Cape Scott.....Not Today!

We woke at 3:30 AM this morning to pounding rain on the deck of the boat.  Undaunted, we got up, dressed and made a pot of coffee.  We needed to be fully coherent to listen to the 4:00 AM weather update on weather radio.  The cats thought it was wonderful that we were up in the middle of the night and wanted to play, but we had to put them off so that we could take care of business.  To our dismay things had changed for the worse with near gale force winds forcasted to build from the northwest by early afternoon.  It was a difficult decision, but we made the no go decision after discussing our options.  We both went back to bed and didn't wake until about 8:00 AM when water dripping from the condensation forming on the hatch cover was hitting me in the face.

We are now back in Port Hardy.  Looking at the extended forecast, it looks as if Thursday will be the first break in the weather.  If that holds true, we'll make another run to Bull Harbor on Wednesday for a run around the north end of Vancouver Island on Thursday early AM.

Bull Harbor

We arrived in Bull Harbor late this morning after a great run up Goletas Channel from Port Hardy. We left early to take advantage of the ebb current running northwest at about 1.5 knots, enabling us to get about 7.3 knots over ground all the way up. Winds were mostly on our beam and while there were times when it pipe up to about 15 knots, it was all over the place, so we decided to not sail. Bull Harbor is our northern most point before heading south and east along the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Along the way, we spotted two bears along the shoreline. It was low tide, so they were working their way along the waterline feeding on whatever bears feed on. These were our first bear sightings this year. By this time last year, we had already seen a half dozen bear or more, so a way different experience this year.

As we approached Bull Harbor we began to feel the first real ocean swell of the journey so far. We could see Cape Sutil and Nahwitti Bar just beyond the entrance to the harbor. Nawhitti marks the point where the Pacific Ocean meets the waters of the inside passage. The ocean swells from the northwest pile up behind the bar and can form some nasty, steep waves when the current is ebbing and especially when there is wind opposing the current. The Canadian Sailing Directions recommends that you cross the bar at slack only when the waters are generally fairly calm.

Our plan, weather permitting, is to leave our anchorage here in Bull Harbor an hour or two after the high water slack tomorrow morning, which occurs at about 3:15 AM. Rather than going straight across the bar, we will take an alternate route that follows closely along the Vancouver Island shoreline. The route is protected by the Tatnall Reefs and allows you to sneak around the bar, avoiding any nastiness, we hope. Once past that, we will run almost due west along the northern coastline to Cape Scott and then around and then southeast to Quatsino Sound. Once past the cape, we should have the ocean swell and the northwest wind on our rear quarter making for a smooth run to our anchorage. In total, it is about a 50 mile run. Right now, the weather looks good. There is no fog in the forecast and winds are predicted to be light overnight, increasing to northwest 10 - 15 knots in the morning and then northwest 15 - 25 in the afternoon. We also expect the sea conditions (combined swell and wind wave) to be about 1 meter (roughly 3 feet). A sea state of 2 meters or so would be a no go, as it could create some rather rough conditions rounding the cape. We will continue to monitor the weather and sea state for any changes.

We'll hang out on the boat here in Bull Harbor today. We are boat bound as we've already deflated and rolled up the dinghy and kayaks in anticipation of tomorrows run around the north end of the island. Most of the day will be consumed with pouring over the charts and guide books and making sure that we've covered all our bases for our venture out into the Pacific Ocean. This is a first for us, so there is much anxiety mixed with excitement.

Sun rise looking back toward Port Hardy as
we ran up Goletas Channel.

Janet caught in the act of preparing our mid-morning
cinnamon rolls.

