Tuesday 23 July – The
starter/solenoid was ready for pickup at 1015, so with that all fixed
up, Linda and I picked up Gary (and his wife, Wendy) and we drove up
Vancouver Island to Port Hardy, arriving at 1400. While the others
did a bit of restocking shopping, I reinstalled the starter, now
working well. We had an early dinner at the Quarterdeck Pub, then
Linda and Wendy drove home to the Comox Valley, while Gary and myself
watched a movie (“The Lone Ranger”), then had an early night.
Wednesday 24 July – We were up by
0700, had a quick cereal breakfast, settled accounts with the marina,
and then moved over to the fuel dock to top up the diesel. By 1015
we were underway under overcast skies and fog, and a light
northwesterly wind. By 1120 the fog was starting to lift as we
passed by the Masterman Islands, turning Southeastbound.. At 1230
we were still passing into occasional fog banks, in light and
variable winds, now motoring past Pultenay Point on Malcolm
Island....at least we were getting a 2 knot push from the flood tide.
It seemed a bit early to put in for the day, so we continued past
Port MacNeil in Broughton Strait, now in clear skies. As we
motorsailed past Alert Bay at 1345, I radioed to Telegraph Cove, who
had a slip available....and by 1430 we were tied to the docks at
Telegraph Cove enjoying the fine summer weather. We walked the
boardwalks and admired some of the fine-looking salmon being landed
here. We visited the whale museum, which has several full skeletal
remains of various types of whales....then had a beer at the pub
before returning to the boat for dinner. The marina here has very
nice shower facilities, so we took advantage of these, as well.
Thursday 25 July – At 0800 when we
arose, the overnight fog was just lifting to a beautiful sunny day
with moderate northwest winds. We topped up the water tanks and by
1030 were underway into Johnstone Strait. The wind and tide were
both cooperating, and we had a beautiful sail downwind. By 1500 the
wind was increasing as we passed by Havannah Channel, and the tide
was still with us. We reefed the sails and kept on. By 1700 we were
off Sunderland Channel and approaching Kelsey Bay, in a
still-strengthening wind, and with the seas becoming a bit more
unruly. Even with our reefed sails, the wind was now gale
force....so we turned up Sunderland Channel and had an exhilarating
run down the Channel the 6 miles to Forward Harbour. By 1830 we were
anchored in quiet waters in 55 feet of water, and barbecued some
steak for dinner. Time for another movie (“Les Miserables”) on
our chart plotter cum entertainment centre, before retiring atg 2230.
Friday 26 July – The strong northwest
winds were continuing in Johnstone Strait, according to the forecast,
but using the inside route we should get the same direction, but not
as much force.....so we had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, and
waited for the tide. By 1100 we had the anchor up, and the ebb tide
was slacking off. As we exited the inlet the overcast skies became
sunny and clear, with a nice northwesterly wind of 15 knots. We were
able to motorsail through Whirlpool Rapids 45 minutes before the
slack tide, and continue on a broad reach past Loughborough Inlet and
through Greenpoint Rapids, with the wind picking up to 20 knots and
allowing us a very nice sail. By 1430 we were approaching Shoal Bay
and entered the bay looking for a tie-up or anchorage....but lots of
boats were hunkered down here, with no room on the docks or in any
safe anchorage spots. So we continued into Frederick Sound (another
couple of miles). Several years ago I'd stayed at Oleo's Gallery, a
restaurant with docks and a float-home. It was still there, but
Ruth, the owner/proprietor, or her son, were not there. We tied up
and made friends with the dog, hoping they'd come back later in the
afternoon....but it was just us, the dog, and a cat. At 1830 I
pulled some stuffed chicken breasts out of the freezer and made up a
dinner, and we relaxed on the boat while the wind howled outside the
little protected bay we were tied up in. We watched another movie
(“Django Unchained”), and with no sign of anyone arriving to
allow us to stay or boot us off, we settled down to a peaceful night.
Saturday 27 July – Although we'd
sailed through Whirlpool and Greenpoint Rapids near, but not at
slack tide, we were intent on clearing our next tidal rapids, Dent
and Yuculta Rapids, as close to slack as possible. So we were up at
0630 and underway at 0715. Fifteen minutes later, our engine was
overheating. By now I had lots of experience clearing this type of
problem, and discovered a wad of eelgrass in the intake, and had it
cleared fairly quickly, as we sailed along in 20 knots of
northwesterly breeze. At 0815 we were sailing through the Dent
Rapids with a 2 knot push, and reached the Yuculta Rapids 20 minutes
ahead of slack water, at 0830. We then had a very pleasant sail past
Calm Channel and into Sutil Channel, and with the wind picking up,
had to put a reef in the sails, while we continued to sail at over 8
knots. By the time we were sailing past the south end of Reid
Island, we were on a close reach, heading into Herriot Bay in
Northerly 30 to 35 knots of wind......but we were tied to the docks
at the Herriot Bay Inn by 1300, with time for a beer and lunch,
showers, and a short walk up the hill to the grocery store for fresh
vegetables for dinner. Although cellular coverage is poor in this
area, a kind fellow at the grocery store drove us to the top of a
hill to call home, as the plans were to continue home to Comox in the
morning. We cooked up a pork tenderloin dinner, and then went to the
pub for our last night out on the boat. The people of Quadra
Island/Herriot Bay know how to party hardy. The pub had a jam
session with local groups or entertainers invited to perform, and the
entertainment included several rock groups, a country group, a piper
on bagpipes, a standup comic, a fiddler, a harmonica player....a bit
of everything. One group in particular caught our fancy – a
bluesy, folksy music group named “Brodie Dawson and Friends”.
They hail from Campbell River, and both Gary and I will be watching
for them again, as they were extremely talented and entertaining. It
turned out to be a late night (for us), as we didn't get to bed until
well after midnight.
Sunday 28 July – In spite of the late
night we were up at 0730. The skies were clear, and the wind
forecast for a pleasant Northwest 15 knots – perfect for a run back
to Comox. We couldn't leave the docks right away, as several other
boats further out on the docks needed to get away first, before we'd
fit out the slot between the docks. In walking around these docks, I
was mortified by the condition of them, with the pilings supporting
them being extremely eroded, and only tied on with a piece of line
(not ever really tied – the “knot” was only a half-hitch!). I
couldn't believe the docks had held together with all of the boats
tied to them, through the strong and near-gale force winds we'd just
had.
 |
| This is how the docks are tied to the pilings |
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| The pilings at the docks at Herriot Bay are a bit "iffy" |
At any rate, we got underway by 0930, and an hour later we were
off Francisco Point, at the south end of Quadra Island, in calm and
clear weather. Wind continued to elude us as we motored southbound
past Mitlenatch Island. We had a go at trolling for salmon as we
passed Sentry Shoal and then a shallow area opposite Gary's home,
called “The Hump”. Alas, we had very little luck here, with only
a very small Coho Salmon which was returned to the sea to grow up.
 |
| Gary's big Salmon Catch |
Still without wind, or fish, we motored on into Comox, arriving at
our home port at 1730, to be met by Linda and Wendy, our wives. Now
to clean up the boat and get ready for the next adventure!
