Alaska 2014 - On To Ketchikan

May 26, 2014 - Continued

We soon lost sight of the Oosterdam, but for a brief period we regained cell phone service so were able to call home and also update this blog.  The 4G hotspot worked until we reached Ivory Island lighthouse at the junction of Seaforth Channel and Milbanke Sound.  The swell looked manageable so we took the outside route into Finlayson Channel rather than Reid Passage, Percival Narrows and then Jackson Narrows.  Experimenting with the impact of stabilizers “on or off” we discovered that in following seas the motion was more comfortable with the stabilizers off.

For a while, while the sun was out, we were followed by a small pod of Dall’s Porpoises, playing in our bow wave, but they tired of it and disappeared after about 15 minutes.

Turning at Vancouver Rock we headed up Finlayson Channel past Cone Island and on to Bottleneck Inlet.  The entrance to the inlet is narrow with a minimum depth of 10 feet at zero tide.  The inlet had one other vessel (a Nordhavn 57) anchored when we arrived so we had our choice of spots.  We went deep into the inlet, further than we had ever ventured, and anchored in 25 feet of water over a sticky mud bottom.  Soon the crab pot was set, and three hours later we had two nice Dungeness crab.  By 1700 there were six vessels anchored in the inlet.  We shared cocktails and appetizers with Dennis Raedeke and his two guests from the power catamaran “Wild Wind IV” that we had met several days earlier at Port McNeill.

That evening, when we went to start the generator to top off the batteries for the evening, we discovered it had experienced some sort of failure, only putting out 60 volts.  We shut down all non-essential loads until the next morning, and called Selene Yacht Service (SYS) on the satellite phone for advice.

May 27, 2014

At 0810 we pulled the anchor from the sticky black mud in Bottleneck inlet and were glad there was no wind so we could bring the anchor chain up slowly and wash off the mud.  We were the next to last boat to leave.  The charts were correct on the 10 foot minimum depth in the entrance as we left on a +1.2 foot tide.  Continuing up Finlayson Channel we rode the flood tide through Heikish Narrows and into Princess Royal Channel.  Entering Khutze Inlet we anchored behind one other vessel and set out the crab pot.  Right behind us was a third vessel that anchored close by. All three USA vessels moor in the Anacortes area and all of us are heading to Sitka to fish.

The head of Khutze Inlet from our anchor point at high tide

Waterfall in Khutze - in 2012 it was snow fields to the water

Anchoring in Khutze Inlet is tricky since the anchoring is on a narrow shelf shockingly close to the mud flats from the river delta.  The water depth goes from 90 feet to zero in just about 100 feet of horizontal distance.  Fortunately, there was enough water flowing out of the river to keep us oriented away from the shallow water.   By evening we had captured two nice Dungeness crabs in our favorite crabbing location.

We managed to consult with SYS on the generator with the satellite phone and have parts on order for when we arrive in Ketchikan.

May 28, 2014

Dense ground fog covered the anchorage when we pulled the anchor at 0655.  The tide was still not low, but the beach was shockingly close due to the steep shelf where vessels must anchor.  The crab pot was empty, but we got 4 more crabs from the Nordic Tug “Sunday” from Shelter Bay.  Dave and Margaret Allen had pulled in more than their needs of legal crabs and donated the excess above their license and needs to both us and the sailing vessel “Merry Fortune” from Victoria.

The fog lifted by the time we entered Princess Royal Channel, but we bucked an adverse tide clear to the entrance to Grenville Channel.  Passing the former cannery site at Butedale we could see further deterioration of the abandoned buildings and the falls were flowing heavy.  There is talk that Butedale has been purchased with plans to revitalize it as a stop for vessels in the gap between Klemtu and Hartley Bay.  We searched the shoreline of Princess Royal Island for the white “spirit” bears, but with no success.  The waterfalls were nonetheless spectacular.

