August 21, 2013 ~ Refuge Cove

This morning we had blueberry waffles for breakfast, along with some turkey bacon.  We had a few remaining chores to do, but the main event for today was the arrival of Erin’s parents, Ray and Mary, on the afternoon Kenmore Air flight.  They were due to arrive at 4:30, but the scheduled times are mostly suggestive, as it can vary quite a bit depending on how many stops are made or what weather delays are encountered.  Today the flight arrived at 5:30 – the weather was good but there was some delay at Customs in Nanaimo for one of the other passengers, and then they made a stop at the Dent Island Lodge before coming back down to Refuge Cove.  We were expecting them to fly into the main

entrance here like all the other flights, but because of that stop they came in through the northern entrance to Refuge Cove, taxiing at high speed up on step as they cleared the small island at the entrance.

They had great weather for their flight, and even Mary enjoyed the view on the flight up.  After some initial visiting and catching up, we had a dinner of barbecued hot dogs with a side dish of baked beans.  Tomorrow we’ll figure out where we’re going to go for the next few days.

August 20, 2013 ~ Refuge Cove

We needn’t have worried about this morning’s weather – it was pretty nice from sunrise on, with the temperature rising to nearly 80 degrees.  The marina was quite a bit busier today than yesterday, and it looks as though there will be several more boats staying the night.

Our water tank was still 3/4 full – around 150 gallons – so Erin is running several loads of laundry through the washing machine, and we’ll take nice long showers too.  When the tank gets fairly low we’ll fill it with Refuge Cove water, which doesn’t have the tannin color that Sullivan Bay’s water has.  Then the ice cubes will be prettier.

I spent some time crawling around in the engine room, checking fluid levels and repeating the transmission/gear oil process from a couple weeks ago.  The transmission is leaking ATF at a fairly low rate, but it’s leaking into the reduction gear box.  The transmission ends up at the add level on its dipstick after 30 or so engine hours, and the gearbox is a little above the full mark.  I put about a half pint into the transmission, and pumped some out of the gearbox, adding some fresh 90 wt gear lube.  The reduction gears are made by the Walters Co, and although they’ve had 90 wt in them for at least the last 20 years, I recently read on the Internet (so it must be true) that all Walters reduction gears use 30 wt oil.  If it’s true, then I can worry a bit less about thinning the gear lube oil.  The transmissions are Borg Warner, and I know for sure, since I read it in my Borg Warner model 73C maintenance manual, that this transmission can run on either ATF, or 30 wt oil if the rpm does not exceed 3000 rpm.  So, maybe I should look into running both the gearbox and the transmission with 30 wt oil, and then occasionally pump the overage in the gearbox back into the transmission.  Tada!

Earlier today a huge ketch came in for fuel and I spent some time talking to its captain, who couldn’t have been any older than his late 20’s.  The boat was 76’ long (80’ including the flagpole, he added) and was built in Australia in the 1960’s for racing.  It won the Sydney to Hobart race some time ago with Ted Turner aboard.  It now belongs to a

group of owners who take turns using it, with him as the captain.  He gained his experience crewing on another sailboat.   I asked him what kind of ticket he needed, and he has the 100 Ton Master license, same as me, although he also had to get the TWIC card from the TSA.  He said that was held up for a year and a half because of something he did back when he was 15.  Some of the owners take the wheel from time to time, but he prefers to operate the winches himself, what with the 20,000 lbs of tension they can employ while adjusting the sails.

Not much else to report on today, other than a couple of excursions up to the store.  

August 19, 2013 ~ Octopus Islands to Refuge Cove

We woke to fog in the Octopus Islands this morning.  It wasn’t too thick in our little harbor, but we could see across the lagoon out to the main channel where it was pretty solid.  The fog eventually lifted, but not very high – it just turned into some pretty solid looking rain clouds, and it rained off and on throughout the morning.  We thought it looked like it would be an all day affair, but by afternoon it cleared up and we were back to blue sky and sunshine.

We’d been contemplating on whether to stay here another day or cruise down to Refuge Cove this afternoon.  Our departure times are somewhat set by the slack current times for getting out of this area, and we thought that if tomorrow morning was anything like today, we’d have to cruise down through the morning fog and rain.  The blue sky and sunshine makes for a much more scenic ride, so we decided to head down today.  The moon

will be full tomorrow, which means the tides, and therefore the currents, are a bit more severe than they were a week or two ago.  For heading south, we can exit either through Hole in the Wall or Surge Narrows.  Hole in the Wall was running at 11 knots early this afternoon, while Surge Narrows was at 9.6 knots – neither is something to be cruising through at the wrong time.  Hole in the Wall is very close to the Octopus Islands, so we’d have to leave later in the afternoon as it would only take a few minutes to get there.  Surge Narrows is about 4 miles away, and it also has an alternate route.  The main channel there goes through Beazley Passage, but it’s also possible to turn off before Beazley Passage and travel through the Settler’s Group of islands.  The current flows through there as well, but maybe not quite as strongly.  The cruising guides shy away from it because it has some rocks to avoid, but we’ve been going that way for several years and haven’t found one of them yet. 

