The Quest for Kin, Celts, Casks, Kegs and Kilts

Apologies to all – I know I promised to get this Blog going on departure, but it's been a few days with very little time, and not much internet either. But now we are settled into our timeshare in Cumbria for a few days, and there is wi-fi at the bar (very convenient!) Linda actually got started on a journal, and being lazy, I've borrowed the first few days from that. So....here goes:

Fri Jun 13,2011

4am Glasgow... awake....time to start the journal?Thanks to Tony and Barb for car sitting and the lift to the airport.Thanks to Bill and Diane for the pickup at the ferry and the wonderful dinner with old Aquanut buddies Stan and Bruce invited too. That Glenmorangie cask-strength blew me away, Bill, particularly with the few drops of water releasing the flavor. Had no idea that would happen. Wow!

Flight over uneventful. Crowded as only charters can be. Watched three movies en route, none of which we'd recommend......The Green Hornet, Burlesque and Gullivers Travels. Flight arrived early 04:15 am which is about 8 pm home time. Took awhile to get through immigration as only the night staff was on but everyone was in a good mood as to us it wasn't really 4 am! As we couldn't pick up the car till 9 am, we decided to leave our luggage at our hotel and as per their website, we were able to walk to our hotel a scant 10 minutes away. They locked away our suitcases and we killed time having breakfast in their dining room before returning to the airport to get the car which we then left in the hotel parking lot as we felt we were too groggy to drive.

This is our little diesel Ford Fiesta, (gives 60 mpg so far)

To fill the day, as we couldn't check in to our room till 2 plus we wanted to try and get into the local time zone, we took a bus to town and tracked down an inexpensive cell to use en-route.

After that we joined a double decker bus tour of downtown Glasgow and finished up with our first (of what no doubt will be many), pints before returning to the airport and the walk back to the hotel and checking in.

Glasgow has a great history of shipbuilding, with LARGE Cranes (BFC's) like this one!

We were starting to fade, so succumbed to slumber.

When we first found the website for the Premier Inn Hotel chain advertising accommodation at a mere 29 pounds a night we were a little nervous but so far we are totally impressed. The building is new and offers your basic room (eg no wasteful little soaps and shampoos although there is a body wash dispenser), and is clean, quiet (despite being so close to the airport and motorway) and not overly hot like so many hotels. Hopefully we'll enjoy their other locations we've booked as well. Apparently there are over 500 sites in the UK. So thumbs up for the Premier Inn and thumbs down for that brew we tried which we both found had a VERY strange flavour.....“St Andrews” by Belhaven.

Sat May 14 – Broom in bloom and leaping lambs…

The joys of jet lag. Couldn’t stay awake past 8:30pm. Awake at 4:30am. Staying at a lovely little B&B in the town of Dalbeattie. Had a good day yesterday as Don got used to our car, driving on the wrong side and being told where to go by “Tomasina” Tom Tom (instead of by me, for a change). He’s convinced all women like to tell you where to go.:-) BTW thank you Ray and \Kathy for the use of your GPS. It’s wonderful! Except when you miss an exit and it insistently tries to get you back on course sometimes going the wrong way on a one-way street!

To break ourselves in we headed first to the west coast from Glasgow then at Ayr (Rabbie Burns territory) turned south through the lovely green rolling hillside spotted with many white dots that occasionally spilled out over the road and became mother sheep with lambs.

The broom is in bloom making a gorgeous contrast of orange against the green of the landscape. Spring – life is in the air!

Sheep, watching us watch them.

The town of KirkcudBright is on the sea (Solway Firth)....so we stopped for a bit of a walk around, visiting our first castle, and then the marina, where the boats were mostly sitting on the mud due to the low tide.

Our First Castle, at Kirkcudbright.

Our First Abbey, founded 1142.

Local Marina at Low Tide.

Interesting Sign at the Marina.

We checked in to the Kerr Cottage B&B in Dalbeattie and learned that the man of the house had gone off on his first sailing expedition with some friends to sail around Skye. Alas the weather was so poor they were having a bad trip. Of course this made Don green with envy and he was sorry to not be able to hear of the fellow’s adventures. This area seems to have a bit of a sailing community as well. The large tide was out as we walked around the shore looking at bilge keeled boats all sitting on the sea bottom.