Former cannery site at Butedale

More buildings are gone since 2012

Typical waterfall along Princess Royal Channel

Our plan had been to ride the flood tide north to Lowe Inlet, but the wind increased to a steady 25 knots gusting to 32 knots and with the effects of the wind and three foot chop, the flood current on the surface was non-existent.  The Nordic Tug “Sunday” was already anchored, but Nettle Basin in front of Verney Falls is large, so we anchored in front of the falls in the current, which kept us aligned and stable, with the stern towards the sun.  We set our anchor in 100 feet of water at 1450.  Our total mileage is now 555 nautical miles since Anacortes.

Verney Falls in Lowe Inlet, Nettle Basin

By 1730, “Wild Wind IV”, “Peregrine” and three other boats had anchored.  We shared potluck appetizers in our cockpit with both “Sunday” and “Wild Wind IV”.

May 29, 2014

Today will be a long day, so we departed Lowe Inlet at 0530 and fought a 4.8 knot ebb current in Grenville Channel for about 10 miles before we came abeam of Klewnuggit Inlet where Grenville widens out.  The sky was overcast, but the winds were light as we joined a parade of pleasure craft all headed for either Ketchikan or Prince Rupert.  There are at least 5 boats ahead of us and even more behind.

Reaching the top of Grenville Channel the weather continued calm so we pointed Spirit out into Chatham Sound and set a course for Dundas Island.  There was a low westerly swell until we were in the lee of Dundas and we took our last pictures in BC of Green Island lighthouse before heading out into Dixon Entrance proper.

Green Island light , our last good view of BC before Dixon Entrance

Calling US Customs, we received permission to anchor in Foggy Bay overnight.  Dixon Entrance had little wind, but a low westerly swell crossing the USA/Canada boundary.  We crossed the boundary at 1645 PDT and reset the clocks to Alaska Daylight time, one hour earlier.  The swell increased as we passed by Tree Point Light, our first landmark in Alaska.

Tree Point Light from Spirit's wheelhouse

Surprisingly, the swell continued to increase in height as we headed up Revillagigedo Channel towards Foggy Bay, and with the swell on the port quarter the motions were large even with stabilizers.  Making the turn at Foggy Bay we went into the inner basin down the narrow channel, with the tide nearly low so the rocks were clearly visible.  The one dead tree continues to mark a dangerous rock just before entering the inner basin.  There were already three boats at anchor, but there is room for a lot of boats.  We anchored in 30 feet of water over a firm mud bottom at 1813 ADT after a 103 nautical mile run, for a total of 658 nautical miles.  Following us into the inner basin was a Nordic Tug “Firefly” that followed us across Dixon Entrance, the final boat to arrive for the evening.

The rock marked by the dead tree in inner Foggy Bay

May 30, 2014

Setting the alarm for 0400, we had the anchor on deck and underway by 0430.  The swell in Dixon Entrance was still present, but by the time we got 10 miles north to Mary Island it had dissipated.  Spirit arrived without incident in Ketchikan and was cleared by US Customs by phone as we headed into Bar Harbor at 0920 to our assigned slip.  The majority of the fishing fleet appears to be still here and moorage was scarce, tucked in between commercial vessels.  Spirit has now covered 696 nautical miles on the transit to Ketchikan.

The generator was repaired by South East Diesel within one hour of our arrival.  The problem turned out to be a bad AC voltage regulator.  By early afternoon we had completed our re-provisioning, and plan on a Sunday departure to begin the transit to Sitka via Wrangell and Petersburg.

The failed voltage regulator - expensive little part!

Alaska 2014 - Passing new Bella Bella

May 25, 2014

The wind remained calm all night in the quiet anchorage in Pruth Bay.  The weather is beginning to deteriorate for the next few days, so we are heading to Codville Lagoon Marine Park, just 25 miles away.

