Blog Post #3
Tuesday, May 10:
Spent an extra day at Port McNeil. Gales & torrential winds had us nailed to the dock. While at the laundry I rescued a fellow boater's Kindle that had been dumped in the front loader with the dirty clothes. I pried the lock out enough to cause an error message while the owner ran to find assistance. Turning off the power allowed the door to be unlocked. The Kindle was damp and dusted with detergent but after allowing it to dry overnight it worked just fine.
Annie Kitty does not appreciate Rock n' Roll.Wednesday, May 11:
Up at 5 AM. Off to round Cape Caution (apply named). Rolling 5 ft. swells but the interval between is 8+ seconds so we had a pretty calm ride. The roughest section was off Slingsby Channel where the outflow was pushing against the swells and the waves were bigger. Kitty puked into a paper towel and used her litter box a lot. She didn't have her happy sailor face on! Into beautiful Fury Cove about 3:30. Our two boats were the only ones there.
The smooth waters and white shell beaches of Fury Cove are welcome after rounding Cape Caution.
Smith Sound
Thursday, May 12:
Weather forecast for gale force winds but totally calm and lots of places to "tuck in" so we are heading up Fitz Hugh Sound into the more protected waters of the North West Passage. Turned out to be a beautiful day cruising through emerald green islets with snow capped peaks on either side. A quick peak at Shearwater then on past Bella Bella and into Discovery Cove for the night.
Entering Discovery Cove
Kayaking in our anchorage in Discovery Cove
Friday, May 13:
Patchy fog on our way out Discovery Cove's narrow inlet. Beautiful, but we are so glad that we have the GPS which let's us follow out on the same track we entered. I cooked cinnamon rolls, French dip rolls, cinnamon swirl bread and John & I took showers on our way to Bottleneck Inlet. Very smooth ride!
Yum! The new stove works great.
Misty morning departure
The mists dissipated as we left Discovery Cove.
Saturday, May 14:
At the north tip of Sara Island a Dahl Porpoise joined us and played in our bow wake for 10 minutes. John is going to try & include video. Having a porpoise choose to visit your boat is very magical! They dart rapidly to the left then right and then roll on their side to see if you are watching, as if they know how much they are loved! We also saw a little Minke whale further up the inlet. We are not seeing the many Humpback whales that we saw this time of year on our previous trip to Alaska. Stopped at Butedale for pictures of further decay and destruction. This once prosperous fish packing camp is collapsing into the sea. Onward, up Fraser Reach where waterfalls are too numerous to count. Blue skies and snow peaks surround us. Pulled into Hartley Bay around 3 PM. The docks are free, the First Nation's People are friendly (even though they said we needed to pay $100 a foot, anchor in the fairway, side tie to the RCMP boat & tow it away!) and the community, connected only by boardwalks, is fun to visit. We stretched our legs on a 20 minute hike to a lake just north of Hartley Bay.
The boardwalk to the lake in Hartley Bay.
Merlin approaches the ruins of Butedale.
The falls of Butedale Creek.
The friendly docks of Hartley Bay.
Hartley Bay has boardwalks for streets. No roads, no cars!
Sunset looking out the entrance to Bottleneck Cove.
There seems to be waterfalls everywhere.
Sunday, May 15:
Blue skies, brisk breeze and a bit choppy. We are heading north up Grenville Channel. Overall impression of the North BC coast: towering mountains, deep sea bottoms, forests sprinkled with white toothpicks and nobody home! WDiverted into Lowe Inlet to see the waterfall. Too early to find bear & fish here. Off to our next anchorage in Klewnuggit Inlet. Charlie & Sara....it's sunny and warm here! Unlike the night we hid from the gale winds:-). Had the whole afternoon for kayaking, reading and naps. Tomorrow we will be heading for Prince Rupert where we will be back to civilization after 6 days in the wilderness.
Are we there yet?
BC Ferry in Grenville Channel
Xanadu and Merlin rafted in Klewnuggit Inlet
Merlin at Varney Falls in Lowe Inlet
Yep, another waterfall.
Rod and Susan return to Merlin after Dinner on Xanadu.
Up the creek, but fortunately she has a paddle!
What a magical trip you are having. The misty photos are wonderful and make it clear why you love having your GPS for guideance when needed.
ReplyDelete$100 dollars a foot? Impossible? Did they really expect that? Did you really pay it? I know it's expensive up there in the wilds, but $100 dollars a foot is beyond the pale.
We are just setting into the time difference here. It's taken longer than it did 23 years ago when we were here on our honeymooon.
BTW . . . I love Bob Seger . . . laughing:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQswfILThsY