Sea Jay Goes North 2011

Roche Harbor to Everett

2011-08-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

We had a nice dinner at Roche harbor and left early the next morning to cross the straights and head into Everett marina. As we passed the West side of San Juan Island we saw a couple dozen Orcas feeding on an abundance of Sockeye Salmon along with a fleet of fishing boats. It is good to be at our home base and we are looking forward to driving our cars again. As you can see our next door neighbor at the marina "Brian"was very happy to see us again.

We traveled a total of 3069 miles and used 5302 gallons of fuel for a whopping .7 miles per gallon. If we had run 10 miles per hour instead of 12 miles per hour we would have attained 1 mile per gallon.

This is the end of Sea Jay Goes North 2011

Nimmo Bay ,Port harvey, Campbell River, Montague Harbor, Roche Harbor

2011-08-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

We left Nimmo Bay Helicopter Adventures with a smile on our face and memories we will never forget.

We chugged down Tribune Channel across Knight Inlet to Port Harvey and had a great Pizza cooked from scratch by George.

Next morning we slipped out at 6AM and headed down Johnstone Straits hitting Seymour narrows at slack with in 3 minutes and moored at Discovery Harbor. Ray and Sue Biggs were there and we had a nice chat with them.

Next morning at the crack of 9:30 we left Campbell River and headed south in Georgia Straits. The water was fine with a slight push from the tide until we got past Comox then all hell broke loose and we were heading straight into a 40 knot winds with 6 to 7 foot breakers. We slowed to 9 knots and when we got to Belinas Island the waves were very large and breaking so we headed paralell to the waves shore towards shore and hugged the shoreline through the small islands until we got to Nanaimo. This was the worst water of the whole 2900 miles we have traveled so far. We checked the Dodd Narrows chart and we could hit slack perfectly so we forged on to Montague Harbor which was very crowded with boats scrambling to get out of the wind. This morning we left Montague Harbor at the crack of noon and now we are at our beloved Roche Harbor.

Tomorrow we will head home if the wind is fair to us.

Burly Bay Nimmo Bay

2011-08-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

Robert and I went back to Sullivan Bay to Meet Cheryl's plane and then Robert left the next day.

The next morning Cheryl and I idled to Burly Bay (about 6 miles) to anchor for the night. Burly Bay is just off of Mackenzie Sound is not used much and it is only four miles from Nimmo Bay. It was very pleasant quiet evening.

Next afternoon we went back to Nimmo Bay Resort for a helicopter ride to the top of the world and dinner.

We lifted off at 5PM and the helicopter ride was spectacular. We landed on top of Kingcome Glacier and were served ice cold champaign and fresh strawberries to enjoy the breath taking view. This trip was truly an awesome flight never to be forgotten. When we got back to the lodge about 7:15 PM we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the lodge with several other guests. After dinner we were treated to Songs and stories lead by Greg Murray owner and founder of Nimmo Bay Resort. We highly recommend this wonderful unique and friendly resort! Today we will begin our journey back to home base stopping tonight at Port Harvey.

Claydon Bay to Sullivan Bay

2011-08-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

This morning Robert and I changed the filters on the water maker in Claydon Bay and were makin water. Then we moved to Sullivan Bay.

After we tied up at Sullivan Bay, were shot over to Drury Inlet for the 1 PM slack high tide and I caught a wonderful 22 pound Ling Cod. So its Ling Cod, lightly flowered then dipped in well whipped seasoned egg then rolled in Panko and browned in butter to perfection, for dinner tonight. We vacuum bagged the remaining ling Cod and popped it in the freezer

Nimmo Bay to Claydon Bay

2011-08-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

We left Nimmo Bay and headed for Wells Passage to do some salmon fishing, anchoring in a spot near the narrow inlet to Greenway Sound. It was blowing 30 but we fished anyway for 3 hours and Robert caught beautiful but small Sea Bass. The anchorage was not protected from the increasing north west wind so we moved to Claydon Bay to get out of the wind. The photo below was taken from the Nimmo Bay Helicopter flying up the Wakeman River looking for a good fishing hole. The pilot could see the salmon before we landed to help insure good fishing, and it was good.

Now we r back at Sullivan Bay and will go to Drury Inlet for Lingcod.

Nimmo Bay Heli Adventures 8-4-2011

2011-08-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

We idled from Sullivan Bay to Nimmo Bay Resort on Aug 3rd did some bottom fishing that afternoon and had a nice dinner with the staff and lots of good wine. Next day we were ready to go on the helicopter at 8 AM but fog held up the trip until almost noon so we lost a half a day on this trip. We took off at 12:30 PM and weaved up through the foggy tree tops and broke out into wonderful sunshine over Kingcome Inlet. First stop was on a Wakeman river bank and Robert caught the first fish. Next we headed up the valley to different river on a very tight sand bar. This landing was on a bend in the river and it was an awesome location with barely enough room for the chopper to land. Here we hit pay dirt catching 4 nice Coho on light spinning rods with ten pound test line. Robert each got two nice Cohos. Next our (pilot guide) Don, rolled out a lunch fit for a king, complete with a table cloth, silver & crystal, fine wine, home made bread, sandwiches, cookies, fruit, and perfectly chilled white Pinot wine. We fished some more after lunch then flew to Constantine Glacier and landed on top of this 6000 foot high chunk of ice and granite

Tonight we had another outrageous dinner at the lodge then we will move on to Wells passage in the morning for some serious Salmon fishing. This is a day we will not forget!

Sullivan Bay Aug 2-3-2011

2011-08-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

We left Green way for an easy putt to Sullivan Bay and Robert Rath came to visit and Cheryl flew to Seattle to attend her nephew's wedding. Robert ate all the cinnamon rolls at the general store and was thrown into the Sullivan Bay Brig. I got him out on bail this morning and will are heading for Nimo Lodge to do a day on their helicopter for trout fishing and have lunch on a glacier.

2011-08-01T18:29:00.001-07:00

JENNIS BAY, SUTHERLAND BAY, CLAYDON BAY, GREENWAY SOUND, SULLIVAN BAY

2011-08-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

We left Port McNiell for Jennis Bay to join Reflections, Mirage, Crescendo, Seventh Wave and Spirit for a RHYC moving cruise in the Broughtons. Jennis bay was fun with a great Cajun dinner prepared by Lovely and talented Allyson Allo owner and manager, who also sang songs and told Cajun stories. We were like little kids on Christmas morning listening to a Cajun's version of the Night Before Christmas story read out of a childrens book.The RHYC cruise then moved to a stunning stern tie at Sutherland Bay at the head of Drury Inlet. Then we move to Claydon Bay for a second six boat stern tie. It was great to be together for three days but then it was time to break up and go our seperate ways. SeaJay stayed stern tied for another rainy and quiet two days at Claydon Bay. Early the next Morning We were treated to a black bear on the rocky beach turning over large rocks to eat crab, shells and all, not more than 40 feet from our stern in the driving rain. Yesterday idled to GreenWay Sound and anchored at the end of the sound in 120 feet of water behind an island. We were alone for another quiet day. This morning we idled to Sullivan Bay and will be hear for Robert Rath to arrive tomorrow and Cheryl will fly out to attend here nephews wedding in Portland.

Ocean Falls to Duncanby Landing to Port McNeal

2011-07-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

We had a long slow easy trip from Ocean Falls to Duncanby Landing. As in past years we had a wonderful dinner there, this time with the Gills.

They charge $1.50 per foot and $45 for power so it is much like staying at home at the cost of a fine hotel... but the food is good and they are very nice people so I would go back again.

Leaving at 07:00, an hour behind early bird Spirit, our trip across Cape Caution was lumpy at the start but then we settled into 5 foot swells at 8 seconds from the starboard side all the way to the tip of Vancouver Island. Sea Jay does very well in this kind of water with the stabilizers doing their job to stop the rolling from the beam seas.

We arrived at Port McNeal at 1 pm and topped off the fuel tanks. Sprit arrived just as we were tying up at the dock.

We had been having intermittent low boost pressure issues with the starboard engine allowing us to go only 11 knots and then it would slowly build up to the same pressure as the port engine. I called Dan Claire owner of Black Cat, a very good diesel repair company in Port Hardy and ordered a boost pressure sensor as a possible fix to the problem. Dan came down to the boat after we arrived and switched the suspect sensor to the port engine. We took SeaJay for a spin and sure enough the port engine had the same problem. We are waiting for a new sensor to arrive from Edmonton so Dan can install it. We could go on without this repair at ten knots but sometimes I feel the need for 26 knots and this repair will allow that need to be met.

Not a big deal but we needed a down time period any way.That evening we celebrated Cheryl's birthday at the local bistro and had Miriam's wonderful chocolate cake on board Spirit after dinner. Spirit even had vanilla ice-cream to go with it. Then we watched a fun movie called Space Cowboys on Spirit before retiring for the night.

Last night we had uninvited visitors on our boat who removed two new, full prawn bait buckets to the swim step from the cockpit for a robust smelly feast. The lid was open on one bucket and the contents were gone. The other bucket was partially open but the very smelly prawn bait pellets were still there.\ in its plastic bag.

This cleaver work of carrying the buckets out of the cockpit and opening the tightly sealed plastic lids was beyond the pay grade of a dog. There were small foot prints in the swine step so Later I checked with the marina office and the docks are the home of some cagy little creatures with white rings around their eyes.