Peregrine and Spirit Crews, Mosquito Sculpture

West Beach, Pruth Bay

Turning left shortly after leaving the anchorage at Pruth Bay we headed into Meay Inlet and across Hakai Passage where the ocean swell had penetrated.  We then headed up Ward Channel, a narrow but deep passage between Nalau Island and Underhill Island.  We identified several potential anchorages, totally secluded, for future visits.  The rock formations were interesting due to the erosion patterns.  We re-entered Fitz Hugh Sound via Nalau Passage and set a direct course for Codville Lagoon.

Peregrine at anchor, Pruth Bay
Hakai Beach Institute

Ward Channel

Rock formations, Ward Channel

At Anchor, Codville Lagoon

Our Totem Pole (Reflections at dawn, low tide)

Sunrise in Codville Lagoon

We anchored Spirit in 40 feet of water in Codville Lagoon just off the trailhead to Sager Lake.  The only other occupants of the basin when we arrived were a pair of loons cruising around.  Shortly after setting the anchor “Peregrine” entered and anchored close by.  We travelled only 30 nautical miles today, in a now familiar downpour, beginning to remind us of our 2007 Alaska trip on the previous “Spirit”, a Jeanneau 49 DS.  The persistent rain on that trip led directly to ordering the current boat.  Patrick set a crab pot, hopefully there are still some crab in Codville Lagoon.

After 5 hours the crab pot only had a large starfish, so no luck.  The commercial fisherman pulling his pots in the same bay had the same result!  The rain returned, with a vengeance as we headed to Peregrine for another potluck dinner of crab cakes, salad and quinoa with broccoli, washed down with both wine and martini’s and a fruit compote for dessert.  Miriam and Patrick returned to Spirit about 2300 in another torrential downpour after a great evening with Dance’s and Dachel’s on Peregrine.

The rain continued heavy most of the night.

May 26, 2014

Memorial Day started out partly sunny as we headed out at 0730, meeting the cruise ship Oosterdam heading for Lama Passage.  We followed astern, since they were doing 15 knots compared to our 8 knots.

Following Oosterdam through Lama Passage

Based on weather reports we will not arrive in Ketchikan until either 29 or 30 May.

Alaska 2014 - Port McNeill to Pruth Bay

May 24, 2014

0430 arrived all too quickly as we turned on the coffee pot and made preparations to get underway in the dawn twilight.  We were not the first boat to get underway, a 62 foot power catamaran “Wild Wind IV” beat us by about 10 minutes.  We cast off the lines at 0456 in light rain, calm winds and a relatively cool 52 degrees.  By 0500 the tender was in tow astern.  Cutting across Neill Ledge through the 24 foot deep gap we headed past Graeme Point on Malcom Island and into Queen Charlotte Strait, setting a direct course for Pine Island.  The seas are less than 1 foot with the beginnings of a low westerly swell.  It looks like a parade of cruise ships, tugs and pleasure craft all headed out into Queen Charlotte Sound and Pine Island via Gordon Channel.  The cruise ship Zaandam is at the front of the group, but will have to slow and drop off the pilot at Pine Island, where we will turn north past Egg Island and into Fitzhugh Sound.

We changed our minds on the routing when we were alongside the Walker Group and diverted up Bolivar Passage to the north end of Storm Islands to avoid some of the flood current and shave a few miles off the crossing.  The swell increased to a moderate westerly swell as we approached the tip of the Storm Islands and set a direct course for Cape Calvert at the entrance to Fitzhugh Sound.  By 1300 we were out of the swells and into Fitzhugh.

Earlier that morning we had talked to Doug and Karen Dance on the Selene 53 “Peregrine”, who were some 4 miles ahead of us and agreed to meet in Pruth Bay.  We had not anchored there before, so it was to be a new experience.  At 1600 the anchor was set in 55 feet of water.  We had covered 84 nautical miles for a grand total of 382 nautical miles so far.

