First Taste of Gwaii Haanas

Friday 21 June – Happy Summer Solstice! It is now time to head south into a bit of Gwaii Haanas, the National Park and Ecological Reserve area co-managed by the Haida Band and Parks Canada, and comprising the southern 2/3 of Moresby Island and surrounding islands. I got up at 0700 and took Jade over to the fuel dock to top up the diesel. At 0900 Ray and Kathy arrived onboard, after checking out of their hotel. It was a misty morning in the “Misty Isles”, with light rain and fog, and very light winds. We motorsailed out across the shallows and turned south, arriving at 1400 off the village of Skedans. Dave and Irene were still there to greet us, and this time Dave took us for a slightly longer tour of the area (he'd known we were planning on the return trip with Kathy). 

Kathy visiting Skedans

At 1600 we started motoring out through the kelp patches when the engine overheat came on again. With kelp patches all around us, and several large rocky areas also nearby, we had to quickly raise the sails and manoevre out while working on clearing the weed clogging the cooling system on the engine. I'm getting fairly proficient at ripping the lines apart and clearing them, and within about 15 minutes we were motorsailing again, in light airs. We continued outside Louise Island and turned in, past the Coast Guard ship “Vector”, to moor up in Thurston Harbour. A book loaned to my by a friend back home in Courtenay lists the names and history of many places in the Queen Charlotte Islands. We learned that Thurston Harbour, even though it now seems so wild and remote, was, in the early 1900's, a thriving town with several sawmills, a dance hall, piers, hotel....etc. Quite a surprise – now it is inhabited by a raccoon, some deer, and bears. We had a nice dinner with scalloped potatoes and ham, and a quiet evening.

The following morning was Saturday 22 June – Ray's birthday! We had a bit of a sleep-in, getting up at 0900 with a big birthday breakfast. Kathy had brought a bunch of cards with her from friends and family to wish Ray birthday greetings, and even a few special treats....a special cigar, and some single malt. We got underway at 1030, with a bit of fishing on a couple of seamounts on the way out, but again the ling cod we caught were too small to keep. We did keep a rock cod, however. 

This Rock Cod was soon to become Cod Balls

 We continued to the west end of Selwyn Inlet, then turned south to pass down Dana Pass into Dana Inlet. We sailed eastbound to the end of this inlet, finally rounding the head at the end of the Tangil Peninsula.....here we were entering Gwaii Haanas. Moderate inflow winds in Logan Inlet gave us a nice broad reach, and by 1700, with the winds easing, we motorsailed the last mile into Anna Inlet....a very pretty little bay with a narrow entrance, and surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and a beautiful grassy estuary at the end. We anchored in 50 feet of water in very good holding bottom of mud, and had our appies of cod balls (the rock cod caught earlier) and cocktails. To celebrate Ray's birthday under warm and sunny skies, we barbecued steak with prawns, and served up birthday cake which Kathy had managed to smuggle aboard. We were able to watch hundreds of squid swimming around our boat....something very new to me. The anchorage is bombproof – very safe – and we again had a peaceful night aboard.

A couple of the many squid which surrounded our boat

Exploring the gnarly woods in Anna Inlet

Ray enjoying his birthday cigar while we burn garbage

 We liked the anchorage so much that we decided to remain here another day, and do a bit of exploring. We launched the dinghy and explored around the edges, walking a short trail at the head of the bay, and observing several otters peeking out at us, and deer lounging in the grass. By 1800 we'd had our daily cocktail hour, had dinner, then went ashore to burn our garbage below the high tide line. Back aboard, we spent the evening playing Hearts until 2300 (Ray and Kathy are quite good at this game!). 

Lots of Squid

Anna Inlet Buck

The following day, Monday 24 June, we arose a bit earlier (0700) because it was now time to start back north, to get Kathy back in time for her flight home. We were underway at 0830, and light winds were again the order of the day. So we were back to motorsailing out Logan Inlet, then back into Selwyn Inlet to turn north in time for a transit of Louise Narrows on a rising tide. We had about a foot higher water than we'd had on our previous transit. Clear of the narrows, we tried trolling for salmon on the way into our anchorage at the west end of Cumshewa Inlet, near Moresby Camp, at Gordon Cove. However, we managed to pick up more weed in our intake, and turned off the engine and were able to sail into the anchorage in light airs, setting the anchor under sail. I was then able to clear the intake again (at least I thought I had it all). I also had to work on our starter becoming intermittent again. The anchor set well, and we had a secure evening, even though there were a few gusty winds blowing into the cove.

Ray and Kathy - lookouts for Louise Narrows

Gordon Cove, in the "Misty Isles"

 Tuesday 25 June – We were up at 0700, prepared for a long day of sailing – the forecast was for Southeast winds of 15-20 knots, building to 25 by afternoon. As we tried to raise the anchor, we discovered we'd caught a cable or piece of equipment on the bottom, and had to use the main halyard winch to haul on the anchor rode, while motoring over the caught area. By 0815 we'd managed to get the anchor up and set out under a single-reefed mainsail to clear out of Cumshewa Inlet which already had 20 knots of wind flowing into it, against us. Again, the engine started overheating , so we were beating back and forth out the inlet with a small jib and reefed mainsail. By the time I'd found the weed clog, we were almost out of the inlet, and the wind had died to almost nothing, leaving a confused “washing machine” effect on the seas. 