We left the Octopus Islands at 3 o’clock headed for Surge Narrows, which was still running nearly 6 knots then, but would be down to about 2.5 knots by the time we arrived.  We were cruising at 7 knots, but as we turned to go through the Settler’s Group we were pushed up to 9.8 knots.  You’d never notice the change in speed unless you were to consult the GPS.  The Settler’s Group also leads to Whiterock Passage, a shallow and narrow passageway between Read and Maurelle Islands.  The currents never exceed 2 knots through here, but it’s lined with shoals and rocks on both sides, and is dredged to a minimum depth of 5 feet at low tide.  There are two sets of range finders, markers that stand one atop another some distance apart, to let you know when you’re aligned with the channel.  We went through on a rising tide, keeping a close eye on the range finders.  A turn mid channel is necessary, and at that point you also have to change to a set of range finders that are viewed beyond the stern.

Once clear of the passage we headed past the Rendezvous Islands and were on our way down Drew and Lewis Channels towards Refuge Cove.  The view along here is magnificent,

with several layers of mountains seemingly in all directions.  This is definitely one area where it’s easy to realize you’re cruising through a half submerged mountain range.  The hills and mountains are glacier formed, mostly solid rock with just enough soil for the trees to get a purchase.  In areas along the shoreline there are trees that have sprouted from a crack in the rock, and many of these eventually fall into the sea. 

We see quite a few entire trees with the root structure attached afloat in the salt.  While the mountains to either side rose several thousand feet, the water below us at one point was over 1600 feet deep – and not far from us it was over 2000 feet deep. 

As we cruised along through one of the channels at 7 knots, someone on a Waverunner, probably from a nearby fishing lodge, came zooming along and spent 15 or 20 minutes criss-crossing our wake.  At 7

knots our wake was pretty lame and tame, but it was apparently still the biggest bump around.  We briefly thought about bumping it up to 12 or 13 knots for a really big wake, but decided not to spend that extra money on fuel for someone else’s entertainment.

We got to Refuge Cove around 6:30, with plans to anchor out if no dock space was available.  That wasn’t necessary, as only a half dozen boats were here, and we had our pick of moorage spots.  Tomorrow I’ll don a work shirt and knee pads for some engine room duties while Erin does laundry – we love having the washing machine on the boat.

Erin’s parents, Ray and Mary, will be here Wednesday afternoon, arriving via Kenmore Air seaplane.  They’ll travel with us for the remainder of our voyage home and we’re looking forward to showing them some sights.

August 18, 2013 ~ Octopus Islands

Low tide was around 8:30 this morning, although it wasn’t to rise more than a few inches until past 10 o’clock.  After a light breakfast of cottage cheese with fruit and a slice of toast, we launched the dinghy and headed out to explore the low tide shorelines.  The next bay over to the west has a shallow shoaling area along its western shore and we headed over there after I thought I saw a bump on the beach move.  It turned out to be a couple of raccoons feasting on the variety of tidal sea life at their feet.  The beach was very active, with lots of clam spurts and of course there were all those little crabs and other critters that scurry off whenever a rock is turned over.  They turned over small rocks and also dug some holes, at one point pulling out what looked to be some sort of small eel.  We watched from just off shore with the motor off, slowly drifting along in the same direction they were doing their beachcombing.  Eventually they were joined by a third,

smaller raccoon that came out from the nearby trees and rocks.  We surmised it was mom, dad and junior at the beach buffet.  They knew we were there, and would stand on their hind legs to look us over from time to time before deciding we weren’t a threat and returning to their meals.  At one point a nearby heron took off, spooking them and sending them running for the rocks, as did our oars if I made a splash, but they

kept returning for more grub.  Eventually two more raccoons appeared, and before we left there was possibly a sixth. We probably have 50 pictures and a half dozen video clips, most of which will be destined to the cutting room floor, but most likely those of you who will see our vacation video will have to suffer through some of it.

After we returned to the boat it poured down rain for awhile, and we thought from the looks of it that it would last the rest of the day.  But it soon stopped, and by late afternoon it was pretty nice out, with temperatures in the mid 70’s.  Erin also collected an orange sun star while we were out, and is trying Rebecca’s procedure for curing it to retain the color.  She first coated it with sugar for a few hours, and then soaked it in sugar water.  It still needs to dry, which might happen if the sun stays out long enough.  Later in the afternoon we took a high tide dinghy ride before dinner, putting through the lagoon where we walked the beach last month collecting sand dollars.

We can pretty much tell when slack is approaching at the various rapids by the time that boats weigh anchor to leave – followed shortly thereafter by new boats arriving, having come through the rapids at Hole in the Wall, Upper Rapids, or Surge Narrows to get here.

We may stay yet another day – it’s one of those decisions that can be put off until tomorrow.

August 17, 2013 ~ Bickley Bay to Octopus Islands

It was foggy with rain showers when we went to bed, and it was still foggy with rain showers in the morning.  The large powerboat that anchored right after we did got underway pretty early, around 6 am or so.  I figured they must be trying for an early slack current somewhere down the line.

I made the fried potatoes and onions this morning while Erin slept in, and we topped that off with some eggs over easy.  We were planning a late morning start, which was good because the fog was still pretty thick – sometimes the sailboat anchored a short distance away would fade away, and the entrance to the bay was definitely somewhere in the ether.

The fog cleared and the rain stopped just before our planned departure time, so that was definitely a good sign.  The sailboat had left about 25 or 30 minutes before us, with a little slower cruising speed they were probably headed for either set of rapids – they’re pretty close in distance from here.  We headed for Okisollo Channel and the lower and upper rapids.