Pruth Bay has free wifi provided by the Hakai Beach Institute, with the caution not to download large photo files or videos, so we will save most of the pictures for a few days.  No phone service however.

Mosquito Sculpture carved into cedar tree at Hakai Beach Institute

We all headed to shore and took the walk through the Hakai Beach Institute, visiting the mosquito sculpture carved into a large cedar tree and out to West Beach.  West Beach is exposed to the ocean and is a large and scenic sand beach with some interesting rock formations to photograph.

Returning to Spirit, and waiting out a torrential downpour, we decided to have a potluck dinner on Spirit, pulling pizzas from the freezer which were then doctored with additional toppings and supplemented by a big salad with home-made vinaigrette dressing.

May 25, 2014

The wind remained calm all night in the quiet anchorage in Pruth Bay.  The weather is beginning to deteriorate for the next few days, so we are heading to Codville Lagoon Marine Park, just 25 miles away.

Alaska 2014 - Dent Island to Port McNeill

May 21, 2014

We awakened to light rain as we prepared to go fishing with Herb, our guide for the morning.  After trying several locations, depths and lures, we called it quits about noon, having only hooked up with one juvenile king salmon and two rockfish.  As we returned, the rain increased to heavy showers, and we thought we might have a repeat of our 2007 Dent Island experience with lightning storms striking all around us, but fortunately that did not transpire.

Patrick fishing in Lewis Channel

Incredible scenery with the moon half full over Toba Inlet

Returning to Dent Island Lodge, we took care of maintenance items on both Spirit and the tender before heading to dinner in the lodge.  We were the only guests, and the first dinner guests of the 2014 season, so we had a unique menu from available supplies before the shipment of fresh goods, which included appetizers (goat cheese and caramelized onions on potato pancakes), spot prawn risotto, tenderloin with gnocchi and sautéed mushrooms, and a dessert of éclairs stuffed with ice cream with a blueberry sauce.  Joe, the new executive chef, who had been the sous chef the last three years, did a great job, with perfectly cooked and seasoned food, even though he had not yet gotten the annual shipment of supplies and fresh food from Campbell River.  It is clear that he loves cooking and interacting with the guests to make sure the food experience is great.  We are really looking forward to stopping on our return to see how the “Rapids Grill” experience is, where 12 or more people come, possibly as strangers, but definitely leave as friends.

May 22, 2014

Rain and fog in morning when we got up, we could not see across to Stuart Island.  The fog lifted slightly as we cast off the lines at 1115, just before high slack water.  By 1132 we had cleared Dent Rapids and proceeding down Cordero Channel we entered Green point Rapids at 1308 with no problems.  Proceeding down Chancellor Channel to Wellbore Channel we were flushed though Whirlpool Rapids at 1420 into Sunderland Channel and from there into Johnstone Strait.  The strait was smooth, with little wind until we passed Port Neville, where the wind increased to 20 knots, but from behind us, so the ride continued smooth.

At 1740 we docked at Port Harvey Marine Resort, operated by Gail and George Cambridge.  This is one of our favorite spots to stop, with the warm welcome and the beautiful setting, and the well-stocked store.  This early in the season the “Red Shoe Café” was not yet open, but Gail and George still deliver pizzas to the boat and cinnamon rolls in the morning.  We ordered a large pizza which was delivered right on time at 1900.

We have now covered 265 nautical miles.

May 23, 2014

The fog was thick when we got up to make coffee before our cinnamon rolls arrived, but by 0800 the fog had lifted to provide one mile of visibility.  The cinnamon rolls were huge and still warm from the oven when George brought them to the boat, where we shared coffee before departing at 0845.  We are now charter members of the “Port Harvey Yacht Club”, just an informal group of people who like Port Harvey and the Cambridges.

Our Port Harvey Yacht Club Burgee

Johnstone Strait was mostly calm with light winds, but a few gusts to 20 knots.  We kept Spirit close to the north shore to minimize the effects of the flood tide, which was running at 3 knots in the center of the strait, but only about 1 knot close to the shore.  The main obstacles this morning were the amount of logs and other debris to avoid.

