Tuesday, June 16th in Port McNeill

Thursday, June 11, 2009
We took a different route this trip from last year, and we were visited by whales all along the Finlayson Channel. We covered the 50 miles easily, and played with the radar alarms, and sea bottom data. It was mostly overcast until noon when it cleared up again. We arrived in Shearwater at 3:00 or so, and they had a spot at the dock for us. It was a 50 foot gap between two large boats, and we slipped her in there just like pros (our stern thruster is still out, until I can get her hauled out for a repair). This is an interesting town, Indian (First Nation by their description) populated, and an important stopover for boaters traveling north or south. Unfortunately, there is no cell coverage, but there is a weak internet connection. My U/N and P/W from last year was still good, so we posted the pictures from the past few days. We will start early to get as close as we can to the last major “crossing”, that of Queen Charlotte Sound, also called Cape Caution. This one makes us both nervous!

Friday, June 12, 2009
We are up early, and underway. First, we needed to depart the dock without bumping any other boats. There is a strategy to leave the bow tied tightly, push the stern away briskly, and then when clear, use reverse to get away. It worked well, and we were headed toward Cape Caution by 7:00 AM. Our plan was to get to a secure waiting cove north of the passage, and then cross early on Saturday. We had covered 60 miles by 2:00 and were at a decision point….either duck into cover for the night, or proceed with the crossing which would take another 2 hours with the winds having increased from 5 kt to 15 kts during the past hour. We decided to give it a try, and see how it felt. We were in the lee of several islands which helped greatly, and we proceeded across the Queen Charlotte Sound and around Cape Caution. We had the winds, waves, and the weather at our backs, so the ride was not too rough, and we turned the corner to a cloud-free sky and beautiful weather. Since we had not planned to make the crossing today, we had not researched an anchorage. Chris got the maps out and began studying…she suggested Skull Cove, which is described as “one of the prettiest anchorages you will find”. It tucks around an unnamed island into a cove with rocks, islands, and scenery all 360 degrees! Many use this as an overnight before the crossing heading north. The winds had picked up by this time (4:00) but the bottom was great holding mud. Since we were a day ahead of schedule, we decided that we would spend a couple of days at this site. Tomorrow shall be a crabbing day!

Today marks a month in Alaska on the boat. We have spent more days at anchor than at dock, and we have only eaten 4 times off the boat. One of those was with Niki and Bud in Ketchikan (thanks, Niki and Bud), and one was with Paula and Randy (what great friends). Christy says that she is now, and only now, truly on vacation. She has worried about the two crossings since last year, and now they are both behind us. The boat is in fine shape, the new alternator awaits us at Port McNeil, and our comfort level with the boat grows. We are making more water than we can use, the icemaker is keeping up with our needs, and the washer and dryer have us clean. The house battery-bank is strong, and we have enough food to last...”about 2 weeks” according to Chris. Our refrig and freezer is stuffed, and 2 ice chests are full as well. What a life this could be. This is why we have decided to leave the boat in the PNW another year or two. Tomorrow is haircut day (on the bow by Christy), crab-pots down, and I will install a depth finder on the dinghy.

Saturday, June 13th
This was a great day of recovery, relaxation, and chores. I launched the dinghy first thing and wired the depth finder to the battery. It required splicing 4 lengths of 16g wire to include a fuse in-line, and battery connectors at the ends. It works great, but I will wait until we are at dock to drill the holes in the transom for permanent mounting. For now, I can hold the transducer in my hand and get depth readings fine. I then headed out in the cove to launch 2 crab pots. Then Chris and I found a great place for my kayak, on the outside of the upper deck railing, very secure and out of the way. Much better! Chris’ kayak is secure under the cover on the fly-bridge.