We talked to Linda Collier on Reflections on the radio late yesterday as they were coming out of Wells passage about 25 miles east of Port McNeal, and we will meet them and the Stewarts at Jennis Bay on Tuesday. Steve Driscoll called on the phone and Steve and Sandy are on their way up and will meet us at Jennis Bay as well. So we will have a Roche Harbor Yacht Club mini cruise next week at Jennis Bay with Reflections, Mirage, Crescendo, Sea Jay and Spirit attending the Weekly Sea Food Gumbo Dinner at Jennis Bay.

Shearwater to Ocean Falls

2011-07-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ocean Falls Marina Club House

Husky Float Plane

Any more crab bait?

Dinner on the dock

Had a great thick crust pizza dinner at the Shearwater pub and caught up on e mail anchored in the bay.

Worked our way through Gun Boat Passage to Ocean Falls and were delighted to see that the docks have been rebuilt like new. Set the prawn pots and crab pots and had a great halibut dinner that Cheryl fixed using a new recipe from Jackie.

Today we were taken to the local general store owned by Gwen Swan in her jeep. Got a killer Ocean Falls hoody sweat shirt and some other neat stuff then Gwen gave us a one hour guided tour of Ocean Falls and Martin Valley. Gwen has lived here all her life and it was a very interesting tour . She even took us up to the Dam and we watched workers work on the face of the dam then drove even farther up a steep gravel road to see Link Lake that was man made by diverting water into the valley and building the dam for hydro electric power for the pulp and paper mill. Population topped out a 5000 and now is 35 year round and about 100 in the summer. Yesterday a small Husky float plan flew in under a 200 foot ceiling and landed here. I had a chat with the pilot and he is doing a trip from California in the Husky float plane. He made dinner on the dock and even has a shot gun mounted on the struts for bear when he is camping on a lake.

What a cool thing to do but I would not like to solitude of camping alone with the bears.

Prince Rupert to Lowe Inlet , Khutze Inlet then Shearwater

2011-07-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

We had a nice dinner in with the Gills in Prince Rupert and met a fun Couple from California ... Jim and Kristi Bartlet. Topping off the tank in PR was over 5$ per gallon. We have been running about 10 knots and that helps a lot to ease the pain.

They followed us into Lowe Inlet and cruised by the water fall looking for bears on their way to Hartley Bay.

Next stop was Khutze Inlet and the weather was wonderful but my Sea Doo had a dead battery. Patrick took us on a nice ride up the river and he pulled 24 crab that evening enough to make us all limit. These were monster crab so we are set for crab for a few days. Prawns were good in Lowe and there were no bears out fishing. We are now anchored in the bay just outside the breakwater at Shearwater.
Tomorrow we will go to my favorite place in this area Ocean Falls.

Ketchikan to Prince Rupert

2011-07-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

We left Ketchikan at 7:20 and arrived in PR at 3 PM Since it is an hour difference in time we really made good time considering the 3 to 6 foot seas and 20 knot winds from the south.

Patterson ,Red Bluff, Petersburg, Wrangle, Ketchikan

2011-07-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Sitka to Kalinin Bay May 21, 2011

We decided to go back to Kalinin Bay and meet up with Lady J, Jackie and Layne, so they could show us how and why they are so successful at catching halibut. After a wonderful day with them we caught 5 halibut, not very big but certainly worth keeping for some delightful meals.

The next day we went out one final time at Kalinin and Jim caught a 30 lb king. Later that day we left for Rodman Bay and spent the night. There was nothing there but at least 50 commercial crab pots.

On Friday the 24th we went to Ell Cove and found a beautiful, quiet little cove and stayed there for 2 days. We also caught 8 Sea Bass and had a delightful bass dinner that evening with Asplunds and Gills.

Onward to Warm Springs Bay the next day where there was a magnificent waterfall. We had to be careful leaving Ell Cove due to all of the purse seiners that had just arrived the previous day. They couldn’t start fishing until midnight and had 15 hours before they had to stop so there were nets everywhere. It was estimated there were around 60 boats. After we arrived in Warm Springs, the purse seiners started coming in when they were through for the day. We took a walk up to the hot springs that are right beside the waterfall and then walked a short distance to Baranof Lake. Great boardwalk path. We then went out for more fishing and Jim caught 2 good sized halibuts.

Tuesday June 28th - Warm Springs to Patterson Bay

Patterson Bay June 29

This is a was long and narrow bay with steep high sides with exposure to the South wind. We anchored in 90 feet of water at the had of he bay and put out 300 feet of chain. The 150 pound Rockna anchor really did its job holding solid in gusts up to 37 kts that night.

This is a very scenic anchorage but must be treated with respect due to the deep and rocky bottom and narrow head of the Bay. Patrick did extremely well pulling in 16 dozen prawns in three sets.We got about 4 dozen nice pawns that night.

Red Bluff Bay June 30-31

Red Bluff Bay is as it is named with high red rocky bluffs at the entrance.

It has a winding entrance and must be treated with respect to avoid fowl rock infested water.

We keep saying it over and over but this is an outstanding and beautiful anchorage, with high and dramatic waterfalls, snow capped peaks and green pasture at the head of the bay and plenty of brown Grizzly bears grazing on shore.

Patrick got a hot tip from Steve Oberto on where to set the prawn pots and we did very well for two days harvesting a robust catch of prawns by the bucket full. We set the prawn pots in a secret spot close to shore on a steep declining bottom in about 240 feet of water.

Spirit went on to Petersburg today and we decided to stay another night before heading for Petersburg and on to Wrangle for the 4th of July and a tour of the Anan Bay bear and wild Life Observatory Grizzly bear watch. July 4 was wonderful in Wrangle with all the logger stuff and great fireworks. We have done the Behm Canal and are leaving Ketchikan tomorrow headed for Prince rupert and work our way south to the Broughtons. Changed the oil and water pump impellers on the gen sets and we are ready for another round of anchorage.

The brief videos show a grizzly eating clams on the middy beach with crows following close by to clean up the scraps. Then we tossed a cod carcass on the rocks to watch an eagle in a near by tree. He cautiously worked his way down on the rocks with his buddy and got the fish ...but it took about 30 minutes for this all to happen while Cheryl and I sat in the dingy waiting for this shot. The water falls are every where and wonderful.

Petersburg July 1

We arrived in Petersburg just in time for the beginning of a festival that started with bagpipes as we walked to the store for supplies. The town seemed busy and festive. Also made arrangements to have more salmon and halibut shipped home to ease up some space in the freezer in anticipation of more crab and prawns!! We took a shuttle to the Beachcomber Restaurant and had a very pleasant dinner with a delightful couple from England, Bob and Jean. They were touring Alaska via ferry and car and having a great time.

Wrangell July 2 - 4

Saturday we left Petersburg and headed for Wrangell - 5th day in the rain! Our original plan was to take the Anan Bay Bear watch tour but discovered we were probably at least a week early to be able to see much. So that plan didn’t work out. We did, however, have a wonderful dinner at the Stikine Restaurant with the Gills. All four of us shared a mountainous mud pie for dessert. Biggest I’ve ever seen.

You never know what you’re going to see next when you’re boating. Just after we docked, a small dinghy arrived in the marina towing a 62’ Selene that had lost its controls and was dead in the water. Definitely not an easy thing to do when it’s windy. Brad and Rosy were the owners and we met them later. That evening a Purse seiner docked next to us, put the boat into reverse while docking, and the 350lb propeller fell off. The next day a diver was able to help the fishermen pull it out for repairs.

On July 4th we were still in Wrangell for their celebration. We started the morning off with an excellent egg breakfast that Patrick prepared and then took a taxi into town (it was raining again) to watch several events. They started off with a logging contest with chainsaws, then axes, then single crosscut saws. There were dual crosscut saws but we didn’t see that. We were very wet and cold so started walking toward a nice warm restaurant for a bite to eat and watch the log rolling contest. The downtown area was very crowded and busy with homemade games for the kids and an outdoor BBQ and Beer Garden. Everyone was having a great time. We took a small break and went back to the boats for cocktails on Brad and Rosy’s boat. That evening we saw an excellent fireworks display even in the rain. Supposedly the best in Southeast Alaska.

Tuesday, July 5

We left the Gill’s behind at Wrangell to make some repairs to their boat and headed for Santa Anna Inlet. We just relaxed and decided to do nothing except have some wonderful smoked Sockeye Salmon. Our destination was to take Behm Canal, making several stops and then head for Ketchikan before making our way south.

Wednesday, July 6

After leaving Santa Anna Inlet, we had the company of several porpoises jumping along beside us. What a treat to see! Jim took some great pictures. That evening we went to Yes Bay. It’s beautiful and we had great anchorage at the very end of the bay. The Yes Bay Lodge is one of the top 15 fishing lodges in the country and is open to the public for dinner so of course we had to try it. Very expensive but good. The lodge was at full capacity for fishermen and is very exquisite inside. We spent two nights there and got the biggest jumbo prawns we’ve ever seen, and lots of them. Also caught 4 medium crabs. We then left Yes Bay on Friday and went to Fitzgibbon Cove for the night.

Saturday, July 9

It was very cloudy as we went on to Walker Cove. Once we entered the cove most of the clouds and fog seemed to go away and left us with very beautiful scenery. We found anchorage at the end of the cove and had the delight of watching a big grizzly eating grass and digging for clams. We kept an eye on him for at least a couple of hours before he disappeared. He totally ignored us! When we got up the next morning the sun was out and then we realized why people told us to go there. We could see the tops of the snowcapped mountains. It was fantastic.