Kerr Cottage B&B

Liz, the hostess of the B&B told us that many of the houses in the town were built of local granite which led to the nickname of the town as the granite village (in contrast Aberdeen is the granite city) Their house had been built in 1826 and had remodelled beautifully without losing the old world charm. We also learned that the first officer of Titanic had come from this town. For breakfast Don sampled his first blood pudding which he very much enjoyed. Haggis was also on the breakfast menu, something we had previously only had for dinner.

We were off to Caeverlock castle and arrived to learn they were having a re-enactment that day. A bit of luck as we were able to chat with all these characters who were reliving the lifestyle of medieval times. Great fun. The castle itself was most impressive being unusual in being triangular and complete with moat. It’s in fairly decent shape and one was able to imagine how these ancestors may have lived. They must have been very tough for one thing as the wind whistled through the unclad windows and the only heat would have been the fireplaces.

Continuing on we heard on the radio that BBC 1 was having a huge concert in Carlisle with such stars as Lady Gaga, the Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars (and many more) performing. As we had to to through Carlisle on our way to the timeshare we anticipated slowdowns on the highway but this didn’t materialize as the concert was on the other side of the town.

We went into Penrith to purchase a few groceries for our upcoming week at the timeshare. It was a Morrison Superstore and incredibly busy possibly because it was a Saturday. It’s always fun to see what kind of items are sold in different countries. The food items seemed to us to be quite reasonable, compared to home prices.

We found the timeshare location about 8 miles away and checked in to one of the more unusual locations we’ve ever traded to. The entrance floor had one room with bunk beds, a Master bedroom with a double, and a tiny bathroom. The next floor had a room with 2 sofas, coffee table and large TV. Otherwise - bare. Across the hall is the kitchen and eating area. Then up another flight of stairs was another tiny bedroom with 2 singles. I’m sure the sofas made up into beds, so the place could probably have slept 8-10 people with this one tiny bathroom.

We managed to stay up till 9 pm before flaking out and slept all the way to 5:45. Progress with the jet lag. We cooked a breakfast of cut-up orange and strawberries with porridge which was much creamier that what we have at home, and followed up with instant coffee which seems to be a staple here.

Sunday 15 May

Time to explore the home country of some of our ancestors, the Waistell (Westell, now) family. We drove east about 20 miles, stopping in to view a little church and graveyard in the town of Temple Sowerby, where my gtx3 grandparents were married. As far as we could see, however, none of the family is buried here. Then on, past Kirkby Thore to the village of Warcop where most of our ancestors hail from, before leaving for Canada in 1835. The village is now a military training centre for the British Army, but still has narrow streets and beautiful old granite homes. The church and graveyard were at one end, and being Sunday, with little space to park, we decided to come back on a weekday when we could search more easily for our kin. So a short look around town, and we headed back to our lodging for a quick lunch. Then time to explore in the other direction (west), and we drove the 11 miles to Keswick, a market town at the head of a small lake. It's pronounced "Kessick" - no W's allowed in the middle of a word! The town was bustling with people shopping and enjoying a jazz festival going on in full gear. Very touristy area, and every second shop seemed to be selling outdoorsy clothing and equipment. Half of the rest of the shops sell food and beer. It was a pleasant afternoon walking around, enjoying some of the jazz venues, and admiring the flower gardens along the lake. Nearby, on our route home, was a pre-historic Stone Circle, made even more mystical by the light mist.



Castlerigg Stone Circles, in the Mist.

Back to our timeshare at Whitbarrow Village for a supper of chicken and veggies, and then, even though we still found ourselves trying to drop off to sleep we managed to stay up and awake until after 10 pm by watching the local rock concert on the television.

Monday 16 May

Forcing ourselves to stay awake worked.....we managed to sleep through the night almost until a normal waking-up time. Up and about by 0700, and after breakfast, southbound on the highway to visit the County Records Office in Kendal, to sort out some of our ancestors' records. It took a full day of searching, and almost going blind reading the microfiche files of the Old Parish Records of births, baptisms, marriages, burials, etc.

