To the Far North

 Svalbard Experience

 

After a very good dinner in the main restaurant and a long day of activities, we decided to forgo the post dinner program and get some much needed rest as Seabourn Venture continued the journey to Svalbard

 

Sunday July 31, 2022

 

Under overcast skies we approached the Svalbard Archipelago.  The seas were relatively calm, nearly flat as we detoured to pick up a pilot near Longyearbyen.  Our destination today is Poolepynten, on Prins Karls Forland where we hope to go ashore near a walrus colony for photos.  Patrick is also going to do some kayaking in addition to seeing the walrus colony.

 

It is possible to track the ship on AIS at sites like marinetraffic.com, since the protected Svalbard archipelago is highly regulated and patrolled, with numerous AIS base stations.  Similar to the southern polar regions, group size ashore is limited to 50 people at a time, so we will go ashore in color groups that were assigned on embarkation day.  The first color group changes each day so every group has a chance to be first.

 

We arrived at our destination, but alas there were NO walruses, so the ship headed east to Spitzbergen Island to a large tidewater glacier in St Johnsfjordern where will have zodiac tours and a kayaking session.  Patrick elected to do a kayak tour, and when arriving at the site, proceeded 

 to enter the kayak.  Patrick was immediately requested to exit since a polar bear was sighted on the beach headed for the kayaks.

 

We followed the bear and the rest of the ship’s zodiacs followed in behind when they heard we had sighted the bear.  We had a lot of time watching the bear before we finally headed back to where the kayaks were anchored and the bear reappeared behind us.

 

Monday, August 1, 2022

 

Texas Bar and Monacobreen

 

Satellite cover is poor especially deep in the fjords, so we have little coverage except at night while we are moving from place to place.

 

Going all the way to the northernmost tip of Spitzbergen, at about 80 degrees north, we then headed back South and anchored in front of Texas Bar at 79 degrees 36 Minutes North.  We are now about 650 miles from the North Pole.  The weather was overcast, calm winds and a temperature of 45 degrees.  Patrick kayaked in the morning and then went ashore at Texas Bar, named after a hut with a row of bottles.  The hut was originally built as a hunters hut and has bunks, etc.  The tradition is to bring two bottles and only take one drink, so the bar continues to grow.  It is really isolated.  There was actually a sailboat anchored in the next bay, which left partway through the morning.

 

Just a few miles further south is a large glacier named after Prince Albert 1 of Monaco.  This afternoon’s activities include zodiac tours and another kayak excursion.

 

When we arrived at Monacobreen there were actually 5 glaciers in a ring around the ship and the kayaks toured around the eastern portion of the bay.

 

 

Tuesday, August 6

 

When we awoke, Seabourn Venture was steaming north towards the edge of the pack ice.  It was very foggy and the the ship carefully approached the pack ice, with visibility only a few hundred yards.  This was at a latitude of 80 degrees 45 minutes north.  Altering course, Seabourn Venture skirted the edge of the pack ice and finally penetrated a band of ice at 81 degrees north.  We continued north and after breaking through pack ice for a few miles, stopped at 82 degrees north, further than any other Carnival Corporation ship.  We had signed up for wine tasting at 1430 and it was a unique experience to be tasting wines as the ship crunched through the ice.

 

Captain Alex opened up the bow platforms, normally reserved for crew docking and anchoring, to passengers and crew as we moved through the pack ice at 2-3 knots, shoving the ice flows aside or splitting them apart.

 

At a little before 1700, Captain Alex stopped the ship and we drifted for the night in the pack ice at 82 degrees North Latitude, only 480 NM from the North Pole.  Celebrating with our second formal night of the cruise.  Spectacular!!!  We will spend the night in the pack ice and start looking for polar bears.

At this latitude we have no satellite coverage, so no internet.