We were impressed by this rainbow as we sailed out of Cumshewa Inlet

 At 1130 we were at Cumshewa Islets, turning northbound in Hecate Strait. This is where we'd been hoping for that Southeast 20 knots of wind to give us a sleigh-ride of a sail back to Sandspit. But all we had were calm winds and confused seas....so we motored back, arriving at Sandspit at 1730, and tied up at the marina. A nice dinner of stroganoff and veggies, and with rainy weather outside, we stayed aboard and chatted.

Wednesday 26 June - This is Kathy's departure day to fly back to Vancouver. We moved the boat back to the fuel dock to top up again, and then tied up back on the mooring docks, to clean up, get organized, have showers. Kathy and Ray took a taxi to the airport for her 1520 departure while I got the water tanks refilled, and updated the log, and prepared the blog for our arrival later back at Queen Charlotte, where we'll again have internet and shopping. I've decided to try to get a couple of straight fittings to replace the 90 degree elbows in my cooling system, as this seems to be a weed magnet. This area is known for its prolific biomass....and that includes lots of weed in the water, so I'll need to fix the way our intake works, or I'll be spending every day ripping it apart to clean out the weeds. We'll spend a day restocking the larder, cleaning the laundry, and then set out back into Gwaii Haanas for a more complete exploration of several weeks. The sail across from Sandspit to Qn Charlotte was a very nice broad reach, and by 1700 we were tucked into the docks at our normal space....it feels almost like home now, as when we arrived, several of the other boaters, who now know us, stopped over to say hello and to trade stories of where we'd been and what were our plans. Apparently we'd missed the end of the Stanley Cup Finals – so no hockey – but we went to Howlers Pub (the only pub in town) for dinner and a beer, and were greeted by Rose, the waitress, who immediately plunked down our normal beer order. We hadn't worked very hard during the day, but were still tired, and were in bed by 2200.

It is now Thursday 27 June. Our projects are pretty much complete – Ray has restocked the boat with groceries, restocked the bar, completed the laundry. I've rebuilt the intake hoses and eliminated the elbows, replaced an “iffy” alternator belt, changed the engine oil, and tidied up the boat. Ray has now successfully initialized the “Spot”, a GPS short-message system which allows for satellite communications (very short messages, like “We've arrived, and we're OK”, or....”We're stuck in....for awhile”, etc...). When we leave on the flood tide tomorrow, we'll be out of cell-phone and wifi contact for about 4 weeks. We plan on heading to the West Coast of the islands if the weather forecast continues to favour it. If the weather looks iffy, we'll go down the east coast, and then come back up the west side to return here via the cut between Moresby and Graham Islands, in about 4 weeks.

Still catching up......Sunday, 16 June - With our electrical and overheating problems behind us, it was time to go sailing again.  We were up at 0800, and off the dock by 0930, under partly cloudy skies, with light and variable winds (so again - motoring, but with the sails up).  All of Hecate Strait is shallow, but crossing the inlet east of Skidegate, Sandspit, and Qn. Charlotte, it is extremely shallow.  We were crossing on a rising tide, but the depth sounder was still reading 10 feet - not a biggie sailing in the Florida Keys, but shallow enough in BC waters.  We then turned southbound, with an east wind building.  After a couple of hours we were sailing a broad reach into Cumshewa Inlet, and continued a further 15 miles to the northwest corner of Louise Island, a place called Beattie Anchorage.  There are some public mooring buoys here, but they are very large steel drums, more suitable for steel fishboats and tugs than yachts.  We tied to one for awhile, but it became obvious we'd be fending it off at various times during the night - so we moved about a hundred yards to some shallower water behind a small islet, and anchored.  Ray strummed his guitar after supper, while the sunset gave us a bit of a colourful show.

Sunset from Beattie Anchorage

We had a tide to catch in the morning, however....so we made a reasonably early retirement.
The following day, Monday, was planned for a fairly short sail.  We still had to get up at 0600, though, to catch the tide approaching high slack, as we were going through a very narrow and shallow passage on the west side of Louise Island, appropriately called Louise Narrows.  Our boat is almost 12 feet in beam, and the narrows are in some places only about 20 feet wide.  They dry out at low tide, so we only had the height of tide for water to get through.....we ended up with 9 feet at the lowest part, and averaged 11 feet of water.  Ray, standing on the bow, could see bottom clearly all the way through.  We were clear of the narrows by 0800, with only about 10 miles left to go to our planned anchorage of Thurston Harbour.  So with a bit of time to kill, we stopped in Selwyn Inlet, and did a bit of fishing.  We managed to land 5 fish - 3 ling cod which were too small to keep, a rockfish which was marginally small, and a dogfish, which we didn't really want.  The dogfish put up a bit of a fight, though, so was fun ( it's actually a small shark)

