We didn't actually get to sail much. The wind was mostly absent, or on the nose. But the transit up the narrow channels in the inside passage was spectacular! Here is the first half of the story.
Anacortes à
Nanaimo, July 25-29.
After two months of long days working on prepping the boat
and two false starts due to leaks requiring re-caulking, we had a successful
launch and all systems checked out. Debbie joined us onboard Qukiluq.
We left Anacortes about 16:00. It was sunny and little wind.
We motored against the incoming tide and it was slow. But in Thatcher Pass the
current was running with us and we zoomed through at 7.9 knots. We were busy
learning to use our navigation system and charts.
We arrived at Shaw Island about 20:00 and decided to anchor
in Reef Net Bay (formerly known as Squaw Bay). Had a celebration dinner of
salmon burgers, corn on the cob and red wine, complete with candlelight.
We stayed put Friday. After a couple hours of chores, Debbie
and I went kayaking around the cove. Mike stayed onboard working on wiring the
solar panels. Dinner included fresh picked oysters.
Saturday we arrived at Friday Harbor guest dock at 10:45.
When we turned off the engine, an alarm sounded. Eventually Mike determined
that the alternator had failed. Fortunately, he had a spare. He spent most of
the day working on it. Debbie and I ran all the shopping errands.
Unfortunately, no one in town has the parts Mike needs to finish wiring the new
solar panels.
R&R at the end of the day: we went out to a pizza garden
and ate the best pizza ever, plus beer and red wine. We even spoke some Spanish
with the waitress who is from Buenos Aires. (And her husband is from
Amsterdam.)
Sunday Debbie left on the ferry and we motored north into
Canada. There was lots of freighter traffic in Haro Strait. We stopped in
Bedwell Harbor to clear customs, then continued on to North Cove, Thetis
Island, where we anchored out for the night with lots of other boats.
The highlight of the passage to Nanaimo was Dodd Narrows. We
had to wait for slack water to transit.
We anchored out off Newcastle Island for two days of errands
and boat projects in Nanaimo.
We launched the dinghy for the first time. It took Mike an
hour to clean the spark plugs and learn to start the 3hp engine.
The highlight of our time in town was the art museum, which
was very small, but had a great show of three Inuit women artists. And we were
very pleased with the work of Flesh Electric reconditioning our alternator.
The drama was, when Mike dropped a clothes pin in the water
and went onto the dinghy at the back of the boat to fetch it, he reached out
far enough to flip the dinghy over. He and the engine landed in the water. We
were able to right it and spent the rest of the evening rinsing his iPhone and
the engine with fresh water, then spraying all the parts with an anti-corrosion
lubricant. It worked. We only lost a boat sponge and hand bilge pump, which had
been a 30-year trusted tool for Mike. Sorry, no pics.
Nanaimo to Bella Bella, July 31 - Aug 15. We headed out early for our transit to
Lasqueti Island. There was enough wind in Georgia Strait that it blew Mike’s
prized Finnish hat off. Mikes iPad was a generation too old to load the
Canadian digital charts he’d bought, so we had to refresh our skills navigating
the old-fashioned way from paper charts. Thank you thank you thank you to Lew
and Julia for gifting us a complete set of charts! We will buy a newer iPad in
Campbell River.
The evening in North Cove at Lasqueti was blissfully serene.
We saw lots of crazy seals jumping, thrashing and plunging. I don’t know if
they were fishing or playing.
Arriving at Quadra Island, we rafted up with the Tutens in
Heriot Bay. Peggy and I spent the next day kayaking around the bay and
snorkeling (Peggy) while Mike, Luke and Tom stayed onboard working on boat
projects.
The Tutens left, and Mike and I got out our folding bikes to
ride to the landing to ferry across to Campbell River to run errands for the
day.
The next day we moved on to Mansons Landing on Cortes Island
where we spent a day and a half hanging out and hiking with Zeke. Nice to be in
a shady forest on a very hot day.
The days continued to be sunny and hot with not much wind. I
did a little kayaking, oyster picking, and swimming to cool off.
Continuing north, we stopped in Alert Bay to visit the
really top notch heritage center there, and then in Sointula looking for a
favorite bakery. Alas, it was closed.
We met up with Sandi and David in Port Hardy and spent the
day on more errands. There was an incredible pink salmon run and crowds of
people pulling them out right and left. Went out to dinner at restaurant with
really good fresh halibut. We shared the last portion each of fish & chips
and baked halibut.
In the morning we continued north. We ate well, mostly
thanks to our visiting chefs. We enjoyed a quiet evening in Lizzie Cove. Mike
grilled a pink salmon that we had picked up from an iced tub on the dock in
Sointula. On the 12th we crossed over to Calvert Island. We saw lots of wildlife: whales, dolphins, otters, seals, eagles, and lots of different sea birds. It was rolling enough that Sandi couldn’t eat or go below.
We followed
the shoreline north and through the channel to Pruth Bay and the Hakai Research
Institute. There were lots of boats moored in the little inlet. We ended up too
close to a boat and had to move. We slept with moonlight.
In the morning, three of us went ashore to walk out to the
West and North Beachs, but David had knee problems so skipped it. The forest
was classically rich rain forest; the beach faced the outer coast, protected by
headlands and a rocky reef. One stretch
of sand was littered with small abalone shells. We enjoyed exploring the rocks
and walking on logs.