Christy shelled the last 4 crabs from the harvest of a few days ago, and prepared another crab feast on salad…about 2 lbs each. I then headed to the 2 pots, not expecting much, and we had 5 huge Dungeness of about 2 lbs each. As I cleaned them, Chris had the water boiling, they were cooked, and we cleaned the meat out and are set for crab-cakes tomorrow. But first, she made our salads with them... All of this took about 1 hour from pulling them out of the water, to having the meat ready to go. We will head to Port McNeil tomorrow and be at a dock waiting for a new alternator. This little cove has been beautiful and well protected from the winds. The weather was again great, with the sun coming out to a cloudless sky by noon, and the winds only about 10 kt.

We loaded the dinghy, and checked everything for the crossing of Queen Charlotte Strait, and were ready. The departure is through a very narrow entrance, and caution is the word of the morning... Early on Sunday morning, June 13th, we pulled anchor and headed across the Strait. This is one of the rare places where the high and low tides do not time with slack currents. Normally, as the tide maxes out (or minimizes out) the currents also come to slack water. Crossing the Strait, high tide may be at 8:00 (for instance today) while slack water occurs at 9:30. As we left the cove, we were face to face with swells from the NW as we headed West toward Port McNeill. It was much rougher than we anticipated, but it looked calmer further out. We pushed on, and it became glassy smooth at the middle. What a pleasant surprise! We pulled into Port McNeill feeling great, and immediately headed out for an exploratory run of the town. It is small, quaint, and beautiful. We found the grocery store, the marine supply store, and Progressive Diesel where my new alternator will be shipped.

The houses are terrific, with views over the strait from high above...

We saw a Norhdavn on the dock that looked exactly like our friend's boat from last summer, Scott and Teri Strickland. I went to introduce myself, and it was the same boat...Scott sold it about 2 months ago. I immediately called Scott (now in Ft. Lauderdale) and we laughed and laughed. He is anxious to get another boat (after he works awhile to recoup and restore finances) and rejoin us next year. What a small world.

Then we met our dock-mates, John and Margie on a Symbol 55' and joined them for cocktails and fun. He is 82, and she is 54...both are full of life and enjoy living aboard from May thru October every year. During the winter, home is Tuscon, AZ. On Tuesday, Chris and I rode the bus north to Pt. Hardy to look around, shop, and have lunch. What a day. We heard that the alternator will not arrive until Friday afternoon, so we may cruise to Sointula and Alert Bay tomorrow....we'll see.

Other wildlife in the harbor...

And this tug moored across from us...

See you tomorrow!

Prince Rupert to Shearwater...Thursday June 11

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Our arrival in Prince Rupert was not without issues. We had the understanding that if weather or distances were prohibitive, you could overnight (anchor only) prior to clearing customs. Well, that is the case when entering the US (heading north to AK, for example). We called customs in Prince Rupert and told them the truth about anchoring in Brundidge Inlet (in Canadian waters) the night before. As Christy says, “never tell the truth” (just kidding). They sent 2 agents to our boat to inspect us, and while they were very nice, they were also thorough and suspicious. Now we know that no matter what, you cannot enter Canadian waters and stop until you clear.

We intended to stay one night at the PRR&YC (Prince Rupert Rowing & Yacht Club), so the next morning (Monday June 8^th) we filled with fuel and started out of the harbor. I noticed that our voltage on the start, house, and generator batteries was not where they should have been. This is bad. Chris went to idle while I went below to find that our alternator belt was off as a consequence of the #2 alternator coming loose with a broken bolt. This is really bad, since the belt is required for the water pump to cool the engine, as well as both alternators. Furthermore, that usually kills the alternator. We shut the engine down and called to find a tow back to our marina. I found a diesel mechanic to meet us at the dock (Barry and Angelo of Bytown Diesel), and they were waiting when we arrived. Last summer, the same alternator had broken loose exactly like this! Volvo had told me that the remedy had been made with new bolts, but obviously that was incorrect. I called Volvo, and they were very, very uncooperative. Barry & Angelo got two grade A bolts to secure the “bad” alternator, helped me remount it, and we were set to go, but with only one alternator. I asked Volvo about getting a replacement (we are still within the 2 year warranty period) and they would not commit to covering it. Perhaps they don’t understand what “2 years” means and they may need an attorney to explain it to them. They have agreed to ship a new one to Port McNeil, but wanted my credit card for payment! I will deal with the warranty issue later. Needless to say, Chris is a little nervous being underway with a failed component, but everything seemed to be working well otherwise. Our voltages remained good, and off we went.

