July 22, 2016 - Wrangell
After the tour of the Anan Wildlife Observatory we relaxed
at the dock in the rain in Wrangell.
July 23, 2016 - Wrangell
Another day of rain in Wrangell.
July 24, 2016 – Wrangell to Santa Anna Inlet
Departing from Wrangell in the rain at 1015 for the final
time in 2016 we headed on a different route to Santa Anna Inlet. There was a gill net opening in Zimovia
Strait and rather than dodge the nets we headed down Eastern Channel which is a
longer route, but scenic. Cruising by
Anan Bay we confirmed with the depth sounder that the bay provides only
marginal holding, shelving steeply into deep water without much swinging room.
Entering the nearly empty Santa Anna Inlet, we anchored
Spirit at 1650. By evening there were
seven vessels anchored, including some commercial fishing boats. The horseflies were abundant, the rain had
stopped and we enjoyed the quiet evening.
July 25, 2016 – Santa Anna Inlet to Ketchikan
Spirit was the last vessel to leave Santa Anna Inlet at 0745
with overcast skies and calm winds.
Stopping to fish near Meyers Chuck we landed three pink salmon and lost
three more. Proceeding south in Clarence
Strait to Tongass Narrows we called the Ketchikan Harbormaster for a berth
assignment. We were given the last available
berth for our size vessel at Bar Harbor.
The fishing fleet was in and there was not enough room for everyone,
with many vessels anchored over Pennock Reef and rafted three deep at City
Floats.
We treated ourselves to dinner at the Bar Harbor Restaurant,
but it was not the best meal we have had.
Usually this is a great place to eat, but we must have hit an off-night
in the kitchen.
July 26, 2016 - Ketchikan
Patrick spent the day looking for a replacement circulating
fan for the galley refrigerator, but no luck finding 24 volt components in
Ketchikan. Miriam walked the 1.5 miles
into downtown for some final shopping.
July 27, 2016 – Ketchikan to Foggy Bay
Spirit departed Bar Harbor in the rain at 0632, stopping at
Petromarine for fuel before leaving Ketchikan for the last time in 2016. We fished at Mountain Point, but only pinks
were taking the bait, so after landing two we continued south down
Revillagigedo Channel. Stopping at Mary
Island we anchored in 200 feet of water and fished for halibut, but no luck.
Pulling the anchor, we continued into Foggy Bay and anchored
Spirit at 1650 under partly sunny skies.
By dusk there were seven vessels anchored, everyone heading south.
July 28, 2016 – Foggy Bay to Prince Rupert
Mist and light rain greeted us as we departed Foggy Bay at
0505, the last boat to leave. The
gillnetters were out in force all the way to Cape Fox, and with the low visibility,
down to 1/4 mile at times, we just headed out 2 miles from the shoreline and
avoided all of them. Other pleasure
craft were being called on the radio by the fishermen, asking them to move
further offshore.
The fog and mist meant there was no wind chop in Dixon, but
there was a 4-6 foot swell on our beam as we crossed, so we were glad we had
stabilizers. By 0755 we crossed the
USA/Canada boundary and when we had cell phone coverage from Prince Rupert
called in for NEXUS clearance.
The visibility continued to improve as we headed through
Venn Passage into Prince Rupert Harbor.
After stopping briefly at the customs/lightering dock we headed to our
reserved slip at the new Cow Bay Marina.
The docks are still subject to the wakes and afternoon winds, but better
than the nearby Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club (PRRYC). Contrary to the latest Waggoner Guide, Cow
Bay Marina is not yet a Canada Customs Port of Entry like PRRYC. We also set our clocks ahead one hour to get
back on Pacific Daylight Time.
Dinner was at the Cow Bay Café, with delicious food, good
service and a great view.
July 29, 2016 – Prince Rupert
After a resupply run to Safeway for fresh produce we caught
the bus to Port Edwards and visited the North Pacific Cannery, now a National
Historic Site in Canada. The cannery is
located on the banks of the Skeena River.