Sunday, July 10

This was a short trip down the Canal to Punchbowl Cove. Just as we were coming in a big sailboat was ahead of us so we kept going down Rudyerd Bay and glad we did. We found good anchorage in the South arm and it was beautiful. The mountains in this area are different from any we’ve seen anywhere else. They are straight up vertical granite, some of them 4300’ with a few of them snowcapped. Lots of waterfalls but never found a bear.

Monday, July 11

As we leave Rudyerd Bay, there is a 230’ rock, New Eddystone, in the middle of Behm Canal that is a much-photographed landmark of the area. The day is bright and sunny as we head to Ketchikan to join the Gills for a couple of days.

Kalinin Bay with Lady J and Spirit

2011-07-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sitka to Kalinin Bay May 21, 2011

Onward to Warm Springs Bay the next day where there was a magnificent waterfall. We had to be careful leaving Ell Cove due to all of the purse seiners that had just arrived the previous day. They couldn’t start fishing until midnight and had 15 hours before they had to stop so there were nets everywhere. It was estimated there were around 60 boats. After we arrived in Warm Springs, the purse seiners started coming in when they were through for the day. They rafted 5 deep at the dock and one rafted to Sea Jay. We took a walk up to the hot springs that are right beside the river at the head of the waterfall and then walked a short distance to Baranof Lake. Great boardwalk path. We then went out for more fishing and Jim caught 2 good sized halibuts.

Tuesday June 28th - Warm Springs to Patterson Bay

Patterson Bay June 29

Red Bluff Bay June 30-31

Red Bluff Bay is as it is named with high red rocky bluffs at the entrance.

It has a winding entrance and must be treated with respect to avoid fowl rock infested water.

The second day at Red Bluff we caught more prawns and thew next morning we headed for petersburg with Gail Warnings for that day. We bumped our speed up to 14 knots from the usual 10 but the wind caught up to us and we were seeing gusts above 35 knots. SEa Jay was fine but the dingy got the ---- kicked out of it so we slowed to 10 knots for the last third of the 75 mile 7 hour trip.

Got a good slip in Petersburg, did our grocery shopping and had a nice dinner with Jean and Bob Somerville from the Midlands in England who were taking a marine highway tour of Alaska. We had a nice chat about politics in both countries.It seems they have similar issues with very high taxers and ten dollar a gallon gas. They both drive 1.8 liter diesel cars that get 60 MPG. Today we leave for Wrangle for the Fourth of July weekend and hope to go to Anon Bay to see the bears feed on salmon.

Kalinin Bay to Sitka

2011-06-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

We left Kalinin Bay for Sitka to get our supplies replenished and pass our 40 pounds of Salmon Filets to Big Blue, a company that will smoke the fish and ship it to us when we get home.

Our long time friend Jim Passage came to Sitka to get more Salmon and we did get him five or six more fish for him to take home. The Kings had moved on but we still got one or two Kings and some nice Silvers. Sunday Jim, Cheryl and I went on a two hour tour of Sitka and visited a cultural center and some nice Totem Poles and learned a lot about the history of Sitka.

Last night we went to a wine tasting dinner at a local hotel with the Gill's, Oberto's and Bonnie and Ron who are new friends of the Gill's. The dinner was nice and we got an interesting presentation from the wine maker, from Robert Strong winery.

They produce and sell about 12 million bottles a year. Today we will go back to Kalinin Bay for the third and last time to see if we can get some bottom fish and a salmon or two then begin out journey back south. Our goal is to be in Wrangle for the 4th of July and be in the Broughtons late July

Sitka to Kalinin Bay & Sukoi Bay 6-10-6-13

2011-06-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

We left Sitka to go north to Kalinin Bay to see if we could catch some Salmon. Spirit went South to go around the south end of Baranof Island. Kalinin Bay is a very nice anchorage just inside open ocean and we found it to be very popular with the sport fisherman. Next morning we took the Aksano out at the tide change at the crack of ten and within two hours we had our daily limit of King Salmon and one nice Black Cod/Sea Bass.

The next morning we went out again and as soon as I got the herring set with the down riggers Cheryl had a salmon on then at the same time I had one on. Our first double header. It was a calamity with Cheryl reeling a 35 pound King and me trying to reel and net a 25 pound King single handed ....but eventually we got them both in the boat and once again after only 20 minutes we had our daily limit and enough Salmon to last us a year. That afternoon we went a few miles southeast and anchored in Sukoi Bay and were there alone for the night.

Sukoi Bay is a beautiful setting complete with Grizzly Bears, Black bears on the beach. (the Grizzlys eat grass and the Black Bear pick through the rocks looking for food). There were also three adult deer and a fawn running about. It was all very entertaining.

Today we returned to Sitka for my final blood test and plan to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary on Tuesday with the Gills (their wedding anniversary was three days ago) .

BABY BEAR COVE to SITKA 6/4-6/9 2011

2011-06-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

We left Appleton Cove and headed for Baby Bear Cove about 30 miles away. The weather was great and on the way a Large Alaska Cat Ferry passed us at over 40 MPH. It is a monster Cat with lots of power. As we travel at 10 knots and Spirit travels at 8.7 we arrived first at Baby Bear and the entrance was all but hidden and we had to really trust our charts weaving through Sharks Teeth rocks to a wonderful well protected anchorage. After Spirit arrived they rafted to Sea Jay and we went to Long Bay about 5 miles away in the shore boat to set the crab pots. Later that evening we pulled the pots with moderate success and moved them to Baby Bear. Next morning Patrick pulled the pots early and we left at 07:00 to reach nearby Surges Narrows at slack tide and arrived at Sitka by noon. That evening we had another wonderful dinner and the Channel Club where I had Smoked Black Cod and it was to die for. The Sitka Marina is very large and it seems like we are a mile from the ramp. On Monday June 6, our Everett Marina next door neighbors Brian and Nancy flew up to Sitka to visit until today June 9. We took them to De Groffe Bay about 13 miles from Sitka. It is a very beautiful Bay with good holding and maximum protection from the weather. That evening Brian and I set the crab pots and in the day and a half there we got only one nice keeper. On Tuesday we went on a safari in the AKSANO and got the full meal deal including a great Hump Back Whale demo with full tail viewing, a momma grizzly and two cubs on the beach, seals on the rocks, eagles every where and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. Our weather and location was wonderful for their visit as is was blowing 35 kits on the outside and in Sitka. We headed back to Sitka and had the whole afternoon touring downtown to get neat stuff including a wonderful metal Hump back Whale art piece done by a local craftsman and had another great dinner at Ludvigs Bistro with our guests and the Gills.

Today is a quiet day of R&R and we plan to go fishing later this weekend or the first part of next week.

Swanson Harbor, Tenakee Springs, Takatz Bay, Appleton Cove

2011-06-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

We went from Juneau to Swanson Harbor and spent a relaxing three days moored at a Government Float with some pleasant locals from Juneau. Patrick and I tried our luck at Halibut fishing with no luck. Then we went to Tenakee Springs, a town of about 80 folks. We walked into town and all the stores were closed for the holiday. Next we traveled to Takatz Bay which is arguably the most beautiful anchorage on the west coast. This was a dream like a movie set with waterfalls and snow capped mountains. Patrick and I both caught a nice local fish and we smoked it on the Traeger BBQ.

Juneau & Skagway

2011-06-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

The trip to Juneau was uneventful with the exception of too much fog. Probably would have been pretty otherwise. We came across a few humpbacks grazing on the way up but none of them wanted to get up and play so we only saw one tail. Once moored at Aurora Basin, we explored a little bit of Juneau. The city was filled with 5 cruise ships and the streets were filled with every one of the people from those cruise ships. WOW what a crowd!! Managed to find a good restaurant for dinner and called it a night.

Trip to Skagway

One of our main reasons for coming to Juneau was to fly to Skagway and take the 3-hour train ride through the mountains. So early Tuesday morning we flew to Skagway (sure glad we didn’t take the boat - it’s 100 miles). Fortunately for us, all fog lifted and we had a wonderful clear 40 minute ride. We flew into Skagway only to find another 4 cruise ships docked. And all of the people from those cruise ships were walking around this tiny, little town of Skagway. It’s what keeps these little towns going. We had breakfast, walked around the town for a while and fortunately got on one of the last trains that wasn’t completely full so we each had our own seat. All I can say about the trip is that everyone has to do this at least once in their lifetime. It was fantastic! AWESOME!! The scenery is to die for; just like you’d expect to see in Alaska; steep cliffs, lots of wonderful waterfalls, heavy snow capped mountains, beautiful trees, two pitch-black tunnels to go through in the train, old trestles where you look straight down 2000 feet or more. The trip was exactly what we had wanted and a dream come true. Jim had a smile on his face the whole time while taking lots of pictures.

Our flight back to Juneau was beautiful. The pilot took us through the heart of the snow-capped mountains, where all we saw were the mountains and nothing else - except for a few more glaciers. An exceptional ride. Came back to the Gill’s for a wonderful dinner and called it a night.

Wednesday we’re playing tourist around Juneau.

Endicott Arm Dawes Glacier

2011-05-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

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Hope you enjoy the photos. We were also greeted by a lot of icebergs. The guys happily retrieved some great martini ice off of these.

