar. We are using the GPS and radar to determine our course. The tide is rising here in Holkam Bay and we encounter very turbulent water as we near the bar. Fred has to hand steer as we face approximately 5 knots of current against us as we leave. We managed 1.5 knots SOG (speed over ground) at 1800 RPM. Not very convenient. We could not even see the red & green buoys marking the channel. Heather & Ann sat on the bow on iceberg watch duty. It was hard to spot them up ahead as our visibility remained very poor. The weather was so depressing I made some chocolate chip cookies for the crew. We had an hour to kill outside the Ford’s Terror narrows before high tide, so we took that time to anchor by the waterfall. So around 4:15pm at high tide we could finally get through Ford’s Terror rapids. The water was smooth as glass. It was beautiful and pretty foggy, but we were just getting misted on and not rained on. The fjords here are awesome, even in the rain. The rock walls on one side were 5,200’ and on the other 5,700’. Amazing. And as we came into our cove past another dozen waterfalls, we ended up in a punchbowl of fog. There is a waterfall at one end of the cove, near where we anchor, that is pretty loud. Reminds me of the sound you enjoy in Hawaii of the waves crashing as you go to sleep. So we sit here and watch the fog roll in and out. Sometimes you can see the shore, and sometimes we’re in complete whiteness. Dinner tonight is crab linguini. About a pound of fresh crab we just got last week with some onion, butter and spices over linguini. Spells pretty good from where I sit…. OK, well it was delicious, but… Heather seemed to be the only one of the 4 of us that became ill. She was SO sick the rest of the night. Not fun, and could not fall asleep until very late because of it.

Tracy Arm Cove to Tracy Arm and back - 9 hours, 48 miles

We are heading into Tracy Arm today to see if we could make it as far as the N. and S. Sawyer Glaciers. Two years ago when we was here, I think we made it half way, or maybe ¾ of the way there but ran into an ice field and decided to turn around before damaging their boat. Today the icebergs were broken up pretty well and we made it almost all the way to the base of S. Sawyer Glacier. Heather & Ann sat on the bow in their Coleman rain suits and was bundled up pretty good. We passed probably 50 waterfalls from the tiny to the amazing. We ended up seeing the N. Sawyer Glacier in the distance to the left first. But it was barricaded by an ice field and huge icebergs that our boat could not penetrate. As S. Sawyer became visible around the corner, it was awe inspiring. It was several hundred feet tall and the brightest blue. It was awesome. We turned off the boat just to look at it and take some pictures. Then we headed back the other direction (another 3-4 hours back) stopping to get up close to a few waterfalls along the way. We finally returned to the anchorage at 6:50 PM. We were all tired but didn’t want to go to bed. Fred went to bed to read and crash early and Ann, Heather & I watched ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’. I was bored.

Taku Harbor to Tracy Arm Cove - 4 ½ hours, 30 miles

It was definitely low tide as the pilings were raised far out of the water showing their barnacles. We headed out around 9am to a small craft advisory (we’re larger than a small craft), so it was a bit rough. Heather & Ann sat on the bow for quite a while in the rainy and freezing 39 degree weather. Luckily as we approached the cove, the rain stopped. Sumdum Glacier was easily seen. There were many icebergs at the entrance to the Tracy Arm bar. We had to go check out two of them. One was the size of a two story house. We then anchored inside the cove around 1:30pm. We took the dinghy out to get up close and personal with about three icebergs, which were quite awesome. Then some quiet time for everyone as we just look out at the beautiful large snow capped mountains, and watched the fog roll in. We also watched two large yachts (both 55’-65’) come into the harbor later in the evening. The larger of the two was named ‘Twilight’.

