Shearwater to Port McNeill

July 17, 2012

Departing Shearwater under overcast skies at 0915 we headed down Lama Passage and across Fisher Channel to Codville Lagoon where we anchored behind Codville Island in 90 feet of water.  By the time we anchored at 1145 the skies had cleared and the temperature began to rise.  Patrick set 3 prawn pots and 2 crab pots in our favorite locations by 1300 and then hiked to Sager Lake, a 15 minute walk.  The beach of reddish sand was stunning and the water was pleasantly warm.  Patrick was tempted to go for a swim, but did not bring a suit and there were 6 other people already up on the beach.  The beach had a lot of game tracks, deer, raccoon and what we believe may have been wolf tracks.

Pink Sand Beach at Sager Lake, Codville Lagoon

Another view of beach at Sager Lake

Returning to Spirit we lounged in the sun until Patrick checked the pots.  We had 9 large Dungeness crab and 7 dozen coonstripe shrimp; no spot prawns.  Patrick set the prawn pots in new locations.  Returning to Spirit we invited Steve and Alice from “Second Wind” over for wine and cheese.  They live on their Cal 2-27 sailboat on the same dock at Anacortes and we pass by their boat every time we go up and down the dock, so finally getting to know them was fun.  They are cruising with 2 Catalina 34 sailboats so we gave Steve and Alice 4 of our crab to share among the three boats.

Dinner was Coho salmon, sautéed zucchini and salad.  Following dinner we cleaned and cooked 5 crab.

July 18, 2012

Overnight our crab pots trapped 9 additional large Dungeness crab so Patrick gave 4 away to other vessels in the lagoon since we were the only ones with crab pots out.  The prawn pots yielded mixed results, with 4 dozen large spot prawns and only 8 coonstripe shrimp.  After stowing all the gear and the tender we pulled the anchor up at 1000 under clearing skies and headed south down Fisher channel into Fitzhugh Sound towards several potential anchorages for the evening before attempting to cross Cape Caution in the morning.

Our anchorage of choice turned out to be Green Island Anchorage where we had stopped on the way north.  The anchorage was empty so we had our choice of locations, dropping the anchor  in 30 feet of water at 1405.  By evening we were joined by two sailboats and a motor vessel which stayed just two hours and left.  We spent the afternoon relaxing, although the sun finally disappeared hidden by a high overcast and the temperature only got to 65 degrees, which combined with a 10 knot breeze made sitting outside a little cool.  For the first time the horseflies are a real nuisance, along with bees and a few mosquitoes which have found fresh blood!

Midden at Green Island Anchorage

Green Island Anchorage is characterized by an old midden of clam shells, now overgrown with bushes.  The bushes look impenetrable.

Departure for the 80 nautical mile crossing to Port McNeill is planned for 0500.

July 19, 2012

We forgot to reset our alarm clocks to Pacific Daylight Time, they were still on Alaska Daylight Time, so we slept in longer than we intended.  Rushing to get the anchor up, we left only 41 minutes later than planned under sunny skies and minimal winds.  The report from the West Sea Otter buoy says the seas are only 2.6 feet, so we should have an easy crossing if the wind does not pick up.

The buoy reports proved accurate as headed past Cape Calvert and towards Cape Caution.  What we did not expect was fog, which reduced our visibility to ¼ mile at times as we approached Pine Island.  The winds were always less than 10 knots and the swells were never more than 6 feet.  The fog persisted off and on most of the way down Gordon Channel and then cleared.  We were treated to a last few humpback whales and then docked at Port McNeill Fuel Dock and Marina at 1325.  We were not the only “Spirit” at the dock that night.  About 1900 another “Spirit” docked, only this one was 177 feet in length and is apparently a luxury charter vessel built in 2011 by Amel in the Netherlands, which charters for more than $400,000 per week plus expenses according to the internet websites.

Another "Spirit", just slightly larger!

We have now travelled 413 nautical miles since leaving Ketchikan, and a total of more than 2600 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes.