Wednesday, August 27, 2008

August 27 & 28 - Grace Harbour

Just a few of the 25 boats in Grace Harbour
Oceanaire leaving us to go home
River up Lancelot Inlet
To our recollection, we have not seen it rain this hard in Desolation Sound for many many years. The wind is blowing 20 knots and a good many of the 25 boats anchored in here must be waiting out the winds. There was jockeying for position last night in the wind, but for the most part, the anchors held.

It was a sad sight for us to see Oceanaire leave this morning bringing to an end, "The Crazy Canadian Trio Floatila". With the last member of our small "Alaska Bound" Floatilla gone, we are back to where we started, in Desolation Sound (only with a brand new Anchor Winch).

We are reflective over all we have done and seen in the past 5 months, up and down our beautiful coast with Dave & Penny and Wayne & Cathy. We were a good fit as travelling companions and have had some very good side splitting laughs and adventures up and down our coast, not to mention the rousing card games! We have seen places and things that will be taken back by nature (sooner than later) and were lucky enough to venture into Whale back yards and Grizzley Summer homes. Mother Nature has treated us well with very few storms and some great summer weather. She allowed us a few salmon, crabs, prawns and the epicurean delights we enjoyed were 5 Star! We have started a list of all the places we wanted to do but ran out of time and these place and events will be saved for our next "Great Adventure North".

Mike and I are having a hard time even thinking about the reality of assimilating ourselves back into "Real Life" but sooner or later, the reality of Big City life will come back into focus.

I will continue to report on our trip home as we have another week out before we head back under Lions Gate Bridge, so stay tuned. I will be entering in side trips into this blog that covers areas we have visited on previous trips but did not do this time, so in time, this blog will become a complete accounting of our meanderings up coast BC and Alaska. There are charts to be entered, mileage logs and yes...even meals enjoyed along the way!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

August 26 - Blind Channel to Grace Harbour

We woke up to a heavy blanket of fog this morning and the vhf radio squawking that we were in for 40 knot winds tonight. So we bid farewell to our new found friends that are heading south to the States via Nanaimo and we motored through the Dent Rapids to Desolation Sound. Our destination is Grace Harbour in Okeover Inlet where we have not stayed before. Its a good place to hide from the winds and if the weather improves, we can maybe get some fresh oysters off the beach!

August 25 - Lagoon Cove to Blind Channel

"Wing on Wing" Sailing in Johnston Strait
Summer has arrived in Blind Bay
With the Sunshine comes the foggy mornings
Blind Bay Store, Post Office, Liquor Store
Our first choice to moor for the night was Cardero Lodge (aka "The Schnitzel Place) -but it was fully booked. So we turned right in Cardero Channel and went over to Blind Channel Marina for the night. It has been over 10 years since we have been here and although it was a pleasant stay, the moorage is almost double ($1.50 foot) over every where else we have stayed and power was up to $20.00 per night. Apparently last year, costs were the same as everywhere else at .85 cents and $10.00 for power. Because the marina was full, I suspect that we subsidized their power costs for when they are not so full.

The meal in the restaurant was good and we were glad to see that most of the boaters there supported the marina with a dinner reservation. There is a semi-stocked gov't liquor store there and a well stocked food store.

The next generation of owners are now running Blind Channel with Papa being semi retired.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

August 24 - Echo Bay to Lagoon Cove

Owner Bill going out to get Happy Hour Prawns
Mike & Betty Enjoying Happy Hour
Siblings waiting to be fed
Historic Minstrel Island

Minstrel Island in the Background
Misty Morning
The ride from Echo to Lagoon is improving, with the falling of cats and dogs (rain) almost down to mice and rabbits! There are a few "Sucker Holes" of sunshine popping up and we are looking forward to seeing Bill & Jean at Lagoon. Most everyone has pulled out of Echo Bay this morning and its a mass exodus south! We expect that most of the boats we saw in Echo will be in Lagoon when we get there!
We arrived at Lagoon Cove to find about 4 of the boats we have been travelling with since Shearwater tied up to the dock. The sun has come out and I do beleive it is shorts time! Happy hour is at 5:00 pm and we have been invited to "Grand Lady" for dinner tonight. A wonderful meal and an early night for the next leg of our trip.

When you leave Lagoon Cove, you go through a narrow channel called the "Blow Hole" - upon exiting the "Blow Hole" you pass historic Minstrel Island. Back in the 40's, Minstrel Island was the focal point of the lower Broughtons with a dance hall, post office, pub & hotel. Today, it has fallen into a bit of a funk with the new owners developing the back of the island and the marina sort of lapsing into a free for all for moorage and amenaties.

Bill & Jean of Lagoon have done a fine job and we expect that we will see them back next year. Way back in April, I had written that they were looking for new caretakers, it appears that Pat & Bob will be staying on for the winter and that Bill & Jean can go south with the comfort of knowing that their place will be well looked after.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

August 22 & 23 - Pierres at Echo Bay

Carving up the Pig at the Roast
Due to Bat Infestation, the old hotel will be gone next year
Pierre's Lodge in Echo Bay

We had heard many times over the years from fellow boaters that we should go at least once to partake in the pig roast at "Pierres". We had tried a few times before but it was always full, so this year, it was on our list of things to try. We managed to a get a reservation this trip, the hook in getting your slice of pig, is you have to stay 2 nights. Up until this spring, Pierres was in Scott's Cove but in early April, almost all of the buildings were moved over to Echo Bay. All of the docks are new and there is not much left of the original marina at Echo Bay. There are plans for aggressive growth here with a large lodge and the selling of interests in 2 fourplexes, the owner Jerome told us informally that this will be somewhat like Poets Cove in the Gulf Islands when complete. Some of us will like that and some will not, but it appears, it will be a popular destination for a lot of boaters in the future. That is good for all the operators up here as the more people that get drawn up, the busier everyone else will be. We beleive that there is plenty of "Yachtie Pie" to go around with each establishment having something different to offer.

All of the docks are new, there is ample power and lots of color in the way of fresh flower baskets. The store is well stocked and all that they are missing in our estimation is a Liquor Store.

August 19 - 21 - Shawl Bay

Lagoon behind Shawl
Everything is so bright & Cheerful
Lorne's Flowers add the crowning touch
Who needs the Sunshine?
Shiloh (Kobi's new best friend)
Why go anywhere else?
It is good to be back at Shawl Bay. We have missed seeing Lorne who has gone to Pt Hardy to do engine repairs on his water taxi. It is bright, hot and Sunny the First Day, a bit dreary the second and sunny the third day we are there. Shawn, Robbie and Mike are keeping the boaters happy with a potluck dinner one night, fish fry the second and we are gone the third night. We have run into alot of the boats that we have been travelling with on our return from Alaska. Everyone is on the same route to get home for the fall.

The hottub is working, but we are busy with happy hours, chatting with old and new friends, that it slips our mind to sneak in after dark! The place looks spanky clean and very homey with all of their flowers in bloom.

While there we gunkholed to Moore Bay and around the corner to Belleisle inlet. We had a thoroughly enjoyable stay and are sad to leave to continue our trek home.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

August 18 - Jennis Bay to Shawl Bay

Who's the Bearded Guy?
Its a beautiful sunny morning and we head off to Shawl Bay for a few days. We have appreciated the hospitality from Tom & Allison and hope that they have had a great summer season. The weather is apparently changing (again) and all the marina's up here are full up for the night except for maybe Sullivan.
We arrive at Shawl Bay in time for Lunch and get caught up with all the news of their summer.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

August 15,16 & 17 - Fury Cove to Jennis Bay

Bravo from Jennis was attacked by a wolf - lost his eye
The end of Wayne & Cathy's Great Alaskan Adventure
Towing a New Cabin back to Jennis
Yummy Mussels off the log boom!
Less & Less of this old coastal ferry remain
Fireworks put on by Jennis Bay
A "bare" of a different kind
Jennis Bay cook house and gift store
We pulled out in thick as pea soup fog and headed south for the Broughtons. We pulled out with about 5 other boats from Fury and we all set our radars to "3 Mile" and proceeded to thread the rocks from Fury to Wells Passage. This is the first time in about 20 years that yours truly got a bit sea sick. I don't know if it was because I was reading or because the swells were genuinely making me ill. Oh well, it only lasted an hour and I was right as rain. There was no chop but a gentle swell from the west. Halfway downn, we started to here chatter between some of the other south bound travelling boats and the Seattle Ferry "Columbia" - and there looming out of the fog and coming in between us and some rocks was the biggest, bluest, gigantic Ferry steaming towards us. We are amiss to understand why in dense fog, the ferry would have taken the most treacherous route for the crossing? All other large vessels go out in the middle and stay in their perspective shipping lanes. They were a bit nasty to some of the boats on the radio and I am sure there will be some letters written as to the stupidity of the ferry.
The fog lifted when we were almost in Wells Passage and we decided to go into Drury Inlet to see Jennish Bay as Wayne and Cathy had never been. A three night stay is in order so that we can do the motorbiking and gunkholing portion of our stay. Check back with you later with photos and adventures.