The next day we headed for Endicott Arm after hearing that Tracy Arm was clogged up with icebergs at the S-curves. So we took off on the journey of 30 miles to the end of Endicott Arm to find an actual glacier. Gill’s had seen one - we hadn’t, so they led the way, going in and around a whole lot of giant ice cubes, a few of them easily as big as the boat. However, what was at the end of the Arm was unbelievable - a giant glacier, apparently not one of the big ones, but to us it was HUGE. A great big monstrous chunk of ice flowing out of the mountains. When a piece of ice falls off it’s called “calving” and a small one fell when we were there. Cruise ships used to come up to these glaciers and honk their horns to get them to “calve” for the entertainment of their travelers, but officials have put an end to that. Got a good Photo of Spirit in front of Dawes Glacier and a nice waterfall in the Arm. Also caught a black bear photo on the way out. Glad we were able to see the glacier and all of it’s little “berg bits.” It was a challenge to mane ver around all of them and quite an adventure. We went back to the cosiness of anchorage at Tracy Arm Cove for the evening but the grizzlies weren’t there this time.

Tracy Arm to Juneau

Trip to Skagway

Wednesday we’re playing tourist around Juneau.

Tracy Arm / Endicott Arm

2011-05-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

Tracy and Endicott Arm

After a long day of travel we had an easy anchorage in Tracy Arm Cove (unnamed on the charts). Jim and Patrick spotted 4 grizzlies on shore and had a great time taking pictures. There was mamma bear and her three yearlings. She gave us a once over then ignored us by going poo poo then snoozing on a rock above the water, but the yearlings were keeping a close eye on us as we inched close in with the shore boat for good photos.

This was the best bear ever witnessed by this boater all at No Name Bay at the entrance of Tracy Arm.

Wrangell to Petersburg

2011-05-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

Ketchikan to Meyers Chuck

This was an easy 31 miles with a little bumpy chop along the way. The entrance to Meyers Chuck is a bit intimidating but we followed the charts and watched the sonar tube and made it in. It was an interesting place - more houses than expected. Even had its own post office. The post office lady, Cassie, also makes the most wonderful cinnamon rolls and even delivered them to the boat at 7:00 in the morning, still warm from the oven. There was a school house that was turned into a private residence since they ran out of school children to teach. On a walk you come across a rope spider web about 30’ long with a rusty steel spider in the middle. It poured rain all day so we didn’t do much.

From Meyers Chuck we headed to Santa Anna Inlet about 21 miles away. A nice easy ride through fog and rain. We caught a few prawns on Wednesday, but left the traps down overnight and that really paid off. On Thursday we pulled the pots in beautiful sunshine and every prawn was big, kind of like Ocean Falls. Patrick even caught an octopus which he is trying to figure out what to do with (great halibut bait). We have now left Santa Anna Inlet and are on our way to Wrangell.

Wrangell

Wrangell to Petersburg

Traveling through the Narrows on our way to Petersburg was beautiful and exactly what we expected to see in Alaska, snowcapped 3800’+ mountains. We took a long walk through the small town of Wrangell. Cruise ships don’t come here - it’s not set up for it. It has a sense of being a totally relaxed way of living and the people were very friendly. We enjoyed a Traeger mesquite smoked prime rib dinner with Patricks octopus as an orderv (sp) to celebrate Patrick’s birthday.

Petersburg

Today was a wonderful bright sunny day. The Dahl porpoises were having a great time swimming around the boat. Our task for the day was to get through Wrangell Narrows which is very narrow. It was surprisingly well marked with 62 buoys leading the way. Petersburg was at the very end. We got off the boat and took a long walk through town just to see what was there. Petersburg is a very clean town and the people were friendly. We went to a restaurant outside of town where they come to the dock and pick you up. It’s right on the narrows and we had a delightful dinner.

Ketchikan to Meyers Chuck

2011-05-21T00:03:00.000-07:00

Ketchikan to Meyers Chuck

Santa Anna to Wrangle

We took a long walk through the small town of Wrangell. Cruise ships don’t come here - it’s not set up for it. It has a sense of being a totally relaxed way of living and the people were very friendly. We enjoyed a prime rib mesquite smoked dinner with Miriam and Patrick to celebrate Patrick’s birthday.

Wrangell to Petersburg

Traveling through the Narrows on our way to Petersburg was beautiful and exactly what we expected to see in Alaska, snowcapped 3800’+ mountains. There are over 700 slips in the Petersburg marina with mostly commercial fishing boats occupying the marina. Of course we had a wonderful dinner of smoked black cod and halibut at a fine restaurant on he waterfront

Ketchikan from Foggy Bay

2011-05-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Ketchikan around noon and put on 650 gallons of diesel then in a 25 knot wind found our assigned slip in Bar Harbor. Ketchikan is a very friendly & fun place and we have really enjoyed being here. The only paved highway in Ketchikan is 38 miles long and today we rented a car and toured the area from one end to the other seeing some really cool Totems and had some great Halibut and chips along the way with the Gil's

Khutze Inlet to Foggy Bay Alaska

2011-05-17T00:09:00.000-07:00

We chugged at a blazing 11 knots for 113 miles from Khutze inlet to Foggy Bay Alaska. Foggy Bay has a tricky, narrow, rocky, shallow entrance coming off the surf with a sharp right turning a very narrow channel reminding me of Emily Carr Cove. Once we were in there it is a very nice quiet anchorage after a long journey. We arrived about an hour before the other two boats prepared a hickory Smoked Honey basted chicken on the Treager wood pellet BBQ and Cheryl prepared her famous Potato salad for all six travelers.

SHEARWATER TO BOTTLENECK and on to Khutze Inlet

2011-05-16T23:46:00.000-07:00

We left Shearwater and hit Bottle Neck then next morning headed for Khutze Inlet.

The crabbing was very good at Khutze and as always the view is splendid with snow capped peaks surrounding our quiet anchorage.

Bottle Neck and Water Fall point

2011-05-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

We left Namu with a smile on our faces and headed for Shearwater for a brief stop to upgrade supplies and have a good Pizza and beer. The Shearwater docks had been blown apart by a 110 mile an hour winder last winter and they had no power or water on the dock yet but the pizza was good. Next day we headed for Bottle Neck and got a good photo of Spirit in front of Waterfall Point

Spirit at the Namu dock

2011-05-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Port McNeal to Namu 5/7,8/2011

2011-05-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

We sneaked out of Port McNMeal at 11AM to head for Bull Harbor but when we got to open water it was a go decision to cross Cape Caution and anchor in Fury Cove. We were in 5 to 10 foot swells but at 8 to 12 second intervals so it was not to bad steaming at 13 knots. Spirit arrived about 3 hours after we did. Silver Star was also anchored in Fury Cove on their way to Alaska and we spent a quiet night on the hook having Traeger smoked Ling Cod with the Gills on SEa Jay for dinner.

Next morning we decoded to go to Namu and had a good time exploring the old fish cannery and they make a nice fire in the party barge for us. As you can see from the attached photo hanging on the party barge wall, they have a young new female marina manager who was quite pleasant to chat with

Next morning May 9 we headed for Shearwater for supplies before forging on to Prince Rupert with planned stops at Bottle Neck, Kuetz Bay and Lowe Inlet. Shear Water is getting ready for the season repairing the docks which broke apart in a 110 mph wind storm this winter.

Port Harvey to Port McNeal May 5, 2011

2011-05-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

After a quiet night at Port Harvey we shoved off at 08:30 and weaved our way up Johnstone Straights through hundreds of nasty logs. Patrick and Miriam Gill arrived at about 3:30 and we had a nice dinner at the local fine dining establishment. We are hoping to cross Cape Caution by Monday and will go to Bull Harbor today to stage for the crossing

Port Harvey to Port McNeal May 5 2011

2011-05-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

Campbell River to Port Harvey May 5 2011

One of the smoothest trip we have ever had going through Seymour Narrows and up Johnstone Straights.

We Arrived at Port Harvey at 5:30 and received a warm welcome from George and Gail but the restaurant was not open and they have no power on the dock but is was nice to visit with them and see their progress on the marina with expanded docks.

Our trip from Port Harvey to Port Mcneal was smooth until we got here and then it started to blow gusting to 30. We may be here a couple of days waiting for a good crossing of Cape Caution.

Campbell to Port Harvey May 5 2011

2011-05-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Campbell River to Port Harvey May 5 2011

One of the smoothest trip we have ever had going through Seymour Narrows and up Johnstone Straights.

We Arrived at Port Harvey at 5:30 and received a warm welcome from George and Gail but the restaurant was not open and they have no power yet on the dock... but is was nice to visit with them and see their progress on the marina with expanded docks and plans for a 40 KW generator sometime in June to provide power on the docks.

Our trip from Port Harvey to Port Mcneal was smooth until we got here and then it started to blow gusting to 30 in the Straights. We may be here a couple of days waiting for a good crossing of Cape Caution.

Campbell River May 4 & 5

2011-05-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

Had a nice slow trip from Nanaimo to Campbell River at our new cruise speed of 10.5 knots.... slowing to 8 knots reduces fuel consumption by 50% increasing to 12.5 kits increases another 50% so 8 kits is over one mile per gallon but so far we just can't do it. Probably after our first fill up in Port McNeal we will slow to 8 kits.