Sea stacks marking the entrance to Bull Harbor.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Blunden Harbor to Port Hardy

We spent 2 nights in Blunden waiting for the weather to settle. On Wednesday the winds were projected to drop off to NW 10-15 and early morning fog was expected. We headed out and had beautiful sailing on a close reach with minimal course adjustment all the way to Port Hardy. No fog. It took a little over 2 hours for the crossing of Queen Charlotte Strait. Winds were 15-20kts. Seas 2 ft swell. Just off Port Hardy a Humpback Whale breached, only 100 yards to our starboard bow. What a greeting! We are at the “Fisherman’s Wharf” in port for the next few days. We need to provision for the west coast, refuel, do laundry and take care of any maintenance items before the next leg of our adventure. We are awaiting word from Bill and Claudia regarding the status of their repairs. We now have wifi available at the local coffee shop and cell service for a few days.  

Furry Crew Update

For those wondering about our furry crew, Tia and Louie, I thought I’d post a quick update with a few photos.  As you may have gathered from some of our previous posts, both cats are adapting quite well to life on the boat.  Both seem to be very comfortable with the fact that their home is afloat and surrounded by water.  They love to sit in the gunnels and watch the water and various things float by.  Louie has taken to lying in the kayaks when they are strapped to the safety lines.  When the sun hits them, it makes for a nice cozy and soft place to catch a cat nap that’s out of the wind.  Smart boy!  Tia, on the other hand is much more conservative, spending most of her time in the safety of the cockpit.  She does venture out to the foredeck and rolls around on the warm sunny deck from time to time.

There are a few things, however, that have proven to be problematic.  First, Tia will climb into the hatch sun screens.  It seems a wonderful place for a nice comfy nap.  What she doesn’t realize is that there are only four small snaps holding the screen in place.  They certainly were not intended to support the weight of a 20 pound cat.  In fact, just tonight when I went to get her out of there, she fell through to the cabin floor below.  Fortunately she narrowly missed hitting the table edge below and as cats do, landed on her feet uninjured.  Louie loves to jump up on top of the solar panels.  The least concern is that he blocks the sun and reduces our solar output (just kidding), but of most concern is that they are slanted to the side of the boat and are somewhat slippery.  He doesn’t realize that he is taking a big risk of going overboard.  And just tonight, I went up to look for the boy and he was on the end of the boom which had been extended way out over the water to allow the solar panel to get a full view of the sun.  We have reached the conclusion that he can not be on deck without supervision.  We expect that the next stunt will be climbing the mast.

Tia finds comfort among the pile of stuff in the
quarter berth while underway and heeled.

Louie and Tia hanging out on deck while at anchor.

Louie dreaming of his next kayak adventure.

Tia dreaming of her next meal.

Napier Bay and Blunden Harbour

We tried a new anchorage last night at the head of Tracey Harbour off Wells Passage. This protected bay was great except for the logging operation that had moved in last year. The process of unloading logs from trucks, stacking them and then pushing them into the water was in fact educational. The operation was actually pretty quiet and did not disrupt our enjoyment of the protected cove. The work crew is living on a fairly large vessel (think commercial off shore fishing size ship) and seemed to bed down early. I was able to take the kayak out later in the evening and do some exploring while Paul hung out on Talos IV. I discovered a wrecked vessel in the little bay behind us and saw remnants of floating homes from years ago. I continue to seek out bear sightings during morning and evening hours while in the kayak. So far I have had no sightings. Paul set a crab trap but came up empty this morning. Around 9:30am we departed in fog heading out Wells Passage toward Blunden Harbour. The fog started to clear as we left Wells Passage and headed into Queen Charlotte Strait. We sailed most of the way with NW winds building from 10kt to over 30kts later in the afternoon. We worked against an opposing tide to wind later in the day which produced building seas and slow progress. We thought we would make Blunden prior to the tidal change, but with the winds on our nose we needed to fall off and make several tacks to our destination. Talos IV handled it all in stride. We were doubled reefed by the time we arrived in Blunden, tired and in need of some food. The new sails were great and the boat seems well balanced with the new canvas. We are planning to stay here a few nights and then head to Port Hardy. I would like to make the passage across the strait with calmer conditions which are due to settle in a few days. Meanwhile, Bill and Claudia on s/v Sabbatical have diverted to Port McNeill for some minor repairs of their windlass. We will hopefully link up with them soon while in Port Hardy. We advised them by SSB sail mail that we can join them in Port McNeill if they need additional help. Having the ability to communicate this way has been great as there has been no wifi or cell service since Kwatsi Bay.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Drury Inlet Sunderland Bay