The cannery was in operation until 1981 and has been partially preserved
to show the worker housing and equipment used in the past. This cannery was one of 20 just in this
area. The machinery was nearly identical
to the machinery we visited at the Icy Strait Point cannery near Hoonah in
June.
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| Add caption |
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| Remains of worker housing |
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| Inside the net house |
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| Canning Line |
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| Pressure Cookers |
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| Some of the local brands of salmon |
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| Rusting cart |
July 30, 2016 – Prince Rupert to Lowe Inlet
Leaving Cow Bay Marina at 0725 we enjoyed mostly sunny skies
as Spirit continued south down Grenville Channel, riding a favorable current
most of the way, especially as we picked up the ebb near Klewnuggit Inlet. At 1445 the anchor was set in Nettle Basin,
Lowe Inlet. We were initially the only
boat, but by nightfall there were five others anchored. The winds were gusty in Nettle basin, peaking
at 27 knots and continuing late into the evening.
We tried fishing, but with no luck. The fish are later this
year and very few were jumping at the base of Verney Falls. There were no bears fishing at the falls
either.
July 31, 2016 – Lowe Inlet to Bottleneck Inlet
When we departed at 0630, all the other vessels had already
departed. We enjoyed a boost from the
ebb tide as we continued down Grenville Channel past Hartley Bay and entered
Princess Royal Channel. The flood tide
gave us a boost until near Butedale and then the ebb tide boosted us further
south through Heikish Narrows and into Finlayson Channel. The afternoon westerly winds greeted us there,
with sustained winds to 27 knots and three foot seas.
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| Butedale - the docks are better now |
Making the turn into Bottleneck Inlet we retrieved the
tender and anchored in 35 feet of water under sunny skies at 1600 after 75
miles of cruising. There was no wind in
the inlet and the sunny skies were welcome.
August 1, 2016 – Bottleneck Inlet to Shearwater
In what is becoming a pattern, when we departed, all the
other vessels had left. However, the
entrance is shallow and we wanted to wait for a rising tide to leave. The minimum depth we saw with the tide at +8
feet was less than 6 feet under the keel, so at a zero tide we would have been
trapped in the inlet.
Finlayson Channel was calm, the sun was out, so we continued
out into Milbanke Sound, past Ivory Point Light and into Seaforth Channel. Stopping for an hour to fish unsuccessfully at
Idol Point we then headed into Shearwater and anchored at 1540 outside the
breakwater with numerous other pleasure craft.
The Selene 50 “Seeker” was at Shearwater and we shared
dinner on board Seeker with Mike and Susie Miner and Mike’s brother and
sister-in-law. Patrick prepared halibut
with the white miso paste glaze once again.
August 2, 2016 - Shearwater
With no pressing schedule we spent the day at anchor doing
maintenance on Spirit.
August 3, 2016 – Shearwater to Pruth Bay
At 0830 we pulled the anchor from the mud in Klicksaotl
Harbor and headed back out Seaforth Channel, taking a right turn up Return
Channel and then down Johnson Channel, investigating potential anchorages for
future trips.
Exiting into Fisher Channel we bypassed Ocean Falls and
Codville Lagoon. Codville Lagoon showed
numerous AIS targets and the anchorage is only marginal if the back basin is
full. Continuing down Fisher Channel to
Fitz Hugh Sound the afternoon westerlies began to blow, so we ducked behind
Nalau Island down Ward Channel, across Hakai Pass and anchored in Pruth Bay,
joining 6-7 other boats.
Checking the weather reports on the free wifi in Pruth Bay
we decided to spend at least one extra day at anchor.
August 4, 2016 – Pruth Bay
Trying our luck fishing on the east side of Calvert Island
in the Grady White for a while, we gave up after numerous rockfish and 2
undersize Coho Salmon. The afternoon
wind picked up as we headed back, making for a bouncy ride in the 2 foot
seas. The wind calmed down after
sundown.