By 1545 we were a bit tired, so left the Records office for a quick lunch at McDonald's (I know – I almost don't believe that either!). Then across the street to visit the local library, for a bit more searching on microfiche for obituaries and to try to get a handle on the economic conditions prevailing at the time our 2xgt grandparents decided to emigrate to Canada (for a reasonable explanation for the big move). We did find one of the obits we were looking for, but nothing else conclusive.

The drive back north was on the scenic route, rather than the motorway. The narrow, twisting road climbed over a bit of a pass, through beautiful hilly country. There were lots of sheep and lambs in the fields surrounding us, and occasionally they seemed able to find their way onto the road. Although I was only driving at about 45 mph, most of the other drivers were a bit faster, and many parts of the road seemed only wide enough for a car and a half, rather than 2....but other than the occasional groan or involuntary cry of terror, Linda handled it well.....even when some of the sheep found themselves leaping out at us, right in the roadway. We made it home to our humble abode by 1900, with time to finally type up a quick issue of the Blog to post from the bar this evening.

Here's a short video of the re-in-actors, preparing to storm the castle.

Home in One Swell Fwoop

Okay...I just gave up on blogging for the end of the trip, and left everybody sitting in Pt. McNeill. So here I am, almost a year from the start of our adventure, trying to end our story. I'm referencing the ship's log as a reminder, and hope to quickly run by the rest of our trip back to Comox. That's because tomorrow we (Linda and I) will leave home for a trip to Scotland, Northern England, and Northern Ireland - so then I guess it'll be time to change the name of the blog, and try it again, detailing this next trip.
But first, back to the sailing adventure! Tues. Aug 24 - We spent much of the day tidying up the boat in anticipation of the arrival of new crew. Linda arrived on the 1630 bus from Courtenay, and we celebrated with Frank and Marchien of Windbourn II aboard Jade. Wed. 25 Aug - Windbourn departed the dock at 0900......we took a bit longer, refueled the boat, and left at 1100, arriving at Telegraph Cove just down-Island a bit, arriving at 1430. They have a very interesting museum dedicated to whales, and great beer in the tavern. As we walked back to our boat at the dock, we watched a Coast Guard Fast Response Boat returning, performing CPR to an accident victim. They were followed closely by the whale-watch vessel Naiad Explorer, who presumably had been assisting in the incident. No information on what had actually ensued, though. Dinner of spinach salad and pizza, followed by nice hot/long showers.
Thursday, Aug. 26 - We departed at 1100, with a following tidal current, hoping to view some Orcas as we passed Robson Bight - but no such luck on this leg! So a few miles further on, we pulled into Port Harvey, which has a nice new marina (only 2 yrs old) at 1600. The restaurant has a good reputation, and we partook - very nice meals, with excellent dessert of wildberry cheesecake. Afterward, we watched a movie (Invictus) onboard while outside the skies opened up and it poured. We dropped a crab trap off the end of the dock for the night.
Fri. 27 Aug - The rain was easing up by mid-morning, so we decided to push on. Our crab trap yielded four nice keeper Dungeness Crabs. We left the dock at 1120, running back down Johnstone Strait, and then into Sunderland Channel on a broad reach, anchoring for the evening at the Douglas Bay anchorage in Forward Harbour. We plotted our journey for the next day to time our tides for the 2 rapids we had to run, and had a vigourous discussion on a variety of quasi-political topics following a wonderful dinner of crab, pasta and salad. We were able to get some cell-phone coverage, so called Jan & John in Refuge Cove to let them know we'd be there in a couple of days, and then called Oleo's Restaurant in Frederick Arm to see if they might still be open for dinner the following night (Yes - still open, and happy to have us!).
Sat. 28 Aug - Several other boats in the anchorage were leaving when we got up at 0800, even though our tide calculations hinted at a later time - however, in talking with them on the radio, it appeared we were probably right in waiting another hour or two, so stayed put for a great breakfast of crab omelet. When we left at 1000, we made good time through Whirlpool and Greenpoint rapids, and ended up pulling into Oleo's Gallery in Frederick Arm at about 1500. There we met Ruth, the widowed owner, and visited in her gazebo for happy hour, followed by a wonderful dinner of Louisiana Chicken and roast duck. We chatted until well after dark.
Sun. 29 Aug - We were up at 0800, but we couldn't leave until later to get the slack tide for Dent Rapids. Ruth had baked us some humongous cinnamon buns and a loaf of bread.....yummy! We actually got underway at 1300, transiting Dent and Gillard Rapids, and arriving Refuge Cove at 1900. Kelcy prepared some delicious fajitas enroute, for supper, and on arrival we had a nice visit with John and Janet on their floathome. Friends Terry and Denny, aboard "Night Moves", were also there - so it was a bit of a party/get-together.
Mon 30 Aug - Very nice, sunny weather, but forecast for gale-force southeast for next day. So instead of staying for a visit, we decided to leave, departing at 0920. With light winds it was a motorsail across Georgia Strait, and into Comox, arriving home at 1500.