Ray with his Dogfish

At 1100 we decided we wouldn't be eating halibut for dinner, and continued on into Thurston Harbour - a very protected inlet on the south side of Selwyn Inlet, and south of Louise Island.  There is a lone mooring buoy here, too.....and it's a smaller, plastic one - so we tied up to it, tested it with a good backdown, and then settled in.  It had been raining on and off all morning, but started to clear up in the afternoon, so we dinghied ashore for a hike.  This area used to be a logging camp area, so it was easy to follow an old logging road.  There was fresh bear scat on the trail, and many places where the bears had been ripping up the moss looking for grubs and tasty morsels - but we didn't see any bears in person.  We walked past an abandoned shack which looked like it had blown off its foundations in a windstorm, then followed the logging road alongside the inlet for a few km., and then returned on the gravel beach.  The only other local fauna we found were a racoon and a number of pigeon guillemots (shorebirds with bright orange beaks and feet).

Guillemots

Walking in the woods

Looking out from Thurston Hbr toward Selwyn Inlet and Hecate Strait

We did a nice pot of chili for dinner, and hit the sack by 2200.
Tuesday, 18 June was planned for a fairly long day back to Qn Charlotte, via the abandoned Haida Village of Skedans (native name Koona).  So again we were up by 0600, and underway at 0700, motorsailing northbound, and mooring in Skedans Bay opposite the old Haida Village.  The mooring was in the middle of large beds of kelp, so the approach was very slow and convoluted.  In the mid 1800's a smallpox epidemic wiped out a huge percentage of the Native population, killing tens of thousands of Haida.  The remaining people were encouraged to leave their villages, and most resettled at Massett or Skidegate.  This village was one of the abandoned ones, and by the early 1900's much of the totems and homes were already returning to nature.  The Haida have a program of protection for their cultural/spiritual places, called Haida Watchmen.  Their principal duty is to protect these sites from pilfering, or irreverent acts....but these people love to act as unofficial guides, and explain the history and the different poles.  We were met on the beach by Dave, who is the watchman here, and he led us to his cabin, where we met his aunt, Irene, who is also a watchman.  She was weaving cedar bark into traditional Haida hats....a very interesting process.  Dave then led us around the old village site, showing us the remains of the poles and several longhouse foundations.

A Ceremonial Pole....the rings denote special occasions or potlatches

Watchman Dave explaining a deteriorating totem

A mortuary pole, and Dave

Another pole going back to nature

Jade-1 Moored off Skedans, in Kelp Beds

Dave showed us some photos of what some of the totems used to look like

Foundation of a large Longhouse

Irene weaving cedar

Panorama of another Longhouse (needed the panorama to get it all in)

We bid Dave and Irene Goodbye, promising to return shortly, with Ray's wife who would be visiting us shortly.  At 1100 we set off northbound in overcast skies, fog, rain, and very little wind.   We had a 35 mile run along the coast of Moresby Island, turning in across the shallow bank to Skidegate Inlet, finally arriving back at Qn Charlotte at 1830.  Who should be on the docks there, but our friends on "Some Lucky", who had just returned from circumnavigating Gwaii Haanas while we'd been messing around with boat problems.  They invited us over for drinks, so we quickly had a bite of supper and then joined them on their boat , getting lots of good advice on things to see and do when we venture further south on Moresby.  We had a great visit and chatted until after midnight.

The moon reflected in the water off the bow of a fishboat as we stumbled home from Some Lucky.

Wednesday, 19 June welcomed us with a bright sunny day, even though we slept in a bit, and didn't rise until after 0900.  Ray went off to town to take care of our laundry and some shopping while I worked on a few maintenance issues - a ripped sail needed mending, one of our propane burners was acting up, and the computer keyboard was not responding - but all were reasonably quick fixes.  We had a bit of internet, so managed to update the blog (that was the no-picture one previous to this one). It turned out that another hockey game was on, so we went back to Howlers to watch game 4 of the finals.  You know you've been in town long enough when the bartender welcomes you and knows what you drink!
So that takes us up to today - Thursday, 20 June.  We had another late morning, and then sailed across the inlet to Sandspit, after cleaning up the boat a bit.  We walked the 5 km to the airport to welcome Ray's wife Kathy on the 3PM flight.  Ray had booked a room at the airport hotel for the night, so we were able to shower before greeting Kathy.  She had some frozen meat and the ignition parts I needed, so took that back to the boat while Kathy had her orientation session with Parks Canada, and then Ray and Kathy remained at the Hotel while I did my ignition repairs, some more sewing (one of the side panels on the cockpit enclosure), and then took to getting all of you up-to-date with this blog entry.  We will be leaving in the morning to visit Skedans and a few other interesting spots in Gwai Haanas....but we'll also be out of wifi and cell coverage for about a week, so this will be the last posting for about that long.

