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.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Shearwater to Ocean Falls
 |
| Ocean Falls Marina Club House |
 |
| Husky Float Plane |
 |
| Any more crab bait? |
 |
| Dinner on the dock |
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.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Prince Rupert to Lowe Inlet , Khutze Inlet then Shearwater
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.
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.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Ketchikan to Prince Rupert
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.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Patterson ,Red Bluff, Petersburg, Wrangle, Ketchikan
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.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Kalinin Bay with Lady J and Spirit
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. 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
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)