Shoal Bay was just around the corner from our anchorage, so we had to take a look in there to see what the dock availability was.  They looked pretty crowded, and that powerboat that left early in the morning was there at the dock!  There wasn’t much room for any more boats, and there were three or four at anchor, including a large fantail cruiser named the Pacific Yellowfin.  We’ll have to look that up the next time we can get connected.

As we rounded Johns Point and turned into Nodales Channel we found the fog that had lifted from our anchorage had just relocated.  It wasn’t all that bad, though – there was probably a period of only 15 or 20 minutes where we really couldn’t see much, and then we started getting some sun breaks.  By the time we reached Johnstone Strait for our short run down the shoreline of Sonora Island to Okisollo Channel we had mostly blue sky, quite a bit of sunshine and calm water.  The Johnstone Strait current was very favorable, pushing our 7 knot cruise up to 9.8 knots for much of that leg.  The bottom must have been fairly contoured, as there were quite a few current fluctuations.  It was apparently the right place and the right time for fishing, as there were at least 14 or 15 boats fishing along that 2.5 mile stretch.  We didn’t see anyone reeling in a big one, or even a small one, as we passed by.

We took this route for the first time ever last month and really enjoyed passing through Okisollo Channel.  It was just like new again traveling in the opposite direction, with new vistas of bays and mountains before us.  There were a few of the ever present fish farms as well, but even they tend to fit in with the green buildings backed by forest.  We saw evidence of recent logging activity, but we could also see that at least the previously cut swaths had been replanted and had a new set of trees, still shorter and a different shade of green.

We arrived at the lower rapids (again, the lower rapids are above the upper rapids on the chart – go figure) about 25 minutes early, with no significant issues other than getting another boost in speed.  As we approached the upper rapids a sailboat came out of a nearby anchorage and cruised through ahead of us.  It was the Raven, a boat we had seen in several places up north, including ahead of us at the dock in Port Harvey.  We followed them into the entrance to the Octopus Islands, a feat that wasn’t all that easy as they slowed to about 3 knots, a speed difficult to reduce to even with one engine in neutral.  It would have been both awkward and rude to pass at that point, so we drifted along behind in neutral, hoping they weren’t headed for our favorite spot.  They weren’t, and our spot, in the middle of the first bay next to the big underwater rock, was there waiting for us.

We’ll be here for at least the next couple of days before we continue on down to Desolation Sound to meet up with Ray and Mary.  It’s hard to believe that just four days ago we were in Sullivan Bay, nearly 120 miles from here.  The weather in the Broughtons, as fabulous as it was the entire time we were there, was starting to turn, and now it seems we have summer back again, as it was about 75 degrees and sunny when we set anchor here in the Octopus Islands.

August 16, 2013 ~ Port Harvey to Bickley Bay

Most of the boats left early this morning, leaving us as the only boat left on the main dock.  We wondered what they knew that we didn’t.  We wanted to leave a bit later in the morning to hopefully catch some of the flood current down Johnstone Strait, but not so late that the winds would kick up.  After picking up a few more things at the store and settling up with our bill, we got underway around 9:15 or so. 

It’s not very far from Port Harvey to the Broken Islands where we enter the strait – maybe 4 miles or so.  The weather seemed pretty calm, but once we got to the Broken Islands the wind came out of the east at a pretty good clip and we had about a 3 foot chop as we turned into the strait.  The ride wasn’t bad though; we just plowed through it for the most part, with only an occasional wave spraying up.  We started out with sunshine, but had rain showers off and on for the first couple of hours.  In fact, the windshield wiper in front of the wheel quit working – another project.  I’ll have to check whether it’s the switch or the wiper motor.  Either one is an easy fix, as I have an extra switch somewhere, or I can swap out the wiper motor with the one on the far right that we don’t use much.

The water gradually smoothed out a bit, and we were down to about a 1 foot chop by the time we got to Port Neville, and it was even smoother as we entered Sunderland Channel to head up towards Forward Harbor.  That didn’t last, though, as some more weather came in from the east – in fact there was a nasty cloud over Forward Harbor and the chop was increasing a bit.  About this time I noticed that the current through Whirlpool Rapids, just beyond Forward Harbor, was approaching slack.  Our plan was to just go to Forward Harbor today, but slack current at a rapid is hard to pass up, and Forward Harbor had that dark cloud looming over it.  We decided to continue on.

Now, if I had my druthers, I’d prefer to transit Whirlpool Rapids on the flood an hour or two early so that we could benefit from the remaining flood current for the next few miles, and arrive at Greene Point Rapids, which is about 10 miles further, around slack.  A quick check of the tide and current tables, though, showed there wasn’t much of a fall between the high and low tides, and that Greene Point would be running at only 3.9 knots against us at its maximum flow.  We continued on against the ebb current, and eventually encountered a few boats all traveling the other direction, having passed through Greene Point at slack.  They probably wondered what the heck we were doing.

As we got within 2 or 3 miles of the rapids, another weather phenomenon appeared, as fog began to materialize ahead of us, seemingly from nowhere, or just rising from the water where there was none before.  I warmed up the radar just in case it thickened, which it did.  It was actually very picturesque, with the mirror smooth water and wisps of thickening fog obscuring and then revealing the shoreline.  I was glad we had the radar and the computer navigation – I checked our compass heading for the next couple of legs through the rapids just in case the electronics all disappeared, but they didn’t.  Three blips appeared behind us closing fast, and they were probably charter fishing boats, buzzing by at 20 knots or more, with no manners in regard to their wakes.  After that brief interruption of our reverie, we got back to the business of passing through Greene Point Rapids, now mostly obscured by the fog.  Although we could see by the radar that no one was coming, I blasted the air horns every couple of minutes just for the effect.  We were about 2 hours late, and our forward speed at the narrowest point was slowed to about 3.5 knots.  There was hardly any turbulence, though, and that provided a little cognitive dissonance watching the light on Griffiths Islet go by so slowly compared to our perceived speed.