A Wrench in the Works

A lot has happened since I've been able to post anything on the blog, so time for an update, all the way back to Wednesday June 12. “Some Lucky” left to go down the east side of Gwaii Haanas. Our intermittent electrical problems continued to plague us, so after we'd returned the car at noon, we spent most of the afternoon working on trying to trace the problem....again....and again....and again. I found a local marine electrician who was very busy on the fishing fleet in preparation for the upcoming salmon opening on the 20^th, but he agreed to come over and have a look at the end of his day. Geoff (the electrician) finally showed up a little after 6 PM and started tracing all of my connections.....he found a suspect wire running from the negative bus to the negative switch panel – he advised it was much too small for its needs, and that it be replaced by a larger one. I agreed, and he supplied me with some #6 wire to replace the smaller #16 in place, and he connected the lug connections onto it, and left me to connect and run the wire through. I also decided to do the same thing with the positive side of things. I managed to get most of this done, with the understanding that Geoff would return in the morning to check out the connections and voltages. By this time it was 1930, so I quit work and walked up to the head of the dock to join Ray in Howlers Bar (the only pub in town) to watch the end of the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals. I'm not a big hockey fan, but I enjoyed the action in this game, which went into two overtime periods before the Chicago win. The following morning, Geoff arrived at 0830 to check my work and the connections, and declared our system fit to use. By 0930 we were motoring out of the harbour in sunny and warm, and calm conditions. But a little over a mile out of the harbour, our engine overheat warning went off. We shut down the engine and checked the water intake – clear. Then we checked the water pump and the impeller inside it, and the belt which drives it – all OK. So we sailed back slowly, and at the harbour mouth, were able to motor back into the dock (the engine had cooled enough for a short run). A snake through all of the various water lines, a recheck on the intake, water pump, impeller all proved no problems....so I disconnected and cleaned the heat exchanger, with still no positive results. The last part of the cooling system is a large elbow used to mix the exhaust gases with the coolant water, but requires a very large wrench to remove and clean it. The pipe wrench we have is big enough...but too thick. The other boaters around us were helpful in lending various tools and wrenches, but nothing fit. I walked all over town, renting a large adjustable wrench which ended up not fitting. A local fisherman, Lindsay, was very helpful in suggestions and then in driving me around to various shops in town, finally finding the right wrench (which we borrowed from a machine shop in town in return for a case of beer). The wrench fit, and started to loosen the fittings, but by then it was getting late – so we called it a day, had supper, and an early night.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny yet again – perhaps my impressions of a cold and rainy Haida Gwaii were mistaken! I was able to finally remove the fitting with the wrench, and get it all cleaned. But when all was back together again, to my complete frustration, we still had no coolant water making through the system! Back to the beginning – this time, I removed the hose from the intake water pipe, instead of checking the opening at the top....and found some seaweed clogging the hose. This fitting had been replaced last fall by Stone's Boatyard, and I had at the time complained that it was a 90 degree elbow fitting....but they insisted it was necessary for the hose to fit properly. I should have stood my ground, as a straight fitting would have been immediately evident for a clog, and would not have created the seaweed trap in the first place! At any rate, this fixed the problem....and I was now quite confident that the entire cooling system was in good order. It was too late to leave today, so we spent another evening at Howler's Pub watching game two, which also went into overtime.

So enough with the fixing – it is certainly time to get exploring again, or at least run out a scouting trip to check out the area before Ray's wife Kathy flies in to join us for five days, on the 20^th.  No pictures to go with this entry....but I promise a bunch of them in the next entry to update everybody to the present time!

Getting Informed

This may be the final posting for about a week.....time to post an update before I lose my wifi connection today.  We went into Skidegate today, and visited the museum/Haida Cultural Centre.  It was extremely interesting, with diaramas, photos, models, stuffed animals, films - all dealing with the geologic, natural, and human history of Haida Gwaii.  I was particularly drawn to the totem being carved by master carver Jaalen Edenshaw.  Apparently he went to high school (Highland) in Comox, and is highly regarded for his artistic abilities.  The totem he is presently doing will be raised on August 15 at a special celebration where all are invited to attend and to assist in the pole raising.

Jaalen Edenshaw working on the new Totem.

There were several other totems around the museum, some of them very old....we were not allowed or able to take photos in some parts of the museum, so I'll just share a few of the ones we could take.

Totems outside the Centre/Museum

More totems, Inside the Museum

This is the Foam Mother....kind of an aborigianl Eve...and she is well-endowed with 8 breasts.

Haida Canoes, carved from cedar.

We managed to top up our larder from the grocery store, and refill our empty propane tank before returning our car at noon.  I've also arranged for a marine electrician to visit and hopefully sort out my recurring problems which I've so far been unable to trace and repair.  He should be here this afternoon (Wed. 12 June), and then we will head out for a week of sailing in more remote waters, before returning to Sandspit to pick up Ray's wife Kathy.  I realize I hadn't included any photos of Sandspit in my earlier posts, so here is their answer to the Wawa big goose.....a big salmon.