Tuesday June 9^th we left heading toward the Grenville Channel. We tucked into Baker Cove and anchored in a most beautiful spot, surrounded by snow-capped mountains in the bright sunshine. Our timing gave us a flood “push” all the way. Tomorrow early should continue to be good currents. I sat out on deck reading while Chris did the work...

Wednesday June 10^th, we left at 5:00 AM to get the ebb tide out of Grenville, and we were seeing a 3 to 4 kt push for over 3 hours. Now that’s a trip! We passed about 20 fishing boats heading opposite against the currents. We are heading toward the site, Turtle Point, where a ferry crashed 2 years ago. You may remember the incident, since 120 people were dumped into the cold waters in the middle of night, and all were rescued by the First Nation Indians from the nearby town of Hartley Bay. The captain of the ferry had turned off the alarm that sounds when it’s time to sequence to the next waypoint, and ran directly into the point. In gratitude, the ferry company paid for a new float/dock system for the citizens that is quite elaborate. It looks like we will make Port McNeil in 4 days to get the new alternator, and then on to the Broughtons!

Just at the entrance to Hartley Bay, we entered the most dense fog that I’ve ever been in. I hope the pictures show the “bank” as we entered it, but visibility fell to absolutely zero. With the radar on, we could see that other boats were still underway in the fog, so we slowed down and monitored the oncoming traffic. As we veered right and left, we communicated with each one to alert them as to our intentions. Each vessel had radar also,

"Radar shot, with two "threats" on the screen. Visibility was Zero. We never saw the boats as they passed"

so we were watching each other and passing either port to port, or starboard to starboard. We were in the soup for about 2.5 hours, and finally exited it at Tribble Point.

This is a shot as we left the fog...

The remainder of the day was glorious sunshine, with great pictures of waterfalls coming into Fraser, and then Graham Reach. Our anchorage will be at Green Inlet, Horsefly Cove. We will have covered 75 miles today, with another 40 to Shearwater, and then 120 more to Port McNeil.

Ketchikan to Prince Rupert

New Eddystone Rock, outside the entrance to Punchbowl Cove

Monday, May 25^th, 2009:

Before leaving Petersburg, we helped this gill-netter load his new net...

Calculating the timing for travel is important, especially in the big waters of the Alaskan coast. We are traveling south through the famous Wrangell Narrows, but that empties into Sumner Strait, feeding off the Pacific. You never want to enter that strait with opposing winds and tides, so the calculations. We estimate that we will arrive at 3:00PM, just at the high tide. That means an ebb flow, which is west in Sumner, will follow. The forecast is for easterly winds, so that is good…we’ll see.

We said goodbye to Lee & Diane...

It worked out perfectly, with our anchorage at St. John’s Harbor near the “big water”. We were close to shore, but in 40 feet of water, and I launched one crab pot. The next morning, we readied and headed to Wrangell. That took about 3 hours and the marina had dock space. This is a quaint little town, full of characters. The first person we met was Knut from near Seattle. He is a commercial fisherman by trade, but now retired and fishing every day for “fun”. His wife, Gerry, is a Bartlett from Cullman! The world is very small.

Then Wednesday morning, we went out for a run toward a new harbor built in Wrangell since our visit there last year. As we left the dock, there were two large fishing trawlers on the grid, at low tide. They use that to work below the water line as a free “haul-out”, and when the tide floods, they are launched again. The new harbor is huge, and only about a mile from town. We went into a shop we saw last year and talked to the owner for a hour before heading back via the grocery store. We re-stocked as much as we could think of, and I spent the rest of the afternoon removing the stern-thruster motor from inside the boat. The factory had suggested that the shear-pin between the motor and the drive would be the first one to break, and it can be replaced from within the boat. So after about 2 hours of work, I removed it, and the shear-pin was intact. That means that the “failed” pin is the one from the shaft to the propeller. That takes a haul-out to fix. Oh, well. I called Kurt Dillworth at Tomco Marine (builders of our boat) and we talked about many things relating to the boat, newer design changes, etc. Meanwhile, we had to get the line out of the thruster propeller....