Had a new SeaJay sign placed on the new gas tank on the stern of SeaJay. This was done by a wonderful lady Marita Brostrom who with her husband Gunnar owns de Quality Signs in Campbell River. I would highly recommend her for any sign work you need High Quality at a reasonable price. Today we are waiting for a 1pm slack on Seymore Narrows and head for Port Harvey which is about 60 miles up Johnstone Straights.

Everett to Roche Harbor then on to Nanaimo BC

2011-05-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

Everett to Roche Harbor & on to Nanaimo BC on Vancouver Island

First day was an easy trip from Everett to Roche Harbor with sunshine and calm waters.

Tomorrow we will clear customs at Bedwell Harbor and head for Nanaimo.

Went through Bedwell this morning and got a 1.5 hour customs search again. They dumped all contents from our drawers and made a big mess. Don’t understand what is causing this treatment.

Had another easy trip on to Nanaimo and had a nice dinner with the Gill’s at the dinghy Dock pub.

Welcome Home

2010-10-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

When we pulled into our slip at the Everett 12th Street Yacht Basin we were given the honor of being welcomed by our wonderful neighbors Brian and Nancy with a beautiful banner on the Crown Jewel. It is a great feeling to be welcomed home!

Back in Everett

2010-09-22T15:34:00.001-07:00

We went from Salt Spring Island to Sydney then to Roche Harbor and on to Everett.

Our final leg from Roche Harbor to Everett was thick fog in the twisty rock infested Wasp Islands then a smooth passage in Deception Pass and a nice flat run from there to Everett.

It is good to be home and we have many great memories from this three and one half month venture North.

Some of these photos were from the Dinghy Dock pub in Nanaimo where Gary did a modeling show of his new T shirt , a few of the Okeover Inlet where they grow and harvest oysters and the Laughing Oyster restaurant and a few of the 12th stereo yacht Basin which is now the host of the fishing fleet until they fix a transformer on the commercial docks .

Our thanks to all our friends who we traveled with and shared this wonderful trip north.

Jim & Cheryl

SaltSpring Island Ganges

2010-09-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

We stayed Friday & Sat night at the Ganges marina where we met with the Gary and Lenore and Lane and Jackie to see the annual Saltspring Island Country Fair with Chickens, pigs, cows and sheep. All the home made pies, cakes, cookies, home made bread and candy was on display with blue ribbons for the very best by the local judges. There was a tractor pull a steam engine, last century hand forging, but the high light was Lamb burgers with fried onions, mint jelly and greasy fries washed down with ice cold Salt Spring ale. Today we head for Sydney.

Campbell River, Squirrel Cove, Elworthy Island Toba Wildernest Laughing Oyster Nanaimo Sept 5,-16

2010-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Campbell River, Squirrel Cove, Elworthy Island, Toba Wildernest, Okeover Inlet, Nanaimo.

On a fishing trip through Seymour narrows in the F16 Robert and Janie are posing in front of the Navigation light at the apex of the narrows. A sight seldom seen by mortals.

We left Campbell River and met Noon Balloon at At Squirrel Cove Then moved to Elworthy Island. There we caught some Ling Cod and made a good harvest of Prawns. Next we moved to Toba Wildernest and I went on two wonderful Seadoo Rides one for 53 miles and the second for 45 miles. On these rides I got to visit all our favorite locations in Desolation Sound including Forbes bay. Robert and I were fishing for Salmon and I had a shaker on when wham! an 20 pound Ling took the shaker and got hooked up.

It was a great fight and we had Ling Cod for dinner. Janie and I also caught some Black Rock cod and we really enjoyed a great fish dinner and a bowling tournament. At Toba Gary set a crab pot at 320 and got these never seen before weird crab. At the recommendation of the Mark and Kim Nance we enjoyed a really great dinner at the Laughing Oyster. It is an outstanding restaurant.

Campbell River Sept 5, 2010

2010-09-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

We have gone fishing several times only to be blown off the water.

On Sept 5, 2010 Robert and I went North from Campbell River in the F16, past Seymour Narrows to Deep Bay just East of Browns Bay. When we got there after going through max 12 knot currents with horrendous whirl pools and outfalls in Seymour Narrows the wind was blowing from the North West at 35 so we went ac crossed the straights to Browns Bay and to have a bowl of Chowder and a cup of coffee to consider our options for fishing. After we had a nice bowl of Chowder we went back out and it was still nasty but we went north around the point and found some decent water and begin to fish. Robert purchased a special light green Hoochee the day before and he spent an hour rigging it up just as the guy at the Tyee fishing store told him to do. He also put his line down to 130 feet rather than the usual 75 feet. In a few minutes he said " Jimmy I have a fish on". It was a beautiful 18 pound Coho and it swam right to the boat and quickly got wrapped around the down rigger cable. I leaped almost over the side and got him in the net on the first try and when I dropped the net in the boat the hooks came out of his mouth. What a nice reward for the two days of getting our butt kicked hard by the wind and wave action.

See photo above.

Yesterday we went to the local museum and watched the Ripple Rock blasting movie. It is very impressive so I purchased a DVD of this largest non nuclear explosions on record. They dug a tunnel under the channel and then up into the twin peaks of Ripple Rock using 2.2 million pounds of TNT to remove the top of this deadly hazard in Seymour Narrows which had claimed 114 lives prior to this blast in 1956. Two days ago a fishing boat turned over in Seymour Narrows and the crew of 5 were rescued by a passing charter boat. The boats stern was pulled under by a large while pool and then it rolled on it's side and has been towed to a bay waiting for a salvage crew to right it and tow it into Campbell River. Seymour Narrows is still one of the most dangerous passages on the West Coast and deserves great respect. This fishing boat was loaded to the gunnels with salmon and they were making the passage with out regard to the currents.

We plan to leave Campbell River on Friday and head for Desolation Sound for a week or so before we start south.

Campbell River

2010-09-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

These photos are of a Large Buzzard near Blind Channel. There were a dozen or so drying out their wings on a rock and they took of before I could get close to them.

We are in Campbell River with Big Sky. The weather has been very bad with high winds and rain.

Big Sky will leave us today and Robert and Janie Rath are coming in late this week to travel the rest of the way home with us. Since there is a record run of salmon right here ( best in 100 years) we will probably stay here in CR and fish until we drop. Then we will head for Desolation Sound for a week or so before we start down to Nanaimo, Gulf Islands and the border.

Blind Channel 8/28/2010

2010-08-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

We heeded for Blind Channel and arrived just after noon. The dock manager "Nick"said he would take me fishing and get a Ling Cod within 30 minutes so I said "your on".Mark Nick and I left the dock at 5 pm and withing 30 minutes Nick caught a 13 pound Ling and I caught a rock. Next morning Kim and I went out and within 30 minutes she caught a 16 pound Ling and I caught another rock. We had an excellent dinner at their restaurant and we highly recommend this stopping off place. We left Blind Channel with Big Sky at 11 am after Kim got her Ling cleaned and cruised to Campbell River at a leisurely 4 to 6 knots to catch the slack current at 3 pm. We plan to spend a week or so in CR with guest Robert and Janie Rath coming in on the 2nd to do some heavy fishing and cruise back with us. The pinks and Cohos are in and the fishing is very good.

Port Harvey 8/27/2010

2010-08-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Next day with Big Sky We decided to try a new resort at Port Harvey which is about 38 miles from Sointula on West Cracroft Island. This was a good find and is run by a very nice couple,George and Gail. We did an afternoon cruise in the F16 where we found a cute little house with a for sale sign on it that read , " House is for sale by owner because my neighbor is an Asshole!" a second sign just below that sign read, "Fuck off George." This was a most unusual event and later that night at dinner we asked George the owner of Port Harvey Marina what it was about. He said this neighbor had some Scottish Highlander cattle that were wandering onto his property and destroying his garden. So he asked the neighbor with the cattle to keep his cattle off his property... and that resulted in the sign. We all had a good laugh and a great home made Pizza dinner followed up with home made chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream, and fresh sticky buns to take back to the boat for breakfast the next morning.

Drury Inlet/ Davis Bay, Kim's 16 lb King, Sointula 8/23-26/2010

2010-08-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

Next morning we went to Davis Bay and spent a uneventful anchorage. On the way Gary got a call on the radio that the Salmon were hot at James Point so the next morning, we all (Noon Balloon, Sea Jay, Lerado and Big Sky) moved to an anchorage near Dickson Island and went fishing . Kim Nance and I went fishing the next morning and she caught a beautiful 16 pound King/Spring Salmon. What a fight it made, running three times before we could bring it aboard. This is a cool anchorage as you can run up a narrow cut in Broughton Island and get all the way to Greenway Sound. Next day with Big Sky we headed to Sointula a Finish village on Malcome Island just to see what it was like. Noon Baloon headed for Booker Lagoon and Lerado started to head south. The marina at Sointula is mostly for fishing boats but we decided to check it out. The people are very friendly and I borrowed a bicycle from the marina and road into town where I met the rest of the gang for lunch. The next morning Big Sky went to Port McNeil for supplies and we decided to stay another night at Sointula before heading south to Port Harvey.