Sandspit Salmon

Fun in the Sun

Our following day in Sandspit remained sunny and warm.  We took several walks, eating already ripe salmonberries, and strawberries from alongside the road and the trails.  We are still experiencing intermittent electrical problems, with various things occasionally shutting off with a "low battery" warning, even though all of our indications are that we have good battery banks.  So with the help of Peter on "Some Lucky", we did some troubleshooting and tried a few (hopefully) fixes.  Peter was a licenced Aircraft mechanic at one stage of his life, so was a big help in checking out the battery banks and connections.  At the moment all seems well, so perhaps it just took a bit more tweaking.....we don't want to venture out to the west coast of these islands until all is perfect.  In the afternoon  of Monday 10 June, we walked to the Sandspit airport, where we were able to take our mandatory briefing from Parks Canada before we enter the park areas of Gwaii Haanas.  That was a 4 km. walk...so we took a cab back to the marina.  The two women providing the briefing were quite knowledgeable and we found it a useful talk.  Both of them are Haida women who work for Parks Canada.....the Haida and Parks Canada co-manage the area of Gwaii Haanas, and it is the only area in the world which is protected from the seabed to the mountaintops.  One of the women spent much of her life on a fishing boat in the area, and also had been a Haida Watchman (protector and guide of one of the especially sensitive sites).  By the time we got back to the boat it was happy hour, and then supper-time.
We woke up on Tuesday morning to another beautiful sunny day.  Following a lazy breakfast, we left the dock and proceeded across the 12 miles of water to the village of Queen Charlotte, on Graham Island.  Graham Island is the bigger, northern island of the two main islands here...Sandspit is on the other, southern one - Moresby.  We found a spot on the government dock at Queen Charlotte, and rented a car to investigate this island....as most of our sailing trip will be focused on Moresby and the myriad other islands to the south.

This is the Welcome Woman....a carved Haida woman, found at Charlotte City Info Centre.

 We drove through the village of Skidegate, about 5 miles east, and then followed the road northbound following the shoreline of Hecate Strait for awhile, before turning inland a bit, to the bottom of a large inlet.  Here we passed through the village of Port Clement, and viewed the mud flats at the mouth of the Yakoun River (the tide was out).....but we saw no bears.
Further along the road (and the Yakoun River, which is the largest river in Haida Gwaii), we arrived at the trail to the Golden Spruce.  For those of you who are not familiar with this, it was a large spruce tree which was genetically unique and had a golden colour to it.  The Haida had a special spiritual attachment to it, and it was a very large old-growth tree.  It was cut down some years ago by and anti-logging environmentalist who was trying to make some kind of anti-logging point by cutting it down.  Very confusing....but he has disappeared, so no-one understands the logic.  However....a trail leads to a point across the river from where it once stood - all that remains to be seen is the top of a dead tree....but the walk is very special, with some still-standing old growth trees in a pleasant forested area.

Walking among some big old-growth trees

All that's left of the Golden Spruce

We continued back on the main (okay....the ONLY) highway, northbound through the village of Masset, and up to the north and east end of the island. Ray was driving, and had to keep quite vigilant about the numerous deer along the highway.  But we managed to miss/pass them, and continued northbound to the end of the road.

A Haida Deer

Here we drove out onto North Beach, which is a very flat sand beach running a very long way to Rose Spit on the northeast extremity of the island.  The tide was coming in, and a fog bank was lying close inshore from the cold waters of Dixon Entrance.

North Beach - Alaska is somewhere out there in the fog.

On a clear day it is possible to see Alaska from here....but today was too foggy.  We backtracked a bit to a pebble-strewn beach known as Agate Beach, and walked the beach finding agates (pretty rocks, which, when tumbled get to resemble jewelery stones - I hesitate to call them semi-precious, but they are nice nontheless).  Hopefully I can save some of them for my neighbour, Dixon, who is a geologist, and since they come from Dixon Entrance, may be special for him.

Gathering Agates

The fog, however, was a bit cool....so we drove back toward Masset, through some very gnarly looking trees, surrounded by moss about a foot thick (we were back in the sunshine by now, but this seems to indicate much less clement weather).

Gnarly Trees

This moss is over a foot thick!

There are actually two villages named Masset....old Masset is a native town, and new Masset less so.  There are lots of fine-looking totems in the town, and I hope to find someone who can help explain some the the meanings and significance of these articles.  Masset is also the location for Mile 0 of the Yellowhead Highway which starts here and runs past Edmonton all the way to Brandon Manitoba.  So we had to stop for a beer at the Mile 0 pub.

Totem in Masset

Another totem, Masset

It was then time to head back down the road, stopping to view the famous Balancing Rock....a rock which appears to be balanced on another - and remained so even through the last big earthquake here a year ago (7.7 magnitude).

Ray is helping to hold Balance Rock balanced

We arrived back at our boat fairly late - about 1930 - and found we had to change our propane tanks to cook supper.  So it was after 2100 by the time supper was done and cleared.  We will have the car until noon tomorrow, so hope to visit the Haida Cultural Centre in Skidegate, and get some groceries.  Then we will be off again, and out of wifi and cellular coverage for awhile.  Perhaps we can get a short update before we go.....time will tell.