The fog stayed with us off and on as we continued on towards Shoal Bay, one of our destination options.  We haven’t had much luck getting a dock space there since our Alaska trip 10 years ago and the anchoring there isn’t that great, so we opted to turn into Bickley Bay to anchor for the evening.  The fog followed us in, and within a few minutes of setting our anchor we could no longer see the mouth of the bay – although it has reappeared from time to time as the afternoon progresses into evening.  Shortly after we set our anchor a larger powerboat towing a

Boston Whaler came in as well and anchored on the other side of the bay.

It was still early in the afternoon when we arrived, so we lazed the afternoon away reading and watching the scenery.  Dinner consisted of the Italian sausages we picked up at Echo Bay in hoagie rolls with cheese and onions, along with some baked beans.  It was a good meal for the rain that was now falling.

Around 8 o’clock in the evening a sailboat came slowly in through the fog and anchored near the shoreline in the center, between us and the powerboat.  We recognized the boat as one we had passed about a half hour before entering the rapids.  They were cruising slowly along the shore of Chancellor Passage as we passed, but then turned left across the channel to enter Loughborough Inlet and we thought they were probably headed to Beaver Inlet.  Instead, they were killing time waiting for the next slack at Greene Point, which came around 7 o’clock.

Tomorrow we plan on returning to one of our favorite anchorages, the Octopus Islands.  We’ll take the same route as on the way north, through the lower and upper rapids of Okisollo Channel.  We can enjoy the surroundings there for a couple days before heading down to Desolation Sound and Refuge Cove.

August 15, 2013 ~ Bootleg Cove to Port Harvey

This morning the water was mirror smooth and calm here in Bootleg Cove.  We were tempted to stay another day and enjoy the location, but we also wanted to get into a closer position for our run down Johnstone Strait and the rapids.  The transit time calculator on our navigation software indicated the best departure time for our route going through Chatham Channel to Port Harvey was 8:30 in the morning, but 9:30 wasn’t all that bad either and more palatable for us.  The transit time can vary quite a bit depending on which way the current is flowing as we pass through various inlets and passages.  Even though our software is now 10 years old, it’s been right on with the tide calculations – I guess as long as the moon stays in its same orbit that will go on indefinitely.  But, Knight Inlet apparently had not consulted with our charts, as the 1.7 knot push we were supposed to be getting didn’t materialize – in fact it seemed to be flowing against us.  We were expecting to arrive at Chatham Channel with the current still flowing at 2 or 3 knots in our favor, but instead it was at about slack by the time we arrived.  But we have no complaints – the weather was very cooperative, with quite a bit of blue sky and sunshine interrupted occasionally by a few clouds.

Based partly on a forecast from a couple of days ago predicting light winds on Johnstone Strait on Friday, as well as an opportunity to check out some place new, we decided to bypass Lagoon Cove and head for Port Harvey today, which is very convenient to the Broken Islands, where we enter Johnstone Strait. We passed along the north side of Minstrel Island instead of our usual route from Lagoon Cove through the Blow Hole.  We still went by the Minstrel Island Marina, which has been closed for many years.  The docks are apparently still in good enough condition to tie to, as there were a couple boats there.

Minstrel Island Marina

All the cruising guides report that bears are often seen along Chatham Channel – even grizzlies – but our record of never seeing a bear along Chatham Channel remains intact.  We did see some seals pop their heads up, and even a couple of dolphins surfaced briefly, but no bears.  We continued on past Burial Cove and into Havannah Channel to Harvey Point.  As we made the turn to enter Port Harvey we could see the Broken Island group and Johnstone Strait, which looked pretty calm at the time.  The marina here is at the head of the bay, about a 2 mile trip up.  There is a lagoon at the head of Port Harvey that connects with the lagoon of Lagoon Cove, and it could probably be navigated at high tide by a canoe or kayak, a distance of about 2 and a half miles.  For the rest of us it’s about 12 and a half miles around via Chatham Channel.

We got here around 2 o’clock, and found that the docks were new, and the store was very well stocked – more variety than either Echo Bay or Sullivan Bay.  As we tied up we were given the wifi access code and a menu for the restaurant, which is on top of the store.  There were 4 or 5 choices for dinner, and we filled out our selections and turned it in ahead of time.  The store, when open, works on the honor system – if no one’s there, just mark down the merchandise and price on the sheet with your boat name.  The restaurant tab works the same way – it’s just added to our moorage bill, to be paid upon departure.  That’s not an uncommon practice up here in the Broughtons – it certainly keeps the number of transactions down to a minimum. We went for a short walk ashore, even though we were warned that the mosquitoes were pretty thick in places.  They were right, and we didn’t go far before encountering them and returning to the comfort of the dock with its sea breeze.

Dining out sounded like a pretty good idea, so we took advantage of the restaurant this evening.  We both had fish and chips, and the pieces of fish were big and tasty.  We took half of it back with us.  Other choices were ribs, hamburger, salmon burger and pizza.  It all looked good from what we saw being delivered to the other patrons.