Moore Bay 8/22/2010

2010-08-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

From Crpress we went to Moore Bay which joins the start of Kingcome Inlet. This is a wonderful anchorage and we pulled in big catches of Jumbo Prawns. Next morning Joe, Joanne and I went up Kingcome inlet 18 miles in the F16 to see a giant Pictograph ( 28X38 feet) painted by a native artist Marianne Nicholson, on a shear rock face. It is an awsome sight and was worth the trip. at the head on the inlet and up the Kingcome river is a native village which you can only visit by invitation.

Cypress Harbor 8/21/2010

2010-08-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

From Simoon, Sea Jay & Noon Balloon met up with Lerado at Cypress Harbor to stock up on Dungeness Crab and we hit the jack pot big time. Big Sky went to Shawl Bay to check it out.

August 19 2010 Simoon Sound

2010-08-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

The next day I went on a glorious ride on the SeaDoo from Simoon Sound to Kwatsi then to Viner Sound then Echo Bay and back to Simoon . I stopped at a fish farm to stretch my legs along the way and saw monster salmon in the pens.

From Echo Bay with Big Sky and Noon Baloon we moved to Simoon Sound and anchored in our favorite bay which is shown on the first page of this Blog.

There were black bears there to entertain us and we had a relaxing two days there.

Echo Bay 8,15-19 2010

2010-08-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

We left Laura bay and motored to Echo Bay for the annual Echo Bay Yacht Club cruise. We met up with Kim and Mark Nance and of course Gary and Lenore who got us started in this fine Yacht Club made up of boats from all over the country. It was a lot of fun to see all the familiar faces and catch up on the past years events in their lives. We had too many great meals including a kick ass Prime Rib dinner the last night. The fishing was very bad this year when u consider the bottom fish prize went to a 13 year old boy with a 4 pound Halibut and the largest salmon was a 21 pound Coho.

Laura Bay

2010-08-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

Prawning out side of Laura Bay was good with nice size prawns and my freedom ride on the Seadoo was wonderful on the smooth blue green water.

Laura Bay

2010-08-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

Next morning at the crack of 10 we headed for Laura Bay to Meet with Gary and Lenore.

It was a fabulous day with 80 degrees and calm water.

We got there in time to set the Prawn Pots and Gary and lenore treated us to a Prawn dinner that was to die for. her rice was also very good. I also got the Sea Doo in the water and had a wonderful ride to Samoon Sound then to Shawl bay and back to Laura bay in about an our. Gary also took the SEADOO A RIDE and gave it a thumbs up for the speed acceleration and ability to turn it over. he did a fine job for his first ride and did not turn it over.next morning. We checked the pots the next morning and did fairly well with good sized prawns

Sullivan Bay / Little Nimmo

2010-08-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

My brother and his wife (Doug and Amanda ) arrived on the 13th and we wasted no time in showing them the local stuff. We headed for Turnbull Cove and on the way saw a Humpback playing near by. Then we toured Little Nimmo lodge and had a nice bottle of wine on their deck. The weather was perfect at about 80 degrees and calm water. The day was topped off with a Prime Rib dinner at the Sullivan Bay restaurant.

Greenway Sound

2010-08-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Left Greenway for Sullivan Bay to catch a flight for our friend Clark Nichols.

We really enjoyed his company
and he was a fine addition to our crew.

Greenway Sound

2010-08-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

We steamed to Greenway Sound as we heard they had new owners. Trip is the new owner... a former Husky Football star that played in the Husky Michigan Rose Bowl and the Huskys won. Soooo.... Trip met us at the dock with a big purple W on his hat and a big purple flag on the dock. Yuk!!!!

But as it turned out he is a real good guy and we had a wonderful dinner with lots of great red wine and he does make a wonderful martini.

Shawl Bay / Greenway Sound

2010-08-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Shawl Bay by noon and tied up. It is a pleasant place and we had a potluck dinner and 26th birthday party for Robby who has lived and worked there since he was a small boy.

Today we headed for Greenway Sound which has new ownership and will try their dinner tonight

Dickson Island / Sullivan Bay/ Drury Inlet Turnbull Cove Little Nimmo Lodge

2010-08-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

Left Port McNeill and anchored with Noon Balloon at Dickson Island. A neighbor boat gave us a large side of salmon and we had a wonderful salmon diner. Next we headed for Sullivan Bay to Pick up our guest Clark Nichols who will travel with us for a week. Left Sullivan Bay and anchored at Turnbull Cove and did a nice side trip to Little Nimmo Lodge a very high end fly in resort that was featured in Boston Legal. it is really impressive with 5 helicopter pads and cabins to match.

Blunden harbor / Port Mcneal

2010-08-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

Met up with Noon Balloon and Stayed three nights at Blunden harbor dug some clams and got some rest. Reflections and Mirage joined us for a day. We had crab cakes for dinner from the Duncanby Landing catch. Then next day dug clams for crab bait. Next day we headed to Port McNeal for fuel Vodka and supplies.

Shopped at the Native art store and found a beautiful paddle to hang in the salon.

Getting the auto pilot fixed is a challenge and so far no joy with two different techs working on it.

The boat to our starboard is a 134 foot Westport owned by Orin Edson founder of Bayliner and now owns Westport Ship Yards & Pacific Mariner. His son Jack Edson founded Pacific Mariner. Orin and his wife stopped by our boat to say hello and asked us how we like our Pacific Mariner. He is very nice and has a helicopter mounted on top and a crew of seven. Phew!!

Hope to leave Port McNeal this afternoon.

Adams Harbor July 29 2010

2010-08-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

Adams Harbor

Next morning we headed for Hakai and Adams Harbor where the fishing was said to be good.

It was an easy trip but the weather was poor.

We set the hook in a very nice spot and went out fishing the next morning.

While trolling Cheryl and I saw an eagle dive for a fish and when he tried to take off he went under water three times. We pulled in our fishing line and rushed to the scene to see what happened to the Eagle as we thought for sure he was a goner. The eagle had paddled to shore with his wings keeping the salmon firmly in his talons.

Here are the photos of the eagle eating the Salmon. a rear set of photos for this traveler..

Duncanby Landing

From Adams we headed for Duncanby Landing and had another outstanding meal and got a pant load of Crab.

Reflections and Mirage surprised us and came over to join us for a fair well dinner.

Crossing Cape Caution and anchoring in Blunden Harbor

Namu July 28 2010

2010-08-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

Namu July 28 2010

Namu is a fish Cannery that once had 2000 people working there and now is a decaying relic with 3 full time residence. We are glad we stopped there because it is a fascinating place with a complex and rich history. This is also the site where Namu the famous Orca whale was captured. The caretakers Pete and Rene’ were very friendly and Pete gave us a tour of “up town” where the vast complex of empty buildings which once hummed like a well oiled machine processing hundreds of tons of fish per year now sits quietly slipping into a sad decaying state of affairs. There is everything a town would have including a general store, large generator plant with twelve V12 diesel gen sets that once roared 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Pete and Rene have built a wonderful rustic floating party barge with a huge fire place made from a steel float ball. When we arrived René was cleaning a 38 pound Halibut which was caught on the docks by a young Kayaker Brian and his girl friend Maggie that were fishing off the dock with a buzz bomb. As you can see in the photos we had a wonder dinner featuring Brian’s halibut and salmon provided by Nat which he caught the day before. Brian and Maggie were traveling from Vancouver to Ketchikan Alaska in their 19 foot Kayaks.

A truly brave adventure for these hardy young couple.

We had a great time exploring this relic from the past and would recommend it to any one passing through this area.

Shearwater July 27 2010

2010-07-27T15:11:00.001-07:00

Shearwater July 27, 2010

Had a good dinner last night and went fishing this morning with some success bringing in a nice 10 pound Silver. Colliers got three salmon at Idle Point and we had a demonstration by three Eagles on fishing.

2010-07-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Emily Carr Inlet

We Left Prince Rupert on July 20th after a week and headed for Colby Bay and spent a quiet night anchored there. It is a safe small bay to get out of the wind and thats about it.

On July 21 we headed for Barnard inlet on the advice of a local at prince Rupert.

At the south end of Campania Island I tried a call to reflections and Mirage and to my surprise Linda answered so we met them at Harwood Bay and spend a windy night hoping Nat’s anchor would hold in the wind. Next morning we headed for Emily Carr Inlet which was recommended to us by a friend as a beautiful anchorage. However the books warned about the entrance to this small bay called Emily Carr Cove. They we not kidding and I sweat bullets going through a small passage that was barely wide enough to pass and extremely shallow showing only 5 feet below our bottom.

We set the hook between two commercial crab pots and the Codville Armada was again set for the night. Gail cooked a fabulous s Salmon / Teriyaki and noodle dinner and it was smashingly delicious! That evening we went for a cruise around the area and there was an adjacent bay near by that was a better anchorage but marred by a clear cut area done in the 1950‘s.

This morning July 23rd the commercial crab boat from Hartley Bay came into the Cove to pull their pots and traded two small crab for two bears.

Quigley Creek Cove July 24 2010

Today at high tide we will head for Quigley Creek Cove.

July 23/24 2010

We arrived at Quigley Creek late afternoon in a driving rain storm with winds gusting to 30 set the hook and hunkered down for dinner and a bowling tournament on SeaJay.

Today July 24 is sunny and calm and we are hoping for a Salmon or two.

We fished our a-- off and got no fish. However this is a beautiful anchorage in the sunlight.

Next morning we head for Rescue Bay

We went through Meyers Passage then to Klemtu, then through Jackson Passage and the dreaded Jackson Narrows. We hit Jackson Narrows at low tide and cleared the bottom by only 2 feet. Crazy!

