Best Friends

Entry from Chris' journal....

On this trip Lindy and I had a lot of time to talk; maybe too much time. We have

been friends for several years and have lived together for about three years. We

realized we are the best of friends but not so good at living together. I couldn’t

ask for a better first mate than Lindy. She can handle the helm and do everything

needed to get us ready for the dock. She has better eyes than I do and can spot

logs that I never do see. She is a darn good cook and can pull the head off the

prawns as good as anyone. BUT she is tired of boating in the northwest with the

rain and cold. I can understand that but I still have a few more places I would like

to go; besides, that big halibut with my name on it is still swimming around out

there. So, Lindy will be heading home to Tucson while I work on Sea Mist to get

her ready for this winter and next summer.

I hope to spend some time with Lindy and Max in Tucson this winter, but I will be

here most of the time and I hope to find a part time job so I can pay for a

replacement for Gator. I have already picked a name for my new fishing boat;

“Fishism”. We have watched the complete series of Ally McBeal this summer and

we both just loved it. One of the characters (Richard Fish) would have words of

wisdom at times and he would call them “Fishism”. That sounds like a good name

for a fishing boat to me. Now all I have to do is find it and finance it.

And Then…

San Juan Islands

If you have been reading Chris’ daily journal you know that we entered the San Juan Islands and cleared US Customs in Roche Harbor yesterday morning. We spent a great day anchored there enjoying the warm, sunny weather.  The harbor was busy as usual with boat and plane traffic to keep us entertained. We took advantage of the beautiful weather to air out Sea Mist and do some cleaning on both Sea Mist and Gator.

After leaving the harbor and cruising down Henry Island, we encountered several pods of Orcas just off the west side of San Juan Island.  They were moving along at a good pace and putting on a great show as they passed. Chris got some wonderful shots with his rapid fire camera and I captured some nice video footage. We love the Orcas and it is always fun to see them.

When we left the islands Haro Strait was rough, but Juan De Fuca was not friendly at all, and continued to kick our butts even after Chris deployed the stabilizers.  We decided to bail at Cattle Pass and take an inside route through the islands. Even in the protected water between the islands it was not a pleasant trip, the wind kicked up, the fog moved in, and the rains began. We made a good choice.

So far, good weather has been the exception rather than the norm this summer.

July 3rd

Since Bull Harbor is on Hope Island, across Goletas Channel from the Northern end of Vancouver Island, if you look to starboard as you leave you will see Nahwitti Bar. Although it looked very innocuous this morning, it was a calm deception. The wisest of skippers would consider all factors (current, weather, time of day etc.) before attempting this crossing.Once you cross the Nahwitti Bar you can cruise seaward to the Aleutian Islands.

No rain this morning but still a chilly 49 degrees and windy. We got under way after breakfast and stopped a few times to fish. We caught a few big fat Rock Fish, and Chris caught a small Ling Cod, but nothing we wanted to keep. (Except Max, that little fishing enthusiast wants to keep them all.)

 

 

Several Humpbacks, eagles, gulls and a pod of Harbor Porpoise fed near the boat while we fished. 

Lighter shade of grey

July 2^nd-With hopes of making our open water crossing of Queen Charlotte Sound today, we woke to find the sea conditions less than we had anticipated.  With reports from West Sea Otter buoy of ten and a half foot ocean rollers, we decided to make our way to Duncanby, tuck into a protected anchorage, and weigh our options following the noon report. The extended forecast was not encouraging and we were still hopeful of making our surge around Cape Caution today if at all possible. By one o’clock the reports from Pine and Egg Islands were promising, and with ocean swells diminishing by half, we made the decision to go for it. (The crew vote was 3 for going and one abstention, Tiki usually abstains..) During the rainy, six and a half hour crossing, the only thing that distinguished the dark grey ocean swells from the dark grey BC sky was a lighter shade of grey at the horizon. It rained all day and the winds created a substantial surface chop for most of the crossing.  We arrived safely at the entrance to Bull Harbor around seven and anchored for the night. There are some great caves and rock formations at the entrance to Bull Harbor

Ketchikan, Alaska to Shearwater/Bella Bella BC

Since leaving Ketchikan, Alaska we have traveled back to British Columbia and have been cruising remote areas in and around the major channels leading south and staying a night or two in sheltered bays along the way. The weather has been colder with the average daytime temperatures in the mid 50s. We have experienced a few days of rain but most have been cloudy with sun breaks.  