We decided to stop by Sullivan Bay Marina this morning to get some provisions and have lunch at their café. The lunch was good and we were able to restock on some things. They did not have water or wifi, so the stop over was quick. We made way to Drury Inlet in time to catch the slack. Going up the inlet requires a transition thru Stuart Narrows, a narrow, rock strewn passage which has a fast running current. 7 - 8 kts on the flood or ebb is the norm. The passage thru was no problem. Paul had an idea to try a new anchorage tonight but when we checked it out we were surprised to find a trawler in this one boat hole. Oh well…we moved on up to the head of the inlet known as Sunderland Bay. I went forward to deploy the anchor in what seemed to be a routine situation. The depths were 15 - 20ft, muddy bottom and reported good holding. I set up to deploy enough chain for a 10 foot tidal swing and 4:1 scope due to windy conditions. The anchor set readily and Paul proceeded testing the set under load. The anchor was holding steady and all of a sudden I felt a pop and the rig stated plowing. DANG! Increasing the scope did not help. When I pulled up the set I saw we had snagged a log. It wasn't terribly big, about the size of a large boat fender. It was impaled on our anchor with other debris. After a bit of chain dunking it finally fell off. I am really glad we test our anchor set for as long as we do and at a good RPM. The next anchor drop went as planned and we are happily settled for the night.

Janet out on bear patrol in her kayak.

The crab man returns empty handed.

Morning light in Sunderland Bay.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Claydon Bay

We had a wonderful time in MacKenzie Sound. It was one of the more peaceful anchorages yet. We were the only boat there with fabulous views out into the sound and the sheer rock walls on the far side. We took our kayaks out for a paddle around the bay. Janet spied a small fury animal onshore that would occasionally drop into the water and then back on to shore as it made its way along. A river otter perhaps, we're not sure. We also went on a dinghy excursion to check out the area, always a fun activity for a warm sunny afternoon.

After sleeping in this morning, Paul rowed the dinghy out to check the crab pot. It was our lucky day, with two very nice sized dungeness crab just waiting for our afternoon happy hour. After the slaughter and boiling of our catch, we pulled anchor and motored out of the sound through Kenneth Passage.

It was only a short 8 mile run over to Claydon Bay; aka Slowskie Harbor, named by us. We call it Slowskie because last year there was a couple on a rather large motor vessel who would motor out each morning to the small island at the entrance to the harbor to let their dog do its thing. It was painful to watch because the dog would always be prancing around like it really had to go and just couldn't wait for the dinghy to reach shore so that he could relieve himself. The couple, who we named the Slowskies would motor by at the absolute slowest speed that the dinghy would go. We really felt sorry for the little dog, but they eventually would reach the island and the dog would jump off and take care of business. The return trip to their boat was just as painfully slow, but the dog would be riding up on the bow quite proud of himself.

We found a great spot to drop the hook. At about the same time, the sun was busting through the cloud cover for what is turning out to be yet another mid 60's plus day. Tonight we will feast on the crab for happy hour and then BBQ some steaks for dinner. What could be better than that?


----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

MacKenzie Sound

We are now in MacKenzie Sound. It is almost noon. We motored a short distance from Turnbull Cove at the head of Grappler Sound, passing through Kenneth Passage to arrive at our anchorage in Burly Bay just outside Hopetown Passage. We are preparing to do a little kayak paddle around the area to check it out.