We had one rain shower this evening that lasted for maybe 10 or 15 minutes – other than that it’s been pretty nice – it’s still staying warm into the evening.

Port Harvey Marina

August 14, 2013 ~ Sullivan Bay to Bootleg Cove

This morning I went to the store just as they were about to open.  Coming from the manager’s house I saw two employees carrying a couple of trays to the store – laden with cinnamon rolls and turnovers!  The cinnamon rolls are mostly reserved for those who order ahead, but I claimed the last two that were unspoken for, along with a couple of apple turnovers.  Everything was still warm from the oven, and the cinnamon rolls were consumed for breakfast, along with turkey bacon and eggs over easy. 

Although the ‘third night free’ deal is still going on, we decided it was time to start cruising and working our way back south, so I paid our moorage tab while collecting our fresh bakery items.  I refilled the water tank and Erin did some vacuuming while we were still connected to shore power.  Another large boat came in and docked ahead of us just as we were disconnecting stuff, and it turned out to be the Tuzi – the boat destined for Australia next year.  Barry came over and gave us a shove away from the dock, as my usual sideways crawl with rudder and engine power wasn’t too successful against the current and wind at the dock.  If I’d known it was them before we were pulling away we could have stayed and visited for a few minutes – but hopefully we’ll see them again.

The waters were very calm as we pulled away from Sullivan Bay, but that didn’t last long.  We soon had a brisk wind on our port beam, along with heavy chop – but all in all it was smooth going.  The wind was blowing right into the flue for the LP powered refrigerator, and after a couple of relight attempts we just left it off for most of the way to Echo Bay, our first stop.  We recorded gusts up to 32.2 mph along the way.

We got to Echo Bay around 2:00pm or so, and had been listening to radio calls from boats seeking moorage or arriving for the reserved spots.  Sounds like there will be no more available moorage shortly.  Tonight is prime rib night, and many cruisers tend to flock in for the specials.  We were just interested in a stop at the grocery store, and were directed to the transient dock, which is alongside the breakwater.  An employee came out to help with the lines, and remembered us from our previous visit.  I reminded him that we were the only boat there for a day, and he said they had been 3/4 to completely full each night ever since then.  The moorage across the bay used to be called Windsong, but is now owned by Pierre and Tove and called Cliffside.  Boats that moor over there take a dinghy over to the store or to the feature meal of the evening.

At our last visit here we picked up a large bag of treats called “Munchies”, and our plan was to get a couple more to have for when Ray and Mary join us next week.  Of course, they had none this time, but we picked up a few grocery items anyway to make our stop worthwhile – it doesn’t take long up here for a few things to add up to over 50 bucks!

We did get one bonus during our stop.  I had left this little Netbook computer turned on, and it recognized the wifi signal from Echo Bay, connected and downloaded all our emails.  That was good, because the connection wasn’t working at all this morning at Sullivan Bay.  It’ll be a couple days before any outgoing stuff happens, though.

With our new groceries in hand, we backed away from the dock and set our course for Bootleg Cove, just 4 miles to the southwest of Echo Bay, on the other side of Blunden Passage.  The cove is unnamed on the chart and does not visually appear to be a harbor from out in the channel.  We read about it in one of the cruising guides, checked it out on the way north and decided it was worth a stop on our way home.  It’s big enough for 2 or 3 boats, but so far we’re the only boat in here.  Hopefully no one cruising by today read the same book and we’ll have it to ourselves.  Once we set the anchor and shut off the engines, Erin said she could hear a waterfall.  We soon discovered that it wasn’t a waterfall, but the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops that completely surround us.  We’ve had a few gusts come through here, but I’m sure it’s blowing pretty good on the outside.  The other thing mentioned in that article was that it was the most secure harbor in all of British Columbia.  We should definitely still be here come morning.

Bootleg Cove - green boat icon not to scale :)
 

 

August 13, 2013 ~ Sullivan Bay

Loren & Laura on way to seaplane dock

We had a pretty eventful day today, even without going anywhere.  Laura and Lynn reluctantly did their packing this morning, but not until after we had our made-to-order cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  We have enjoyed their stay with us, and we discovered several new anchorages together with them.  One of their favorite anchorages, as was ours, was our stay in the Muirhead Islands of Drury Inlet.  There were so many shoals and islets to explore that no two dinghy rides were the same.  Their Kenmore Air flight arrived pretty close to schedule, and we saw them off at the seaplane dock.  We have a video clip of their departure, and hopefully we’ll get some aerial shots of Sullivan Bay and the surrounding islands from them to add to our upcoming DVD feature presentation.

The pilot checks passports

We busied ourselves in the afternoon with a few housekeeping chores, and Erin took some of the heavy stuff – towels and bedding – up to the Laundromat for a wash and dry cycle.  Our clothes we did in our own washing machine, and they’ve been hanging on the clothesline on the back deck.  I filled the water tank when we first arrived, and I’ll need to do that again in the morning.

We had leftovers for dinner this evening – Erin chose the noodle dish with peanuts and ginger, leaving me with some leftover halibut and rib eye steak from last night’s delicious meal at the restaurant here.

I put on one of those “work shirts” this morning with the intent of spending some time in the engine room, so got that over with this evening.  The oil’s fine in both engines, added a half pint of ATF to the port side transmission, and about the same measure of gear lube to the starboard reduction gear.  I didn’t check the fuel, but I estimate we’ve used no more than 100 gallons since topping up at Lagoon Cove.  We most likely have plenty to get back home with, although if they get much below a half tank I’ll probably add some.