Just out side Jackson Narrows we anchored at Rescue Bay in early afternoon and went fishing with not a bite. ,

Doug and I each caught a small salmon and cod and through them back for another day.

Rescue Bay is a good anchorage with plenty of room to swing on the hook.

Shearwater July 26 2010.

We stopped here to stock up and fuel up.

Tomorrow we will fish for a while and then next day head for Namu inlet where they captured the Orca Whale "Namu" in the 1970’s.

2010-07-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Cheryl left on July 13 to go back to Seattle and Jim stayed with the boat in Prince Rupert.

The Seadoo got a new heart and is now ready for action. Next day a giant Cruise ship arrived and docked next to us like it was no big deal. I called about bear tours and met Arthur Jeffrey a native who runs a Grizzly Bear tour service in a big very fast 28 foot inflatable. Later I booked two seats for a wonderful 90 mile ride with Arthur his son and two nephews to see the Grizzly Bears in Khutzeymateen Inlet the day after Cheryl got back. This is a BC park and Bear santurary and we did see a big one up close and personal. You will see in the photos of what a Griz does when he catches your scent. He was in tall grass having lunch then looked at us put his nose in the air and got our scent and then preceded to back us into the water.... he was a full meal deal. Very big and not so cute up close. Earlier this week I went out on my own and got three nice crab but later that afternoon Arthur came by the boat and we took the F16 about 5 miles up the inlet to his secret crabbing grounds. When he pulled his crab pot we got 15 large crab and sent me back to the boat with 6 giant Dungeness crab. They are now residing in the crab hotel.

All in all Prince Rupert is an interesting place with much potential for exploring, fishing, crabbing and has some very good restaurants. The locals are generally very friendly and helpful. Tomorrow we start our journey south.

Prince Rupert July 11/15

2010-07-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

We arrived late afternoon and finally found moorage at Rushbrook which is a dumpy mostly commercial fishing marina. Had a great dinner at the Crest Hotel with a view of the Harbor and Bald Eagles swooping by the windows. Monday we learned that Cheryl's mother on law passed away on Sat so Cheryl flew back to Seattle on Tuesday. She should be back on Sat and then we will head south. Yesterday I got my new SEadoo pump installed from my rock sucking cruise on the Khutze River. I now have two nice rocks to remind me not to go in shallow water.

Baker Inlet

2010-07-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

Baker Inlet July 10, 2010

We cruised on up Grenville Channel to Baker inlet. It has an very narrow channel that make a hard left turn at the entrance and we had to wait for slack tide to enter. It is a thrilling entrance only 200 feet at its widest point and a fairly long run to the head of the Inlet. We anchored with a stern tie at the head of the inlet and set the crab pots. Later that afternoon nat Linda Doug and casey went ashore and hiked up a logging road to a ridge looking over the bay.

We stayed there two days then headed for Prince Rupert. to get my Seadoo pump and get Nat’s gen set repaired.

Lowe Inlet July 8,9 2010

2010-07-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Lowe Inlet July 8,9 2010

At the head of Lowe inlet is a waterfall coming form Lowe Lake. You can take your dingy up close to the falls and hold in the current. That afternoon I was cruising around when I spotted a large Grizzly bear heading for the falls & the photos tell the story. I called the rest of the gang and they come over to see him. He paid no attention to us and sat there waiting for a salmon to jump into his claws. The water was boiling with salmon at the base of the falls but none were trying to go up the falls. This is my first encounter with a Grizzly and I must say he was impressive in size and could move like a cat over the slippery rocks. The size of the paws and claws are also very impressive! He sat there for over an hour yawing and waiting and we finally went back to the boat. The next morning i got a similar show from a large Black Bear but he was spooked by my presence and after setting up for fishing at the base of the falls he scrambled up a large rock and disappeared into the dense woods.We set some prawn pots and had very good success with several pulls during our two day stay.

Hartley Bay July 6,7,2010

2010-07-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hartley Bay July 6, 7 & 8

We left Europa Bay and made the three hour run to Hartley Bay which has a great anchorage inside of Promise Island. Once we were securely anchored at about 5 Pm we tried our hand at fishing just outside the head of the Bay. Colliers caught two nice Coho at the same time with and an eagle suddenly swooping down trying to snatch Linda’s Coho while Nat was reeling his in. Nat netted both fish at the same time with the same net. This is a story for the grand children for sure. We got three nice cod and Stewarts got one nice cod so we were all happy kids at Hartley Bay and were treated that evening to a Coho salmon dinner compliments of Doug and Gail. Next day we got up at the crack of 10 am and Doug and I went fishing. Just as we got to the head of the bay on a western point of Promise Island we ran into a pod of Orcas numbering 8 and they put on quit a show for us for over an hour. There were no save the whale idiots to bother us and the Orcas and we sat there silently and watched them play and swim by. It was a wonderful experience. later in the morning Doug caught a nice young Coho and then as we were reeling in he discovered he had another very tired Coho on his line and it was a tangled mess on my line as well. i pulled him in by hand and Doug netted his second Coho and limit for the day. Not bad for a mornings work.

That afternoon we went into town and fueled up the dinghies and went for a stroll on the board walk. The whole village is elevated up on wooden side walk and a hill side with a river running through it into the Bay. The locals were very friendly but as usual the native culture seems to have no respect for their surroundings with junk laying everywhere and zero care for the yards. I found two nice bicycles laying in the weeds that seemed to be abandoned as if they were used for a while and then just run off the wooden side walk and left for eternity to rust in the salt air.

Later that afternoon Nat took us all to a beautiful white beach near our anchorage. This beach was white with clam shells and presented the opportunity for a swim in the icy clear blue water to cool off from the now 90 degree late afternoon heat. Just beyond the beach was beautiful deep and dense forest with large cedar trees and plenty of smooth round logs to sit on.

We concluded our evening with crab cakes that Cheryl made from scratch. Her first effort at creating this dish was very tasty.

My repair to the damaged shaft bonding brush is working well and today we will start up Grenville Channel with the first stop in the channel at Lowe Inlet.

I have a new jet pump being shipped from Vancouver to Prince Rupert for the Seadoo and plan to have it installed on Monday. Oh did I mention that I went up the Khuntz river a few days ago and sucked up some rocks into the SEadoo. It does not like eating rocks.

Gardner Canal / Europa Bay July 5,6 2010

2010-07-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Gardner Canal July 5, 2010

We left Kitsaway for Gardner Canal hoping to be able to anchor at Omycumish which is a stunning anchorage with high snow capped peaks many waterfalls but very iffy steep declining bottom with poor holding holding. when we got there the wing was blowing on shore and we decided to head for Europa Hot Springs instead. We ran up the canal first to have a look at Kimono Bay which is the locating of the ALCAN hydro electric facility which is located 1400 feet inside a solid granite mountain supplying power to the Aluminum plant located in Kitimat.

Their dock was good for only their blur boat so we turned around and joined the Colliers and Stewarts on wonderful new buoys at Europa Hot Springs. This was also a very scenic location with a well maintained cover Hot Springs .

Kitsaway Island July 3,4 2010

2010-07-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Kitsaway Island July 3,4 2010

Kitsaway Island was a pleasant and popular anchorage for the nearby Kitimat boaters. When we arrived on Sunday July 3 there were several small boats anchored there and they all left on Monday Is was said to be good crabbing but as it turned out it was mostly fished out getting many small females and only one male large enough to keep. July 4 was without a bang. it rained and the Black flies and No See ems started to chew on our bodies. We tried fishing a place called fish trap and only caught a gusting wind and some rain so we headed in. Doug and Gail ran up to Kitimat for the day to see an old friend of Gail’s and they brought back three nice Coho salmon that someone on the dock gave them.

Khutze Bay July 1,2 2010

2010-07-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Khutze Bay July 1,2 2010

Khutze Bay is an outstanding vista of snow covered peaks a bug waterfall and the khuntz River. This is a tricky anchorage on a shelf between the water fall and the river. The crabbing was good and we went up the river hoping to see a bear.

I went up the river in the Seadoo and got too shallow and suck some rocks in the pump and it is toast so I have another pump on the way from vancouver and will have it installed in Prince Rupert.

Butedale July 2 2010

On the way from Khutze Bay to Kitsaway Is;land we went in close to Butedale which was a large mill in its hay day and now is a sprawling series of falling in buildings and a dilapidated docks.

Bottle Neck June 30, 2010

2010-07-13T12:48:00.001-07:00

Bottle Neck June 30, 2010

Bottle neck was a very sheltered anchorage with a narrow entrance and a nice wade sheltered area at the head of the inlet. Next morning Nat and I took Casey to shore and discovered that we could catch crab with a net on the bottom of the by near shore. we got several nice crab drifting around in the shore boat with a net.

Water Fall Point

Just outside of Bottle Neck was Waterfall OPoint and we decided to take photos of all of us in front of the water fall. Got some nice shots too!