 

Drone Photo of Seabourn Venture parked in the pack ice

At midnight a female polar bear approached the ship.  A quiet announcement was made and many guests and crew heard it and got great photos and videos of the bear, until it was spooked by some kind of noise from the ship.  Miriam and I slept through the announcement, along with the ship’s photographer.  We were fortunate to have another guest airdrop their iPhone video to us so we have some record of the encounter.  We will have another chance later in the voyage.

 

About 0815 we headed through the pack ice back to Svalbard for the rest of our trip.  We had drifted 3 NM further north during the night, so we were 477 NM from the North Pole.  The sound of the ship pushing through the ice floes was like a constant roll of thunder.  When we hit larger floes the ship would shudder.  Seabourn Venture was able to make 3-4 knots through ice 2-4 feet thick with floes up to 150 feet in diameter.

 

At noon the ship stopped and launched 2 zodiacs for the polar plunge event.  Any guests and contractor were able to participate.  It was not our event!

 

Continuing SE, we are headed for 2 smaller islands to the east of the main Spitzbergen Archipelago.  The first island is Storoya, where we finally spotted walruses and more polar bears.

Walrus Haulout on Kvitoya Island

 

The second island is Kvitoya Island (or White Island), since it almost entirely covered by a glacier.  There is a monument there to the ill-fated Solomon Andree Balloon expedition to the North Pole.  Their remains were not discovered until 1931 since this island is seldom visited.  The balloon expedition only made it to 83 degrees 50 minutes North before the design flaws became evident that forced the team to land on sea ice and make their way to Kvitoya where they perished. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Embarkation Day to Bear Island

 July 27 - Embarkation Day

 

Check-in for the Seabourn Venture was moved to the Clarion Edge Hotel and was open at 1000.  We arrived at 1030 and were cleared to go into the holding area awaiting shuttle busses to the ship, which was only about 300 yards away, but due to security at the dock, we were required to ride the shuttles.  The room gradually filled, there were 15 tables with room for 8 at each table.  Champagne was served, and there was also coffee and fruit.  There was access to restrooms, which became important when Seabourn announced a delay in starting the shuttle service.  The shuttles were taken table by table and we were on the 10^th table.  We did not get onto the ship until after 1500, a wait of 4 ½ hours.  By then, it was a mad rush to get something to eat, go to the mandatory zodiac safety briefings and watch the mandatory ship safety video.  The room TV was locked until you had completely finished the video.  Our parkas were also not in the room as promised, so we had to go to another area before departure and get fitted for them.

 

Our stateroom is large, for wheelchair access, but has some limitations in the number of chairs, no dining table and also a number of inoperative wall outlets.

 

Seabourn Venture at dock in Tromso

Seabourn Venture departed on schedule at 1700 and we had just time to go to the “sailaway” celebration in the Constellation Lounge on deck 9, followed by an Expedition Team briefing at 1830.

 

Dinner service begins at 1900 and we met Brenda and Brian in the main Restaurant where we enjoyed a good meal before calling it a night and retiring to our suite.  We were too tired to even tour the ship, which appears to be beautiful.

 

July 28

 

The ship rolled a little all night, and when we got up at 0530 we saw why.  The seas were on our beam at 12+ foot swells and 6 foot wind chop on top of the swell.  The stop at Storestoppen Island was cancelled after zodiacs were launched and it was determined that it was not safe for passenger operations.  The ship proceeded to Hornvika, where once again the seas were too rough, so some of the shore excursions were cancelled.

 

After several hours rolling motionless off Hornvika the ship headed to Scarsvag, where the Zodiacs were finally launched and Miriam and I headed ashore for a included excursion to North Cape.  The weather was pretty gruesome as we approached Nordkapp by bus, with winds to 30 knots and rain, heavy at times.  Since we had been there before, we just waited in the tourist center until we could re-board the bus for the return to Scarsvag and the ship.  By the time we returned, it was nearly time for dinner, so we changed and headed quickly down.  Dinner was not all that good, with overcooked lamb and undercooked fish, but it is very early on a new ship with a new crew.