That's about it for our sailing adventure to Alaska. A week later, we sailed down to Nanaimo to pull the boat out of the water, to check the rudder from the earlier log hit. Got the bottom painted at the same time, and back to Comox in a gale, arriving back on 26 Sept.

If you're interested in the next adventure, stay tuned.....tomorrow (10 May 2011) or the next day, I hope to start the next instalment of the blog, renamed for our adventures in trying to find our Roots in the U.K.

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.

From Canada By Land

"From Canada by Land".....that's the inscription written by Alexander McKenzie in July 1793 when he arrived at the Pacific Ocean after crossing North America from Montreal. That was also 10 years before the more famous crossing by the Lewis and Clark expedition. So it was a place I had to see. We left Ocean Falls on Tuesday, August 17, motorsailing back down Cousins Inlet and then sailed a broad reach northbound into Dean Channel.
By 1215 we were off the Government-installed cairn, with McKenzie's rock just below it. Kelcy was not that keen in going ashore to see it, and the anchoring there was poor. So we launched the dinghy, and Shane and I rowed in to have a look, while Kelcy motored around a bit on the boat.






McKenzie Rock












By 1315 we were underway again, still northbound in Dean Channel, and at 1430 entered Eucott Bay, anchoring off the hot springs there. As we were finishing up on our lunch, a fishing vessel, "Miss Molly", called out on the radio for anyone in the area of Eucott. We answered,
and he explained he had a dead battery, and needed a boost....so we upped anchor and motored out and got him going, for which he donated 3 very large crabs. Kelcy also managed to catch a cod, jigging while we boosted the battery. Dinner was assured! Back to the anchorage, I cleaned the crabs and took a short swim, while Kelcy and Shane took the dinghy out to see if they could catch some more fish or crabs. They did manage to bring back another cod, which went into the fridge. Following a huge crab feast, we rowed over to the hot springs for a soak. Very, very hot!
These are by far the warmest hot springs we've yet encountered. It has an inlet control to slow down the incoming water and thus cool it a bit, but that takes many hours to cool down a lot. We did manage to get in for a short soak, however. Then back to the boat for a relatively early night.














Shane at the Hot Springs




We departed at 0700 next morning, under cool overcast skies. The plan was to get an early start before the inflow got going, to get out of Dean Channel. We were motoring soutbound in 15 knot inflows, which quickly became 25 knots, with fog and rain. No sign of any of the forecast northwesterly winds. Ah well......more motoring! With the chop and the current against us (in theory it was ebbing with us, but the inflow winds create a stronger current the other
way) it was slow going - in fact, by 1300, we contemplated turning back into Ocean Falls as we approached the end of Dean Channel....but the weather started to ease, so we continued southbound, turning into Fisher Channel, and eventually arriving in a beautiful anchorage across from Lama Pass, called Codville Lagoon. As we entered, the clouds broke up, and the sun started shining, the winds eased. There were already several boats in the east and north (favoured) anchorage spots, but we found a nice spot in the north end, and were surprised to see our old buddy Steven, on "Kharma" there. We hadn't seen him since Ketchikan, so rowed over and shared some stories, as well as a bit of rum and scotch. The other boat in our end of the anchorage, "Dream Catcher", is run by Marge and Chuck Simpson, and were friends of Steven. They rowed over to "Kharma" and joined our little party. By 2000, we decided we'd best get back to Jade for some supper (leftover crab - yummy!). By the time that was all done and cleaned up, it was time for bed.
Wednesday, August 19 dawned bright and sunny, with light airs. We motored out of Codville Lagoon at 0815, southbound Fisher Channel, into Fitzhugh Sound, and past Namu, turning into Hakai Passage and then down into Pruth Bay. Herewe anchored off a lodge which offers wireless internet (weak, but useable - if you're reading this, it stayed that way!). They also have a couple of trails through the woods to the other side of the island. We hiked across to the beautiful sand beach on Hecate Strait, then walked up and over to Hakai Pass, to another equally lovely sand beach.