This evening we walked all the docks, and watched a half-moon rise over the hills behind the marina.  The water was calm and the distant hills were all in silhouette, with a hint of pink in the sky.  Hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow, at least if the adage “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight” is true.  The forecast is for some rain late this evening, but what do they know? After our walk we had that strawberry rhubarb pie as a late dessert.

Tomorrow we’ll head towards Echo Bay, making a stop there to see what’s in stock at their store before going a few miles further to an anchorage we want to try.  It’s only got room for one or two boats, but we can go across the passageway to Waddington Bay if necessary.  We’ll be cruising in a southwesterly direction over the next few days as we head towards Desolation Sound and Refuge Cove, where we’ll meet Erin’s parents on the 21^st. 

August 12, 2013 ~ Shawl Bay to Sullivan Bay

For many years Shawl Bay has served a pancake breakfast, and today was no different.  We all clambered out with our plates and forks around 8:30 this morning and headed for the central covered area, where a platter of pancakes awaited us.  Several others were already there, and we heard them describe this as the “summer camp for seniors”, as that’s what they all were.  There were the two Nordic Tugs that we saw in Drury Inlet a couple days ago, a couple sailboats and a couple trawlers – all manned by the senior set.  One couple travels to Alaska every other year, and in the off years comes this far and spends several weeks here at the Shawl Bay dock.  They had a boarding ladder just like ours, but with a custom platform made to fit over the tie rail of the dock to keep the ladder closer to the dock.  Completing the morning gathering was the resident dock cat named, aptly enough, Pancake.  She took a liking to Erin after breakfast and jumped into her lap.  Tribble didn’t join us for breakfast and we didn’t tell her of this indiscretion.

We left just before noon, taking a tour around the harbor.  The Bead Lady, who used to be located at Echo Bay, now has her float home just around the corner from the marina.  It also seems that there are more float homes near the bay entrance than there used to be, but we haven’t been in here since our 2003 Alaska trip, so I guess that’s not surprising.

We were just a couple miles away when it started to rain, and the rain continued for the rest of our cruise to Sullivan Bay.  There really wasn’t any wind and the water was pretty smooth.  The clouds were hanging pretty low and mostly to give it some exercise I turned on our radar.  It still reports nearby boats with a green blip in the same relative position where we could see them, so all’s well there.

I radioed in a few minutes before our arrival, and we were directed back to the same dock where we were moored a week ago – Halibut Heights.  Erin, Lynn and Laura went to the store for some groceries while I filled the water tank.  We are being treated to dinner tonight at the restaurant, and the menu choices are halibut or rib eye steak.  We had some good halibut last week courtesy of Rebecca, so I’m going to opt for the steak.

Dinner at the restaurant was fantastic!  The rib eye steaks were done perfectly, and the barbecue sauce was very good despite having the bleu cheese aspect.  I had mine on the side just in case.  Erin had the halibut and it was done just right as well.  Dessert was a difficult choice, as all the options looked good.  I had a peach ice cream pie, Erin and Laura had the NY cheesecake with raspberry drizzle, and Lynn had apple pie a la mode.  It was all delicious, with some sample trading definitely going on.  The remains of our strawberry rhubarb pie from Shawl Bay will have to wait until tomorrow.

August 11, 2013 ~ Hoy Bay to Shawl Bay

The main attraction here was to be Hopetown Passage, a shallow and rocky passageway between Grappler Sound and McKenzie Sound.  It is strewn with lots of rocks, but is passable by the locals at high tide.  We all piled into the dinghy after breakfast for a low tide cruise along its shoreline.  We were anchored on the opposite side of Hoy Bay, so we first traversed across that before entering the passage.  Many of the rocks within the passage were marked by the “sailor’s friend”, kelp.  It grows up to the surface from the shallows and was a good indicator to the explorers of old long before GPS or even charts were developed.  Still, there were lots of shipwrecks back in those days, but I digress.

We followed the shoreline for the most part, dodging a few kelp marked rocks here and there.  We saw some gradually sloping shoreline that would be good roaming spots for the local bears, but once again none made an appearance.  We all wore our water shoes, intending to do a little beachcombing should we find a good landing spot.  On our first attempt the beach was pretty muddy, sucking one of Erin’s shoes off her foot.  It also didn’t look all that interesting once we all got out of the dinghy, so we eventually abandoned that walk, climbed back in and headed further down the inlet.

At the very end is a shoal that when crossed leads to Burly Bay in McKenzie Sound.  The tide was coming in, and the water was just beginning to clear the shoal, creating a current headed that way.  It’s a great shortcut for the locals, as going around the other way would be several miles.  We didn’t cross, but headed back up the passage where we found another beach and made a landing.  We found a few shells of interest, and I found a piece of wormwood with barnacles on one side.  The piece could be construed to look like a fish with just a little imagination, so it is added to our collection.

By the time we got back to the boat it was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, so without further ado we stowed the dinghy for travel, fired up the engines and weighed anchor to head to our next destination, Shawl Bay.