Juneau to Taku Harbor 20 miles 4 hours

We started up the engines at 9:15 AM to head out. We cruised past Juneau and 5 cruise ships are in dock this morning. I think this almost doubles the population of Juneau. Ann & Heather sat on the bow for most of the trip in the 36 degree weather. They bundled up and looked quite silly. Once we got here, we saw spots of sun but still very overcast for the most part. As we sat here chatting we saw an iceberg float into the bay we were in. That is pretty unusual since we are a bit North of the glaciers, and we weren’t expecting to see any icebergs until tomorrow. We put the dinghy down and went over to it to take photos and touch it. It was Ann’s first iceberg encounter. We then BBQ’d fresh salmon they we were given by a local fisherman the other day. Hopefully we catch some whales and icebergs along the way.

Juneau

We are so excited. Heather (our daughter) and Ann (my sister) are arriving today. The boat is almost spotless and we are ready. The weather is pretty funky (overcast) so we thing we will head right out tomorrow and let them have a day of exploring Juneau at the end of the trip. They finally arrived around 4 PM with backpacks and huge duffel bags. Not sure how this will all fit, but we will make it work. Their stateroom has very little storage space except for a hanging locker. They also have to decide who has to climb the ladder to the upper bunk. The upper bunk is a single mattress and the lower one is a double. Fred will just have to accept the fact that there will be some stuff lying about. Things will not be as tidy as normal for the next week. We are all very excited about seeing each other after three months. They came bearing gifts. Fred got chocolate from Trader Joes and I got two more seasons of Grey’s anatomy. I hate to say it but I am addicted.

Juneau

We are running around trying to get the boat ready for guests. We figure Merlin needs to be in tip-top shape so we made an appointment with a dog groomer for 9:00 AM. She is about 10 miles away so we took a cab both ways. However, Merlin has nice clipped toenails and a trim to keep him from getting his hair matted behind his ears. Fred was out visiting with the fellows on the small (~ 27 foot) sport fishing boat next to us and found out that they are all Coast Guard. Very nice young men. Well, they came back from fishing this afternoon and said, “you want some crab?” We said heck yea and gave them a bucket. We gave them some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies in trade. We had no idea that they put five large crabs, all cleaned and ready for cooking. Looks like we have fresh crab for our company now.

Anchorages

There is a new link in the right side bar called Anchorages, under the Aquila heading. This links to a map that Jason is keeping up to date of every stop on the trip.

Petersburg to Fanshaw Bay 6 hours 36 miles

We got up and walked into town for a latte before leaving Petersburg. With the sun just so, this working harbor is quite beautiful. The seiners are lining up to drop off their catch at the cannery. Most of the fishing boats are maintained beautifully. We think that many of these boats were built in the 30’s or 40’s. We have that tidal push with us again as we leave Petersburg. We got up to 9.7 kts for awhile! We left Wrangell Narrows into Frederick Sound. This is an enormous waterway that is 4-5 miles across. The water is completely flat. It is sunny but there is a haze which makes differentiating the horizon difficult. It is all one whitish blur. We are looking for whales. It is said that this a common feeding ground for both humpback whales and orcas. Not a whale to be found. As we made the turn into Fanshaw Bay we finally saw some humpbacks. There must be at least ten of them. They are on three sides of us. Fred turned off the engine and we just watched and listened to them blow. They make a huffing sound that carries a long distance. It was very magical. After we anchored we took the dinghy to shore for a walk. Merlin got filthy. He went into the water trying to reach shells then he would run as fast as he could in the sand. I guess he must be getting used to being thrust into the tub for a shower as soon as we get back to Aquila. His long fur holds sand like a sponge. Maybe we should let him swim back to the boat, then I would only have to rinse off the salt water… We rolled in a beam sea all evening & night. We must be more aware of the weather when we anchor here.

