2011 Alaska Voyage Ends

August 2, 2011

After an uneventful transit of Yuculta Rapids we decided to avoid the crowds in Prideaux Haven and instead headed for Gorge Harbor on Cortes Island.  The anchorage near the marina was very crowded so we found a relatively empty space near the east end of the harbor and enjoyed the sun.

August 3, 2011

We had a relaxed departure from the anchorage about 0800 under sunny skies and headed for Nanaimo Harbor, taking a route down the west side of Texada Island.  Military Area "WG"  was active, so we stayed close to the Vancouver Island shore as we passed Balleanas Islands.  By 1720 we were docked at Nanaimo where we shared a potluck meal with the Nowie's on their Selene 58 "Rhapsody".

August 4, 2011

Slack water at Dodd Narrows was predicted for 0815, so we were underway at 0700 to make sure we were there on time.  Passing through Dodd Narrows and heading down Trincomali Channel we heard to Victoria Coast Guard radio asking anyone near if they could assist a 37 foot pleasure trawler that had broken down.  We could see the boat and ended up towing them about 4 miles to a safer anchorage where they hoped someone could either tow them to Vancouver or fix their transmission.  The tow went well, except the trawler's tender engine scraped and dented a section of our teak caprail.  The people on board, while otherwise nice enough, did not offer to pay for the repair at the time, with obviously more pressing problems on board.  We will contact them later and see if they might consider helping with the cost.

The towing exercise took about two hours to complete, but even so, we docked in Ganges Marina by 1320 under sunny skies.  We visited with Miriam's cousin Dean Sevold and had a dinner in town with him before returning to the boat to continue visiting.

August 5-7, 2011

Spirit departed Ganges at 0930 for the short run to Roche Harbor for the Roche Harbor Yacht Club "Colors" cruise.  We were able to clear US Customs by phone with our Nexus passes and were tied up at the main guest dock by 1215 to begin the festivities with our fellow club members.  The weather continued sunny and warm and we decided to stay one extra day along with many of our friends from the club and continue visiting.

August 8, 2011

We reluctantly got underway for Anacortes at 0950.  The skies remained sunny in Roche Harbor but the clouds were hanging over Anacortes.  However by the time we arrived the skies had cleared and at 1330 Spirit was back in the slip at Anacortes Marina, after 104 days of cruising.

Spirit travelled 2920 nautical miles this trip, We ran the main engine 412 hours and consumed a total of 2565 gallons of diesel fuel for the heater, the generator and the main engine.

We will compute some of the other statistics later, but the fishing, crabbing and prawning this season was excellent.  We did discover some improvements we need to make before our trip next season.

The cruising is not quite finished this year, stay tuned for more.