The last two nights we were in Turnbull Cove. The highlight, besides the absolutely wonderful sunny weather in the mid 70's was our hike up and over the hill to a fairly large lake for a swim. Yes, I said swim. The water temp was in the mid 60's, so a bit refreshing, but it was wonderful. Paul wore his suit, but Janet went aunatural (mostly because she didn't come prepared). We had a great time. The fury crew mostly hung out on deck soaking up the warm sunshine.

We plan to be here for just the night before heading to Claydon Bay. We'll stop along the way at Sullivan Bay Marina for a few essentials first. After that, we'll duck into Drury Inlet. We had a great time up there last year. Eventually, we'll head out into Queen Charlotte Strait and up to Blunden Harbor. From there, we'll head across the strait to Port Hardy, hoping to arrive there on the afternoon of July 20. The plan is to spend a couple of nights preparing for our run up and around Cape Scott. Our window of opportunity based on currents opens of July 23 and closes on July 26. Weather permitting; we'll make the run around the north end of Vancouver Island, where we'll begin our sail south. We plan to arrive in Port Angeles, WA on or around August 23, where we will pickup our friend JP on August 25. That will give us a few days to get ready for our passage down the Washington and Oregon coast to San Francisco.

The swimming hole at Turnbull Bay.

Paul all cleaned up after his dip in the lake.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

Waddington to Moore Bay

Since arriving in "The Broughtons" we have been telling boaters and marina operators that we are looking for Bill and Claudia on "Sabbatical". We advised Anka at Kwatsi Bay what our anchoring plans might be over the next several days. We discussed our plans to go to Waddington with a fisherman entering Lady Boot as we were leaving. He said he would keep an eye out for Sabbatical as well.

As dusk approached over Waddington we looked up and there was Bill and Claudia coming into the cove! They had been given our suspected location by Anka at Kwatsi Bay. When they arrived at Lady Boot the fisherman gave them exact directions on how to proceed to Waddington. He apparently offered to sound them thru a narrow channel en route to Waddington but they had declined the offer. Nice people up here in the NW.

We finished out our evening with Bill and Claudia planning the next several weeks. Bill and Claudia helped us eat the last of our crab before we called it a night.

This morning Claudia gave me a lesson on the finer points of paddling in exchange for some Starbuck's ground coffee. Paul went over to Sabbatical to help Bill secure some wiring to the alternator. We departed around noon and had a great sail with 15-18 kts of wind thru Cramer Passage, rounding Baker Island, up Penphrase Passage to Kingcome Inlet where we dropped the sails. We are anchored now at Moore Bay behind Thief Island. The weather was still warm enough when we arrived to shower on deck and enjoy a relaxed evening. We are the only ones here, and we haven't seen another boat since we entered Kingcome Inlet. Tomorrow morning we will dinghy across the bay and transit the very shallow channel that feeds into Shawl Bay. Shawl Bay has a small marina, bakery and a little art gallery. Where we go from there will need to be decided later…..

s/v Sabbatical arrives in Waddington Bay.

Louie enjoying an all over cat massage in Moore Bay.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com

East of Eden to Waddington Bay

Staying in the "toe" of Lady Boot was so comfortable that we hunkered down for two nights. Paul set the crab trap at a different location and after a pancake breakfast he went to see how he did. I heard "SCORE!!!" and saw 4 Dungeness and a red crab. We measured and had to throw one back due to size. All the rest were keepers. One was very aggressive as he skittled across deck while Paul wasn't looking. Paul in his bare feet was vulnerable to attack. I arrived just in time with cleaver and chop block. We make a pretty good team! We pulled anchor after a bit and sailed out Fife Channel with 12 kts of wind. It was great fun. So far we have only seen 2 or 3 boats in the past several days. We are now at Waddington Bay and there are 3 sail boats and a few power boats. We have put ourselves in our favorite spot from last year. Hopefully we can pick up some more crab tonight. We are still trying to connect with Bill and Claudia.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com