Compared to our last few days of cruising this trip was a bit more out in the open water, but none the less scenic than any other day, with sheer rock cliffs and distant mountains almost always in view.  The trip to Shawl Bay took about 2 hours, and we arrived just after 4 o’clock.  Shawl Bay is pretty quaint, although it has more amenities than Jennis Bay.  We have a 15 amp shore power connection, which will provide power until 10 o’clock tonight.  There’s a bakery here, and we ordered a strawberry rhubarb pie.  There are several choices, and I think they’re all pre-made in the freezer and travel to the oven once an order is made.  Our pie was delivered fresh out of the oven to the boat later in the evening.  We decided it wasn’t quite done, as the crust was still doughy in the middle, and none of the fruit had bubbled out.  We put it in our own oven to complete the job.

Just as we were finishing dinner, at 8 o’clock, it started to rain.  This is our first rain since Refuge Cove, where we had a downpour that lasted all of 15 or 20 minutes.  This rain has already doubled that, but we hope it does a good rinse of the air before returning to our unusually sunny weather up here.  This is the first good soaking the boat has had in a couple of years, so our leaks are extra active.  Hopefully the leaks will swell enough so that they can get back to normal – or better yet, stop completely.

Tomorrow morning we intend to take advantage of Shawl Bay’s signature feature, the morning pancake breakfast, which will happen at the community dock right next to us.  After that it’s back to Sullivan Bay, where we’ll do chores while Laura and Lynn gather up their stuff for the flight out the following day.

August 10, 2013 ~ Muirhead Islands to Hoy Bay

Last night the cloud cover looked a little threatening, like it might even rain overnight.  It didn’t, but the dew was pretty thick this morning – as was the fog.  Combined with the mirror smooth water it was very picturesque.

Erin baked some cinnamon rolls, but the refrigerator package had been squished in the fridge and had opened.  They were okay but they didn’t rise like you’d expect.  She made the most of that, creating a dish of baked French toast with sausage and blueberries.  I’m glad the cinnamon rolls didn’t turn out right!

We’ve really enjoyed our stay here at the Muirhead Islands – there are so many places to explore and it’s just so scenic.  We’ll definitely return here in the future when we’re up this way.  Through our little gap that’s open to the main channel we saw two or three Nordic tugs cruise by in the late morning, after the slack at Stuart Narrows.  We’ve pretty much had the place to ourselves, with just one other boat that anchored some distance away in MacGowan Bay the first night.  We weren’t sure where the Nordics were headed, but they didn’t come in within sight of us.

The cloud cover took quite a bit longer to burn off today, so we had a cool and damp morning.  I stowed the dinghy, as we would be leaving in the afternoon to catch the next slack at Stuart Narrows.  The sun broke through the clouds and it turned into a warm and sunny day just as it was time to get underway – about 3 o’clock in the afternoon.  As we raised the anchor and moved a bit in our harbor we could see one of the Nordic tugs anchored in the next little bay over – the one we passed up when we came in.

We headed out past the Keith Islets following one of our dinghy ride routes – the one that didn’t pass over any rocks!  One last scenic ride in the Muirheads as we left our anchorage.  We cruised along at 7 knots, passing Jennis Bay on the way to Stuart Narrows, where we arrived about 45 minutes before slack.  The current was only about one knot or so against us – hardly noticeable at all.

We had decided to head towards Hoy Bay instead of Claydon – it’s new to us, and it’s next to Hopetown Passage, where Erin hopes to find some shells at low tide tomorrow.  Hopetown Passage is a shortcut into McKenzie Sound, but only at high tide, and only for folks with local knowledge and shallow draft boats.  I doubt if our chart shows all the rocks.  At first I thought the entrance area might be a good anchorage, but apparently the current can run through there at around 7 knots – not good for an anchorage.

We’re the only boat here in Hoy Bay.  It’s a bit open to the east, but most of the breezes the past several days have come from the west.  We have a great view of a vertical rock face to the east, but our view of those gorgeous mountain peaks is blocked by the treed hills surrounding the bay.

August 9, 2013 ~ Muirhead Islands

After a breakfast of blueberry pancakes and turkey bacon, the consensus was reached that this was a place that deserved another day.  We all piled into the dinghy for another 4 person ride around the various islets.  This time we headed off to the east a bit, following the shoreline closely and checking out all the tidal sea life that was easily seen through the clear waters up here.  There were a few spots where motor up and rowing was required, but the quiet of having the motor off added to the ambience of the environment.

We eventually came to some low lying rocks where several seals were sunning themselves.  I headed a bit up current and shut off the engine so we could slowly drift up to them.  They definitely knew we were here, and kept a wary eye on us.  Some were more skittish than others, but eventually they all bailed off the rock and into the water, where they would pop up from time to time to see if we were still there.  We eventually left them in peace to return to their perch.

Because we’re staying an extra day with no cruising at all, I fired up the generator for a 3 or 4 hour run to load some more amps into our house batteries.  This also afforded the opportunity to recharge various camera and computer batteries, and also to defrost some frozen meat in the microwave. 