Wrangell to Petersburg

6 hours 43.4 miles
We can’t get enough of these clear sunny days. It is so different from last year when we had about 90% rainy days. Our trip through Sumner Straight was uneventful. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any whales. We entered Wrangell Narrows on a rising tide because that will give us a push. This 20 mile long channel is well marked with red (keep red marker to starboard) and green (keep buoy to the port) buoys the mark the channel. In 2007 we had to share this narrow channel with many fishing and cruising boats. This year we are only seeing small speed boats (mostly fishermen). There at least two fishing camps here in the narrows. This made our transit fun because we just went down the middle with a huge safety margin. We were going to request berthage at the South Harbor in Petersburg because it is new. However we decided to take whatever the Harbormaster dished out. We were assigned a slip in the North Harbor. We got in but it was not a landing that Capt. Phred was proud of. The rule of thumb is “any landing you can walk away from is a good one” applies here. This harbor is mostly used by the fishing fleet. There are very few cruising boats here. It actually reminds us of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. However, it is the closest harbor to town. After we settled in the captain took a nap and Merlin and I went for a walk. Most of the stores were open on a Sunday. Merlin behaved very well in the stores (he can go anywhere except restaurants and food stores) until I was looking at some souvenirs and I turned around and he was playing with a stuffed toy he took out of a bin. Thank goodness he did no harm and I didn’t have to pay for it.

Wrangell

We decided to stay here longer because the weather is beautiful and Fred wants to work on the teak. It is a constant process to keep it looking good. Well, sure enough our fisherman friend saw us and told us to bring a bucket to his boat and he would give us some salmon. This was too good to pass up. When Fred asked him what we could give him (money, etc) he said just a beer for him and a soda for his companion. I was baking bread so I told him to come by around 5 PM and I would have a nice fresh loaf of bread for him. Well, he gave us three whole fillets and 2 ½ crabs that had already been cleaned. I made my own brine to cook the crabs in since I didn’t want to use water from a marina. In the afternoon Fred took a nap after working so hard on the teak and I sat in the cockpit picking the crab. I used the vacuum sealer to Store the crab and most of the salmon. We had a piece for dinner and it was wonderful.

Wrangell

There is a great hardware/chandlery store here. Fred went and bought a new electric heating element and voila, we have hot water again. One of the fishermen, Steve, noticed that our hailing port is San Francisco and stopped to chat. Apparently he grew up in Niles, near San Jose. He was glad to see folks from the Bay Area so he said if we were still here tomorrow he would stop by and give us some salmon. We told him that it wasn’t necessary but he insisted. OK, we’ll see if we are still here.

Meyers Chuck to Wrangell

8 hours 56.1 miles
In prior years the Reliance Harbor was so full that boats had to raft up to 4 boats to get on the dock. Wrangell built a new harbor and most of the fishing boats are over there now. We expected the harbor to be full but there were only 4 boats on the dock. We were met on the dock by the Harbormaster. He helped us tie up and attach to power. They only have 20 amp power but that is enough for us. We wandered in town and just had a relaxed day. The end of the day was not as good. I had a cold shower. Considering how hot the day was this was not all bad, however, our hot water heater failed me.

Ketchikan to Meyers Chuck

4 ½ hours 37 miles
We had a bumpy ride up Clarence Straight. The wind was about 15 mph and we had whitecaps and about 2 foot chop. We were grateful to turn into Meyers chuck. It is a wonderful little harbor and village. There are about 15-20 homes around the harbor. There was no room on the dock so we had to anchor out. We couldn’t believe it, the !@#$ anchor chain got tangled up again. Poor Fred had to climb up to the chain locker and play with dirty, muddy chain. Fred didn’t feel like leaving the boat but he took Merlin & I over to the dock so we could go for a walk. Thank goodness that the weather has been dry. This place could be a real mud pit. Merlin had a great time on the trails and on their little beach. They have a little art gallery that carried some lovely quilts and other hand made trinkets. Good thing I left my wallet on the boat.

Ketchikan

I talked Fred into going into downtown. We took a cab to town because we would be doing a lot of walking once there. We left Merlin on the boat because he can’t go into all the shops. I always like Creek Street and looking at the Alaskan “stuff”. We found a little coffee kiosk and got our lattes. We walked down by the cruise ship dock and watched the Statendam get ready to leave and then watched how they cast off for departure. Apparently they were waiting for two more people before leaving. A young couple was escorted to the ship to the hooting and heckling of passengers leaning over the rails. We then had an early dinner at Annabelle’s and walked back to the boat.