Day 2 in Jennish - The marina is full and we are very pleased for the owners! There is a group here from Salt Spring Yacht Club and they are having a ball having a rendevous and playing real life survivor. Deep fried Kelp was in there pot luck supper (kind of like kelp chips). The boys went biking with Wayne taking a turn on Dave's bike to explore all of the back roads here. They found the lake and I beleive that Dave and Penny went Chunky Dunkin'! (refer to Ketchikan post for definition) We went high speed gunkholing up into Acteon Sound and up to Tsibass lagoon. At the entrance we ran into the gang from Saltspring Yacht Club with the help of Tom the owner, towing back an old float house to Jennish Bay. Quite the undertaking as it is a bit lopsided and in danger of sinking on the one end.
The water in the lagoon was 74 degrees, too bad the tide switches so quickly as we would have gone for a swim. If you miss the tide change in this lagoon, you will find yourselves going down a waterfall in your dinghy with rocks and other dangers all around. We did manage to make it to the end of the lagoon for the first time! On the way back, we stopped at the old logging camp and there on the log booms, was a Sow black bear and cub, feeding off of the mussels growing on the boom. Another First!

Our new friends Pete the Plumber and his wife Donna were also here as was Ocean Dawn (we met in Ocean Falls & Shearwater). We invited them in the Dinghy with Mike and I went with Cathy on our gunkhole (assuming they signed a waiver.....j/k) Alot of fun was had and we settled into our last night of cards with the 6 of us as Wayne & Cathy are hot footing it back to Vancouver for BYC Club duties.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

REMINDER TO ALL YOU FAITHFUL READERS

Late Afternoon Fog raising
Even Humpbacks were out in the Fog
Oceanaire just barely seen in the fog
"Gorilla in the Mist"
Boats anchored in Fury doing the Crossing Tommorrow with us
Shaman in the Mist
Our Beautiful Coast in spite of the Fog

Over the course of our trip, we have had sporadic internet service and when we were able to get internet, it was usually public access (ie;libraries) and or short times through wireless. Hence, alot of the blogs did not have photographs. Over the next few days while we are in the Broughtons, we hope that our signal will be strong enough to fully update all days and their respective photographs. Please make sure you scroll backwards to see some of the latest updates on photographs. There are some amazing photographs (Especially Daves jumping whale shots!) please go back to older posts and get the updates.

Photos above are from our crossing of "Cape Caution" southward bound in the fog. See above post for all the details.

August 14 - Kismeet Bay

Moonrise at Kismeet
Falcon Fishing beside our boats
As if to say "Whad Ya Lookin' At"
Talking Whale
Bye Bye Evesdropping Humans

We have driven by this bay many times over the years and have never had the forsight to stop in. We had heard good things from different people and slowly made our way into a very scenic bay just off of Fitzhugh Sound. The bay is filled with large schools of herring - minus two. Minus Two? Dave was fishing off the bow of Oceanaire and managed to land himself two of the largest herring we have ever seen. They are about the size of the pinks he was catching earlier on in this trip! We froze them in the hopes that Mike would be able to get a nice Spring Salmon with them!
We went off highspeed gunkholing and managed to sneak through a ditch that took us clear through to the next channel (Burke Channel) and on the way back to our anchorage, we stopped to see the whales. I have never experienced hearing whale calls before, I never knew they could be so vocal. They sound like very loud Trumpets mixed with a bit of a fog horn. They would come to the surface and through their blow holes would make this loud sound that echoed off of the surrounding land and then another whale in the distance would answer. What a treat that was!
After our return from our amazing gunkhole, we were sitting outside having a drink when we heard the sound of the blowhole of a whale and there in front of Oceanaire, was one of the whales feeding. This bay must have been part of his dinner circuit! Another First for us all.

As we pull out in the morning in the fog, we pass two whales at the entrance to Kismeet. A mom and Baby. We are probably about 50 feet away when they surface and both blow simultaneously. What a stink! I ran back into the bridge of the boat and said to Mike, if whales fart through their blow holes, they sure stink! Probably just bad breath?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Aug 12 & 13 - Ocean Falls

Curious Otters
Oldest Building in Ocean Falls circa 1920's
View of Dam from Above
Spillway with broken bridge
Tennis anyone?
Debris in Gunboat Standing Straight Up
Martin Valley Fishing Rules
Check your oil Sir?
Bit of Color in Ocean Falls
Ocean Belles Store

Still one of our favorite stops. And this particular time in Ocean Falls is special as its hot and Sunny! Out of the 1/2 dozen or so times that we have been here, we have been lucky with weather. The bridge is collapsed (in May 2008), making it difficult for the residents to get fuel for their vehicles and dispose of their garbage. Being this far away from any amenities, the residents have made a new burning dump and are able to get fuel by going over via boat and filling jerry cans with gasoline (for their vehicles).

Mike and Dave & Penny went biking to the other side of Town to see if they could get to Martin Valley Lake. 8 miles into the bush, Mike's bike quit.....turns out one of his favorite things not to do, check the oil, bit him in the backside. There was no oil in his bike, so ingeniously he drained some out of his crank case and refilled the oil (albeit old) enough to get him started up and the 20 some odd miles back to the boats.

We have met great folks here from Vancouver, Heriot Bay and Powell River.

The crabbing has been awesome, prawning not so good.