August 5, 2016 – Pruth Bay to Allison Harbour
The weather report was marginal, and the seas were not
expected to subside at Cape Caution until Sunday, so at 0615 we departed to
cross before the seas increased more.
Clearing the tip of Calvert Island, the swells increased to 7-12 feet on
our beam at a 7 second period as we passed Egg Island. Turning at Cape Caution at 1050 we then
encountered sloppy seas from the combination of swells and ebb outfall from
Slingsby Channel, since we were there one hour before slack water. The sloppy seas persisted for about three
miles and then became just quartering swells once outside the influence of
Slingsby Channel.
We entered an empty Allison Harbour and anchored in 30 feet
of water at 1305, selecting a spot clear of the numerous commercial crab pots
littering the anchorage. Even though the
harbor is well protected, the afternoon westerlies wrap around and blow
straight into the anchorage. The same
westerlies had grown the wave height at the West Sea Otter buoy to 8-16 feet by
1400, so we were glad we got across early in the afternoon.
By 1800 rain began to fall, heavy at times, but with no
wind.
August 6, 2016 Allison Harbour to Sullivan Bay
The rain from the evening before had been replaced by a
thick blanket of fog swirling in from the inlet entrance. Nonetheless we pulled the anchor from the
sticky and stinky mud in Allison Harbour at 0820 and ventured out into Ripple
Passage, the main channel. The fog alternated between dense and 1-2 mile
visibility until about 1100 as we headed up Wells Passage towards Sullivan
Bay. We arrived as part of a parade of
boats either leaving or arriving at the floating community. By 1345 our lines were set and power was connected.
The resort has a Happy Hour in the dock shelter every day at
1700 where you bring an appetizer to share and your own drinks. Earlier in the afternoon we had introduced
ourselves to the owners of the Sailing Vessel Anna Caroline, who we had seen off
and on all the way from Wrangell. They
had docked just ahead of us. Finding out
they had a defective propane regulator, Patrick gave them a spare from Spirit
so they could operate their stove. The
vessel carries a Dutch flag and the couple live aboard and had come around Cape
Horn and Patagonia earlier in the year, about the same time we were in Antarctica. They then went to Sitka via Easter Island,
the Marquesa’s, and Hawaii, and were on their way back to French Polynesia, New
Zealand, Australia and Indonesia.
During our conversations we asked if they knew the red
sailboat we had seen in Antarctica, and they knew both the boat and the owner. Conversation continued late into the night as
we discovered just how small the world is, with many similar experiences.
We had a thunderstorm, lightning and heavy rain to keep us
occupied as well.
August 7, 2016 – Sullivan Bay to Mound Island
At 1000 we joined the parade of boats departing Sullivan Bay
and headed to Cullen Harbour. Along the
way we were escorted by a pod of Pacific Whiteside Dolphins, many riding the
wake alongside the stern. They stayed
with us for nearly one hour. Anchoring
in Cullen Harbour, finding an open space among the six other boats already
there, we did not like the set of the anchor so pulled it back up and headed to
Mound Island where we anchored in 50 feet of water over a mud bottom with
excellent holding. We joined 10 other
boats, but the anchorage can hold many more.
Mound Island and Cullen Harbour are both the same distance from our
destination, Port McNeill in the morning.
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| Pacific Whiteside Dolphins in our wake |
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| Another wakerider |
August 8, 2016 – Mound Island to Port McNeill
Fog was drifting in and out of the anchorage as we departed
shortly after 0800. Exiting White Beach
Passage into a dense fog bank we had to alter course to avoid a cruise ship
entering Blackfish Sound. As the fog
layer shifted it was eerie to see just the top of the ship approaching with the
lower half obscured. The fog layer
finally lifted entirely as we approached Malcom Island. We were tied up to the dock at North Island
Marina before 1100. Patrick procured a
new propane regulator and then changed the generator oil and filter, the third
change of the trip.