Ahead of us, on AIS we could see another Selene Trawler, “Peregrine”, so we called them and agreed to meet the next day in either Pruth Bay or Green Island Anchorage after crossing Queen Charlotte Sound and then up into Fitzhugh Sound.

Docking at North Island Marina (formerly the Port McNeill Fuel Dock and Marina) at 1340 we headed to the store for last minute perishables since the next store will probably be Ketchikan in about one week.  We needed some spare parts (fuses, wiper blades, another 12 pound downrigger cannonball, etc) and managed to find everything we needed by early afternoon.  We have now covered 298 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes,  

The weather around Cape Caution across Queen Charlotte Sound sounds favorable, so we will depart tomorrow between 0500 and 0530 and will not have cell phone or internet except possibly in two days at Shearwater.  We will be a little short on weather info since the critical buoy at West Sea Otter has been out of service for 9 days, and that is the wave height info that most pleasure craft rely on to make the decision to cross the longest open water crossing of the trip.

Alaska 2014 - Vancouver to Dent Island

May 17, 2014

With no early departure scheduled, we slept in until 0700 and then, after coffee and a trip to “Urban Fare” for pastries, lounged in the cockpit in the sun and had the pastry snacks.  After a while, we got up the energy to prepare shrimp and avocado omelets chased down with Bloody Mary’s while watching the pedestrians heading to the ferries and the dragon boats both training in the estuary and providing tours for the two cruise ships in port.

At 1300 all four of us headed to Granville Island using the water taxi so we could shop and also search for more fresh oysters.  The oysters were found at “The Lobsterman” and we brought back several dozen which we shucked and had as an appetizer before going to “Provence Bistro” for a meal of “small plates” that we shared.  The menu included escargot, stuffed Piquillo peppers, meatballs, calamari, mushrooms and gnocchi, all good.  Returning to Spirit, we had a reprise game of”Mexican Train” before finally calling it a night.

Our fresh oysters from The Lobsterman

May 18, 2014

Pat Benson on the Selene 53 “Wild Blue” had recommended some frozen croissants from Urban Fare called “Vancouver Croissants”.  Patrick had purchased a box of plain and a box of chocolate croissants, and we tested them by letting them rise overnight per the directions.  By the time we got up on Sunday morning they had fully risen and became the centerpiece of breakfast in the cockpit.  They were as good as advertised!

At 1000 we said goodbye to Ted and Lisa Marx, who will take the afternoon train back to Edmonds and headed out of False Creek.  The weather was mostly sunny, with just rippled seas and light winds.  After threading our way through the numerous freighters anchored in English Bay we headed past Bowen Island at the entrance to Howe Sound.  As we passed White Islets we saw a number of both mature and juvenile bald eagles and sea lions on the rocks.  Continuing towards Pender Harbor we passed Mary Island lighthouse and cruised through Welcome Passage past Smuggler Cove.  Smuggler Cove looked nearly full of sailboats as we passed the entrance, where we had anchored on our trip north in 2007.  We did not even use the stabilizers as we continued to Pender Harbor and our favorite anchorage spot in Gerrans Bay.  Arriving at 1600 at the entrance to Pender Harbor, we brought the tender alongside and by 1630 were anchored in 40 feet of water.  Tightening the stabilizer housing bolts also apparently slowed the small leak in the seals, which is great news.

Weaving between the freighters departing English Bay

Birds on White Islets

Mary Island Lighthouse near Welcome Passage

After all the good food the last several days we just kicked back and had leftover ribs and potato salad for a late dinner as the sun dipped below the hills to the west of the anchorage.

Today we covered another 48 nautical miles and have now gone 133 nautical miles since Anacortes.

