NW EXPLORATIONS - part 5

We all dutifully pulled up anchor on Saturday, May 25^th and began retracing yesterday’s route back through Estevan Sound.  With Deception in the lead towing the infamous dinghy, we hoped for more pleasant, less snotty conditions. 

Northbound off the southern tip of Campania Island, we were rewarded with numerous sightings of humpback whale spouts and even a few flukings as these whales started their deep dives in the sound.

 

The water of Squally Channel west of Gil Island reaches depths of over two thousand feet.  As the flotilla approached Lewis Passage we crossed paths with a pod of orcas swimming rather close to our boats!  Such excitement witnessing this fantastic sight – spouts and fins and flukes!

Verney Falls

Onward to Grenville Channel where northeast winds buffeted the flotilla for the fourteen-mile-trip to Lowe Inlet.  We dropped 250-feet of anchor chain just off Verney Falls and settled in for the afternoon.  A short dinghy ride (yes, we still had access to the dinghy) around Nettle Basin preceded our dinner during which we depleted our beer and wine provisions.  It was time to head for Prince Rupert to restock for the remainder of the trip.

On the way to Prince Rupert

An uneventful but pleasant 59-mile cruise brought us to Prince Rupert on Sunday, May 26^th.  All the boats in the flotilla cleared U.S. customs by phone while waiting for docking instructions from Cow Bay Marina.  We got permission from customs to anchor for two days in Foggy Bay, Alaska before moving on to Ketchikan where customs agents would board the boats.  Along the shoreline of Prince Rupert Harbour just past the coal terminal and as far as the eye could see were train cars loaded with shipping containers.

Prince Rupert owes its existence to a 1903 decision by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway to locate the Pacific terminus of its transcontinental railway here.  It opened up a multitude of opportunities for mining, agriculture and forestry as well as trade with Asia through the local port – the closest port in North America to the continent of Asia.

The tidal waters around Prince Rupert are famous for its crab, salmon and halibut fishing.  In the early 1900’s, Prince Rupert was known as ‘the Halibut Capital of the World’. The fishing fleet was based in what is now Cow Bay.  Salmon and halibut canneries along B.C.’s northwest coast employed thousands of local residents.  The processed fish was then transported by rail to the rest of the country.

Wheelhouse Brewery selections

Shortly after docking at Cow Bay Marina, the crews made a beeline for the liquor store and Safeway.  Afterwards, as some crews napped, Frank and I stopped in at the Wheelhouse Microbrewery where we chatted with the locals, he sampled the beers and I enjoyed a very drinkable white wine.  We learned the interesting origin of the Kazu Maru IPA. In 1985, Kazukio Sakamoto set off from Owase Japan in his vessel, Kazu Maru, for a day of fishing.  He never returned.  Eighteen months later, the vessel was found empty and adrift off Queen Charlotte Islands and towed to Prince Rupert.  When the vessel was discovered to have come from Prince Rupert’s sister city Owase, the people of Prince Rupert restored it and put it on display in Mariners Park.  The Kazu Maru IPA is named in honor of those who have been lost at sea.

Then we were off to Mystic Eagle, another Bellingham based boat cruising the Inside Passage on their own. They were graciously hosting the evening happy hour on their beautiful boat.  The evening ended with a delicious dinner at Dolly’s Fish Market where the wine was anything but drinkable.  You get what you get and you don’t get upset! 

Happy hour on Mystic Eagle

Prince Rupert

Our time in Prince Rupert was short.  We were underway by 6AM on Monday, May 27^th for an anchorage in Alaska’s Foggy Bay.  The flotilla picked its way through the twists and turns of Venn Passage into Chatham Sound, then through the twists and turns in the channel between the Moffatt Islands and Dunira Island before crossing the Dixon Entrance.  This is the gateway to Alaska and the international boundary between the U.S. and Canada.  Welcome to Alaska!

Along the way, seals and a whale were sighted.    And of course, eagles.  We have seen so many eagles that it is hard to get excited by their sighting!  Dall’s porpoises played in the bow wake of Patos but not in ours.