A local diver, Bob Z. did the job...and he pulled this out...

The big AT Rendezvous is Sept 25^th at the factory, and we will see him there.

Our course further south is the “eastern passage” around Wrangell Island, a route we did not take last year. It passes by Anan, the famous bear viewing area during the summer. It is only open when the salmon are running, and we’ve never seen that spectacle. We would need an early departure in order to avoid an ebb tide current against us, so we hoped to get away by 7:00. Of course when you are planning on an early start, you wake up too early (we were underway at 5:00!!). I had calculated the currents such that they would provide a “push” the entire way, but they didn’t. Not sure why. We wanted to get to one of our favorite spots last year, Meyer’s Chuck, and the day was beautiful. Enroute we were greeted by Dall Porpoises, numbering 10 or so….I got a terrific video of them surfing our bow wake. When I went below, I could hear their noises thru our hull in the bow.

We arrived at 12:00 noon and met a few people at the dock.

Rain had started, so we just ate and read after walking around the village. The next morning the winds were calm, so we decided to take advantage and move toward Misty Fjords, the circumference around the Island that Ketchikan is on. This is a National Monument and is one of the most famous of the Inside Passage. The route is about 100 miles, and we would arrive in Ketchikan to meet Niki and Bud Culver on June 2^nd. But the “sticky bun lady” must be waited for at the dock. She brings them to the dock at 7:30 every morning, so we waited and they were really good!

The 44 miles to the next anchorage was in the beginning of the Misty Fjord, a spot called Snail Point. Don’t you love the names? I dropped two crab pots before cocktails. We could hear the anchor chain dragging across the stone bottom, so I got out the anchor bridle, and it solved the noise issue completely. The bridle places a nylon line between the chain and the boat, thus removing any transmitted sounds. It also drops the contact point to below the water line, reducing the amount of scope necessary (or improving your anchorage for any given scope). We got up early to begin the journey to Punchbowl Cove, one of the most photographed areas in Alasaka.

What a day to travel….sun and warm weather. I’ve mentioned the issue of waves created by opposing tide and wind, and we were in choppy seas with waves around 1 to 2 feet. We were heading southeast with the winds in our face out of the SE. We had an ebb tide with us, opposing the wind. The slack after the ebb was calculated to be at 12 noon, so we watched to see what the flood (with the wind) would do to the waves… and at almost exactly 12 noon, the water became as smooth as glass! Christy said that we have no more excuses for rough weather…we simply will wait until the winds and tides cooperate.

Our arrival into Punchbowl was truly magnificent. Clear, no boats in the cove, calm weather, and the granite wall vertical to 3,000 feet forming the north border. It is breathtaking to see, and the pictures cannot reveal the majesty of it. We tied to a mooring buoy (much easier than anchoring) and settled in. The next morning, there was not a cloud in the sky! We decided to stay another day here, and after pancakes, we launched the kayaks for the first time. What fun! We spent over 2 hours along the shores and taking pictures. The boat looked so good in the sparkling sunshine, that I couldn’t resist taking more. We sunbathed on the deck, read, and then kayaked again. What a day. We have loaded and secured the kayaks for the trip to Ketchikan in the morning…Christy can’t wait to see her brother on June 4^th there. We spent two night at Punchbowl Cove and the only people we saw was a couple who arrived to camp out on shore. I kayaked to meet them, and they are on a 3 week vacation, with a ferry that drops them off at certain locations for a few days at a time with provisions and gear. It’ll be hard to top the past 2 days, as the temp was 70 today, and cloudless! There is a trail at the head of the cove, slippery and steep, but terrific but not maintained...