Patrick at Nordkapp Globe

Part of the “children of the earth” sculpture 

At the entrance to Nordkapp visitor center

 

The internet is still not working, very frustrating, but at least they finally fixed the power outlets in the suite.  We still have no table for room service, and they have no plan for addressing the problem, again, very frustrating.

 

We knew there would be teething problems on a new ship, We understand they have an issue with the stabilizers and the thrusters, which could explain why the ship is moving around so much.  We are currently sort of circling around North Cape, not yet headed to Bear Island and Svalbard, no explanation given.

 

July 29, 2022 – At Sea

 

Today is a “sea day” and sometime after midnight the ship left the North Cape area and headed to Bear Island.  This distance is not far, so the ship was only doing 7-9 knots, with no stabilizers.  We now know that the stabilizers retract a slow speeds.  The weather ranged from overcast to fog and the seas were about 2 meters at 7 seconds on average.  Winds persisted at 15-20 knots.  Tonight was the Captain’s reception and the first “formal” night.

 

July 30, 2022 – Bear Island

 

Seabourn Venture arrived at a small protected bay on the southeast tip of Bear Island or Bjornoya Island.  We arrived in fog, which persisted for most of the day, with some clearing at times.  The island is about halfway between Nordkapp and Svalbard, in the middle of the Barents Sea.  The island was “discovered” and named by by a Dutch Explorer Willem Barentz in 1596.  The name came from an encounter with a solo Polar Bear involved in a dramatic fight between Barentz’s team and the bear;  the bear lost.

 

Patrick was on the first kayak excursion at 0715, and then on an 1100 zodiac tour.  Bear Island has large bird colonies on the cliffs, with puffins, kittiwakes, fulmars, guillemots, gannets and even some northern skuas.  The southern cliffs are pieced by many caves and arches created by the severe weather pounding against the limestone.

 

Puffins from kayak

Inside one of the sea caves at Bear Island

Seabourn Venture at anchor Bear Island

“Fogbow” leaving Bear Island

After recovering the zodiacs, about 1430 Seabourn Venture continued on to Svalbard.  Immediately we were back into a thin layer of fog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tromso Interlude

 Tromso

 

July 24, 2022

 

We were exhausted after the nearly 24 hour journey, and after doing our Covid testing to board the ship decided not to go out for a meal.  We were not all that hungry anyway, so Patrick walked up to a local Burger King and brought back some fish and chicken sandwiches for a light supper.  Since it was Sunday, most shops and many restaurants were closed.

 

Since Tromso is some 400 miles north of the Arctic Circle, for a few more days the “Midnight Sun” never sets.  Tomorrow evening it will still be 5 degrees above the horizon at it’s lowest point.  Getting up late this evening (midnight) it was interesting to see a a colorful sunset/sunrise that lasted for hours.

 

July 25, 2022

 

Today will be another day relaxing and exploring the old town.  There is a chance of rain, but at 0500 the sun was shining and the winds were calm.  We have a few last minute items to purchase, including sunscreen.

 

The buffet breakfast was a zoo when we went down early due to two large tour groups trying to get food before their tours departed.  Many of the people were pushing and practicing poor buffet behavior even if there was no Covid.  We should have waited 30 more minutes because all of a sudden the breakfast area was deserted except for ourselves and two other couples and there were no line and plenty of food.

 

During the night the room had gotten very warm and we discovered the AC was not working.  The sun shining into the room warmed it up so it was uncomfortable, so we called maintenance.  The staff was unable to fix the AC, and the only other rooms had high tub/shower combinations rather than walk-in showers.  The step into the tub was too high, so we were given fans, which definitely helped.

 

Patrick walked around the old town and took a few photos of the scenic wood houses, statues to Roald Amundsen and other polar explorers, as well as the very modern public library, and whaling guns outside the Polar Museum.

