Port Harvey to Ganges

July 24, 2012

Spirit departed Port Harvey at 0800 under overcast skies which soon cleared as we headed east in Johnstone Strait.  The tide was ebbing strongly against us, so we hugged the back eddy on the Vancouver Island shore until the eddy failed us at Kelsey Bay.  The current was now 5 knots against us, so we decided to head across Johnstone Strait just east of Helmken Island, avoiding Ripple Shoal and up Chancellor Channel , though Greene Point Rapids, which were near slack and then tied up at Cordero Lodge at 1345 under warm sunny skies.

The spotless docks at Cordero Lodge

Enjoying the end of our German dinner at Cordero Lodge

The docks at Cordero Lodge are good.

We were lucky in that Doris Kuppers was there for the day cooking in place of the new chef.  We had a good German dinner, Patrick having sauerbraten and Miriam having a chicken schnitzel with a crab and hollandaise sauce.

July 25, 2012

The skies remained sunny as we left Cordero Lodge for the 14 mile run to Dent Island Lodge.  We departed at 0800 to hit slack water at Dent Rapids, and docked at Dent Island at 1010.  By evening the docks were full, but we were able to get a spot at the Rapids Grill for dinner, where the chef prepares a Tapas style six course menu which turned out to be delicious.  The meal included grilled avocado with a shrimp salsa and a gazpacho soup, duck confit ravioli with brown butter sauce, grilled spot prawns, grilled tenderloin, and a dessert takeoff on a gelato with berries.

July 26, 2012

We spent another day at Dent Island, including fishing from the tender, but with no luck.  We had a conventional dinner on the main dining room patio that evening, under sunny skies, preceeded by appetizers in the lounge which included seared scallops.  Miriam had rack of lamb and Patrick had the grilled tenderloin.  We both had the chocolate volcano cake for dessert.

July 27, 2012

Slack water at Yuculta Rapids was after noon, but we left Dent Island under sunny skies at 1120 to get a boost from the last of the flood tide.  By 1440 we were anchored in Gorge Harbor enjoying the sunny weather, cooled off by occasional clouds.

July 28, 2012

Spirit departed Gorge Harbor at 0655 in an attempt to get a boost from the last of the ebb tide.  The attempt did not work and we bucked adverse currents and wind all the way down the Straits of Georgia to Nanaimo, covering Spirit with salt spray.  We were fortunate to find dock space at Cameron Island for the evening since the harbor at Newcastle Island was jammed on a Saturday evening.  We finally docked at 1705 after more than 10 hours underway.  Nanaimo was sunny and warm and we were impressed with all the improvements to the harbor and the town and the number of dining choices.  Nanaimo has also put in a cruise ship dock!

July 29, 2012

Spirit departed Nanaimo at 1000 after a leisurely morning.  The skies were sunny and it was already warm in town.  We headed out into the Straits of Georgia and re-entered Trincomali Channel via Porlier Pass rather than wait until 1400 for slack water at Dodd Narrows.  The sea conditions were a light 1 foot chop and 10 knots of wind from the SE.  Porlier Pass was interesting since there was still a 4 knot current against us, but no big eddies and whirlpools like the tidal rapids north of Desolation Sound.

After an easy motor down Trincomali Channel we anchored in Montague Harbor at 1410 under sunny but breezy skies.  We have now covered slightly more than 700 nautical miles since leaving Ketchikan.

July 30, 2012

The evening was interesting in Montague Harbor.  The wind was only 15 knots, but the rudeness and lack of consideration with wakes in the anchorage made Spirit roll almost continuously until dark and then again from 0600 in the morning.  The seaplanes were especially bad, both from noise and wakes.  There is also poor cell phone reception and no data connections.

Under high overcast skies and 10-15 knots of wind from the SE we departed Montague Harbor for the short run to Ganges, arriving at 1120.  The wind was brisk from the SE gusting to 25 knots and the temperature was in the low 60’s.  By 1600 the wind had begun to drop and temperatures increased.  We will see Miriam’s cousin Dean Sevold this evening in what has become a tradition in visiting Ganges.