Wednesday, May 10th Day 26 Port Neville to Port McNeill
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| Alaskan Sea-Duction in the distance. |
Arrived at Port McNeill, North Island Marina that afternoon. The Jackson's who own and operate North Island Marina never fail to disappoint. This is definitely a favorite stop. Once secured, the guys started cleaning the boats, Kay and I went to the market for provisions, we started laundry and made plans for dinner at Gus’ Pub. typical day at the dock, worked on the internet and John watched tv (Game of Thones) next door while I groomed and went to bed early.
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| Somebody is patiently awaiting his treats. |
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| Port McNeill overlooks the marinas. |
Thursday, May 11th Day 27 Ferry ride to Alert Bay
Up and out early. Kay and I took the morning ferry from Port McNeill over to Alert Bay on Cormorant Island. We traveled to Alert Bay experiencing the “Spirit of U’mista”.
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| 'Namgis First Nation welcome sign. |
The heritage of the Inside Passage is a rich tapestry of man’s life on the land and his utilization of its waters for both transportation and sustenance. Today we enjoy the beauty of the islands and animals, the fjords and waterfalls. And occasionally, natures bounty, hauled to the surface in a crab pot or at the end of a fishing line. But for thousands of years, long before the Europeans arrived, the area was occupied by First Nations people. There culture is different than ours. They depended on the environment them in ways often lost to modern life. Their beliefs and customs are inextricably linked to the Inside Passage. A glimpse into their culture reveals a belief in family and clan and an interest in preserving life and land. They are also a giving people, always ready to share. Perhaps there is no better example of their culture of sharing than their potlatch ceremonies.
We enjoyed our walk about, starting with the burial ground. We met a gentleman named Cliff who filled in the blanks with some local history. We took many pictures and walked along the beach, making our way to the U’mista Cultural Center. We happily ducked in out of the rain, admiring the Spirit of U’mista in the coppers, robes and masks on display.
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| Entrance to the U’mista Cultural Center. |
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| Woven artifacts from cedar bark. |
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| Ceremonial piece. No photographs beyond this point. |
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| This beautiful church, a huge contrast to the ruins of old canneries, totems and native style. |
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| We were delighted to find the church unlocked and welcomed us! It was very peaceful and moving inside. |
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| ASD and Pairadice at Port McNeill |
After a short ferry ride back to Port McNeill, we found the guys eager to learn of our dinner plan... we had none. Kay offered to pony up some links and for the BBQ and made a salad with a pasta side. Thanks Kay! Tomorrow will be a long day.... We will tackle Cape Caution!
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| Another Friday sunrise. |
Friday, May 12th Day 28 Port McNeille to Pruth Bay via Queen Charlotte Sound
Rise and shine, 5am. 12 hours underway, 84 mn rounding Cape Caution. Left the dock at Port McNeill promptly at 6am as scheduled. I have never been a morning person, especially handling wet dock lines. It was an easy cast off and mellow cruise in Queen Charlotte Strait until the swells hit in the sound about 9:30am. We are now in open ocean. I stowed the coffee pot and John saw to the hatches. No beam seas... thank goodness, the waves are 2.6 feel at 11 seconds. Our destination is Pruth Bay. We expect to arrive around 4pm. Currently getting a push at 9.4 knots, give or take. I started looking at the map.... our destination seems like a long way off! We have lost internet so I can no longer work on the blog.
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| Addenbroke Light Station near Egg Island and Cape Caution. |
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| Our friends on ASD underway. |
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| We are carefully avoiding these obstructions. |
Pruth Bay is at the head of Kwakshua Channel, Some 7 miles north of Safety Cove on Calvert Island. There is a huge provincial park and the Hakai Luxvbalis Conservancy Area. We will be visiting the Hakia Beach Institute.
It’s now 11:15... Egg Island and Cape Caution are in sight. The seas a are bit rolley. We’ll be happy to get back in the inside of Calvert Island! I prepared turkey bagels with pickles and chips for lunch. I took a picture of the Egg Island lighthouse, then received permission to adjourn to the watch berth for a nice nap. And it was glorious indeed! Once revitalized, there was another light station on the shoreline, the Addenbroke Light Station, so I got the reference book out to learn about it. Most of these light stations up here were established around the turn of the century. It’s interesting to read about the early light keepers tales of adventure on the sea, suffering and starvation the on land, monstrous weather, hardships, insanity, and the happiness found by some tending lighthouses of the B.C. coast.