Finally - good sailing!

Thursday, 6 June - We had to get up early to take advantage of the weather forecast, so we were up at 0530 and underway at 0600 out of Hartley Bay.  We had to make our way south from there to get into the "Outside - Inside Passage"" of Principe Channel.  So far we had been travelling the very long and fairly narrow passes and channels of the Inside Passage toward Prince Rupert and Alaska.  But now we were going closer to the very large and notorious body of water known as Hecate Strait.  It has been called the 5th worst body of water in the world for rough and treacherous conditions, and we were about to cross it to get to Haida Gwaii.  I'm not sure what the other 4 bodies are, but I'd guess that the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn, Gulf of Alaska would be 3 of them.  So we had about 15 miles to go, to reach Principe Channel, with a large island (Banks Island) creating the channel from the east side of Hecate Strait.  We motorsailed in light airs to the entrance to Principe, and the wind started to build.  Soon we were having a very fine downwind sail in quite boisterous conditions (20 - 25 knots with building seas - we were sailing at 7-8 knots and surfing at 10).  By 1000 we were passing the inlet we'd planned to go to, and continued with very exhilharating sailing, with the wind still increasing.  We sailed another 25 miles and as the wind started to reach gale force, we ducked under a small headland, doused our sails, and went into a quiet little bay etched into Banks Island, called Colby Bay.  Our anchor held well, and we had good protection from the gales outside - although it was quite cool, and we had to keep the heater going.  The sailing had tired us out a bit, so we just relaxed and read our books, and had an early evening.
The following morning we continued outside the cove and found the wind had eased a bit, but was still moderate southerly, allowing us another great sail for the 20 miles remaining to go to the north end of Banks Island.  Here we anchored in a very small inlet called Larsen Harbour.  There is no real harbour here - just an inlet cut into the rocky shore, with huge kelp beds surrounding it.  Although it is a bit interesting finding the way in around the various rocks and kelp beds, by carefully weaving around them, we found a quiet spot to anchor....and the kelp helps to keep the swell down, and the anchorage protected.  This was our waiting spot for a weather window to cross Hecate Strait.  Our friends in the Nordic Tug, "Some Lucky", pulled in and anchored a short distance away.  It was still early afternoon, so I had time to troubleshoot a recurring electrical problem.  After dinner, Ray re-taught me how to play cribbage and euchre, before we retired.
Saturday was a lay day in Larsen Harbour, as we waited for the weather to subside a bit.  Outside, in Hecate Strait, winds were strong southerly with 4-5 metre seas.  When we got up it was low tide, and 3 wolves crossed the bottom of the inlet.  Large flocks of geese were milling about, as well.  We put out our crab traps, and had a visit with Peter and Joanne on " Some Lucky", before heading out in the dinghy to catch dinner with a fishing line.  We managed to catch a nice rock cod for dinner, and also had Peter and Joanne back to our boat for appies.  The weather forecast was favourable for crossing Hecate Strait the following day....so we all had an early night.
At 0415 my alarm got us up on Sunday morning, and we raised the anchor and were underway at 0500, picking our way back out through the kelp and the rocks.  Both "Some Lucky" and a 40 foot Valiant sailboat who'd arrived the previous day, were also outbound for the crossing.  As promised, the winds were light (supposed to be southerly but were actually from the east - but that actually was better for us).  We were able to sail with a motor assist, in very quiet seas - just a bit of swell left over from the previous several days' blow.  The Valiant 40, "Berkana", was not using his sails, and we ended up passing him halfway across.  The trip from the top of Banks Island to Sandspit on Haida Gwaii is just over 60 miles, so it's important to have a good weather window with a trip of that length (if you only average 5 knots, it would be a 12 hour day).  But we managed to average 6.5 knots, and as we approached our destination, the wind cooperated by becoming Northwest 10, and pushed us in, in a very calm sea.  We arrived at the village of Sandspit at 1430, tied up to a nicely maintained, and half-empty marina.  Having been several days since our soak in the hot springs at Bishop Bay, we needed showers, so walked a kilometre down the road to an RV park for a shower.  After supper, I took Sophie (the dog from "Some Lucky") for a walk and some fetching games, while Ray and Peter did some guitar stuff with their G-strings.  As you can see from this posting, there is also available wi-fi.

Berkana as we crossed Hecate Strait together

Our first view of Haida Gwaii - Moresby Island on left, Graham Island on right.

Looking for Bears in All the Wrong Places

Today is Sunday, June 2 and I am sitting in a Fjord-like Bay, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, with a waterfall beside us, and a grizzly-bear area astern. Lots of updating to do, since the last time anyone reading the blog knows, we were in Pruth Bay. So a bit of backtracking is in order.