May 19, 2014

We had rain overnight, loud enough to wake us up, but that changed to light rain by dawn and just clouds by the time we pulled the anchor at 0730 and headed up Malaspina Strait.  The spot prawn fishery is in full swing with lots of pots in the water.

BC Spot Prawner with a crowd of hopeful seagulls

By 1030 we were abeam Grief Point, aptly named based on prior years storms, but today just rippled seas, partly sunny skies and pleasant temperatures.  Marine traffic was light, except for the number of boats fishing.  We diverted slightly to Powell River to see what shape the derelict concrete ships that form the breakwater were in, but little visible change from two years ago.

The concrete ship breakwater at Powell River continues to deteriorate

Entering Thulin Passage at 1230 we debated which anchorage would best suit us to make slack tide at Gillard Passage at 0944 the next morning, without having to get up before dawn.  Toba Wildernest Resort won out, since we had never been there before and all the other places were already familiar to us.  Proceeding up Waddington Channel past the oyster farms and across to Toba Wildernest, we finally docked at 1550.  Kyle and Andrea Hunter, who own the Resort and their daughter Rowan were on the dock to take lines.  The views of the BC Coastal Range from Toba Wildernest were spectacular, even shrouded in clouds.  After a tour of their facility, including the unique hydro power facility, we returned to Spirit to soak in the scenery after a 62 nautical mile day, with our total mileage now at 194.

Toba Wildernest has great scenery

At Toba Wildernest with the BC Coastal Range in the background

May 20, 2014

Departing at 0630 under sunny skies we motored down Pryce Channel, Raza Passage and then Calm Channel.  Arriving early at Yuculta Rapids, with the current against us, we slowed down and waited 30 minutes until the current slackened a little.  We still arrived at Dent Island Lodge nearly one hour ahead of plan and were the only vessel.  Justin Farr, the general manager, took our lines and after settling in, Patrick prepared the Grady White for a fishing expedition.

The cook will not arrive until this afternoon, so we will cook our own dinner on-board, menu to be determined.

The Grady White handled the eddies and whirlpools nicely as Patrick headed back to Lewis Channel, where “Springs” (Chinook Salmon) had been plentiful the previous week.  Lack of maintenance on the downriggers (our fault) caught up to Patrick as a corroded wire broke, leaving 12 pounds of lead in 200 feet of water at the bottom of the channel.  Returning to Dent Island empty handed, new synthetic cables were purchased to avoid a repeat performance.

We have now traveled 204 nautical miles.

Alaska Cruise 2014 Part one- the trip begins

After a short turnaround at home, checking mail, etc, we headed back to Anacortes, where Spirit was fueled and nearly ready for departure.  After a nice gathering with friends at Skyline (Tucker’s, Lieschner’s,  Alveys and Hislops’s), we headed to Spirit for a much needed night of sleep before rising early to launch our new tender which had been in dry storage.  We installed the new propeller, intended to improve performance, but it actually made the performance worse so we put the original one back on.

After a final trip to Costco and Safeway we met our cruise guests, Ted and Lisa Marx about 7 PM for dinner at the Brown Lantern before retiring for an early departure from Anacortes Marina.

May 15, 2014

Dawn arrived all too early as we prepared to depart Anacortes Marina.  Spirit departed the slip right on schedule at 0600, while Miriam and Ted took the tender out separately to meet outside the breakwater and hook up the tow line.  By 0620 we underway seriously and headed down Guemes Channel to take advantage of the large ebb tide.  Passing through Thatcher Pass we then headed across Blakely Sound and through Pole Pass and then past Stuart Island across Haro Strait to Bedwell Harbor where we cleared Canadian Customs.  That process took only a few minutes by phone since the Customs dock was unmanned.