The spring snow melt has resulted in some spectacular waterfalls and we have seen some beauties.  We have actually seen so many that I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite.

Max loves it when we go ashore to explore and play a little ball but Chris and I are pretty wary of getting very far from the dinghy due to the bear population. We have seen some beautiful bears from the safety of the boat and we have no desire to confront one on shore. This guy is the largest we’ve seen so far and he was huge!

We are still in pursuit of the elusive Halibut but Chris has caught some really big Ling cod, black cod, a Red Snapper and yesterday, a beautiful red-orange octopus! I have caught a couple of nice Rock Cod, although tasty, nothing to write home or blog about.

Back in Ketchikan

June 5th

We squeezed between the cruise ships around noon today and tied up to a city dock not far from where we were three weeks ago on our way north. UGRIB weather is calling for an incoming front with substantial winds for a few days so we will remain here till there is a better weather window for crossing Dixon Entrance back into Canada.

Tortoise on deck

I can tell you first hand that a summer day in Alaska is hard to beat. The afternoon we spent at the head of Tracy Arm marveling at the granite fjords, mountains, waterfalls and icebergs could have not have been a nicer day anywhere in the world. Even Tiki spent some time on deck soaking up the rays.

Small iceberg melting on shore

Max love ice cubes and this one was a doozy!

Humpback whale watch

Chris did a little tune up work on Gator's motor before we went out to explore icebergs and whales.

It wasn't long before we encountered a humpback...

Sunshine and ice

May 28, 2011

Sunshine and ice

We came to Alaska to see icebergs and glaciers and today was the day. We experienced a few icebergs at the entrance to Tracy Arm off Holkham Bay and anchored accordingly. We had been schooled by a friend to anchor just inside the cove and to the right so that any bergs coming in during the night would ground themselves on the rocks and lessen the chance of them colliding with Sea Mist during the night. At anchor in the cove we had a spectacular view through the trees .

We saw pods of humpback whales on and off all day yesterday but we were surprised this morning to see them feeding near the icebergs when we entered the arm. As always there were eagles and we spotted this pair of sitting on top of an iceberg.

The quantity and magnitude of icebergs increased as we progressed up Tracy Arm to where the North and South Sawyer glaciers loomed to the left and right of the head. The sheer mass of each glacier was nothing I could have imagined.

Who knew icebergs were blue? I was surprised by the brilliant blue colors of the compressed ice at the core of each iceberg. The size and shape of many reminded me of enormous floats in a watery parade.

Morning Musings

May 24th Morning Musings

Standing on deck this morning I let my senses take-in the great outdoors of Wrangell, Alaska; I hear a multitude of unidentified bird voices, a flock of seagulls, two eagles and a single duck quacking. I can see an empty eagle nest in a tree on the island nearby. A seal head glides almost silently through the water toward the boat till we make the briefest eye contact and he slides effortlessly below the surface. He does so without leaving as much as a ripple in the water to indicate his presence. At the time I wonder what other creatures might occupy the water below the surface and out of sight in the silty brown Bay. There is a ceiling of buoyant white clouds suspended above otherwise blue morning sky. An Alaska Air jet lands and a noisy Beaver float plane revs up to take to the sky. The snow covered mountain peaks glisten in the a.m. sun and a slight, fresh smelling breeze washes across my face.

May 19th

We woke to a beautiful but chilly 42 degree morning. On the way out of the inlet we saw foamy ice running out of the connecting lagoon and into the main bay. Must be spring thaw.

May 18th

We spent the day cruising up the long narrow Grenville Channel as far as Kumealon Inlet where we called it good for the day and anchored in the midst of half a dozen small islands at the base of this beautiful mountain top. The inlet is an easy day cruise from Prince Rupert and the trees lining the rocky shoreline are densely draped in lacey green/grey moss making this a beautiful place to stop for the night.