Approaching Foggy Bay

The inner cove of Foggy Bay was a beautiful, serene anchorage surrounded by cedar trees and grassy shoreline intermingled among the boulders – perfect hangouts for bears.  Did we see any?  No!  But as we finished dropping the hook we were greeted by a  hummingbird seemingly attracted to our red life vests, the red maple leaf of the Canadian flag, and the red of our stars and stripes.  The hummingbird eventually found its way inside Bonum Vitae. It tried to exit through the clear glass windshield at the lower helm – not gonna happen!  So Frank trapped it in his ball cap and released it outside.  Vivian reported later that the hummingbird is considered a messenger of joy, playfulness and friendship – an appropriate representation of our journey!

Lured by the prospect of seeing some rapids we got in the dinghy after lunch.  Instead of waiting for Hannah to lead the dinghy on a nature cruise we set out on our own.  We meandered through a labyrinth of small interconnected lakes and around numerous rocky islets for almost four miles.  Hours later we returned to Bonum Vitae cold and wet, never having seen the rapids.  Maybe tomorrow since we are staying in Foggy Bay another day.

May 28^th. The fog rolled in to the appropriately named Foggy Bay anchorage at 10AM.  It dissipated by 10:30. And rolled back in after lunch just in time for a dinghy cruise led by Hannah. 

Cedar trees stubbornly grew from the rocky, boulder-strewn shoreline.  The occasional grassy cuts seemed perfect for bear hangouts but we didn’t see any. 

Hannah pointed out sea cucumbers, anemones, barnacles and the chubby batwing star fish in the shallow water.  As we motored along we came upon a bald eagle dipping down to catch a fish which must have been a bit larger than he could handle.  We were amazed to see the bald eagle swimming to shore then struggling to bring his catch up on the beach for a feast.

Ashley, can you spot the eagle on the rocks?

Dinghies running the rapids

Deception hosted our final onboard potluck dinner.  Jordan fired up his smoker and the rest of us all emptied our fridges, pantries, beer coolers and wine lockers to creatively prepare dishes to complement all the delicious smoked ribs, brisket and tenderloin pork.  

Hannah had collected all the photographs taken by the flotilla and combined the best of them into a great slide show.  We oohed and aahed at all the great wildlife shots, laughed at all the great memories we had created, and lamented the fact that this adventure was ending too soon.    But the adventure wasn’t over just yet!  At dusk, we climbed aboard our dinghies and went out on a bear hunt!       

The crew of Deception was ready to lead us to the spot where they had all seen bears the previous evening. Our dinghy, despite belonging to the biggest, fastest Grand Banks in the flotilla, was the biggest, slowest dinghy of the group.  When Jordan realized that we could not keep up with the others he came back to lighten our load.   As soon as we lost our dead weight, aka Frank, the dinghy picked up speed.  We zipped along the coves of Foggy Bay but, alas, there were no bears to be found.

On the way to Ketchikan

We departed a fog-free Foggy Bay at 7AM on Wednesday, May 29^th and headed for our final stop – Ketchikan.    Proceeding north on Revillagigedo Channel and thru Danger Passage, we encountered some Dall’s porpoise.  Before long we could see several cruise ships that dwarfed the buildings of downtown Ketchikan, ‘Alaska’s First City’ – at least for those coming northbound into the state.       

Cruise ships dwarf the buildings of downtown Ketchikan

Before the flotilla could dock in Bar Harbor Marina, we had to refuel all the boats at Petro Marine.  Just past the Coast Guard station is the short fuel dock that could only handle three boats at a time.  Patos and Bonum Vitae were left to hover in the gusty wind-driven waves of Revillagigedo Channel as the others topped off their tanks.  This area of the channel also serves as the runway for floatplanes.  Dozens of takeoffs (one that seemed to just clear our upper helm bimini!) and landings only added to the angst.  All went well and when we were finally finished filling our tanks, Frank skillfully powered Bonum Vitae away from the dock.