Ray Anchorage to Ketchikan

7 hours 31.4 miles
Thank goodness we put the flopper-stoppers down yesterday. When we pulled them up we started to rock & roll. This anchorage is definitely a “fair weather” location. We have a peaceful cruise into Ketchikan. We called up US customs and said we would be getting fuel before we went to the marina. They said that was fine, the customs officer would meet us at the fuel dock. Apparently every boat that enters the US must be checked personally. Our first stop is Petro Marine. The customs officer checked our paper work and we were free to enter Alaska. We couldn’t believe it, the diesel was only $2.35/gallon. We took 222 gallons. Tongass Narrows is a very busy place. There are small fishing boats and float planes buzzing around like mosquitoes. There are five cruise ships here today. There are only four cruise ship docks so one is anchored out and tendering the passengers in to town. Bar Harbor Marina is 1 ½ miles from downtown. The wind is whistling here and we are given a down wind slip. Fred had to work very hard to get us into the slip. Our docking hook had its first use. Fortunately the marina is not full and there were no witnesses to our fiasco.

Prince Rupert to Ray Anchorage, Duke Is.

9 hours 63.1 miles - United States again
This is a long day of travel in uncomfortable seas. First we leave Prince Rupert via Venn Passage. It is a very circuitous route, but well marked with buoys to keep us off the rocks. Chatham Sound
was rough with 4 foot seas. As we entered Dixon entrance we not only had seas up to 6 feet but fog as well. We are open to the ocean here and there are ocean swells are very uncomfortable. Really miserable. We are quite safe but Fred had to hand steer frequently. By the time we reached Ray Anchorage we were both exhausted. We picked this place because we are in good position to enter Ketchikan tomorrow. Ray Anchorage is open to Revillagigedo Channel but tucked into the island. It seemed just fine but we put our flopper-stoppers down just in case.

Prince Rupert

We didn’t expect any acknowledgment of the July 4th holiday here in Canada. We were surprised to see a huge American flag in the pub at the top of the dock. A sailboat in the marina placed flags on his forestay and backstay.

Kumealon to Prince Rupert (PRR&YC)

4½ hours 34.8 miles
We had severe fog today. It is nerve racking to have such limited visibility. It didn’t lift until we entered Prince Rupert Harbour. We had a reservation at the Prince Rupert Rowing & Yacht Club. This is a very fancy name for a small marina. It is the closest to Cow Bay. There is power and unlimited water but the docks are not in good repair. Merlin loves it when we are on shore. Cow Bay has a good hardware store and a small chandlery. It also has cute shops. Fred took Merlin back to the boat as I wandered. I found many vacancies. I guess the bad economy has hit here too. We didn’t see a cruise ship come in while we were here.

Coghlan Anchorage to Kumealon Island Anchorage, Grenville Channel

7 ½ hours 46.9 miles
The weather is beautiful (we can’t believe how beautiful the weather has been). Our passage down the Grenville Channel was very uneventful. There was very little traffic. We usually stay in a well protected anchorage about half way down the channel. Since the weather was cooperating, we kept going to Kumealon Anchorage. This place is lovely. There really is only room for 2-3 boats. We were alone and tucked in a cove. We could see the channel from the anchorage but we were protected from the wind.

Khutze Inlet to Coghlan Anchorage

6.5 hours 41.5 miles
Well, we don’t know where the crabs are but we know where they aren’t. So far we have only pulled up 2 crabs all summer. We are seriously heading north now. Coughlan Anchorage is just south of Grenville Channel. This anchorage is crescent shaped, behind a large island. We are lucky that the sun is out and the wind is only about 5 mph. I think we will have a calm night.

Windy Bay to Khutze Inlet

5 hours 29.6 miles
Another beautiful sunny day to cruise. We are heading to one of our favorite anchorages, Khutze Inlet. The water is calm and we have encountered no challenges today. Khutze Inlet is breathtaking. Imagine Yosemite Valley filled with water. We will anchor by a waterfall, not unlike Yosemite Falls. Now imagine that you have this whole wondrous place to yourself. Most boaters don’t anchor here because it is quite deep (we anchored in 90 feet) and has a couple tricky shoals. We usually have excellent luck with crab at Khutze, so we put the crab pot out with great expectations.