With sunset not till 9:50 PM, Chris decided that it would be a shame to waste several good hours of daylight when he could be fishing. He took Gator out to the mouth of the inlet to try and snag a big one while Max and I stayed on Sea Mist and half heartedly dangled a hook from her bow. After a few minutes Max started barking at something on shore and I realized that a black bear was feeding only yards away from the water’s edge. I reassured Max that the bear was no threat and grabbed a camera.

For an hour or more Max and I watched the bear grazing on patches of grass and wandering the shore till the sound of Gator returning scared him back into the trees.

May 17th

Following lunch, Chris was at the helm and I was working on some correspondence when an otherwise uneventful day became a once in a lifetime opportunity. Only yesterday I had been reading in Charlie’s Charts about the endangered Kermode Bear that has been seen on Princess Royal Island. The Kermode Bear is the golden colored bear known as the “Spirit” bear in Native American stories. As we hugged the Port side of the channel to pass a tug and barge going in the opposite direction, Chris scans the shore near a small river inlet with the binoculars and tells me the Spirit bear is standing on shore. We look with disbelief for a few minutes and then I take the helm and turn toward shore while Chris stands on deck and clicks a few photos before the bear turns and disappears into the trees. Amazing!

May 15th

We cruised by New Bella Bella and continued around the corner to the end of the bay behind Shearwater for the night. A father and daughter came out from shore in their two-man kayak to say Hello and chat with us for a while. They said that the locals were successfully catching Halibut and Ling Cod in the area right now.

During the evening we were watching TV when the depth sounder indicated a large object traveling slowly under Sea Mist at depths of 16 to 24 feet. We were rocked slightly as I watched the long image glide smoothly under our hull……whale?

Shortly before lunch we were commenting on the lack of whale sightings in Fitz Hugh Sound this year as compared to last year. Within minutes Chris spotted this Humpback just ahead. I surfaced twice and then disappeared.

We have seen very few other pleasure craft on the water since leaving Puget Sound but as we enter the major channels leading to Alaska we are beginning to encounter cruise ships. According to the AIS system, this one is called “Disney Wonder” and claims to have a famous mouse onboard.

Before leaving Kwakume Inlet we took one last look at the snow covered peak of the beautifully triangular Mount Buxton rising some 9,000 feet above sea level. This Inlet has to be one of our favorite places to anchor.

For those who have queried, Miss Tiki is doing well. She would no doubt prefer to be basking in the mid day heat and shade of the palm tree in the back yard of our Tucson home. It has been too cold for her to spend any time outside on the deck so she has been spending most of her time lounging in her first class, climate controlled stateroom on the galley level of Sea Mist. For a land loving Russian Tortoise making her way to Alaska by boat, I must say she has been a pretty good sport thus far. She ordered a mixed veggie plate with a leaf of Romaine for lunch today.

May 14th

We enjoyed a sunny, peaceful day here in Kwakume Inlet. One other boat pulled in around dark last night but left again first thing this morning leaving us with the whole place to ourselves. We set crab pots, did a little fishing, and spent an hour or so just watching some adult harbor seals sunning themselves on an exposed rock at low tide while their babies barked and splashed and played what appeared to be a seal version of Marco Polo in the water nearby.

The prawn traps came up empty but we did catch several nice rock fish and a fat dungeness crab for dinner.

It was definitely a good day for solar power.







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May 13th

May 13th-

Once again we poked our nose out into Queen Charlotte Strait. There was still plenty of chop but unlike last time, today the UGRIB weather forecast was calling for diminishing winds as the day progressed and we decided to press on. In all of the navigation books on board with all their words of wisdom about when and how to round Cape Caution, none address making the trip across the largest and most notorious expanse of open water on the Inside Passage on Friday the 13th! Feeling lucky and not the least bit superstitious, we threw salt over our left shoulder, crossed our fingers and charted a course to cross Queen Charlotte Sound, round Cape Caution and travel up Fitz Hugh Sound to a little safe harbor called Kwakume Inlet. With a long day and an open ocean crossing behind us we were relieved to drop anchor for the night and admire the view.