Bar Harbor Marina was a mile away and we followed Brodie who was now bouncing through the waves on Bonum Vitae’s dinghy.  As we approached the marina breakwall, we were greeted by the sight of a breaching whale right off our bow!  It was so close that we could see the barnacles on its back!!  The whole crew was quite elated since we had not seen any other whales this close-up.

After emptying the fridge of luncheon items, Frank and I hiked about two miles to the downtown area where the cruise ships are docked.  The streets were packed with passengers from Princess and Holland America cruise ships, all intent on purchasing gaudy bling, t-shirts and tacky souvenirs made in China and emblazoned with Alaskan icons.  We did not stay long.

The Rock in downtown Ketchikan

Paying homage to the vision and heroic efforts of the loggers, miners, fishermen, bush pilots and pioneers who founded Ketchikan

We all met at Annabelle’s Keg & Chowder House for our farewell dinner.  Hannah presented each of us with a thumb drive of the slide show we had viewed last night – definitely the best souvenir ever!  We reminisced about all the good times of the past 21 days and agreed that NW Explorations was the best chartering company ever!    The crew of Deception did everything to make sure we all had a memorable journey and it was all done with a smile.   We could not have asked for better weather or cruising conditions or companions on this adventure.

We reluctantly packed our bags, vacated Bonum Vitae, and said our goodbyes to the crews of Patos and Discovery.  Since our flights from Ketchikan to Seattle didn’t depart until 5:50PM, Bill, Vivian, Frank and I hitched a ride with Brian Pemberton (Jordan’s grandpa and founder of NW Explorations) to downtown.  We visited the Southeast Discovery Center where we caught a dance performance by a local native tribe.  Frank even got to participate. 

Southeast Discovery Center

 

Totems at Cape Fox Lodge

On to Cape Fox Lodge for a delightful lunch overlooking downtown and away from the maddening crowd of cruise ship passengers.

Ketchikan is situated on Revillagigedo Island and is only accessible by air or water.  The airport is located across the channel on Gravina Island and is accessible by ferry.  A newly arrived NW Explorations crewmember hauled our luggage up the steep marina ramp and Brian graciously drove us to the ferry terminal.  For such a small airport operating in the off season, we had a very long wait clearing the TSA checkpoint. 

Ketchikan Alaska airport

We joined the crew of Thea for the flight to Seattle where we said our final goodbyes to Bill and Vivian.  What great cruising companions!  What a grand adventure!

And here is an ending to my blog written specially for Ashley:

When we finally got home, we were tired.  So guess what grandma and grandpa did?

z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z

z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z

Thanks for the suggestion!  Love, Grandma

NW EXPLORATIONS - Part 4

Tuesday’s forecast called for gale force winds on some of the open water along our route so Jordan had the flotilla up and underway by 6AM to cruise in the calmer water of the morning.  Klemtu – a Kitasoo First Nation village on Swindle Island – was the destination for the day.

Our malfunctioning depth gauge was back to giving us some intermittent readings so Captain Frank was feeling more comfortable in the skinny water channels.  The stabilizers were low on oil so we cruised without on Queens Sound until it go too uncomfortable.  We promised Brodie we would use the stabilizers judiciously until he was able to get the proper oil to top off the reservoir.

A log barge

We cruised in glorious sunshine throughout the day under gorgeous blue skies.  We were ever on the lookout for floating trees and logs scattered everywhere along the water.  As we rounded the north end of Goose Island, the Deception crew claimed to spot humpback whales but we only saw some telltale spouts.

A definite change in scenery was occurring as we entered the deeply glacier-carved Finlayson Channel.  Steep islands jut out of the water which approached depths of over 1,000 feet.  The sheer mountains with clearly visible origins of skinny waterfalls provided a beautiful backdrop.  When the water flow finally reaches the jagged, rocky shoreline, the pristine white water is a sight to behold.  By 12:30 we had dropped anchor in Clothes Bay.

Hannah had arranged for a tour of the Big House in Klemtu so the flotilla crews launched dinghies and headed out for a pleasant ride up the Klemtu Passage.  Justin, a member of the Kitasoo First Nation, led the tour.  He introduced us to his culture, explaining the details of the carved poles within the Big House overlooking the harbor.  Amazingly, the talented wood carvers completed the massive, intricate symbol-laden poles in just over one year!  Raven, whale, eagle, bear, and frog were the dominant symbols.

