Pearse Island Marine Park

We just finished our lunch and are getting ready to take a dingy tour around Pearse Islands Marine Park. This park is located southeast of Port McNeill and is a wonderful anchorage with beautiful sunsets, just on the edge of Johnstone Strait where it turns into Queen Charlotte Strait.

Potts Cove, West Cracroft Island

Jerry and Maggie looking for sea asparagus for dinner in Potts Cove. The cove was home to a pair of eagles and mom's keen eye spotted their nest. Tried some crabbing but it was crappy.

We are on our way to Crease Island, a small island on the edge of the Broughtons. The wind has finally settled down, we had a great sleep last night and a very relaxing morning. Tomorrow we will head over to the Broughtons and then hopefully sail back (rather than motor) to Port McNeill on Tuesday. 

Shore duties at Rebecca Spit.....

Barnes Bay (Sonora Is) to Knox Bay (W Thurlow Is) then Port Harvey.

Our attempt to transit Johnstone Strait has been a tough one. We have mostly been travelling at night to take advantage of the lesser winds and waves. Last night we left our anchorage at 1:30 am to catch the ebbing tide and winds of only 20-25 knots instead of 30-35 during the day. What a night.... we had waves coming over the bow and hitting our dodger, but we made it to Port Harvey for some sleep. We are now on our way to a more protected anchorage, Burial Cove, a short distance away to spend a much needed rest overnight. 

Mom is doing great... she sleeps through anything and is quite happy the next morning when we are in a new location... just like on the cruise ships!

Leaving Bowser behind....

Getting ready to leave our family reunion yesterday morning, Maggie was enjoying a snooze in David's arms. She really played hard the whole weekend! She spent the rest of the day sleeping.

We anchored on the northeast end of Denman Island yesterday afternoon. After a walk on the beach, we headed back to the boat and were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen! It literally looked like the sky was on fire.

Today we are aiming for Octopus Islands Marine Park on the north end of Quadra Island. Waves slapping on the stern forced an early start this morning, we pulled anchor at 4:15!! We have the current in our favour right now but a 15 knot NW wind is pretty much straight on our nose. Hopefully the wind dies down a bit (sounds odd coming from a sailboat!) so we can make better time today.

At anchor in Bowser

Splendid Mane sitting quietly near Bowser, the wind is somewhere else today. 

guess what's for dinner tonight?

Nanaimo Harbour... working on perfecting the shot.

Ella was teaching Ella how to use a sling shot, she is a pretty good shot, we had to tell her not to aim at the other boats!

Double Trouble!

Ella Hillbrecht (our neighbour's daughter) and Ella Huggins (our granddaughter) checking our progress to Dodds Narrows. We got away on time and are just approaching Dodds. We will be anchored in Nanaimo Harbour tonight, the girls want to go swimming!

Cast Off Day

We are planning to cast off at noon today, giving us about two hours to get to Dodds Narrows to catch the slack tide. We are having a  light drizzle this morning and it looks like it will definitely be a motoring day. Destination is Nanaimo Harbour and if the weather clears up, we will go for a hike on Newcastle Island.

Maggie getting a workout.

Overnight test run

Yesterday afternoon we left our dock for a short trip to Wallace Island, just to make sure we have everything working as it should. We managed to get some sailing in on the way home today, but in this area the winds are hit and miss. Our grandson, Aiden, came along for the trip, enjoying a romp in the woods on Wallace Island with Maggie.

Low tide after the supermoon....

This photo was taked just as the tide started to return. We rarely see the tide this low at our dock.

Perigee Moon

Last night the full moon was special. It is called a perigee moon because it is the one night when the moon is closest to the earth this year. It really is bigger than normal. Today, we are experiencing a minus tide because of the perigee moon. I will post later our low tide at the dock.

Maggie is ready to go!

Well, it has been awhile since our last post and I just don't know where the time has gone! But it is about to sloooww down a lot...... being out on the water with no phone, no TV, no house, and no house to look after, we find that there are actually 24 hours in the day, not 12 or 15 like we are used to.
Only 5 more days to go! We are half way through provisioning the boat, but the last few days will be a real push. Looking forward to getting out on the water .... our journey this summer will take us around Vancouver Island.

Sailing homeward down Johnstone Strait

Thursday August 30, 2012
We left our anchorage at Port Neville this morning and are heading homeward through Johnstone Strait. Passed a small pod of orca just a few minutes ago, it is a beautiful day but kind of fickly winds.

 More of the junk we find. This one we left behind.

This trip has been fantastic. For the most part, we had good weather. The rain, when it did come, didn't last for long. Most of where we went, we hadn't been before. We did lots of exploring on beaches and through trails when we could find them.

Sunset in Tate  Cove, Aristazabal Island

We didn't see a lot of other boats out on the water except around fishing resorts. Most of the time we had anchorages all to ourselves, but sometimes a bear would show up. 