Shearwater to Windy Bay

9 hours 62.8 miles
JOAN’s BIRTHDAY (I picked out my present at Shearwater, a beautiful pair of silver earrings)
We have a big day planned. We have fully realized that we have to be in Juneau for guests by July 20th and we have a long way to go. We are going to have to keep moving north and no more dilly-dallying. We are entering Fiordland (the Canadian’s want it spelled that way) National Recreation Area. We are seeing many waterfalls and high, snow covered peaks now. We traveled all day without seeing another boat. It is almost spiritual to be alone to admire this area. Windy Bay was calm and beautiful. We anchored behind a small island and had a peaceful night.

Shearwater

OUR 23rd ANNIVERSARY

Miles Inlet to Green Island Anchorage

6 ½ hours  45 miles
We spoke to Tom & Pat on Aventura last night and again at 4:30 AM (yes, we really got up that early).  Weather looks good and we are heading out again for Cape Caution.  As we exited the anchorage we were immediately in 4 foot ocean swells.  We didn’t see and white caps or waves like yesterday.  The rollers got to about 6 feet as we passed Cape Caution and entered Fitz Hugh Sound.  Aventura hugged the east coast and we hugged the west coast of Calvert Island.  We met again at Green Island Anchorage.  This place is lovely and we have never been here before.  It is fun to try new places.

Allison Harbour to Miles Inlet

4 hours  22.7 miles
OK, this is it, the worst day ever.  We were up early and did our normal run around to make sure we are ready to go.  We knew this would be a difficult day because we want to pass around Cape Caution.  Although the charts say we will be traveling in Queen Charlotte Sound, we are really just in the Pacific Ocean.  Have you ever stood on the rocks or beach on the California Coast and watched those beautiful waves crashing?  They’re not so wondrous when they are crashing  on your tiny little boat in the ocean.  Actually our previous crossings of through this area have been unpleasant but nor horrifying.  Things started out normally and everything was under control for about one hour.  We put our scopolamine patches on early so we were ready to “rock-n-roll”.  Merlin and I were resting down in our cabin while Fred was at the helm.  It wasn’t too long until we were crashing through waves which lifted the boat up and then dropped it to the point where Fred could only see water outside.  He figures the seas were about 3 meters in height.  Merlin and I stayed put whiles everything fell around us, the second cabin, the galley and salon.  I was actually seasick while lying down.  When I got up I had to step around boxes, etc to get to the helm.  Fred had very wisely turned around at Cape Caution to seek shelter from the chaos.  The first safe haven we reached was Miles Inlet. We have never been here before but it looked protected and the water was flat calm.  Fortunately we arrived at low tide so we could see all the rocks.  There is a sailboat here already but that is OK.  We pick our spot and Fred is trying to drop the anchor. About 10 feet of chain came out and then there was a sudden stop.  No matter how hard Fred jumped on the chain it would not budge.  Fred figured that this was the result of the chain resting in a pyramid and then getting knocked over in the rocking of the boat.  This now created a huge knot.  We have a “lunch Hook” of an anchor with ten feet of chain and then rope.  Fred dropped that and we were secured while he went to deal with the chain locker.  We had to strip the bed and place a waterproof tarp there so Fred could literally pull all of the chain out of the locker and untangle it.  He was not too pleased because it took several times to accomplish this.  Finally we were secured on a proper anchor for the night.  Now we have to deal with the aftermath. The box of books on the upper bunk fell in the hall.  The medicine cabinet in the head opened and there were medicines all over the sink and floor. The refrigerator had opened and most of the contents fell on the floor even though it had been locked.  Fred was devastated that the Cool Whip may have damaged. Boxes fell over in the lazerette.  The worst damage was on the fly bridge.  Two of the davits for the dingy were pulled out of the deck.  The dinghy engine was supported by the deck and rubbed pretty well on the fiberglass.  It is amazing that all the parts were there.  I even found the CHB teak signboard lying on the upper deck.  The screws had come out and it fell there.  I was amazed that we didn’t loose it.  The only room not to suffer rearrangement was the engine room.  Good thing, I guess. Slowly but surely we are getting put back together.  At about 3:00 PM we heard our friends on Aventura call us.  They are anchored at the same island, just around the bend in Skull Cove.  Hopefully we can get out of here tomorrow but am afraid that Fred & Merlin would rather spend the summer right here.  Hopefully a hot meal and a good night’s sleep will give them hope.