Arctic Cathedral

Unique Manhole Covers from Tirpitz Salvage

Interior of Arctic Cathedral

Entrance to Arctic Cathedral

One of many statues to Roald Amundson, Polar Explorer

Whaling guns outside the Polar Museum

Tromso Public Library

Waterfront warehouses now restaurants

 

We enjoyed an early dinner just 2 blocks from the hotel, at Pastafabrikken, an eclectic mix of soups, pasta and pizzas, with a few sandwiches thrown in.  The choices were broad, portions were huge and the flavors were spot on.  We shared a large Caesar salad, then Miriam had a mussel soup, Patrick a fresh mushroom soup and we finished with a Gorgonzola Tagliatelle.  There was fresh bread, but we could not even begin to finish the dishes.  We were offered “takeaway” boxes, but where would we store the food?  Service was good and our server had been to Seattle and worked on Seabourn ships in a variety of roles.

 

In the middle of the night we got an email from Seabourn changing the boarding location and process, still trying to understand what it meant.

 

July 26, 2002

 

After Miriam and Patrick had a good (and uncrowded) breakfast Patrick met our friends, Brenda and Brian, who arrived the night before.  We decided to take a taxi across the bridge to the “Arctic” cathedral, actually a parish church, and then up the aerial tram.  Following that, we walked back 1.5 miles across the bridge connecting Tromso to Tromsdalen where the tram and cathedral are located.  Wandering through the old part of the city where our hotel is located we stopped and made reservations for dinner at “Fiskekompaniet” restaurant for all four of us.  We also checked out the revised boarding location at the Clarion Edge Hotel, about 600 feet from the Radisson Blu.  The rain that was predicted held off until we were back to the hotel, but the air smells of moisture, so rain is on the way.

 

The air conditioning is still not working in our room and it is nearly 80 degrees from the sun shining on our side of the building.  The hotel staff brought a second fan.  Apparently global warming has hit Tromso also, since the taxi driver said the last snow was May 17, Norwegian Independence Day, and they usually have snow even later.  In 2017 we had snow in June just 200 miles north at “NordKapp”.

 

 

 

 

 

Svalbard Adventure Begins

 The Svalbard Adventure Begins

 

At 0300 Saturday morning the Bayview Limousine arrived and Miriam and I headed to SEA airport to begin the journey to Tromso, Norway where we will board the Seabourn Venture for a 25 day cruise to Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland.  We arrive in Tromso about 24 hours after departing our house in Bellevue.

 

Our first task will be to take a monitored rapid antigen test to show we are negative for Covid, a requirement for boarding the ship.  We arrive several days ahead of ship departure to allow for lost luggage and trip delays.

 

When we arrived at SEA at 0330, the check-in gates were not yet open, so we waited in a long line until the United staff arrived, about 0345.  We had ordered a wheelchair for Miriam, but those were not available until 0400.  TSA pre-check was also not available until after 0400, but by the time we had checked in, the wheelchair arrived and the security screening process thru pre-check was a breeze.

 

Miriam and I headed to the United Lounge where we had a breakfast snack until it was time to board.  The lounge opens at 0415 and we entered at 0417, so the entire process took less than one hour, a far cry from what we were expecting based on the local news reports.

 

We have been tracking the ship progress on MarineTraffic.com, and the Seabourn Venture is now underway from Rotterdam, showing Tromso as the next destination.

 

The flight began boarding at 0535 and we departed essentially on time.  The Cascades were visible, all the way from Mount Baker to Mount Hood.  About one hour into the flight we started to encounter moderate turbulence and the seat belt sign was on for most of the rest of the flight.  However, even with spectacular thunderheads all around us, the winds aloft were favorable and we touched down at Newark 40 minutes ahead of schedule.  The outside temperature had soared to 97 degrees, but the terminal was comfortable.