Kelcy contemplating at the Hakai Beach













There are even a few buoys and fishing paraphernalia hanging around the end of the trail, which have Japanese writing on them - obviously stuff which had floated across the Pacific and had been found here on the beach.







A note in the sand









We got back to our boat at 2000 for another late dinner (fish and chips, this time, with a go at my beer batter). Then it was time to catch up on blogging and logging before hitting the sack again.
We hope to head out tomorrow for Rivers Inlet, where we can get some more fuel (Dean Channel headwinds and the light airs today have used up a bit of that) at Duncanby Landing, and stage ourselves for a crossing of Queen Charlotte Straitinto Pt. Hardy. We can spend day 100 of our trip in beautiful downtown Duncanby Landing!

Ocean Falls

We departed from Shearwater the following morning, eastbound through Gunboat Pass, and then across Dean Channel and up Cousins Inlet, with a brisk outflow wind against us, visibility increasingly deteriorating to less than 2 miles in haze and smoke. Otherwise, it was a beautiful sunny day.....apparently much of the interior of BC is burning in forest fires, and the smoke was filling the Central Coast with the outflow. We arrived at Ocean Falls in the early afternoon, to be greeted by Neil, the wharfinger, who welcomed us warmly.







Approaching Ocean Falls










Ocean Falls is a town in transition. It was built at the site of the Link River pouring into Cousins Inlet, with a hydro-electric dam being built in the early 1900's. This provided power and water for a pulp/paper mill and Ocean Falls became a bustling and thriving one-industry town, owned by paper company. In its heyday the community was very busy, with some 4,000 people, a busy deepwater port, hotel, swimming pool, bowling alley, etc......until the company pulled out. The provincial government bought the town out and kept it running until the early 1980's, but it became an uneconomic proposition, and the mill and the town shut down. It became a ghost town, with only a few dozen people remaining. There are now about 30 full-time residents, and in the summer about 80 more. BC Ferries operates into here twice weekly, and the dam still provides electric power for here, as well as Bella Bella and Shearwater. Although Bella Bella is running low on water, Ocean Falls has plenty of very good water....in fact, we were encouraged to use it to wash our boats and fill our tanks (there is a dam renovation happening, and they want to lower the water levels).
The docks are well maintained, internet wifi is available for free, and the remaining people are very friendly. We walked around the remaining townsite where many of the buildings are beyond restoration, and then up to Link Lake (created by the dam) where we enjoyed a warm, freshwater swim.







A refreshing dip in the lake










Back to the boat for dinner and some internet, and meeting a few of the other boaters who'd arrived.....4 other sailboats and several powerboats.
Sunday morning was another bright sunny day, albeit still quite smoky. We utilized the plentiful fresh water to scrub the decks and clean the boat. Then a few of our fellow boaters and ourselves joined a local fellow, Norman, in a tour of Norman's hobby.....creation of a museum, where he's collected things from all over town and organized them into a historical collection of the town's history.












Norman is presenting Kelcy with a "California Raisin" figure.










Back to the boats, we all decided it was time for a dock party. Dave, from the sailboat ahead of us, had collected/caught quite a few crabs, and a few of the others also had some...so it became a crab-fest. Of course, we hadn't caught any, so we and a few others supplied appies and dessert. I was also able to introduce many of our new friends to Pyrat Rum!
The party rocked on until the ferry arrived at midnight, and we all called it a night.
Monday morning, due to the night before, was a lot slower and quieter. I managed to wash off the hull of the boat before Shane and Kelcy were stirring. Then a slow walk into the other part of town, about a mile down the road from the marina end of things. There, I watched a Grumman Goose taxi down a ramp and depart, and picked some blueberries and huckleberries from along the roadway and beside the Martin River.