Once we get home, I will post a link to our web album and hopefully a chart (if I can figure out how to do it) of our journey.

On our way again.

We are just leaving Prince Rupert after having filled up with fuel and water. This is a good stop for provisions and doing some laundry.
We are heading out to Stephen's Island for tonight, a place we have not been yet. On this trip we have mostly been going to places that are new to us.

This crab, a Spiny King Crab, was in our trap in McMicking Inlet. This is a juvenile, they get to be up to 60 pounds. We let him go.

This is the only bear we saw on Princess Royal Island, home to the Spirit Bear. This bear is the same type of bear only it is not white like the Spirit Bear.

We have seen some very beautiful sunsets, especially when there was smoke in the air from the forest fires in Colorado.

When we were in McMicking Inlet on Campania Island, we also caught a BIG dungeness crab, enough meat it in to last us two dinners. We are going to stop there again on our way home to hopefully stock up!

This will probably be the last post until we get close to Bella Bella. Not sure when that will be, but at least 10 days or more.

Some changes

Monday August 6, 2012

Wolf on beach on Campania Island.

Since our last post on June 30, we have traveled over 750 miles and been as far as the Alaskan border. In most of that area, except for around Bella Bella and Prince Rupert, there is no cell/internet service. The coast is wild and remote. Some days we never see another boat. We were in one area and didn't see another boat for five days. Some people were wondering what happened to us. And we don't want anyone to worry.

I have decided to re-vamp our blog. Originally, I had wanted to use this blog to keep our boat log and to keep in touch with family and friends. That works well when you can be in cell tower areas, but we like to get remote. So our blog will now be a compilation of pictures of the places we have been along with some commentary, but not the details we have included in the past. I think you will enjoy looking at the pictures and reading a few details, I won't be long winded as I know a picture can say a thousand words. 

Outta the strait and into the sound.

Saturday June 30, 2012
Lv: Port McNeill 12:15p
Ar: Blunden Harbour
Fuel fill @ 2061.7 93.4 lt
Water tanks full.
Off again after doing some housekeeping this morning. We have been have some trouble with the front head macerator, it still needs some tweeking. And the fridge/freezer was doing it's usual having a hissy fit this morning, so we got that straightened out as well. Got restocked on groceries after having the three little monsters on board who are ALWAYS hungry! :-)
We are shooting for Miles Inlet on the mainland side of Queen Charlotte Strait. Our internet will disappear soon so this will be the last post for awhile.
The weather is so-so, warm but not sunny. We are hoping to get some really nice weather by next weekend when J & J visit us on our boat. Keeping our fingers crossed.
See you soon Mom and J & J!!

Kids....

Bessbourough Bay to Port McNeill

Friday June 29, 2012
Lv: Bessbourough Bay 9:00a
Ar: Port McNeill 5:45p
trip log: 216.7 nm

Looking west along Chancellor Channel.

We are motoring west up Jonhstone Strait looking for some wind today. The forecast was for a nice 10-15 knot SE wind which would be perfect but so far it is calm as can be. Our destination will most likely be Port McNeill, but we might not stop there, maybe just keep going depending on our wind.

This is my attempt to grow some lettuce on this trip, so far they are looking pretty sad.

Savory Island to Johnstone Strait

Thursday June 28, 2012
Lv: Keefer Bay 7:00a
Ar: Bessbourough Bay 6:00p
164.4 nm
We are on our way again, up past Desolation Sound and through the rapids for the slack at 1:00p. Not sure just yet where we will end up tonight, probably one of our favorite spots... Helmken Island in Johnstone Strait.
We are in Bessbourough Bay, it is flat calm which is so nice after rocking and rolling all night in our anchorage near Jedidiah, usually a nice spot. Looking forward to a nice deep sleep.
Tomorrow we will head to Port McNeill.

Jedidiah to Comox and on to Copeland Islands

Wednesday June 27, 2012
Lv: Jedidiah 8:00a
Ar: Comox Harbour 2:00p
Lv: Comox Harbour 5:00p
Ar: Keefer Bay, Savory Island 9:30p

The crew were in better spirits after we got anchored and then onto solid land. We went ashore on Jedidiah to see the wild sheep and were not disappointed, we found quite a few, but they promptly ran off when they saw us.

Aiden found an eagle feather and then I found another two. We also found a pile of sheep bones and a skull from a wood pecker (I think). Very exciting day!
We are on our way to Comox Harbour to drop the kids off, then we will try to make it across to the Savory Island for the night. We might have a few days coming up with no internet, probably not until Port McNeill.