Meeting friends on “Rendezvous” and “Daybreak”, we all
gathered for dinner at the Northern Lights Restaurant after appetizers on board
Spirit.
August 9, 2016 – Port McNeill
Rendezvous and Daybreak departed early to head south and we
elected to stay in Port McNeill. Patrick
changed the zincs on the main engine and we went shopping in town.
August 10, 2019 – Port McNeill
Another day in Port McNeill.
Several friends arrived and we had cocktails on “Yachette” and then
after a not so memorable dinner ashore, gathered on “Legasea” for the evening
with conversation that went until late into the evening as we listened to the
winds gust to 30 knots under clearing skies.
August 11, 2016 – Port McNeill to Kwatsi Bay
The winds were calm, with sunny skies, as we departed Port
McNeill at 0820. Spirit ran into fog as
we approached Donegal Head on Malcom Island and with visibility less than ¼
mile we carefully headed to Arrow Passage.
The fog lifted as we entered Arrow Passage, passing Echo Bay and finally
docking at Kwatsi Bay at 1400, joining 10 other boats. Happy hour on the dock was enjoyable,
catching up with old cruising friends as we snacked on the appetizers everyone
had provided.
August 12, 2016 – Kwatsi Bay to Sullivan Bay
Spirit departed Kwatsi Bay at 1050 for the short 25 nautical
mile trip back to Sullivan Bay. Arriving
at 1405 we confirmed our reservation for the prime rib dinner that
evening. Mike and Lisa Haistings from
Legasea arrived and we shared a table for an excellent prime rib dinner. Rain was heavy overnight.
August 13, 2016 – Sullivan Bay to Jennis Bay
We cast off the lines at 1020 to make slack water at Stuart
Narrows and were tied up at Jennis Bay marina at 1140 after a short 9 nautical
mile trip. The afternoon westerlies came
up, so the happy hour was moved to one of the buildings.
August 14, 2016 – Jennis Bay to Napier Bay
Timing our departure for slack water at Stuart Narrows, we
reluctantly cast off the lines and headed the 10.5 nautical miles to Napier Bay
under sunny skies. Anchoring at 1300
with several other vessels in the bay we prepared the Grady White for fishing
and headed out to James Point. We
returned with one 12 pound wild Coho salmon at 1700.
August 15, 2016 – Napier Bay
After sleeping in and missing the slack water at James
Point, we finally left at 0915 and returned at 1200 with a nice 15 pound wild
Coho salmon. After preparing it for the
freezer and having lunch we headed back out at 1400, returning at 1530 with our
second Coho, this time another 12-pound fish, our limit for the day. We have only one more Coho we can catch in BC
in 2016, since the daily limit is one wild fish and the possession limit is 2
wild fish. By evening Napier Bay was
once again filled with anchored boats.
August 16, 2016 – Napier Bay to Port McNeill
We pulled the anchor from the mud in Napier Bay at 0710 and
headed to James Point to fish on the way to Port McNeill. After dragging the lines for more than one
hour with only a few nibbles, we retrieved all the gear and headed for Port
McNeill, arriving at 1200. North Island
Marina was full of familiar boats, with almost everyone headed South. We had intended to go to the highly
recommended Cluxewe Waterfront Bistro, but the one day a week they close is
Tuesday.
The alternative was the sushi restaurant, which turned out
to be very good.
August 17, 2016 – Port McNeill
We did our final BC reprovisioning for the season and tried
the Cluxewe Waterfront Bistro for dinner.
The restaurant is located about 15 minutes away by car at a campground
overlooking Broughton Straits and has tremendous views. The food was very good.
August 18, 2016 – Port McNeill to Port Harvey
Departing Port McNeill for the last time in 2016 at 0905 we
headed down Johnstone Strait in a mixture of sun and fog, but calm seas. By 1350 the engine was off in Port Harvey,
with warm, sunny, but breezy weather.