These blueberries are fresh!












We'll likely head out of here tomorrow morning, and if weather permits, we'll head up Dean Channel to view Alexander Mackenzie's cairn, and visit the Eucott Hot Springs. The smoke has mostly dissipated with a strong inflow breeze, but if this breeze continues, it may make it hard to get to the Hot Springs or the cairn....we shall see.

Sun, Snappers and Soaks

Lots of catching up to do, with no internet for a full week!
We left Prince Rupert Wednesday, 04 August, motoring out at 0730 in dense fog and light winds. We continued southbound Chatham Strait, and by 1100 the visibility was improved to a full half mile. We stopped for a short try at fishing, off Smith Island - but no luck - I think I would make a very poor fish, as anywhere I guess as a good spot for a fish, does not appear to be the consensus of opinion for the fish! By 1230 we were off the south end of Arthur Pass, with nice clear and sunny weather (the fog just lifted suddenly, the wind picked up to Northwesterly).
With 15 knots of breeze on our starboard quarter we sailed a nice broad reach through Ogden Channel, and sailed into Captain Cove, on the north end of Pitt Island. On the way in we dropped off a couple of prawn traps, then anchored inside. Being a nice and sunny afternoon, we just relaxed and read, and even tried a bit of fishing off the boat, with no luck. Following a lovely dinner of stuffed roast pork and veggies which Shane prepared, we played a bit of cards,
had a short row around the anchorage in the dinghy, and called it a night by 2200.

We got underway again the following morning, at 0730. The anchorage was overcast with a low layer of cloud trying to join the fogbank outside in the channel. We found our traps in the fog, and hauled up a catch of 4 lowly prawns, which ended up being lost over the side when we used the bucket they were in for a quick deck rinse. We continued southbound in Petrel Channel, with the fog lifting by 0900. The wind picked up again, and again was northwesterly to allow us a motor-assisted broad reach down the channel on a broad reach. By 1200 we were crossing into Principe Channel, with a pod of porpoises playing alongside the boat. As the wind increased, so did the seas....and we pulled into Monckton Inlet for an anchorage for the night, anchoring in a small bay on the northwest side, after resetting our prawn traps in the inlet. The bay is very small for swinging to an anchor, so we put out a stern line to shore for the first time in months. We caught a couple of nice rock cod for dinner, and used the carcasses for bait for our crab traps. The Coleman shower was set up in the cockpit for nice warm showers, and I took a short row around the anchorage before we settled down for a short bit of reading, and bed.

Friday morning (06 Aug) we were up at 0700, but by the time we got our stern line, anchor, crab traps, and prawn traps all settled away, it was 0815 before we were full away. Another overcast, rainy, and foggy morning, but this time the wind was against us, Southeast at 15 knots, forecast to increase. With a building sea, it was good we'd made it into Monckton Inlet, as we only had 8 miles to go southeast before rounding eastward into Otter Channel, and finding calm seas. We crossed Squally Channel (well -named, as we were getting strong gusts of SE winds) with the genoa out for steadying and additional speed. Then across Wright Sound and past Gil Island, ending up at Hartley Bay for 1400. We had to wait awhile for fuel, and then found our old spot in the docks, so tied up there. I was able to get some cell phone coverage, to tell Linda where we were, but although it is rumoured to be possible to get internet access here through the Band Office, we were unable to arrange it. Hartley Bay was just as we remembered it from our northbound trip, with boardwalks and lots of rain. We did a curried mango pork dish with veggies for dinner, and watched a movie ("Cop Out") on board, getting to bed by 2200.

Saturday morning we departed Hartley Bay at 0800, motorsailing northbound into Verney Passage, and then into the Gardner Canal eastbound. Except for the large clear-cuts, Gardner is very scenic. We arrived at Europa Hot Springs aka Shearwater Hot Springs, by early afternoon, and tied up to one of the two nice new mooring buoys there, provided by BC Parks. We were the only ones there, and enjoyed a hot soak in the springs, and even did our laundry, hanging the
wet clothes out to dry in the sunny weather we were getting.