 

The wheelchair arrived after most of the passengers had deplaned, but we chose to take the United shuttle bus between Terminal C where we landed and Terminal B, where SAS flights depart.  The shuttle is fast, but no elevator at the Terminal B shuttle stop, so Miriam had to climb 40 steps up to the departure floor.  The SAS lounge was still relatively empty, so we were able to get decent seats and boarding passes for the next two flights.  Within 30 minutes, the lounge was crowded, but not as bad as outside the lounge, where even empty seats were scarce.  The perils of summer travel, we guess.  There was a reasonable selection of snacks and beverages, free wifi and a lot of children, noisy and excited.

 

Arriving at the gate with Miriam in a wheelchair we found the gate changed and no plane.  The gate was changed again, and then again.  The crew was waiting just like the passengers, until finally a plane was towed to the stand and flight preparations began.  We were supposed to leave at 6:55 pm and ended leaving at 7:45 PM, then sitting pushed back for another 20 minutes.  Our Apple Airtags showed our luggage had made the connection and was on the aircraft.

 

Business Class on the A330 was excellent, very nice individual pods with lay flat beds and large flat screens.  The two meals, dinner and then continental breakfast before we arrived in Oslo were both good, with a selection of entrees and appetizers.  After dinner the crew dimmed the lights and asked if we wanted to be awakened for breakfast or sleep until the last minute.  Both Miriam and I slept for about 4 hours.

 

Business Class Lobster Appetizer

Main Course was Chilean Sea Bass

 

Business Class Pods

With the late departure from Newark, our connection time in Oslo had shrunk to 40 minutes, but the wheechair service took shortcuts to the head of the lines for both immigration and security screening to enter the domestic flight part of the airport.  When we arrived at the gate the plane was nearly all boarded and departed about 15 minutes after we arrived.  The plane was a Boeing 737-800 in an all-economy configuration with 6 across seating and totally full.  The only concession for business class was complimentary beverages and a small snack.  Our Apple Airtags in our luggage were active and showed the luggage was also on the flight.

On the SAS flight to Tromso

 

In two hours we touched down in Tromso and were parked on the tarmac.  No jetways, just airstairs which Miriam had to negotiate.  The wheelchair was at the foot of the stairs and Miriam was wheeled onto the bus for a ride to the terminal and baggage claim.  Our bags showed mup on the carousel in less that 3 minutes after arriving.  Heading to the taxi stand there was no line and by 12:15 PM we were walking in the door of the Radisson Blu hotel near the waterfront and close to the cruise ship terminal.  Our room looks down the street to the terminal, only about 500 feet away.

 

View from our hotel room to the cruise ship terminal

After much needed naps we logged on to the Emed.com website, took out our Seabourn approved Emed Covid test kits,

and completed our video monitored Covid testing.  As expected, we both tested negative and have the official test results to show Seabourn in two days.  Had we tested positive we would have had to return home after 5 days of isolation.

 

We are now ready to board Seabourn Venture with all required testing, vaccination requirements, and health assessments complete.

 

 

 

East Baranof Island Part 2

 East Baranof Part 2

 

July 15, 2021

 

After spending 2 days in Petersburg doing maintenance, we headed back out Wrangell Narrows at 0905 and headed down Frederick Sound to Henrys Arm for the evening, anchoring at 1605.  Spirit was the only vessel anchored in the calm waters.  We began a Mexican Train tournament that evening which will continue.

 

July 16, 2021

 

We pulled the anchor from the good holding mud in Henrys Arm at 0700 and headed out Frederick Sound and across Chatham Strait to the east shore of Baranof Island just north of Gut Bay.  The weather was overcast, with rain at times.  We started fishing at 1230 and by 1630 we had a total of 6 Coho salmon in the box, along with a nice rockfish.  Heading into Gut Bay we anchored and processed the fish before having a nice dinner under now sunny skies.

 

July 17, 2021

 

We pulled the anchor from 100 feet of water at 0810 and headed back out into Chatham Strait.  After several hours we had 5 Coho and 2 rockfish in the icebox, so we headed across Chatham Strait to Halleck Harbor in Saginaw Bay on Kuiu Island for the evening.  The anchor was set at 1645 after 34 NM of travel.  We were treated to many Humpback Whales feeding including several bubble feeds.