We pulled anchor and continued north. We raised the main for
a bit—our first time—but the wind was light so we didn’t keep it up. We motored
past a light house into a little bay with several floating houses at the north
end of Hunter Island. We anchored for two nights. On our layover day Sandi and
I went kayaking. We chatted with a fishing guide at his dock. It was his last
day before retiring and he was getting ready for the arrival of a large
contingent of his family. We checked out Water World: an extensive float house
and set of docks, complete with a garden, occupied by long term squatters with
no permit. We continued around the bay. Sandi returned to the boat and Mike
went out paddling, and saw wolves and sandhill cranes!
On the 15th we arrived in Bella Bella. It was hard to find a
place to dock and get fuel. We explored the town and checked out the little
museum. One exhibit showed soil core stratigraphy documenting past tsunamis.
Waiting on the dock for the shuttle to the ferry, we chatted with a female,
Bella Bella Native helicopter pilot who had strong opinions about the community
of her birth. David and Sandi departed for Port Hardy. We motored across to
dock at Shearwater and pump out the black water tank.
Bella Bella à
Haida Gwaii and Prince Rupert, Aug 16-25.
We motored long days north through a labyrinth of narrow
channels you can see on the map. In the larger passes we were often accompanied
by dolphins and whales. We overnighted in Klemtu, and went on to anchor in tiny
Larsen Bay at the north end of Banks Island. From there it is a straight shot
across the wild and wooly Hecate Strait to Skidegate Inlet in Haida Gwaii. We
arose at 5:45 for a 6am departure to take advantage of early morning calm and a
leg up on the long day.
We went toward the back door of the cove only to find
it impassable, and before we could turn around, the ebbing tide stuck us in the
mud. We had to sit and wait three hours for the rising tide to refloat our
boat.
The transit across Hecate Strait was our first and only day
of good sailing. The sea state was enough to make Sharman lose all appetite and
stay on deck. As the winds moderated and progress slowed we went back to
motoring. But approaching the entrance to the channel over the bar, our engine
quit. Sharman steered downwind back into the strait while Mike--swearing
profusely--tried to fix it. Failing that, we put up the sails and sailed by
moonlight into Skidegate Inlet, anchoring after midnight. It was magically
beautiful, though we were too tired, stressed and anxious to fully appreciate
it. (Sorry no pics) We found our way past the mysterious lights marking we knew
not what hazards to the far shore and dropped anchor. Didn’t sleep well
because, in addition to some persistent but gentle rolling, there was the
intermittent grating sound of the anchor dragging.
We were very tired for the next three days.
In the morning light we were closer to a shallow rocky beach
near the Sandspit breakwater and marina, but not in imminent danger. Looking
for a way to get our vessel in to the dock where a mechanic could attend, we
ended up with the Canadian Coast Guard towing us. That experience was pleasant.
The mechanic Danny soon came, found an air lock in our fuel
line and showed Mike how to clear it. He didn’t want to charge us, saying he
likes helping people, but we insisted, so we settled on $50.
We were moored in the Sandspit Marina in Haida Gwaii for three days. We were very glad to get off the boat! We’d had too many long days motoring and not enough exploration, play, and “be here now.” The first afternoon we walked into Sandspit to explore and run errands. The most amazing sight was the meeting of the waves and currents from the Inlet over the sandspit and Hecate Strait.
We wanted to go to a pub, but there wasn’t one, so we
settled for a food truck.
Day 2: we were up early to ride our folding bikes 10km to
catch the 8am ferry to Skidegate. We wanted to catch the 9am orientation at the
museum as required for a permit to visit the protected cultural sights. We hadn’t
done our homework or made advance reservations so we weren’t able to get on a
tour to these sites anyway, but the orientation was useful information for next
time.
We spent several hours at the museum which was terrific. For
me the most amazing part was the archeology that showed how the ice age then
the retreat of the glaciers had changed the land levels and sea levels and the
flora and fauna of Haida Gwaii and the livelihood of the Haida people over the
past 14,000 years. The biggest surprise was that there were no cedar trees
until 4,000 years ago. Without cedar logs, how did the ancient Haida build
their boats?
We continued our
bicycle tours of Skidegate and Daajing Giids, ending up at the Pub. Back to the
ferry and the marina, for a total of 40km biked: welcome exercise after long
days on the boat.
Day 3: leisurely morning and chores, then hitchhiked 90km to
Masset and back. We got rides very quickly with very gracious and interesting
locals. The longest ride was with a woman poet with several published books,
who taught online at UBC, ran a guest house in Masset, and volunteered once a
week at the thrift store in Daajing Giids that raised funds for animal rescue.
Our return trip across Hecate Strait was unbelievably flat.
No wind so we had to motor. We anchored in Welcome Cove for a perfectly still
and serene night.
Prince Rupert is a busy port and tourist town. We spent a
day enjoying the museum and totems, running errands and exploring the town.
Stay tuned for the next chapter, “sailing” in Alaska.
Anacortes à Nanaimo, July 25-29
The days continued to be sunny and hot with not much wind. I
did a little kayaking, oyster picking, and swimming to cool off.
Continuing north, we
stopped in Alert Bay to visit the heritage center there, and in Sointula
looking for a favorite bakery. Alas, it was closed.
We picked up Sandi and David in Port Hardy, spent a day on
more errands, and continued north.
