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.







.

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.

May 12th

We left the shelter of our Dickson Island cove and worked our way out to the entrance of Queen charlotte Strait only to find gusting winds and rough seas. With the UGRIB weather calling for deteriorating conditions as the day progressed, we decided to return to the protection of the islands and spend another day and night at anchor.

Chris went about changing out the old and troublesome on-deck switch that controls the windless. Due to age and years of being exposed to corrosive sea elements it had become less and less reliable over the past few weeks. I cleaned windows and window covers to remove some of the dried on salt accumulation so evident with the sun shining through. The remainder of the day typified a spring day almost anywhere, alternating sun and calm with wind and rain showers.

Late in the afternoon we took Gator out to pull the prawn traps and cruise around some of the nearby islands and coves. We were rewarded with a bear sighting in one of the small coves. This beautiful black bear stopped searching the rocks for tidbits long enough to check us out while Chris snapped this photo.

May 11th

May 11th-

This morning we left Port McNeill and cruised a little over 30 miles up Tribune Channel to check out the waterfalls. We admired a dozen or more impressive falls on the cruise but the ultimate goal was to park in front of Lacy Falls and take some pictures of Sea Mist. We made the same trip last year in late summer and were disappointed to find the black rock face totally dry. Today however the waterfall was cascading in all its glory and absolutely beautiful.

While cruising along the channel Max and I baked cookies, first doggie cookies then people cookies. Like most of us Max found the raw cookie dough hard to resist.

Dinghy to town

By noon we gave up on the idea of it warming up and bundled  for the dinghy ride into town. The majority of the shopkeepers in town were grumbling about the weather like we were and indicating that they were tired of winter. We did see signs of Spring as we braced ourselves against the wind and rain and walked from the dinghy dock to Main Street.

We purchased a couple things for the galley at the IGA, (vanilla, lemons, a squash, and tomatoes) another crab trap at the sporting goods store along with a current fishing rules and regulations booklet, and a longer cable for the stern camera.

On our way back to the dinghy we noted how many empty slips there were and how deserted the marina  seamed to be this time of year.

Windy morning

May 10th                Port McNeill, British Columbia

Although not unexpected for this time of year, we are experiencing cold, wind, and rain showers this morning. There are substantial and sustained winds in the anchorage making it a bit bumpy. Chris deployed the stabilizers after breakfast and although they are really designed for stabilization under power, they help to steady the boat at anchor as well. Regardless of the wind and wave action the float planes are active and several have come and gone from the port this morning.

 As for me, still in my bathrobe and slippers till it warms up. :)

Port McNeill

We had an excellent cruising day and arrived in Port McNeill around 4:30. The winds and tides were in our favor all day. Johnstone Strait has never been better and Queen Charlotte Strait was absolutely flat. It was so warm that we spent a large portion of the afternoon on the upper bridge and even shed our hoodies for awhile. We began a new puzzle and worked on it diligently for several hours.


We saw very few other boats on the water and Sea Mist ran on auto pilot the entire day. We were almost to Port McNeill before we encountered a BC Ferry, a tour boat, a float plane and a few fishing boats. Ah…civilization.

The good news is that we have WiFi and two TV channels here at anchor! Ah….civilization.

Johnstone and Queen Charlotte Straits

May 9th

The clouds are hanging low as Chris pulls anchor and we head out of our overnight cove on Wellbore Channel just outside Whirlpool Rapids. While cruising on quiet seas we listen to a medley of Santana classics, breakfast on steamy Belgian Waffles and French pressed coffee. (Life is tough at sea)

We are getting an early start in anticipation of a fairly long travel day. If winds and currents cooperate our goal is to make our way to Port McNeill, a small town on Vancouver Island, around dinner time. There is good anchorage a short dinghy ride from town and once at the dinghy dock it is a short walk to a well stocked grocery store, bank, Laundromat, post office, marine supply, several restaurants and usually an open WiFi ! We might even pick up a TV station or two. Along the way I download a copy of the New York Times to my Kindle and catch up on major news events of the past week. Chris mans the helm and keeps a look out for Orcas. Johnstone Strait is a feeding area for Orcas and we saw several pods in the area last summer.

 Max takes a nap.

Octopus Islands to Whirlpool Rapids

We experienced a calm ride from the Octopus Islands through Whirlpool Rapids and into a nice anchorage just on the other side where we spent  the rest of the day and night.

Chris leaving the mother ship to pursue Ling Cod while Lindy and Max stay on board to trap crabs off the bow of Sea Mist.

Sunset is getting later and later each day. It will set around 8:50 tonight.

Rebecca Spit to Octopus Islands

Fishing in the Octopus Islands-

The rains stopped long enough for us to take Gator out to the mouth of Hole-In–The-Wall at tide change to try and hook a Ling Cod or two. Although good eating, these fish are notoriously mean and have razor sharp teeth. Since they are known for being aggressive, if not a bit cannibalistic in their feeding habits, it was not a big surprise when Chris reeled in a small cod that had taken his lure to find a much larger cod trying to swallow it whole. In the process of releasing the smaller cod, the larger cod flipped off the gaff hook before Chris could get him in the boat. That’s our “big fish that got away” story and we are sticking to it. The legal size for Ling cod is 62 CM so even though we had fun and caught a few fish. We came back to Sea Mist empty handed. Looks like hamburger for dinner tonight.