 

July 18, 2021

 

With no particular schedule in mind, we raised the anchor from the good holding in Halleck Harbor and headed back up Frederick Sound to Portage Bay, where we set the anchor at 1845.  We were the only vessel for some time until a commercial crab boat came in and anchored further up the bay.

 

July 19, 2021

 

Dense fog greeted us in the morning as we raised the anchor at 0622 and headed out of Portage Bay, never glimpsing the entrance lights.  The dense fog, with visibility of often less than 100 yards, continued all the way to the entrance buoy to Wrangell Narrows.  Then the weather cleared and we docked in stall N27 with no incidents at 0956.  The remainder of the day was spent cleaning as many fish scales and as much dried blood from the cockpit as possible, but now dressed in shorts and t-shirts in the sunny warm weather.

 

We enjoyed grilled bratwurst and potato salad for dinner, along with appetizers of smoked oysters and cream cheese in the cockpit under sunny skies.  A Mexican Train marathon then ensued until nearly midnight.

 

July 20, 2021

 

The skies were mostly sunny as we continued cleaning Spirit.  Miriam went to “Salty Dawg” for lunch with Jerry Frostad and the visited with Marj Oines before we cooked filet mignon on the BBQ for dinner.  The rain began about 2000 as we play mor Mexican Train.

 

 

Southbound to Anacortes and home

 July 21, 2021

 

Timing our departure from Petersburg to take advantage of the currents in Wrangell Narrows, we slipped the lines from the dock at 1003 in rain.  We left a little early, so did not get quite the boost we expected.  Surprisingly, approaching Wrangell we found that Heritage Harbor was full and were redirected to Reliance Harbor, where we were able to get the only transient slip with both 50 Amp power and deep enough for the morning minus 3.5 foot tide.

 

We had made reservations at the Stikine Inn for dinner, and it was a good thing because there was a line of people without reservations waiting to get in.  As usual, the meal was excellent, good flavors and generous portions.  The Stikine Inn still has a courtesy van, so it was pretty easy to get Miriam to the restaurant.

 

July 22, 2021

 

The water depth under the keel was only 3 feet at low tide in the morning.  The rain was heavy overnight.  After a few last minute shopping trips we headed out of Reliance Harbor at 1000 and down Zimovia Strait.  By 1505 we had Spirit anchored in Santa Anna Inlet and by 1600 had the prawn pots set, again in the rain.

 

The evening check of the pots provided us with another nice haul of prawns.

 

July 23, 2021

 

After a disappointing haul of prawns in the morning, we pulled the anchor at 0820 and headed towards Ketchikan, some 54 nautical miles away.  Ernest Sound was flat, but turning into Clarence Strait the seas were short and choppy, with winds to 30 knots.  We had to slow down and tack to keep from damaging Johnson’s boat.

 

The sloppy conditions persisted until Ship Island and then calmed somewhat until we finally entered Tongass Narrows.  Calling the Ketchikan Harbormaster we found out there was no transient moorage due to the fishing fleet being in.  Many boats were anchored out and we thought we might have to do the same, but there was a slip at Ketchikan Moorage where stayed on the way up.  Montgomery’s on Rendezvous were also there so we had another chance to socialize before we went our separate ways back to Anacortes.

 

July 24, 2021

 

Ketchikan all day, rain heavy at times.  The first large cruise ship of the season arrived about noon and 600 passengers descended on the town from the “Serenade of the Seas”.

 

July 25, 2021

 

We were underway at 0650 to be at the fuel dock when they opened at 0700.  We had to dodge the second cruise ship docking at City Float, the Celebrity Millennium.  After putting 580 gallons in the tanks we left Ketchikan for the last time in 2021 at 0735, again in the rain.  The seas were calm and winds light, so we bypassed Foggy Bay and instead headed past Cape Fox to Harry Bay where we found a small nook to anchor in for the evening.

