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.
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| 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.
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| Bella Bella Council Office with Totems |
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| 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.
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| Spirit Bird in Klemtu |
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| 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.
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| 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.
......................
......................................................................
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.
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| 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! |
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