Port McNeill to Allison Harbour

6 hours  38.5 miles
We had every intention of hitting the road (water) early.  Due to some bad luck and planning on our part it didn’t quite work out as planned.  Common wisdom says that when one is crossing a large body of water, the conditions will be more favorable in the early morning.  Well, we didn’t pay our moorage yesterday so we have to do it this AM.  I went to the dock office at 7:30 while Fred went to get us some lattes for the road.  This also allowed Merlin some sniffing and peeing time ashore.  Soooo, there is a sign on the dock office door saying they won’t be in until 10 AM today.  I went to meet Fred at the coffee shop and it is closed tight (even though the sign says they should have been open 30 minutes ago).  I headed back to the boat and waited for Fred.  Bless his heart (and latte addiction) he went up to a restaurant in the mall (about 3 more blocks) to get us our coffee.  We left the dock about 8:00 AM to head over to the fuel dock.  I’m not just saying this; Fred did a spectacular job of getting us off the dock.  We were wedged in in such a way that our escape would not have been possible with any wind at all.    Fortunately we didn’t have to wait in line at the fuel dock.  We took 227 gallons (we think it cost about $2.93 US / gal).  While we were there I called the marina office and said we had to leave before they were open. No problem, ‘have VISA will travel’.  We finally left Port McNeill about 9:00 AM.  It is raining softly, there is no wind and the water is smooth as silk.  We were going to stop in Blunden Harbour, but while Merlin and I were having a beauty nap, the skipper made a management decision and we went an additional 15 miles to Allison Harbour.  The harbour is about one mile long and much protected from Queen Charlotte Straight.  This will give us a head start when we go around Cape Caution tomorrow morning.

Joe Cove to Port McNeill

(Father’s Day) 3 hours  22.5 miles
When we left Joe Cove the sun was shining and the water was very calm.  Well, as soon as we got out into Queen Charlotte Straight we started getting our butt kicked.  I think we measured a high of 34 mph wind and 2-4 ft. seas.  We were quite safe, just not comfortable.  Arriving in Port McNeill is always nice.  We are out of the worst of the weather and we are in a really charming little town.

Shawl Bay to Joe Cove, Eden Island

2 ½ hours  13.5 miles

More Pictures

Since I haven't been provided with new blogs yet, but have been more pictures, that's what I'll share. Once I get more of the blog, it will be post-dated. -Heather

Viner Sound to Shawl Bay

2 hours  11.5 miles

Viner Sound

The sun is shining so we will stay another day.  Fred placed the crab pot at our usual lucky spot.  He went to go pick it up about 4:00 PM and we were surprised that we only caught two Keepers (large males).  There were eight more babies and females.  At least we will have a nice supper tonight.  We went for a dinghy ride near low tide and sure enough saw our requisite black bear looking for food.  Our day is complete.

Pierre’s Bay to Viner Sound

1 hour  3.7 miles
We always like coming to Viner Sound because it is right in the middle of the Broughton’s and these nice little marinas but feels like true wilderness here.  The sound is narrow and deep and shoals out very quickly at the head.  On previous visits we have always seen black bears and caught Dungeness crab.  There were two buoys in the north bay and one had to anchor in the south bay.  Now we see that there are two new buoys in the south bay and the one closest to the shore is free.  It sure looks like it is too close to shore but we creep up on it and we moored there without any problem (unless you call Fred having to stand on the bow in the pouring rain to hook a line to the buoy a problem).  It is really pouring rain so we will set the crab pot in the morning.

A handful of pics from the trip so far...