Alaska 2021 Day 2-3

 May 8, 2021

Spirit Log Day 2

 

As expected, the winds abated after sundown and shifted back to northwest.  About 0330 the winds died completely, but the residual low swell caused the fishing boat to start banging against the fenders, waking us up.  Seeing nothing amiss it was back to bed until about 0700.

 

Our day today takes us through Seymour Narrows to Thurston Bay.  We need to hit high slack current at Seymour Narrows, so the 48 NM run to the narrows allowed us to delay our departure until 0900, under overcast skies and almost no wind in Tribune Bay.  Rendezvous is following us about ½ mile astern.

 

Overnight our anchor light failed, so we will have to replace when we get to Ketchikan.  Turns out that even LED lights have finite lifespans.  The light is located at the top of the mast in a difficult location and we will have to wait until Ketchikan to replace it, since Patrick discovered that there was no spare on board.

 

The Strait of Georgia was calm with light winds as we headed further northwest to Campbell River, just this side of Seymour Narrows.  The last of the flood tide flowing south through Discovery Passage slowed us down to less than 4 knots at times.  Even so, we arrived at 1600, 37 minutes ahead of high slack, our target.  The current was very manageable so we proceeded through the narrows and entered Johnstone Strait headed for our evening destination, Thurston Bay.  There was virtually no marine traffic the entire day.

 

We anchored Spirit at 1840 in light rain and calm seas, after a voyage of 69 NM.  After a dinner of roasted pork tenderloin scalloped potatoes and salad, we all retired early for the 0600 departure for our next stop, Allison Harbour.  We have covered nearly 185 NM since leaving Anacortes on May 6.

 

Spirit Log Day 3

 

Dawn arrived all too early for a tired crew, but the calm water and gentle sound of rain on the decks provided a soothing environment for sleep.  Setting the alarm for 0530, we were underway at 0545, some 15 minutes behind Rendezvous.  Riding the ebb tide up a calm Johnstone Strait in rain, dodging barges also riding the ebb tide, we turned into Blackney Pass and into Blackfish Sound.  Alas, no Orca’s to be seen, just an adverse current of 4 knots for several miles until we entered Queen Charlotte Strait.  By this time, the afternoon westerlies began to build and the ebb current created some short steep seas as we crossed over to the British Columbia Mainland side of the straits.  Passing Numas Islands the wind increased to 20-25 knots, the sun came out and we put a lot of spray over Spirit.  Threading our way behind points and islands to minimize the waves we finally decided to explore a different approach into Allison Harbour.  We could see several small passenger boats anchored behind some islands at the entrance and were pleasantly surprised by a nice potential anchorage for future trips.  The anchor was set in Allison Harbor ¼ mile behind Rendezvous at 1755, having logged 102.93 NM today, for a trip total of 289 NM, essentially halfway to Ketchikan.