George and Gail at Port Harvey Marine Resort have been working hard to
recover from the barge sinking last year and have already partially rebuilt a
new “Red Shoe” restaurant building on the barge.
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| New Red Shoe Restaurant taking shape |
In the meantime, the new float with the tent is a great
venue, lots of room for everyone for appetizers at happy hour. George has the salvaged pizza oven from the
old restaurant set up in one corner and pizzas are made to order in the
evening.
August 19, 2016 – Port Harvey
Most of the boats had left by 0700 to make slack tide at
either Whirlpool Rapids or Seymour Narrows.
By 0830 only one other boat was at the dock with us, in addition to one
anchored in the bay. We enjoyed the warm
cinnamon rolls George and Gail bake every day to order and just spent the day
relaxing in the sunshine.
August 20, 2016 – Port Harvey to Thurston Bay
After taking delivery of the cinnamon rolls, we reluctantly
cast off the lines from Port Harvey and headed out under low clouds, but with
little wind. Negotiating Whirlpool
rapids near slack current, we headed down Chancellor Channel under gusty winds,
which calmed as we approached Greene Point Rapids. Spirit got a generous boost from the flood
tide as we headed down Cordero Channel.
Shoal Bay was full of boats, so we continued to Thurston Bay and anchored
as far behind Block Island as possible, given the number of boats.
The wind gusted to 34 knots overnight, but the anchor was
well set.
August 21, 2016 – Thurston Bay to Dent Island
Pulling the anchor at 1030 we proceeded at slow speed the
short distance to Dent Rapids. Clearing
the rapids about 30 minutes early we were tied to the dock at Dent Island Lodge
by 1340, having to wait for other vessels to leave. Today was the “Duck Derby” to raise money for
the Gillard Pass hatchery as well as have fun.
First the staff rides Canoe Passage on top of large inflatable ducks
after getting pledges at an auction and then the small numbered ducks are
released with the winner being the first across a line stretched across the
passage. We did not win, but along with
everyone else enjoyed a great buffet dinner on the outside terrace.
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| Staff riding the ducks in Canoe Passage |
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| Scooping up the winning duck |
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| The docks were full! |
August 22, 2016 – Dent Island
Patrick fished, no luck.
The sunny day was a little windy but otherwise pleasant. Dinner was at the “Rapids Grill”, with a
multicourse tasting menu.
August 23, 2016 – Dent Island to Rebecca Spit
Departing Dent Island Lodge at 0830 to catch the last of the
flood southbound through Gillard Passage and Yuculta Rapids we headed to
Rebecca Spit under sunny skies and warm temperatures. The anchor was down by 1140.
August 24, 2016 – Rebecca Spit to Hornby Island
Spirit departed Rebecca Spit at 0805 for the 48 nautical
mile run to Tribune Bay on the south side of Hornby Island, a new destination
for us. The weather was calm and sunny
and we joined nearly 100 other boats of all sizes and types anchored off the
beach.
August 25-26, 2016 – Hornby Island to Montague Harbour
Under sunny skies we departed Tribune Bay at 0730 for the 80
mile run to Montague Harbour. We
anchored at 1600, joining almost 200 pleasure craft jammed into the calm
harbor. With the nice weather we
remained at anchor the next day also.
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| Sunset over Montague Harbour |
August 27, 2016 – Montague Harbour to Echo Bay
The sunny skies had been replaced by clouds at we departed
at 0925 from Montague Harbour. By 1130
we had crossed into US waters and cleared into the USA with our NEXUS
credentials by phone. By 1300 we were
anchored in Echo Bay, Sucia Islands after only 26 miles.
August 28, 2016 – Echo Bay to Anacortes
At 0845 we departed Echo Bay for the 22 nautical mile trip
to Cap Sante Marina at Anacortes. Our
slip was not yet free at Anacortes Marina so we arranged moorage at Cap
Sante. After refueling Spirit, we were
tied to the transient dock at 1230, having travelled 3100 nautical miles since
departing Anacortes April 28.