SHEARWATER TO BOTTLENECK

2010-06-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

OUR SHEARWATER STOP OVER WAS A NICE BREAK TO STOCK UP ON STUFF AND HAVE A GOOD MEAL AT THE PUB. THE POWER AT THE DOCK DID NOT WORK LAST NIGHT SO WE SHOULD HAVE ANCHORED OUT. GOT STOCKED UP ON FUEL, FRESH VEGIES AND FRUIT. TODAY WE HEAD FOR BOTTLENECK LAGOON WHICH IS ABOUT 45 MILES NORTH. THE EAGLE SHOTS IN THIS BLOG ARE THE RESUOT OF OUR NEIGHBOR THROWING HEARING IN THE WATER AND THE LOGAL EAGLES SWOOPING DOWN TO PICK THEM UP. THEY ARE VERY FAST AND I MISSED THE PICK UP.

JUNE 28 2010 Duncanby landing to Kisameet Bay

2010-06-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

We left Duncanby Landing with a good overall feeling about this resort. Great service , fishing and crabbing! Our next stop is a drop dead beautiful place called Kisameet Bay. When we got there is was steady rain all day, all night and the next morning so decided not to walk the trail to Kisameet Lake and we pulled anchor and headed for Shearwater on June 29 which is the last stop for supplies until Prince Rupert.

CROSSING CAPE CAUTION TO DUNCANBY LANDING JUNE 27 2010

2010-06-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

CROSSING CAPE CAUTION TO DUNCANBY LANDING IS ALWAYS A STRESSFUL ORDEAL WAITING FOR THE WEST SEA OTTER BOUY (WHICH IS WAY OUT IN THE PACIFIC) TO BE ONE METER OR LESS SO WE KNOW THAT MAKING THE 52 MILE CROSSING HAS A GOOD CHANCE OF BEING REASONABLE. THIS CROSSING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS AND U MUST PAY STRICT ATTENTION TO THE WIND AND WAVE ACTION BEFORE MAKING THE CROSSING. ON THIS DAYTHE BOUY WAS 1.1 SO WE LEFT BULL HARBOR AT 07:00 AND MADE A GOOD CROSSING WITH LARGE ROLLERS BUT NO BREAKING WAVES AND A TOLERABLE FREQUENCY. WE DID SEE A FEW WHALES AND THWE WEATHER WAS CLEAR,

DUNCANBY LANDING IS A GREAT PLACE, COMPLETELY REMODELED AND WONDERFUL CRABBING AND FISHING. THE STAFF IS VERY HELPFUL AND THE RESTAURANT IS FIRST CLASS. THEY TOLD US WHERE TO SET THE CRAB POTS AND AFTER 3 HOURS WE HAD OUR LIMIT SETTING THE STAGE FOR A GREAT CRAB FEED THE NEXT EVENING.

BULL HARBOR

2010-06-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

PORT MCNEAL TO BULL HARBOR

2010-06-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

WE LEFT PORT MCNEAL AT FOR BULL HARBOR WHICH IS OPUR STAGING POINT TO CROSS CAPE CAUTION. BULL HARBOR IS AN INDIAN OWNED ISLAND AND A VERY PROTECTED ANCHORAGE. AFTER SETTING THE HOOK WE TOOK A HIKE TO THE BEACH AND WERE STOPPED BY A NATIVE DEMANDING $5 FOR EACH PERSON FOR THE "WALKABOUT" ON THEIR LAND WE REFUSE AT FIRST AND HE SAID GO BACK TO YOUR BOAT HE LEFT IN A CLUD OF DUST IN HIS OLD FORD PICKUP AND THEN WE DECIDED TO PAY THE RANSOM BUT ONLY IF HE WOUOD GIVE US A RECEIPT. DOUG HANDLED IT WHEN HE RETURNED AND THE NATIVE WAS VERY CONFUSED AT THE REQUEST FOR A RECIEPT BUT FINALLY WENT HOME AND RETURNED WITH A HAND SCRIBBLED RECIEPT AND WE PROCEDED TO THE BEACH WHERTE THEIR WERE MANY COOL ROUNDED ROCK AND GREAT SCENERY. IT WAS A 4 MILE HIKE BUT WAS WORTH IT WHEN WE WRRIVED AT THE BEACH.

Port McNeal June 25/26 2010

2010-06-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

We left Cordero at 0:600 in an attempt to avoid a NW wind on an incoming tide. We were fine for a while but then we started to really rock and roll and the dinghy did not like it, jerking from side to side ... after about an hour of this strange severe chop which made our boat rock fore and aft... fortunately we have stabilizers and we did not roll much. With Doug in the lead we decided to forge on and the water calmed and we arrived at Port McNeal at 12 noon.

After a nice lunch at the local pub I got a well deserved haircut , Cheryl went shopping and then I hit the local marine store which has an outstanding selection of good stuff.

We fueled up putting on 2000 liters of diesel, got the boat washed by two cuties and got a Garmin chip for the inside passage that I somehow lost for the Seadoo. Cheryl got a cool pair of yellow rubber rain boots that she has lusted for, for years.

Nat served up a wonderful Oyster wrapped in bacon treat before dinner and we turned in early.

Today we head for Bull Harbor to anchor for the night and hopefully get calm waters to cross Cap Caution on Sunday.

Cordero Lodge June24 2010

2010-06-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

We left Octopus Islands headed for Cordero Lodge after two great days and some great rides on the Seadoo. I went through "Hole in The Wall" and back at slack current and it was a blast.

We have many great memories of Cordero since the early 1990's and it still has a great charm. Rienhart is getting up there in age and is moving very slowly now and the dinner was nice but not the quite the same as in the past. We had to ask about the schnapps at the end of the dinner and she finally brought out the board and we all had a shot of ice cold schnapps.

Photos from Octopus Islands

2010-06-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Cordero Lodge June24 2010

2010-06-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

Once again we visited our favorite German restaurant on the way North.

The 6 of us had a great German dinner topped off with Strudel and Vanilla Ice Cream and ice cold schnapps.

Tomorrow we head for Port McNeal a 66 mile journey and we will shove off at 06:00 to try to avoid forecasted strong northerly winds on Johnstone Straights.

Octopus Islands for two days

2010-06-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

We left Gorge Harbor with a very favorable feeling of this newly remodeled resort and headed for Octopus Islands. Colliers went to Quadra Island to visit their friends place and dig clams , Stewarts were still ion Campbell River visiting relatives and getting their Gen set repaired. We had not been to Octopus Islands for over ten years so we were looking forward to it. We stern tied in the Islets in a wonderful spot suggested by Nat. We find that the 65 is a bit more of a handful to stern tie than the 38 but after an hour and a half we got it done and were secure for the stay.

The next day at slack current I took the Sedoo for a wonderfully exhilarating ride out of the Islands and clear through the Hole in the Wall and back which id a narrow channel about three mile in length.

That afternoon the Colliers and Stewarts arrived and we were treated by the Colliers to a fabulous clam pre dinner feast then Nat led us to the museum that the Timm's said to be sure to visit. It is an old well kept an open cabin filled with mementos from boaters visiting this land mark over the years and we did see a shell collection that the Timms had created and place there on display some years ago. Nat and Sean created a small crab encased in acrylic the night before and left it there to be on display for years to come. a fuzzy photo proves that we all made this visit.

This morning I took another great ride for about 20 miles on the route that we took to Cordero.

We pulled anchor at noon thirty and headed to Cordero Lodge by way of Johnstone Straights and Blind Channel. We will have a very tasty German dinner tonight and this legendary Resort.

Dinner at The Float House in Gorge Harbor on Cortez Island

2010-06-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Last night we had dinner at The Float House at Gorge Harbor.

Yes a major part of these floating trips is trying new restaurants at different resorts and this one is a winner. The Gorge Harbor resort has new owners and the meals were excellent! Shown here with Jim & Cheryl are Nat and Linda Collier with their 10 year old Grandson, Sean. Also a stunning view of Reflections and Sea Jay.

Jim has still not had a drink of alcohol in 12 weeks and it is still hard but the pounds are slowly rolling off..

2010-06-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

Gorge Harbor is completely remodeled with new docks swimming pool and beautiful landscaping.

We had not been here for about 15 years and that was the day before Cheryl broke her hip on Sea Jay 1. We will have dinner here tonight in their restaurant and report on all the fixins. We anchored out in the middle of the putting great faith in our new anchor

Nanaimo /Denman Island / Henry Bay

2010-06-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

Left Bedwell Harbor for Nanaimo where we picked up our 5 dozen bottles of home made wine we had ordered last year. We decided to keep it in boxes rather than pack all those bottles. After several tastings we decided it was good wine. Had a nice dinner and lunch at the Coast Hotel served both times by Ann Marie who gave Cheryl several tips on where to get a Kentucky Derby hat for the Tea to be held in Echo Bay. Cheryl found a whole , (hat dress & neckless) outfit in the mall. Next evening we went to a Italian restaurant with the Stewarts and Colliers and their grandson Sean. Got our fishing licenses, stocked up on fresh fruit and purchased a salmon to hang on the wall that I have been looking at for two years. We left Nanaimo and cruised to Denman Island in calm waters and very nice sunshine. Anchoring at Denmon Island was very nice and it allowed Cheryl and I to test the newly installed folding Swim step ladder on the Seadoo. I took it to a shallow area & slid off the machine in to the ice water with Cheryl close by in the F 16 (just in case)and deployed the ladder while bobbing in the water in my Mustang suit the ladder came down nicely and climbed back on the machine with out a hitch. Hooray! now I can fall of and get back the Seadoo even in 50 degree water. Today we cruised to Gorge Harbor on Cortez Island.

2010-06-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

2010-06-19T10:19:00.000-07:00