Nanaimo to Jedidiah Island

Tuesday June 26, 2012
Lv Nanaimo Harbour 8:30a
Fuel: 52 lt 2029 hours
Water: both tanks full
Ar: Jedidiah Island 1:30p

NW Winds 10 -15 knots this morning, made for a bumpy ride. Two of our crew were sick, the third has a stomach of steel. All three got fell asleep for awhile, so things were very quiet around here for a good hour or so.
We are going to go ashore on Jedidiah to see if we can find the wild sheep while we burn off some extra energy.

Monday June 25, 2012

Eagle sitting in our tree after the rain stopped.

The last bit of packing is happening this morning, loading up the fridge and freezer. We are leaving about 12:30 to catch the slack in Dodds Narrows. The weather is co-operating, looks like we will have a nice sail tomorrow as we leave Nanaimo and head over to Lasquiti.

I have been waiting a LONG time for this....

We'll be on the water tomorrow!

June 24, 2012

Just having some fun with the camera... but seriously, this is a picture of our stern... we now have our home port on our boat. Finally after all these years, we decided it would be a good idea to have where we hail from. This nice looking decal was professionally made for us by wallSAYtional Vinyl Art and Decals .

Jerry is getting the kayaks on board, making sure they are strapped on good and tight. Most definitely one of our very favorite things to do when we are "out there" is to kayak around all the little nooks and crannies, very quietly, and it is amazing what we get to see.

Haida Gwaii here we come!

Saturday June 23, 2012

So begins another journey! Well almost. We are just about ready to shove off, we will be leaving our home dock on Monday a little after noon. Splendid Mane is ready... she has had her bottom painted...

prop greased and polished, new zincs and .....

we have installed a new Dickinson propane heater! Yay!! Finally we will have all the heat we need to stay toasty warm.  Above you can see the chimney cap next to the mast. 

Our aim this summer (if it ever arrives) is to sail up the west coast to Haida Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) and spend a month there and then plan to be back home beginning of September or so. I have packed enough provisions to last us about 70 days more or less.  We are going to be trying some different tastes this summer... sea cucumber, sautéed bull kelp, and maybe some Dead Man's Fingers if we can find some nice fresh ones. Where we beheading there should be lots.

We are looking forward to meeting up with family out of Bella Colla and having our cousins on the boat for a few nights.

Keep posted, we will try to post everyday if possible when we are within internet range.

Cheers!

Finishing up summer 2011

Wednesday August 31 - Sept 4, 2011
Leave Bush Islets, Johnstone Strait
Arrive Home, Ladysmith Harbour
via: Owen Bay Sonora Island, Open Bay Quadra Island, Tribune Bay Hornby Island, Nanaimo Harbour Vancouver Island.
So, I have been a little lazy with the blog these past few months, and now that boating season is just about here, I thought I would finish up last years posts and the move on.

Coming south through Johnstone Strait, you just never know what you will see. This is the first time we have seen Orca so close, although apparently they are quite common. This group of three was part of a larger pod of maybe 15-20, and they came within about 30 feet from our boat. Very exciting to say the least, I love seeing these beautiful animals in the wild.
We did not run into any fish nets this time, and we really kept a close watch for them. The rest of our trip home was uneventful (possibly why I haven't posted anything! haha), but absolutely beautiful weather all the way. We tried crabbing in Nanaimo Harbour (Steve said we would catch some), but came up empty.

We are currently getting the boat ready for this summer's trip..... Haida Gwaii for a month. We are leaving at the end of June and will be out on the water until early September.
I will try my darndest to keep you posted, I do have some posts ready, so keep a watch on our blog if you are interested in boating.
Cheers!!

Back to Bush Islets, Johnstone Strait

Tuesday August 30, 2011
lv Port McNeill
arrv Bush Islets, Johnstone Strait 50 31.11N, 126 27.73W
There are not too many places to hole up while you are transiting Johnstone Strait and since we had a nice anchor in this location going west, we decided to try it again going east. Last time we had the anchorage to ourselves, this time two kayakers have set up camp on one of the islets. Kayaking in Johnstone Strait?.... either you are very brave or very foolhardy. This is not an area I would be inclined to kayak, period!

We enjoyed the company of a pod of porpoise for quite awhile, and I got a few pictures (of water with little splashes) and two videos. The one above is about 1.5 minutes long and is quite fun to watch them dart back and forth in front of our boat. They stayed with our boat for probably close to 30 minutes. So much fun!

Oh Happy Day!

Monday August 29, 2011
Leave Miles Inlet
Arrive Port McNeill 50 35.99N, 127 05.27W

MY FIRST SALMON!! SWEET!!

You really have no idea how happy I was in this picture. Un-believeable! And not only one, but here is .......

FISH NUMBER TWO!!

Yes, now I know how to catch a salmon. My ego has gone up numerous notches. Fresh caught salmon on the BBQ for dinner, yumm.

Looking west in Johnstone Strait, heading into Port McNeill, at the setting sun.