Big House at Klemtu

A most serious dilemma arose in Klemtu – the sommelier aboard Bonum Vitae grossly underestimated the crew’s consumption of wine.  With four days at anchor before the next restocking opportunity in Prince Rupert, we are faced with only two bottles of moscato (which only Vivian drinks) and two bottles of red wine!  Ahem, Frank, that was your only provisioning responsibility!

Wednesday, May 22^nd was a noteworthy day – our grandson, Cameron, celebrated his 16^th birthday!  And it was a great day for cruising 36 miles to Aaltanhash Inlet.  With the Insular Mountain Range to our port and the Canadian Coastal Range to our starboard, we travelled through the Great Bear Rainforest.  This coastal temperate rainforest receives between sixty and two-hundred inches of rainfall per year plus another twelve inches of precipitation from the fog which often envelops it.  The area is home to twenty First Nation tribes and three types of bears including spirit bears.  These white-furred spirit bears are a genetic mutation of black bears.  They are said to be plentiful on Princess Royal Island.  The closest we came to spotting these bears was the depiction of one on a wooden sign over the Spirit Bear Lodge at Klemtu!

Hanging valley

Farther up Graham Reach, Hannah pointed out the u-shaped hanging valley to port carved by glacial movement.  The deep water and wide channel we cruised through at Graham Reach was also the result of this glacial movement.  South of Swanson Bay Bonum Vitae left the flotilla to circle back to check out the first waterfall sighting of the cruise.  To catch up with the rest of the flotilla, Bill revved Bonum Vitae’s turbo-charged engines up and we cruised at 20 Knots!

Entering Aaltanhash Inlet

At Aaltanhash Inlet, Brodie and Jordan choreographed a 5-boat raftup – 400-foot shore ties off Deception and Bonum Vitae, dropped anchors from Deception, Bonum Vitae and Patos.  Dinghies were launched for some shore exploring of this gorgeous anchorage where steep granite mountain faces surrounded us.  Then we all met on Bonum Vitae for another happy hour social event.  What wonderful dishes are produced in our galleys!  Hannah’s kayaking friends, Brooke and Casey, joined us.  These two are experiencing the Inside Passage by paddling from Bellingham to Skagway.  Ah, youth…

Happy hour on Bonum Vitae

Raftup at Aaltanhash Inlet

On Thursday, May 23, we awoke to hazy sunshine and the warmest temperature yet - 60⁰.  Our destination for the day was Bishop Bay, a mere 32-mile run.  By 9AM, we left all the beauty of Aaltanhash Inlet and its jagged-edged rocky shoreline behind.  Without a doubt, this anchorage would most likely be remembered as the most scenic of all.

Butedale

The kayakers hitched a ride aboard Deception as far as Butedale where the ruins of an old, abandoned cannery share the shoreline with a beautiful waterfall.  Each boat in the flotilla paused for a photo op at the base of the falls.  Dall’s porpoise darted through the water.  Brooke and Casey resumed their paddling adventure and the rest of us continued on our way to Bishop Bay.

There were plenty of waterfalls – big and small – tumbling from the mountainsides all along Fraser Reach and Ursula Channel.  By the time we approached Bishop Bay there was a good rain falling but at least the wind had died down from a peak of 30 knots to 9 knots.

On the way to Bishop Bay

At the head of Bishop Bay is the Bishop Bay Hot Springs.  Our travel guide labelled it as “one of the don’t miss stops along the northern B.C. coast.”  But Vivian and I would have to heartily disagree.  Everyone was anxious to take a dip in the warm water and after dinner Bill, Frank and I snagged a dinghy ride over to the dock where some Canadian boaters were enjoying a barbecue after their soaking.  A short walk up a boardwalk etched with the names and dates of previous visitors led to the bathhouse adorned with all sorts of memorabilia left behind by other boaters from around the world – a NY Yankees baseball cap, boat burgees, floats, and a rubber ducky.  The upper pool was constantly filling with warm water; the lower pool was fed by the used water from the upper pool.  It had a scummy look probably due to some people literally soaping up and bathing.  I dipped my toes in the upper pool and was pretty much done with the hot spring experience.  The guys lingered much longer.

