Heading to Ketchikan

Our most recent segment follows:
Grenville Channel

The trip from Hartley Bay was to be about 64 miles by the chart plotter. Much of the route was through the Grenville Channel, the longest and straightest fjord in N.A. At one point, we traveled 24 miles without a turn. We weren’t able to catch a flood-in, and ebb-out, but we made good time…the scenery was still magnificent:

We continued to travel with Cosmo Place, since the proper chip was waiting on them in Prince Rupert...here is a picture of them at 15 kts:

We had timed the tides so that we had normal speeds, at least with no current against us, and we wondered where our kayaking friend, Denis, would be overnighting. This stretch would take him 3 days:

When we arrived in Prince Rupert harbor, Chris noticed several birds sitting on a beam above a dock. We came closer, and there were 11 eagles fishing right next to us. Amazing…

Prince Rupert is a city on the go. The exciting things happening here are related to the Port potential. This is a picture of one of the "terminals" near the entrance: It seems that the geography lends itself to becoming the most important port on the West coast. They have great shores, deep water, no pollution, great docks, etc. However, a port is no good unless there is land transportation to get the goods to and from the port. Recently CN (I think that is Canadian National) has acquired the rights for railway passage from here to Memphis, TN. That was the final requirement, and now everyone is expecting this to surpass Vancouver and even Seattle. The reason is that Prince Rupert is 2 days closer to the Asian markets by sea. That is a huge advantage, and the current docks are capable of handling every vessel currently making the trip, and also every vessel currently under construction. This little city of 8,000 will soon be much bigger.

We arrived and immediately refueled. We took on 1,200 liters at $1.40 per liter. As best as I can do the math, that translates into $5.08 per gallon....not terrible. I've paid more and gotten less. Then we got to the PRYRC (Prince Rupert Yacht and Rowing Club)...there are huge expensive yachts, cool fishing and working boats, and cute ones:

Our friends received the missing data cartridge for their chart plotter, and we purchased the remaining AK charts we needed, so everything is on go for departing on Friday the 13^th for Ketchikan. We will cross Dixon Entrance, which is the last of the “open water” passages. The weather looks good for tomorrow, with seas forecast at between 1 and 2 meters, and winds “only” 15 to 25 kts. We’ll see….

We had breakfast at "The Crest", with this view They get cruise boats every Wed and Thursday, and the tourists flood the town for a few hours. Needless to say, the economy depends on this, but after purchasing the remaining charts we needed, and at the price we paid, they don't need tourists.

The most challenging part of navigation to date will be tomorrow morning. There is a passage out of the harbor that saves about 8 miles, but is not only narrow, but requires 4 major turns. Each of the turns is marked by range markers (two markers about a quarter-mile apart, one higher than the other, to be aligned) and turning at exactly the right time is essential. The depths at low water may be as low as 7 feet, so you can’t leave the center of the channel. I called customs in Ketchikan about the issues of notification, and they said if we need to anchor before clearing, to do so in “Foggy Bay”, which is on the AK side of the CA-US border. We’ll see…

For my Greek relatives and friends, I must include the following picture. Christy saw it on the maps and insisted that I send it out, especially to George Sarris. Only the Greeks will get the full significance of it, but it is truly meant as a personal greeting to George.