A short run from Bedwell Harbor brought us to Port Browning where we anchored Spirit in a nearly deserted bay in 25 feet of water.  Patrick and Ted headed ashore to check out the Pub menu and hours before all four of us took a scenic cruise in the new tender through the Pender Canal back to Bedwell Harbor and then around South Pender Island via Haro Strait and back to Port Browning.  Dinner at the pub was good, with an interesting cream of broccoli soup with blue cheese.  Thursday was also fish and chips special night, with good beer battered cod for very reasonable prices.

Cruising the Pender Canal

New Fishing Tender at Port Browning

Spirit at anchor in the deserted bay at Port Browning

Returning to Spirit the four of us played “Mexican Train” until late, then realized that with the large ebb tide in the morning that we needed to have another 0600 departure.

May 16, 2014

We raised the anchor right on schedule at 0600 and decided to try a new route (for us) via Georgeson Passage into the Strait of Georgia.  Georgeson Passage, while a little narrow, has less current then Active Pass, and is 15 nautical miles shorter than going around the east end of Saturna Island.  There were a few violent eddies and whirlpools, but nothing the boat autopilot could not handle.

Exiting into the Strait of Georgia we set a course for Vancouver that would keep us in Canadian Waters until we cleared the northern USA boundary and then cut across the VTS lanes to the correct northbound lane near Sand Head.  The wind and seas had built to 25 knots and 3-5 foot seas on the starboard quarter.  The stabilizers were working hard and we kept hearing a strange banging noise.  Checking the engine room Patrick found the starboard stabilizer top bearing support housing bolts were loose, causing excessive motion and presumably causing the leak in the seal we had noticed.  A few minutes with a large Allen wrench on the capscrews solved that problem and the rest of the trip into Vancouver’s False Creek and Quayside Marina was uneventful, where we arrived at 1225.  We have now covered 85 nautical miles, only about 4000 left to go until we return to Anacortes.

The new tender towed nicely in the seas and arrived behind us in Vancouver with no spray on board, unlike Spirit, which had a lot of salt spray.

The new tender tows just fine!

We re-provisioned with the fresh vegetables we could not bring across the border at both Costco, just a few blocks away, and at Urban Fare, one block from the marina.  After a snack of fresh oysters at “Provence” Bistro at the head of the dock we put on a rack of St. Louis style baby back pork ribs to slow cook for a late dinner.  The sun and warm temperatures made the cockpit the perfect place for dinner, which started with a shrimp and avocado cocktail.  As the skies gradually darkened we finished off the evening with another round of “Mexican Train”.

Enjoying evening dinner in the cockpit with Ted and Lisa Marx

Finally, some photos of the trip

Here is a selection of a few of the port stops and fun things we saw on the trip from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver, BC via the Panama Canal.

Miriam in Curacao

Queen Julianna Floating Bridge - Curacao

Walking on the floating bridge

Local Curacao Market

Fish from Venezuelan Fish Boats

Cleaning the catch

Costa Rica Dancers

Costa Rica Dancing Girls

Evening Catamaran Sail - Curacao

Waiting for the green flash at sunset

The only green flash was the banana liqueur

Snorkeling with a crowd in Aruba

Aerial Tram in Costa Rica Rain Forest

Toucan in Costa Rica

Traditional Chocolate making in Tuxtlachico, Mexico

Ornate Altar decorations in Tuxtlachico

Typical Street Scene in Tuxtlachico - lots of three wheeled bikes

Olmex Ruins at Izapa predate Maya civilization

One of the new hotels in Hualtuco, Mexico

More swimming with a crowd in Hualtuco

Hualtuco shopping areas are prisitne

Revamped Malecon in Puerto Vallarta

Main Cathedral in PV

California Tower in Balboa Park, San Diego

Kyle, Miriam and Kathleen outside botanical garden, Balboa Park

Could not resist a picture of this duck in Balboa Park

Relaxing with Robin Bourne in the Bengal Lounge, Victoria, BC

Patrick's zip line adventure finale

Could not resist the photo in the rain, Panama Canal

Getting our medals for 100 days at sea on Holland America