Max is all about fishing (when he's not napping)

Drift at Rebecca Spit

We got up, ate breakfast, and took the dinghy into shore to explore the enormous amount of drift left on shore by the previous winter’s storms. We had a good hike, enjoyed the shore birds, and found some very interesting drift in all shapes and sizes. We found an extremely large tire and a salvageable length of 1/2 inch rope. (found rope is always good for a sacrificial stern tie) And since I am always looking for shells, I have to add that other than a few oysters, there were no shells to be found on the spit.

Nanaimo to Rebecca Spit

May 4^th- Hearing that Whiskey Gulf was active, we decided to bypass Lasqueti Island and cruise straight up the Straits of Georgia and make our way to Rebecca Spit. We have passed the spit in the past and commented on how it would be fun to stop someday and hike through the mounds of drift on the beach. We arrived at the spit and dropped anchor in the center harbor shortly before dark. Like so many times in the islands, we barely get the anchor in the water and we see a large bald eagle perched majestically in a treetop on the shore.  We spent the remainder of the evening monitoring Max’s coming and going and encouraged him not to linger on deck. There are stories in the islands of lumberjacks finding eagle nests with a dozen or more dog and cat collars littering the bottom. Yikes!

Day three

We spent a quiet evening anchored in Montague Harbour last night. After dinner we watched a couple episodes of “Weeds”, had cake and ice cream, and turned in for the night.

We were up and making our way through the Gulf Islands by 5:30 AM this morning. The early departure was necessary to make it to Dodd Narrows on or near slack. The wind picked up once we left the shelter of the gulf Islands and we decided to tuck into Nanaimo and avoid the rough seas rather than pushing on to Lasqueti Island and Boho Bay. The weather report calls for diminished winds and seas tonight and tomorrow morning.

For those of you who cruise to Nanaimo, we are anchored straight out from the Dinghy Dock Pub. For those of you who are not familiar with Nanaimo, it is the home of the delicious and oh so decadent coconut and chocolate Nanaimo Bar.



Chris seems to have eliminated all of the air bubbles plaguing the water-making system since the filter change and it is function beautifully. On the power side, even though we have partial cloud cover this afternoon the solar panels are working well and converting amps.

Chris is down in the engine room doing some organizing, Max is taking a nap and I am hoping to find an open WiFi to post to the blog.

Day two

Clearing Customs into Canada is always interesting and today was no exception. About 20 minutes from the Bedwell Customs Dock Chris saw a patrol boat approaching our port side with blue lights flashing.


We stopped and the agents ran us through the usual questions; why are you coming to Canada? How long will you be in Canada? Are you traveling with any other boats? What will you be doing while you are in Canada? Do you have firearms on board? Why don’t you have firearms on board, how do you plan on protecting yourselves? (We found this last question rather disturbing. Since when do we need to protect ourselves in Canada….?) Anyway, the agents instructed us to proceed to the custom dock for check in and disappeared as fast as they had appeared. We had all of our paperwork in order, passports, health certificate for Max, no more than the allowable amount of liquor, no objectionable fruits or veggies, and NO firearms to declare. Within minutes we were tied to the dock and Chris as the captain of the vessel headed up to the customs office with notebook in hand while the crew, Max and I, waited dutifully onboard. When I saw Chris returning I thought we were surely good to go and began preparing to cast off the lines. Instead, Chris informed me that Canada no longer allowed “foreign soil” into the country and that we must remove the three large planters of herbs and flowers we had on our back deck. ( In reality, the same large planters that we have had on the boat and all over Canada for the past three years! ) Last year in addition we had an enormous tomato plant on the deck, a coffee plant upstairs and several house plants in the cabin, no problem. Lucky for me all of my house plants were still at Terri and Don’s house this year, but we had to leave everything else behind.

The funny thing …. Some of the succulents and soil in one of the planters I dug up in Canada last year and took back to the US! That I could probably be arrested for.

Hope Island to Bedwell

Day two-


We woke to a more typical NW day, cloudy and raining by the time breakfast was finished. Since the currents were running too strong at Deception Pass for most of the morning we stayed on the hook at Hope Island till it was time to make our way to the mouth of the pass for slack, the 5 minute window when the tide is running neither in nor out. When we arrived there were two tugs with a log tow on the opposite side waiting for slack as well so we pulled Gator alongside and went through with a 2 and half knot flow in our favor. Deception Pass is always one of my favorites. The Bridge over the pass is 144 feet high and connects the Islands of Whidbey and Fidalgo. We dumped into Rosario Strait and made our way to the San Juan Islands. As many of you know the straits can be trying at times with varying degrees of roughness from, lay a few things down to “batten down the hatches”. Today was fine, whitecaps and mini ocean rollers but nothing uncomfortable or requiring stabilizers to be deployed. It was smooth enough in the afternoon for me to spend time down in the galley doing some baking.