It’s now 4:30, the institute is in sight. Tom set anchor near a sailboat at the head of the inlet. The sailer on Morning Star was not too happy. We elected to anchor out aways and not raft. Tom and Kay came over in their dink for a beer and snacks. I made tacos for dinner, John and I enjoyed a movie with Sean Connery called, “Finding Forester”.
We spent the afternoon aboard ASD watching Game of Thrones and snacking. We caught up on some internet stuff and retired back on our boat for pasta alfredo dinner and a couple of movies. Hit the rack just after 9pm.
Sunday, May 14th Day 30 Pruth Bay to Shearwater, B.C. (Mothers Day)
I checked the clock at 6:05 and we got up. John plotted todays course and decided we should leave at 8 instead of 9am as was decided yesterday. celebrating the short lived sunshine. It took us an hour to get from our anchorage at Pruth Bay through the Kwakshua Channel heading southeast before we could make the turn north in Fitz Hugh Sound. Today the destination is Shearwater, B.C. We arrived at the head of the bay approximately 2:30pm and found a suitable place to anchor. John had called Tom on the radio and the decision was made to raft for the night using our ground tackle. After securing ASD to our port side, lining up our stairs to their gate, so we could easily cross between boats, Tom shuttled Kay and I to the mainland so we could check everything out and grocery shop.
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| John securing his snubber line in the bay so ASD could raft of us for the night. |
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| This shows our anchorage. |
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| He's coming in slow and close for the rafting procedure. |
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| Lined up the gates and secured the lines. |
It was raining but I managed a few pictures to post on face book. The marine center and grocery store were closed, so Tom picked us up and we enjoyed a great meal of grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits for dinner. After dinner we adjourned to ASD for a couple episodes of Game of Thrones. We planned to leave early and head to Khutze Inlet early tomorrow morning.
Monday, May 15th Day 31 Shearwater, BC
Sometimes the weather dictates that you change your plans. This was the case here, as overnight a serious blow came through. The waves were slapping the boats and the anchor was making lots of noise. John and I were both up and in the pilot house around 2am, assessing things. We went back to sleep and at 6am we were abruptly awakened by the sound of Tom starting his engines! It was blowing and raining hard! We had dragged anchor and were dangerously shallow and close to shore. John was dressed in a flash and I pulled on my rain gear over my PJ’s. Tom and Kay were also up. We all worked feverishly, but efficiently to untether ASD. John got busy hoisting our anchor. We had 200 feet of rhode out. ASD watched from deeper water. After the first 100’ of chain came up the windlass overheated and wouldn’t work. There was a tug towing a barge that was trying to come in who radioed regarding our circumstance. Tom answered for us as we were rather busy trying to resolve the issue. Just as another boat at the marina offered assistance with a cheater bar, it cooled down enough to get more chain on board, but it overheated again. That was the process for about the next 30 minutes. Once the anchor was secure on the pulpit, with a sigh of relief, we got into deeper water and radioed the marina for harbor slip assignment. It was clear we were staying another night! The winds reportedly got up to 40 knots.
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| On the dock dwarfed by a Nordhavn 62'. ASD stayed at anchor. |
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| Drying out the rain gear by the heater exhaust. |
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| Eagles feeding off the breakwater. |
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| Tom and Kay going ashore for a visit to the pub and marine store. |
I got cleaned up and put together some breakfast. It rained most of the day. Tom set his anchor during the ordeal. Around 1pm he launched his dingy and they came over for a visit. We all walked up to the shops, milling around the marine center and grocery store which were open today. Kay and I utilized the post office mailing post cards to grandchildren. After storing the groceries onboard, I met the others at the pub for an afternoon meal. The guys devoured bison burgers, Kay tried the seafood chowder and I had a huge halibut sandwich with sweet potato fries. Yummy!
While adjourning to our boat on the dock, Kay and I reviewed the maps and some things I want to do in Alaska. After they left, I went to work on the blog. The weather cleared up nicely in the evening and we had a very nice sunset with glass waters surrounding us.
Tomorrow we head for Khutze Inlet to do some crabbing, then on to Hartley Bay. We are hoping the weather predictions are correct, rewarding us with sunny days and favorable seas.
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