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.