Sullivan Bay

Following the pancake breakfast hosted by the marina staff at Shawl Bay, we said our goodbyes and Chris hoisted the crab pot to find it completely full of gigantic orange Sea Stars. The Sea Stars are big up here and they seem to be extremely attracted to the fish head bait we put in our pots! Once these guys move in, even the hungriest crab doesn't stand a chance.

Our next stop was Sullivan Bay Marina Resort. I wanted to go there because I have heard so much about the neat float homes. I was not disappointed and “neat” is hardly the word I would use. Unbelievable is more like it.

Yep, that's a yacht out front and a helicopter on the roof!

Who are these people, and how do they make so much money?

There is a cute little store, restaurant, marina office, and about  a dozen homes at the resort.

Pets on board

EllieShilohRubyand of course Max

Underwater mountains

Not far outside of Shawl Bay we are running only several boat length from this rock bluff and still registering

over 600 feet on the depth sounder.

On to Shawl Bay

We arrived in Shawl Bay Marina at about 11:00 AM.  It is another small, family owned Marina with a friendly atmosphere and quite a few boats from the states, four from Olympia!

Tribune Channel

The landslides along Tribune Channel on the way to Kwatsi Bay are a sight to behold. We can only imagine how frightening the site and sound would be when these enormous slides take place. 










Two years ago slide began above the marina owner's home in Kwatsi and stopped only 100 yards from their house and 100 feet from their shed. Amazingly enough they still live there!

Waddington Cove to Kwasti Bay

We left Waddington Cove this morning and headed to Kwasti Bay (still in the Broughton Islands). This is an area of shear rock cliffs and many signs of landslides. The ground covering the rock is so thin that heavy rains and winds cause major earth slides. In many areas, from hundreds of feet up the mountainsides, the earth and tree cover has let loose and slid clear down to the water leaving nothing but solid rock where evergreen forest had once been. I guess in the spring the waterfalls are spectacular. Most are dry now.

We stopped on the way, threw out the prawn traps and did a little fishing for Rock Cod. Chris caught a small cod and we pulled up a few prawns.

Max loves it when we pull up the fishing net or traps. He thinks it is just

so interesting when we bring things out of the water.

He really liked the Prawns.

Sorry Charlie!

This guy was bumped from the dinner menu by fresh Halibut steaks. I guess he will be lunch tomorrow.

Just for the Halibut

We spent two nights at anchor in Farewell Harbour hoping for the winds to die down enough to do a little fishing. We took the dinghy out to the kelp beds and jigged for rock fish for a very short time but the wind was enough to bounce us around in the whitecaps and that is not our idea of fun. Yes, we are fair weather fishing enthusiasts.







Chris was able to make good use of the wind however. As you can see, a fishing pole can also be used successfully to fly a kite..

Anyway, we headed out this morning to check out the fishing lodge on Hanson Island. It  was a beautiful lodge with really friendly management. We tied to their dock and had lunch with a few of their guests and a local film crew and its producer. After a quick tour of the place with Alex, the manager,we enjoyed fabulous food and a wonderful view while seated on the outside deck. We needed to take off before one o'clock so a float plane could land and use the dock to pick up the current guests and drop off an eager new bunch.

About an hour after leaving the lodge, following a  heading back toward Port McNeill, we noticed a larger than usual flock of birds bobbing along on the surface of the water.  We commented as we were passing that they must have been feeding on a herring ball or some other school of small fish. At witch time we concluded quite simultaneously, that where there were small fish, there would most likely be big fish. After turning back to a spot near the floating island of feathered friends we brought Sea Mist down to an idle and Chris dropped a weighted hook to the bottom. Within three pages of the novel I was reading I heard Chris yelled, "I think I've got something", he did! He reeled in a nice Halibut while I got the net.

This is dinner?

Yep!

Dall Porpoise

After a disappointing morning of hunting for whales without a single sighting, we headed to meet up with the crew of Why Knott V in Fairwell Harbor and anchor for the night. We had barely set our new coarse when Chris noticed Porpoise in the near distance. By the time I put dinner on hold and made my way from the galley to the forward deck, Dall Porpoise were cavorting on our bow. They were swimming tight against our hull, surface and diving. At times individuals would swim along on their backs and appear to be looking up at us.  It was amazing to be eye-to-eye with these beautiful creatures. Max was right there enjoying the show. I often wonder what is going through his mind when he is hanging over the side watching, with big eyes and his little dog smile.

Porpoise off the starboard bow

The other creatures that seem to intrigued Max are the Prawns.

Time to reflect...

The smooth water surface makes this triangular rock look like a diamond floating in space.

a few favorite photos so far

Port McNeill

We pulled into a slip at Port McNeill Marina today. This is only the second night we will have spent dockside since leaving Olympia 21 days ago. The town is really nice and readily accessible from the marina. We did some laundry, blankets and towels, things that are a bit bulky for the Wonder Washer on board.



I arranged to have the accumulation of mail from the PO box in Olympia forwarded to us here. We are heading out tomorrow to explore the area and hopefully find an Orca pod, but will check back here in a week or so to get the mail.

Pt. McNeill

July 20th- Today was the first morning of the trip that we headed out under a cloud covered skies. By noon however we were back in blue skies and sunshine.

The goal today was to navigate Johnstone Strait, which can be a difficult body of water with strong currents and often gale-force winds, causing wind-against -current conditions and rough seas. For us however, the experience was mostly smooth waters and beautiful sights. The water is about 10 degrees colder and in some areas of the strait the depths registered over 1500 feet. We had barely entered Blackfish Sound when orca whales (black fish) appeared around the boat. Max and I were manning the helm at the time and a whale surfaced so close to the boat on the starboard side that Max saw it out the window and barked at it!

We arrived in Port McNeill around 6:00.

Yuculta Passage and beyond

Max on lookout

July 19th-

Timing was the goal for today. We needed to get to Yuculta Passage about a half hour before slack so we could make Gillard Passage, Dent Rapids and Whirlpool Rapids at slack. Chris’ timing was so good, we even made it though Green Point Rapids before dropping anchor for the night.


 We relaxed on the upper helm after dinner, watched two more episodes of “Waiting for God” (a British sitcom) and two of “Weeds” before calling it a night.

Travel day

July 18th-We spent most of today traveling. We are on our way north to the Broughton Islands. After a quick stop at Refuge Bay Marina to pick up a few supplies (ice cream, eggs, and bread) we found a cove about an hour and a half from our next destination, Yuculta Passage. The wind blew pretty hard most of the night but our anchor held tight. There were a dozen other boats seeking shelter in the same cove before dark.

In the morning we watched a seal chasing fish near the boat and an eagle on shore pruning his feathers. Chris threw a hook in the water and caught a small, spiny Rock Cod.

Attwood Bay

July 17th-Attwood Bay (Desolation Sound)

We stern tied to shore close to where a small freshwater stream flowed into the Attwood Bay. Upon our arrival a momma duck and a brood of ducklings zipped out of the freshwater stream and darted up the granite rock shoreline. There were several boats in the bay when we arrived, two trawlers rafted on the far side and a powerboat docked next to a small float cabin. We launched the kayaks and took a paddle around the shore. We did a little beaching combing, played with Max, and I found another little plant for my garden. The water was 71 degrees and very clear. The area is surrounded by tall volcanic looking mountains, some with substantial snow glaciers.

I didn’t get much sleep last night. My arm is swollen and hot where the Yellow Jacket stung me. It itches and burns continually in spite of the Sting X and ice pack.