Shearwater to Prince Rupert

May 13, 2010

Yesterday we left Shearwater under gray skies, but with little wind. As we headed down Seaforth Channel, the swell in Milbanke Sound continued to build, along with the wind, and now some light rain. We decided that rather than have a 6-8 foot beam swell crossing Milbanke Sound we would go up Reid Passage, which we had not done before. There were a few exciting moments as we turned 90 degrees and headed into the entrance of the passage, with the swell breaking on the rocks on either side of us. However, in less than 5 minutes the swell dissipated and we headed up Reid Passage and then a few more minutes of exposure to the growing swell as we passed by Libby Rocks and through Percival Narrows into Mathieson Channel proper. We saw a few porpoise, and one whale in the distance. By this time, the rain was no longer light and the squalls even showed on the radar. The rain continued to build, visibility dropped and we motored up to Rescue Bay, at the entrance to Jackson Narrows, in weather reminiscent of our first trip to Alaska. The bay was deserted, and we anchored in 50 feet of water under a drenching rain, but no wind.

Later, two sailboats entered and anchored. We watched as one of boats set up a ramp and took a large German Shepard ashore for a walk. Both the dog and the owner looked miserable. The rain lightened so we launched the tender and set two crab pots. By evening, the rain stopped entirely as the front passed by. The crab pots were empty at dusk, so we moved them to a new location, hoping for some luck overnight.

In the morning, the skies were starting to clear. We watched a small drama of life and death in the wilderness as an adult Canadian Goose attempted to protect their young from an attack by an eagle. We believe the eagle got at least one of the goslings before the parents hustled them into the underbrush. Waiting on the sidelines were seals and some opportunistic gulls, waiting for the eagle to finish. Meanwhile, the crab pots held no keepers, just some small crabs, so we stowed the tender and headed further up Mathieson Channel to look at Kynoch Falls in Kynock Inlet. The falls are well worth the side trip up Mathieson Channel, into the beginning of the Fiordland Recreation Area (yes, BC spells it Fiordland). The area really reminded us of our trip up Sognefjord outside of Bergen, Norway and especially Naerofjord. After the photo shoot, we headed up Sheep Passage, through Hiekish Narrows and into Princess Royal Channel. We did not see another boat until we were in Sheep Passage, but as soon as we entered Princess Royal Channel, traffic appeared, including tugs, sailboats and fishing boats.

Miriam and I decided to go back to Khutze Inlet, since we had been there twice already and had good luck crabbing. We motored the 5 miles to the head of the inlet. It was deserted, and the waterfall we remembered as creating the katabatic winds in the evening was hardly running. We were the only boat, but there was a large group of seals cavorting in the shallow river delta at the head of the inlet, and one eagle circling overhead, later prowling the beach on foot. The water was murky and filled with lots of floating "stuff". After launching the tender with the intention of putting out the crab pots, the aggressive seals and the shallow water decided for us that it was not a good idea.

It is now after 10 PM, and we are still able to see (somewhat). The water is calm, but since there is a very low tide at 0830 in the morning, we plan an early departure to ride the flood tide up past Butedale and on to Bishop Bay Hot Springs, some 35 nautical miles away.

May 14, 2010

This morning, as expected, the tide was very low, and the Khutze river delta smelled terrible. The seals were still around as we raised the anchor and headed up Princess Royal Channel. We stopped for photos at Butedale, which has deteriorated even further since we passed by 3 years ago. The docks were in even worse shape and we voted to keep going, even though the welcome sign was out and a flag was flying.

We headed into Bishop Bay Hot Springs for a soak and overnight, but alas, the place is now a BC Park, with new rules on using the dock. We are too big, and the anchorage was full of large floating logs and a stiff onshore breeze. In addition, the shelter along the trail to the springs had burned down and the wood plank bridge was destroyed and blocked with yellow tape. We might have found a way around, but there were two more boats coming into the bay, and we put staying into the "been there, done that" category. We headed back down Ursula Channel, across Wright Sound where we were briefly escorted by Dall porpoises and then up Grenville Channel to Lowe Inlet. We anchored in 95 feet of water in Nettle Basin under mostly sunny skies, with the sound of Verney Falls and a 10 knot breeze the only sounds besides us. This turned into one of our longest days, at 76 nautical miles. We have now logged more than 600 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes, with only about 125 miles to Ketchikan.

 

May 15, 2010

We had a leisurely wakeup and breakfast as we prepare for the push up Grenville Channel to Prince Rupert. An uneventful trip in rain and less than 10 knots of wind. By 1630 we were tied up at Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club. The weather forecast is favorable for crossing Dixon Entrance in the morning, so we will leave early.

Pictures will be in a later post after a meal at the Breakers Pub with Bill and Sherri Harpham on the Nordic Tug 42 "Augenblick". We have now crossed paths three times in the last 7 days.