Shearwater July 27 2010

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.