Crossing to Vancouver Island

Friday, August 20th was day 100 of our adventure! We had the anchor up and were underway at 0830, motoring out Kwakshua Channel eastbound, then turning south into Fitzhugh Sound, bound for Rivers Inlet, just south of Fury Cove where we'd spent some time on our way north. We had scattered clouds, light and variable winds, and rippled seas, so motoring was the order of the day. We did some brunch underway and by 1200 it was starting to cloud over with a Southerly breeze starting to throw up a chop. We spotted several humpback whales along our port side. By 1300 we were off Fury Cove, where we started seeing lots of whales, some of them breaching, and waving their fins, flapping their tails.







A whale on his side, waving his fin










This whale action continued right across Rivers Inlet, with one whale waving his fin at us as we approached Duncanby. We were tied to the dock by 1500, and filled up our fuel. Duncanby Landing is a nice spot, with a marina/fishing lodge operation, a restaurant and lounge - but it is very expensive....they wanted $10.00 each for a shower, $20.00 for a day of internet, and moorage was $1.50/ft......so we did without showers, and had dinner aboard, but we did manage to drink a beer on the patio overlooking
the bay. Several whales actually came into the bay and cruised by our boats less than 20 feet away - one of them even breaching nearby. Quite a nice show for our dinner in the cockpit.





A Nearby Breach











We went to bed early (2030) in anticipation of an early day crossing the Strait for Pt. Hardy the next day.
Saturday, August 21 we were up at 0500 and full away by 0530 under overcast skies, rain, fog, and a light Southeast wind. By 1200 we were past Cape Caution....I called Comox CG Radio to tell them we were there, and have a chat. Shortly afterward, the southeasterly started to kick up to 15-20 knots with a confused sea as it met the ever-present westerly swell from the Pacific. We were already sailing close-hauled, and decided to stay that way and make straight into Bate Passage, which would give us a bit of shelter from both the westerly swell and the southeast seas. We entered Bate Pass and motored down and into Goletas Channel, now motoring against both wind and current (but smooth again!). At 1432 we copied a Mayday
call from a sportfishing boat further down Goletas Channel, on fire....but we were still an hour away. Three other boats were nearby, and with them and Coast Guard assistance, they and their boat were not lost, but towed into Pt. Hardy. By 1700 we were tied up in Pt Hardy ourselves. It had been a long and tiring day, so we treated ourselves to showers and a
pub dinner. Internet, though free, was slow to non-existant...so we had another early night, going to bed by 2100.
Sunday we were intending to stay in Pt Hardy, and catch up on some grocery shopping and stocking up. We got up fashionably late, at 0900. The weather forecast was for light northwesterlies, followed by several days of southeast winds, rain, and otherwise trip-disabling weather. So we decided to push on for Port McNeill while we had the weather, and stay there a few days instead. Linda is thinking of joining us in Port McNeill on Tuesday, and this way at least we'd be there! We got underway at 1045, motoring in very light airs and calm seas, under a broken layer of cloud. We managed to do a brunch underway. I'd been trying the last week to contact another Ontario 32, "Windbourn", who is supposed to be on the Central Coast
or the Broughtons. Today I got a weak reply from them when I called, but it was too weak and scratchy to make out any details of where they are or what their plans may be....perhaps we will still meet up with them somewhere along the way. I wrote that last part on our way to McNeill....when we arrived, we ended up right alongside "Windbourn", and had a nice visit with
Frank and Marchien. They had heard my radio call, even though I couldn't read them. We managed to find a bbq'd chicken and some salad at the grocery store, and even found an ice-cream cone (something I'd been dreaming of for awhile now). We have internet here, and Linda will be joining us on Tuesday for the rest of our trip south.