Erin and I took off again on a dinghy ride of our own to check out the little harbor and passageway that Lynn and I had discovered the day before.  Heading out through the small cut that was dry rocks a few hours earlier, we spotted the small markers that had been placed on the rocky entrance to Actress Passage, on the other side of the inlet.  The water was glassy smooth, and we decided to take a closer look, racing across at 20 knots.  Not having planned this excursion beforehand, I hadn’t taken a recent look at the chart so wasn’t sure where some of the rocks were once we were in there.  So we proceeded at a slower speed, and the larger rocks were clearly marked by the kelp growing from them.  We went in to Skeene Point, where the dogleg to the left is.  I knew there were plenty of rocks here, and for the most part they were visible with kelp.  It was not slack current, but we were “going with the flow” as we passed through between the rocks, gliding through some small whirlpools and upwelling.   At this point there was another dogleg turn to the right, but we decided that was far enough for now.  Turning back, it was much more obvious that the current was flowing on our upstream leg.  An optical illusion occurred as when we looked straight ahead while being swept off to the side it appeared the point closer to us was moving to the right while the trees in the distance were moving to the left.  It was a cross track indicator without having the software.  We didn’t have any difficulty cruising back out, but without the engine we would have had to wait a few hours before we could row ourselves out.

After clearing the marked rocks and entering the main channel, we again zoomed across back to the Muirheads to continue our intended dinghy ride.  We picked some more Spanish moss off the trees in the small harbor, and motored through the narrow passageway, maneuvering between the rock on one side and the big log snag on the other.  It is a very scenic place, and although we have photos, I know they don’t do it justice.

Later in the afternoon Erin and Lynn got out the paints and did some sketching and painting, while Laura prepared a rice casserole based on one of her family recipes.  We can smell it cooking in the oven now and I know it’s gonna be good.  We’ll augment it with some more crab as well.

Dinner was excellent, as usual, and later in the evening for dessert we had some fresh baked brownies with walnuts.  Tomorrow we’ll head out of Drury Inlet – maybe back to Claydon Bay for some more crabs.

August 8, 2013 ~ Jennis Bay to Muirhead Islands

It’s just another beautiful day in paradise.  Not too much fog this morning – rather it was low lying clouds clinging to the hillsides.  The bear that occasionally appears in the back lagoon here at Jennis Bay didn’t materialize, neither last night nor this morning.  What did appear was a huge barnacle, on the rocks near the ramp that goes ashore.  Erin was going to go over and pick it up, but abandoned her quest due to poor footing on the rocks with her sandals on.  I told her that when the tide was up a bit I could go around in the dinghy and reach it.

Laura made another batch of fried potatoes with onions, and eggs to order just like the other day.  It’s nice having some extra galley help to wait on us!

A couple of the boats that were here left in the morning, and within an hour or two, two more boats showed up; a trawler and a sailboat.  We had seen both of them at previous anchorages over the past few days.  The other boat here at the dock is the Deerleap.  It’s an 85 foot fantail cruiser built in 1929 – very similar in style to the Olympus.  I learned from talking to Charles, who was staying on board and also helping out at the marina, that it belonged to his dad and stepmom, and that they had temporarily left for some medical issues.  Since there’s no power here, he runs the generator a couple times a day to keep the refrigeration going and the batteries up.  It was flying the Classic Yacht Association burgee, and when I mentioned the similarity to the Olympus he said they were usually side by side at the Victoria boat show, and still planned on being there for this year’s show early next month.  It’s a gorgeous yacht – eventually I should be able to upload a photo.

Potentate and Deerleap at Jennis Bay

Erin remembered my earlier comment about retrieving that barnacle with the dinghy, so I went over on foot first to check the tide.  The water was right to the edge so it would be easy to retrieve, but I avoided having to launch the dinghy by walking down to it.  The slippery rocks from this morning had all dried in the heat of the sun making the approach much easier.

Giant barnacle now on display aboard the Potentate

We left the dock around noon or so, heading out past the other side of Hooper Island and into Drury Inlet.  We didn’t have to go far – the Muirhead Islands were only 6 miles away, at the head of Drury and across from the entrance to Actress Passage.  This leads through a dogleg passageway strewn with rocks, some uncharted, and on to Actaeon Sound, and beyond that, Tsibass Lagoon.  There are entrances to Actress Passage on either side of Dove Island.  One of the cruising guides describes a couple of sticks with flags on them that mark which rocks to go between for the local tugboats, and we could indeed see those markers.  That’s not an adventure we’ll be doing this trip – we have an outstanding anchorage here in the Muirhead Islands, surrounded by rocky shores and Spanish moss draped trees.

Our trip here only took just over an hour, so we ran the generator for nearly 4 hours to get some amps back into the house batteries.  During that time we took some dinghy rides around the various islets, and everywhere we looked provided a new and incredible view.  It’s a good thing film has gone out of style and that digital cameras today have plenty of capacity, because I’m sure there were a couple hundred photos taken within the first hour or so that we were here.  We found one little harbor that was completely enclosed except for the main entrance, and a narrow dinghy only passageway out the back, past some boulders and snags.  It seemed fairly deep in the center, but I could see the bottom here and there.  I checked the chart later to see if it was a possible anchorage – one chart showed 2 feet of depth at zero tide, and the other chart showed zero.  I guess we’ll leave that to passing through via the dinghy. 
 

  

Both Erin and Lynn were able to gather some Spanish moss from along the shoreline at or near high tide.  I could butt the dinghy’s bow against the rock face and hold it in place with the engine while they stood and reached into the low hanging branches.

Tonight is ‘surf and turf’ night for dinner.  Laura brought some frozen steaks along on her flight up here, and we’ll be combining that with some crab for dinner.  Potatoes are baking in the oven as I type.  I’ll report back after dinner.,

Laura and Lynn crack crab before our surf 'n' turf dinner

Dinner was excellent!  And, just as with the previous few evenings, when darkness fell the sky was replete with stars and passing satellites.