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!