Port McNeill to Ocean Falls

Yesterday we took part in a parade of pleasure craft leaving Port McNeill between 0600 and 0700 to cross Queen Charlotte Sound (Cape Caution).  As we headed up Gordon Channel for the slight right hand turn north to Cape Caution and Fitzhugh Sound we spread out due to small differences in boat speed.  The swells increased to about 6 feet but the wind remained light and the ride was pretty nice.  The sun came out and we cruised north with the swells now on the beam, somewhat larger, but still comfortable.

We noticed a difference in our stabilizer performance, but dismissed it for some reason.  The weather continued good and we bypassed  Fury Cove and headed for Green Island Anchorage behind Addenbroke Island.  Two other vessels were already anchored but there was plenty of room for both Spirit and Serena.

The prawn pots were set, but came up dry.

The next morning we confirmed that our port stabilizer was jammed hardover, causing a list and loss of boat speed.  Troubleshooting and calls to Seattle on Colin McCaffrey's satellite phone led to the discovery of a jammed feedback potentiometer on the port stabilizer.  We limped on into Ocean Falls where, with the assistance of Colin on Serena, we were able to fix the problem and restore normal operations to the stabilizers.

We enjoyed being greeted by two Orca's as we entered the harbor at Ocean Falls, forcing us to shut down our engine as we watched them go by.

Bill Craven spent some time exploring the deserted town of Ocean Falls, one a regular stop on the steamer runs to Ketchikan, and now consisting of mostly empty streets where houses once stood which formerly served a town of 7,000 people at it's peak.  When Bill was here in 1952, many of the streets were wooden boardwalks, all of which are now gone.

We celebrated fixing Spirit by grilling steaks on the new BBQ for both crews (Spirit and Serena) and sharing a potluck dinner on Spirit.

Our next stop is Shearwater, then several days without phone or internet until we reach Prince Rupert.  Photos when we have a faster internet connection.