 

This anchorage allowed us to shave 12 NM off the transit to Prince Rupert.

 

July 26, 2021

 

Desiring to get as far south as possible today, and not knowing how long the CBSA clearance process was going to take, we were underway at 0405 and by 0530 AKDT had crossed the border into Canada, in the middle of Dixon Entrance.  After changing our clocks forward one hour for PDT, we docked at the lightering float at 1035.  After a one hour wait, CBSA called and redirected us to the Cow Bay Marina, where they were waiting on the dock.  It turns out the lightering float is being decomissioned and is no longer a port of entry for CBSA since March of this year, that occurs at Cow Bay Marina.  The clearance process was quick and after about fifteen minutes we were on our way again at 1215 local time.

 

With the southerly winds and high outflow from the Skeena River, we bucked a 2+ knot adverse current from Prince Rupert south to Grenville Channel.  There was a lot of debris in the water requiring much manual dodging of some really massive logs.  Our original plan was to stop at Kumealon Inlet, but since the day was still young we continued down Grenville Channel and ended up in Klewnuggit Inlet and a small inlet at the south end called Exposed Inlet, since it is open to the northwest.  With light winds predicted, we entered through the narrow fairway and anchored in 55 feet of water in a really pretty inlet.  By the end of the day we had covered 87 NM since Harry Bay and were well on our way home.  We have now covered almost 2300 NM since leaving Anacortes on May 6.

 

July 27, 2021

 

We planned our departure for 0600 from Exposed Inlet to take advantage of the southbound ebb current in Grenville channel.  Heading out under cloudy and rainy skies we immediately ran into dense fog.  The fog persisted until we passed Lowe Inlet, then the skies cleared and warm sunny conditions prompted some of us to don shorts and t-shirts. South of Lowe Inlet, Grenville Channel was littered by massive amounts of floating debris, forcing us to manually steer much of the time.  Heading across Douglas Channel we entered Princess Royal Channel, again dodging debris, especially heavy past Butedale.  The tide finally changed and rather than fight the 2 knot flood current we hugged the west wall in back eddies for several hours, until we reached Green Inlet.

 

The pleasant conditions persisted all the way through Hiekish Narrows to Bottleneck Inlet, where we anchored in calm water at 1708, having covered nearly 88 NM today.  There were no other boats in the inlet and a sign at the entrance said the inlet was closed to crabbing.

 

As sun set, the rain returned and after only a couple of rounds of Mexican Train, we all retired for another 0600 departure.

 

July 28, 2021

 

The rain continued all night, but with no wind.  We actually beat our planned departure time, getting the anchor up at 0550 and heading out into Finlayson Channel, where we encountered more massive debris fields until we passed Klemtu.  With the benign conditions we continued out into Milbanke Sound and around Ivory Point Light in Seaforth Channel to pass by New Bella Bella and an hour of cell phone coverage.  The rain stopped before continuing down Lama Passage into Fitz Hugh Sound and setting a course for Penrose Island and our anchorage for the night.

We finally decided on a new (to us) anchorage in Big Frypan Bay on Penrose Island.  Negotiating the narrow entrance from the north we put the anchor down in 70 feet of water with good holding at 1815 after a run of 95 NM.  There were no other boats in the bay.  The sun stayed out and the evening was pleasant after a light dinner and a few rounds of Mexican Train.

 

July 29, 2021

 

Big Frypan Bay had clear skies, but we could see the ground fog slipping in the entrance to the bay.  At 0550 we retrieved the anchor and headed out the narrow entrance into dense fog.  Fortunately, Patrick had built a route the night before that helped pick the right path out of the Penrose Island group of islets and into Rivers Inlet and from there the path around Cape Caution.  We passed within 0.25 NM of Egg Island at 0805, but never saw it visually.  Cape Caution was abeam at 0845, still in dense fog.  The fog persisted until nearly noon, and then we had calm seas and sunny, but cool skies.  Looking at the times for currents in Johnstone Strait the next day we altered our plans for Mound Island (6-7 miles further away and 6 miles further in the morning) and instead anchored at 1610 on Hanson Island in the bay behind Spout Island on the Blackney Passage side of the island.  It must be a popular place, since the bay continued to fill with Canadian boats as the afternoon progressed.