Three of us enjoying Europa Hot Springs

Shane and Kelcy even jumped into the cold water off the boat (too cold for me!). We celebrated our nice weather, beautiful surroundings, and great soaking, with a dinner of stir-fry and drinks (rum for me).

Leaping into the Briny Cold

Shane and Kelcy returned for an evening soak in the springs while I remained onboard the boat and read, and retired.

Sunday, 08 August saw us underway from Europa/Shearwater at 0800 in clear and sunny weather, and light winds. We motored back down Gardner, and into Ursula Channel, now southbound again. Just prior to reaching Bishop Bay, about a dozen white-sided
dolphins joined us and played alongside for a half hour, leaving us as we entered the bay.

Watching Playful Porpoises

By 1400 we were tied to the dock in Bishop Bay, and went off to the springs for another soak. These hot springs are noticeably cooler than the other ones we'd been in, but that just allows a longer, and comfortably relaxing soak. Also alongside our dock was a sailing vessel, "C'est Si Bon", out of Melbourne Australia. The couple had been sailing out of Oz for 8 years, and last year had arrive fromJapan into Alaska, and sailed the north and west parts of it. Without enough time to explore Southeast Alaska (the part we had just done), they'd sailed to Victoria BC for the winter and returned to Alaska to do the southeast part. Now they are southbound for Mexico. We also met a couple from Stony Plains Alberta, who shared a garbage fire and a bit of rum with us.

Monday morning saw us underway from Bishop Bay at 0800, motoring southbound Ursula Channel and Finlayson Channel. It was hard to believe, but again we were experiencing a clear sunny day, with light winds. By the time we passed Butedale at 1200, we were motor-sailing on a broad reach, and decided to go past our original destination of Khutze Inlet, anchoring instead about 8 miles south of there, in Swanson Bay, off a stream and the ruins of an old pulp mill. In theory, the current from the stream should have kept us from swinging toward the shallow water and shelf to shoreward, but we dropped a stern anchor to ensure that. We managed to catch a couple of rockfish for dinner, and for crab-bait. Following our fish dinner, we watched another movie, this time a documentary - Michael Moore's "Capitalism - a Love Story".
Tuesday morning saw us up quite a bit earlier, up at 0530 and underway by 0600, turning into Heikish Narrows and Sheep Passage, for a look at Fiordland area. This is a recently protected conservation area with deep fiord-like scenery. Sheep Passage has lots of Fish farms alongside, but we did start into the wild fiords as we entered Mathieson Channel. We caught a couple of
beautiful yelloweye rockfish (I thought they were red snapper, but confirmed otherwise in a book we carry aboard). We had a lunch of clam chowder with a bit of grilled snapper/rockfish....then we continued into Kynoch Inlet, sailing on
a broad reach.

Nice Catch, Kelcy!

Kynoch has steep granite cliffs with snow-capped mountains on either side, and numerous waterfalls...very picturesque, and fiord-like.

Looking up Kynoch Inlet

We anchored at the end of the inlet, where the water shallows out very quickly....we anchored in 100 feet of water, with the boat sitting in 20 feet of water and a drying shelf immediately astern of the boat (I could have jumped off the stern of the boat and waded ashore in ankle-deep water!). With the wind strength increasing, and no place to drop back with more anchor scope, I got a bit nervous and set our anchor kellet, a weight which improves the holding power of the existing anchor and rode. My knot obviously was not as good as I'd planned - the kellet dropped off...so we resorted to using our second anchor as a makeshift kellet. By midnight, the winds had dropped, and we ended up having a peaceful night after all.