The bath house

View of Bishop Bay from the bath house

Friday, May 24^th – Happy 41^st Birthday, Jon! – an early 6:30AM departure from Bishop Bay. We were bound for McMicking Inlet on the west side of Campania Island.  Jordan warned that conditions might get a bit ‘snotty’ out there on Estevan Sound.  He might just have underestimated the weather and sea conditions.

Leaving Bishop Bay

Mt. Jenkinson

The day started out wonderfully. Blue skies, calm winds, the snow-capped mountains on Gribbell Island, the horn-shaped peak of Mt. Jenkinson (elevation 3573 feet), the calm, nutrient-rich water of Wright Sound lulled us into a false sense of calm.  And it was only appropriate that we spotted numerous humpback whale spouts in Whale Channel.

Cruising conditions changed as we passed the southern tip of Gil Island.  The flotilla rocked along – nothing terribly unpleasant, just a bit snotty.  Conditions got snottier fast as we rounded the south side of Campania Island where the north winds were gusting at 35+ knots.  Waves sent sea spray over the bow and a few made it over the upper helm bimini.  It was not a pleasant experience but it got even worse – the Great Dinghy Debacle of Fury Cove would soon be surpassed by the REALLY GREAT DINGHY DEBACLE OF ESTEVAN SOUND.

Getting snotty

Attached to the rear transom of Bonum Vitae is a hydraulic platform upon which rests a cradle holding the dinghy.  The dinghy is secured to the cradle by two strong, webbed straps. This cradle was obviously no match for the wave action along Estevan Sound.  We were hailed on the radio by the captain of Thea informing us that the dinghy appeared to have come loose!  Well, that wasn’t quite true.  The dinghy was attached to the cradle but the cradle had come loose of the hydraulic lift mechanism. Two measly welds had snapped.  The dinghy/cradle combo was now bobbing frantically in the water, hung up on one of the two arms of the lift mechanism.  We were still four miles from the relatively calmer water of McMicking Inlet.

Deception, the lead boat of the flotilla, circled back to do a visual assessment of our predicament.  There was not much that we were willing or able to do in the deteriorating conditions on the sound.  The decision was made to limp on to the anchorage at McMicking Inlet and reassess options.

After getting the rest of the flotilla settled at anchor, Brodie arrived.  The look of shock on his face as he approached us told it all.  This was not pretty!  After some discussion with Jordan, the dinghy was disconnected from the cradle and motored away.  The cradle was deep-sixed at N 53⁰ 05’ 13.0” W 129⁰ 28’ 40.1” just waiting for some future unwitting boater’s anchor to snag it.  From now on the dinghy was Deception’s problem and would be towed the remainder of the leg to Ketchikan. Remember the Lazy W story told at the start of this narrative?  Can you say COSMIC KARMA?

There was a noticeable absence of radio chatter that afternoon.  The flotilla had a wet, cold, miserable 32-mile cruise and I guess no one was feeling sociable.  We hunkered down for the rest of the day. 

Jordan reported that we would be spending another day at McMicking Inlet.  Not only was he dealing with the dinghy issue, but Downtime, another U.S. boat (but not in our flotilla) had issued a mayday while we were underway to our anchorage.  Downtime was taking on water near McMicking Inlet.  Jordan and Brodie spent several hours patching a gaping hole near that boat’s waterline.  It was quite a day on the water.

The crew of Deception spent the night contemplating what to do about the deep-sixed dinghy cradle.  Hannah was not only a naturalist but also a certified diver.  The plan was to put Hannah in the water to attempt a retrieval of the cradle.  Everyone came to their senses and decided against going forward with that plan.  Instead, Jordan announced another change in our itinerary - we would leave McMicking Inlet at 9:30AM and make our way to Lowe Inlet, a 42-mile cruise.