Saturday, June 06, 2009

We are ending 5 days spent in wonderful Ketchikan, AK. After Punchbowl, we found a slip in the northern part, but walked to the “downtown” marina and met Garry Morfit. He has an older trawler, but well equipped. He was sitting on the dock working on his lines when we walked up. We asked how he got that slip, and he said by luck, but it’s “first come, first served”. He offered to call us at the other marina if anything opened up. The next morning (Tuesday the 2^nd) at 7:00 am, he called and we jumped into high-gear! We got the slip across the dock from him, and that began a great friendship. He heads a mission called Project Healing Waters. He invites to his boat wounded soldiers from the Iraq conflict, takes them out as crew to enjoy the Alaskan experience. He has 160 soldier-days scheduled already for this summer. I watched a DVD of them catching a 110 lb Halibut, pulling crab traps, etc. and having a ball. All of this on his nickel! He became another mentor to us, and we spent hours together talking about boats, boating issues, fishing, anchoring, fixin’ things, etc.

I worked on a few splices to "bridle" the crab pots...

Paula Wiesel owns the Arctic Bar in Ketchikan. She was the spirit last year at the bake auction benefit, and we looked forward to seeing her again. She was as lively as ever, and we met her in the bar every day. She invited Christy and me to dinner at the Salmon Falls resort. What a setting, with a huge old lodge overlooking the Behm Canal of Misty Fjords. We had a great meal and enjoyed spending more time with Paula and her boyfriend, Randy. Randy’s father is 83 and still one of the most productive fishermen in the area.

Niki and Bud Culver arrived on a cruise boat on Thursday, June 4^th. We got to spend the day hanging out and hiking part of Deer Mountain Trail. We sat out on the fly-bridge talking for hours and Christy was in heaven seeing her brother all day. I finally got around to adding 150 ft of rope line to my 200 ft of anchor chain. There are times when you may need that length, but it also gives you a way to get rid of a fouled anchor (cutting rope is easier than chain!). After splicing the line to the chain and securing the bitter end, I played it out and practiced getting the line from the windlass to the capsan (other side). That proved more difficult than I imagined, and after many agonizing small injuries and blisters, I had it all figured out. Once I had the chain off under load, and couldn’t get it back on. Christy suggested using the “come-a-long” that I bought a week ago, and it worked great. She is a genius, and she lets me know often.

Garry suggested that we head out on Friday the 5^th toward Weasel Cove about 30 miles away. Since this was almost our route to Prince Rupert (planned for Saturday the 6^th) we jumped at the chance. He caught a nice King Salmon on the way, and then we put out our “pots”. After social hour, we went to pull them, and one of mine was stuffed with huge Dungeness Crabs! What a feast. We went to our boat to cook them, and Garry cleaned his Salmon. It is now in our ‘fridge waiting on our next meal, because the crabs were more than we could eat. We each ate about 3 lbs of crab and collapsed. Christy and I planned an early start this morning, so we got up at 5:30, but it took us ‘till 7:00 to get things stowed, the dinghy secure to the upper deck, and get underway. This could be our last day in Alaska until next year. We are underway heading toward the Dixon Crossing. I spoke with a Nordic Tug we passed (Oleander) and he crossed with good weather yesterday, so we will keep our fingers crossed.

We departed late, after working on the gen-set intake….it had overheated late on Friday, so I cleaned the intake and sea-strainer of weed, and we left at noon. It was a long and bumpy ride toward Prince Rupert. After 5 hours, we were nearing the mid-point of Dixon with another 3 hours to go. We decided to rest in the protected inlet called Brundidge Inlet. That is in Canada, but the remainder of the cruise would take another 3 hours, and seemed too much. The sun was shinning, and we recovered from the crossing with a book on the bow... You can spend a single night prior to clearing customs either north bound to clear in Ketchikan, or south bound to clear in Prince Rupert. We’ll get an early start tomorrow (Sunday, June 07, 2009) and clear customs at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club near mid-town.

Video of the Dall Porpoises