We departed Pruth Bay at 1000 on Thursday, 30 May, following a late morning wake-up and a big breakfast. Our route took us north into Hakai Pass, then back northwest bound in Fitz Hugh Sound again. We had big hopes for a spinnaker run up the Sound, on the forecast Southeast 10-15 knots of wind, but that never developed. Instead, we found ourselves in very light and variable winds, and motorsailing.....then 10-15 knots northwesterly (straight ahead) – so still motorsailing. By 1400 we were abeam Lama Pass, and decided to go into Codville Lagoon for the evening. After transiting a narrow entrance with a bit of current, we were safely into a lovely big lagoon. Near the entrance was deep enough water for prawns....so we dropped our prawn traps. We also set our crab traps in shallower water north of an island in the middle, and then anchored in the north end of the anchorage. Cocktails ensued, followed by a recon of our traps, using our dinghy.....it turned out we'd caught 49 prawns, and no crabs (ok – one starfish, which doesn't count!). So we reset the prawn traps, moved our crab traps closer to the boat, and went back for dinner. Next morning, we raised anchor following a very settled night, and at 0900 were checking to find no crabs in our traps. The prawning, however, was much more successful, as we managed to bag over 100 of them, as well as a very large dungeness crab, which was hanging onto the outside of the prawn trap trying to get at the prawns. We kept them all, and proceeded out of the lagoon, and crossed into Lama Pass, for a short 20 mile trip to Shearwater, which is near Bella Bella. We arrived at 1300, having checked in with Linda and Kathy via cell phone to let them know our whereabouts and that we were still alive and well. The cellphone coverage is very good going past Bella Bella, but nonexistant at Shearwater, only a few miles away. Once into the marina, I booked a mechanic to look at our intermittent starter problem, then went back to the boat to open up the panel for him to look at things. While in there, I decided to take apart all of the connections and reclean and resecure them. It appeared our problem was fixed – so I cancelled the mechanic, and then changed the engine oil. Time for a shower, and laundry, and then Ray and I decided to treat ourselves to a dinner out, at the pub. We ended up visiting with a couple on a Malo 38, who I'd met several times before, in Kwatsi Bay. Following dinner, we went back to their very nicely appointed boat for a tour, and then back to our less well-appointed boat for a few cocktails, and chatting. The marina had filled up in the meantime, with several mega yachts alongside our dock....one of them, “Cocktails”, has his boat name lit up in neon lights. The evening passed quickly, with a few war stories being told between ourselves and our friends Pat and Stan. We even managed to visit with a few passersby on the dock, some of whom work for the Pacific Northwest Great Bear Conservancy (or something like that). By midnight, it was time to call it a night, as we were getting tired of trying to watch the big screen movie playing on the mega yacht beside us. 

Shearwater Marina

The following day, May 31, had us settling accounts, refilling the diesel tanks, and then setting out at 1000. We motor sailed past Bella Bella, with another quick phone call to our wives Linda and Kathy, to remind them of our existence and well being. The native council building we passed on the way out was very impressive, so we photographed it before passing the Dryad Point Lighthouse, and turning westbound into Seaforth Channel. Winds were supposed to be light in the morning, building to stronger northwest in late afternoon....but we found a strong westerly against us. After 15 miles motor sailing against a slight but building chop, we turned north at Ivory Island Light, into Reid Passage, and then into Mathieson Channel. 

Bella Bella Council Office with Totems

Ivory Island Lighthouse

 The developing northwesterlies forecast could be nasty at the end of Seaforth Channel where it meets Milbanke Sound and then develops into Finlayson Channel. So for a couple of extra miles of travel, we opted for Mathieson Channel, which ended up having light southeasterly winds ( I've never been able to figure out how the winds can do that, and be 180 degrees opposite from the predicted winds, and the winds in adjacent channels). We were able to motor sail on a wing-on-wing sail, turning westbound into the very narrow tidal passage of Jackson Passage, where we encountered our westerly winds again. So back to motoring (of course, with a sail assist). We were proceeding from Mathieson Channel westbound into Finlayson Channel. My gt-gt-grandfather was a Finlayson, from Localsch, Scotland, who travelled with the Mathieson clan. So as we proceeded westbound in Jackson Narrows, I was attracted to a bay called Localsch Bay, almost halfway through, as a possible stopover (my ancestral ghosts were calling). But a fish farm had beat us to it, and we continued into Finlayson Channel, and then crossed over a couple of more miles, into the Native Village of Klemtu.

Spirit Bird in Klemtu

Transiting Jackson Narrows

 Here we were able to tie up to a well-maintained dock, beside the RCMP Vessel “Lindsay”. It had been a long day, arriving at 1900. So a quick dinner, and an early bed was in order. It was a very quiet night at the dock, with the forecast 20-30 knot Northwest winds due around midnight never arriving.