Wednesday morning was another early day, with us underway again by 0600, retracing our way out of Kynoch Inlet, and turning south into Mathieson Channel. Again....a beautiful day, once the fog and low cloud had a chance to burn off in the early morning. Although the winds were forecast to be strong northwest, we were getting very light southerlies, so just motored down the channel. By noon we were in the southern reaches of the passage, dodging numerous logs and bits of wood in the water. I find it interesting, and curious, that we saw almost no logs or wood debris in the water in Alaskan waters, but almost as soon as we entered BC, found ourselves dodging the debris. We entered Reid Passage and anchored in Oliver Cove which we'd found very nice on our way northbound. This time, however, there was a westerly wind building, and putting us on a lee shore. We chowed down on a curried fish dish, and then pulled the anchor in search of a less treacherous anchorage. With Shearwater/Bella Bella being only 15 miles away, we decided to head that way. It was after 1800 by the time we got underway again, and had a 25 knot westerly wind behind us as we sailed a broad reach, and wing-on- wing, down Seaforth Channel. We arrived Shearwater at 2200, just after sunset, and all of the docks were full. The anchorage off the marina, however, had space, so we settled down at anchor for the night. It was a long day, but we were safe in a quiet anchorage instead of facing a full gale (which it apparently had become outside) in a marginal anchorage with a lee shore.

Today is Thursday, 12 August. Finally we are tied to the dock in Shearwater, and have been busy all day taking care of long-neglected chores (laundry, internet/blog/facebook/emails, repair outboard motor, showers). I sit at my computer on the boat with a rum drink before me....it has been another fine sunny day, and our chores are about done. It must be time to post this update, and go to the pub for a celebration!

Into the Great White North

Saturday morning, July 31 saw us up at 0700 and off the dock in Ketchican..... a quick fuel-up, and we headed south into Revallagigedo Channel, in clear skies and light winds(forecast to become moderate NW by afternoon). As we continued, we sailed through a few fog patches which tended to dissipate as we proceeded.....but no sign of our NW winds - instead it was building SE, on our nose. By 1230 it was SE 15-20 with a nasty chop, so we motored into Foggy Bay for the night to wait for our westerlies. After a dinner of spaghetti and a bit reading and cards, we reset our watches an hour ahead, to be on B.C. time, and hit the sack.
Sunday morning we departed Foggy Bay at 0900(BC time) and continued southbound in Revallagigedo Channel, into Dixon Entrance. The forecast winds of moderate to strong northwest were still missing, and we found ourselves motorsailing into a moderate southeast and a confused, choppy sea. Because of forecast Gales for the next couple of days, we continued to motor southbound for Prince Rupert, rather than head into Khutzemateen for a quick return visit with Greg and Lisa. Both Kelcy and Shane were feeling the effects of the motion, with Kelcy taking gravol and wrapping herself in a blanket midships below. It was slow going, and we eventually realized we'd likely be late at the Yacht Club in Prince Rupert, so without cell coverage, asked Rupert Coast Guard Radio to call the club to reserve/confirm a late spot for us....which they kindly did. We entered Venn Passage by1900, and docked at the yacht club by 2015. We were able to clear customs by telephone, check our internet, and call home to Linda. It had been a long day, so we made our way up the ramp for a pub dinner at the Breakers Pub. On our way back we spotted Greg(Khutzemateen) Palmer's boat at the dock, so were able to leave him his lens cap and a bottle of rum, with a note, before retiring at 2330.
Monday morning we were able to check in at the Yacht Club and tidy up the boat. We saw Greg and Lisa about to depart, so were able to have a quick visit with them. Our friend Art contacted us via Facebook, and visited the boat later in the afternoon, inviting us back to his home for dinner. It was a great visit, in which we had a great dinner, caught up on laundry, and got Shane a video-game fix. Art, his wife Angela, son Luc, and daughter Mariah were all very welcoming, and we had a great time....getting back to the boat at 2130, just in time to see the fog rolling back in for the night. Canada may be known as the Great White North for other reasons, but I suspect that on the north coast of BC, in the month of Fogust, it could be called the same for other, more "mist-ic-al" reasons!
Tuesday morning we had a sleep-in, then organized our payment to the Yacht Club, refuelling, and lunch. Art met us with a loan of his vehicle in early afternoon, allowing us to stock up our groceries. This is our last day in Prince Rupert, with plans to continue back south via the "Outside Inside Passage", still in protected inside waters, but further out near Hecate and Queen Charlotte Straits (Principe Channel to begin). It may be awhile before we again get internet access, but we will continue to post when we can.

Here is a map showing our return trip from Auke Bay(Juneau) to Prince Rupert. If you click on the image, it should show up more clearly.