 

We discovered that local knowledge is everything, since as the afternoon progressed, we started rolling even in little wind since our chosen spot was open to the chop coming in from Blackfish Sound and a location just 100 yards further in would have been ideal.

 

July 30, 2021

 

Departing in dense fog from our anchorage at 0520, we headed out Blackney Passage into Johnstone Strait, passing close by an Orca that surfaced just ahead of our starboard bow.  Visibility was about 100 yards at the time.

 

The fog continued dense until we reached Fanny Island and then began to dissipate as we passed Kelsey Bay.  Realizing we were early for slack water at Seymour Narrows we slowed down and poked the bow into Otter Cove just south of Chatham Point.  By this time the skies were clear and the temperatures were soaring outside so we were able to enjoy the seat on the bow, protected from the following wind.

 

Hugging the eastern shore of Seymour Narrows we used the back eddy to minimize the adverse current of 5 knots, since we were still very early for slack.  Successfully clearing the narrows we headed to Gowlland Harbour where we anchored at 1630 for the evening.  There were only a few other yachts anchored in the harbor.  We were able to enjoy an al fresco dinner in the cockpit in the warm, sunny weather.

 

July 31, 2021

 

Under sunny skies and a moderate northerly wind we departed Gowlland Harbour at 0610 and continued south past Cape Mudge, dodging dozens of small boats all trolling off the cape.  As predicted, the northerly winds were 10-20 knots with about a 1 foot following sea.  The clear skies at departure were replaced by a high thin overcast.  Heading out into the Straits of Georgia, we were surprised at the warm sea water temperature of 67 degrees.

 

Passing by Cape Lazo we decided to bypass Tribune Bay on Hornby Island and began looking for alternate anchorages closer to Anacortes to make the last days a little easier.  Nanoose Harbor was a choice, but it is now a controlled access area requiring advance permission to anchor.  Since it was Saturday, the office granting permission was closed, so Patrick looked at potential anchorages on the south end of Lasqueti Island and we finally settled on Boat Cove.

 

We anchored in calm conditions with good holding at 1345 and were later joined by two other large Canadian sailboats.  There is room for perhaps several more boats, but our charts did not give enough detail towards the head of the cove to make that determination.  With our quarantine status, we could not leave the boat in the tender to investigate.  Boat Cove is fine in northerly winds or settled conditions.

 

August 1, 2021

 

The wind remained calm all night.  At 0800 we pulled the anchor and set out on a course for Point Roberts, our destination for the night.  Anacortes was a possibility, but 90 miles would have gotten us into the marina after 2000.

 

Area Whiskey Golf was open for transit, so we were able to set a direct course for the east side of the Straits of Georgia in the vicinity of Sand Heads.  Although there was minimal wind, the residual swell on our starboard quarter made for a somewhat uncomfortable ride, even with stabilizers active.

 

About 1445 we crossed back into the USA and received a clearance number via email using the CBPRoam App on our phones.  We could then go directly to our assigned slip in the nearly deserted Points Roberts Marina.  Everything in town was closed on a Sunday evening, so after dinner we had a final round of Mexican Train.

 

August 2, 2021

 

We were underway at 0800, near low tide.  We had only 3 feet below the keel at the dock at a +4 foot tide, so we would have been aground on an extreme tide.  The exit channel was a little deeper, but entry at other than low tide would be better.

 

After a calm crossing behind Guemes Island we docked at our homeport at Anacortes Marina in sunny, warm conditions at 1305.  Then we started the task of off-loading Spirit with all the unused supplies, clothing and fish.

 

We have logged 2778 NM this trip, with 386 hours on the main engine. 

 

Planning is underway for Alaska 2022.