We had another hefty breakfast (steak and eggs), and got off the dock at 0900, with several anchorages in mind to duck into as we were supposed to be experiencing the same 20-30 northwest winds, but seeing no wind at all. We continued north, into Tolmie Channel, passing the Boat Bluff Lighthouse, still in light and variable winds. We were now proceeding alongside Princess Royal Island, in the heart of Spirit Bear Country. This area is renowned for its white bears (black bears, actually – but some of them are genetically unique, and are white – but not Albino). The bears are a special sight, and we scanned the shores looking for them. We were able to scan quite effectively, due to our slow progress, fighting a 2 knot current against us. We'd progressed about 25 miles, north of Heikish Narrows, when the northwest winds started blowing against us. A familiar looking Nordic Tug motored past us, so we radioed our friends on “Some Lucky”, and sure enough – it was them! We agreed to continue a further mile and turn into Khutze Inlet, an extremely pretty anchorage. Following our anchoring at 1600, Peter (skipper of “Some Lucky”) invited us over for cocktails, where we chatted, and visited with Peter, his wife Joanne, and their dog Sophie. Back to Jade 1 for dinner, and here we sit, watching for bears, while Ray strums on his guitar and we sip on our evening wine. This has so far been a lengthy catch-up, and will need to be added to before we get a wifi connection for upload. 

Spirit Falls in Finlayson Channel (no bears, though)

 Plans are to continue north to Bishop's Bay Hot S

prings (we may need a bath!) tomorrow, and then – who knows? Stay tuned.

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3 June – We got up early, at 0630, in order to catch a bit of tidal current help, and “Some Lucky” and the other 3 boats in the anchorage had already left. We were underway at 0700, under clear blue skies, and with calm conditions. By the time we reached Butedale, 8 miles further north, we were again bucking a bit of current against us. Butedale is an abandoned fish cannery with a very pretty waterfall beside it, so we swung by it before continuing north into Fraser Reach, and now fighting a 2 knot current, although according to all of our charts and calculations, the current was supposed to be with us. 

Butedale

 

 

 

 We stayed close to the shore, still looking for spirit bears, and minimizing the current. Even at 20 feet off the shore, we had 300-600 feet of water beneath us – very steep and deep here. By 1200 we were reaching the end of Fraser Reach, where it joins with Mackay Reach and Ursula Channel, and where we found some confused seas, currents, and winds. But as we continued into Ursula Channel the wind and current went behind us, and we continued the last 10 miles into Bishop Bay, the site of a BC Park which is also a Hot Spring. By 1400 we were tied onto the park dock, opposite “Some Lucky”. Both boats had a fair bit of garbage onboard by now, so we had a fire to dispose of the burnables, and reduce our garbage. Then time for a soak in the Hot Springs – very nice and relaxing. Peter and Joanne on “Some Lucky” had caught a lot of crabs recently, so gave us 3 nice ones for dinner. Then Ray and Peter sat on the dock strumming their guitars while Joanne and I played fetch with their dog Sophie. Sophie is a border collie who never tires of fetching her plastic toy, and will nudge you to encourage another throw. Ray was learning some new tunes for his guitar repertoire, although apparently his G-String is getting a bit loose! Peter had some spare guitar strings, so was able to give Ray his. By 2100 the black flies were starting to become bothersome, so we retired to the boat and called it a night.

The following morning, June 4, we decided to stay at the dock to repair a troublesome ignition switch, while “Some Lucky” continued on to Kitimat. We spent the day quietly reading, repairing, and resting. By 1400 a Grand Banks 45, “Delta Latitude”, tied up on the dock to replace “Some Lucky”. The people onboard are from Connecticut, but keep the boat in Bellingham, and were able to tell us some details of their earlier trip to Haida Gwaii. Shortly afterward, a 24 foot Bayliner pulled into the dock behind us. This was a couple and their grandson from Quesnel, who had trailered their boat from there to Kitimat, and were spending a few days touring and fishing. They didn't seem to know our friends from Quesnel, Brian and Evi Black, but I had to ask. He has been here often, and advised that there is a serious mouse problem at Bishop Bay, with mice running along the dock and onto the dock lines, into the boats. He provided us all with some Bounty sheets (the kind you use in a clothes dryer) to tie to the lines, which the mice avoid. Ray strummed a few tunes to the delight of the dock crowd, and his range seems to be better with his newer, tighter, G string. We had a dinner of spaghetti and then called it an early night.

Wednesday, June 5 saw us up by 0800 and shortly after we were underway, bound for Hartley Bay. We were able to sail for awhile with a nice Southwest breeze, until we turned South into Varney Channel, where both wind and tidal current were against us. By 1230 we were rounding Money Point, within a few miles of the location of the sinking of the BC Ferry “Queen of the North”. We started to get cellular coverage and called Linda and Kathy to tell them where we were, as we'd been out of touch for some time. By 1300 we were entering Hartley Bay, and refuelled, topped up the water, and found a slip on the docks. Ray and I took a walk around town, and out a couple of kilometres to a nearby lake. All of the streets and trails are boardwalks, with the people using golf carts to travel around. Although there is a strong wifi signal here, it is not available to us, but we will still be able to upload the blog today using Ray's app. But first....it is Happy Hour on Jade 1.

Spirit Ray (growing a beard since we left, and closest thing to a bear we saw).  Note the clothing....the snowline on the mountains we are passing is only a few hundred feet above sea level, and it's cool!