Dent Island to Port McNeil

Monday August 16, 2010
Leave Dent Island 0800
Arrive Port McNeil 1500
Trip Log 224.2
Fuel: 92 lt Engine hours: 1682 Water tanks full. Propane full.
This is somewhat of an abbreviated post, we are sitting in a laundry mat in Port McNeil and I am hot and getting hungry and so I will continue this a little later....

A smokey haze covers the mountains on Vancouver Island... smoke coming from forest fires in the interior of BC.

After we got settled in at our anchorage near Bent Island, we saw something neither of had seen before, although I am sure it is quite common. A big black bear swam across from one island to the other not far from our boat, a distance of about 100 feet or so. We were so excited, I didn't have time to get my camera out for the picture. We thought it was going to have some trouble getting out of the water since the bank it was aiming for was a sheer rock wall, but it had no trouble at all climbing out. I guess it's long claws can grab a hold of the tiniest cracks in the rocks. So, our first bear of the trip.... we are hoping to see many more. And lots of other wildlife as well.

Sunday August 15, 2010
Leave Billygoat Bay 1200
Arrive Bent Island 1715
Trip Log 164.2

Pushing through Johnstone Strait

Saturday August 14, 2010
Leave Octopus Islands 1200
Arrive Helmken Island, Johnstone Strait
Last night we decided to try kayaking in the dark, so at about 10 pm, we headed out for a paddle around the bay. It was soooo cool! With the bio-luminescence in the water, each stroke on the paddle unleashed a flash of light through the water. AND... we could watch fish darting about around our kayaks! They were like comets in the sky with long tails behind them! Definitely something we will do again on this trip. We also enjoyed watching the end of the latest meteor shower and the beautiful milky way.

We delayed leaving our anchorage this morning as the currents in the area are very strong and we had to wait until close to slack. Our original plan was to head through Hole In The Wall, but with Johnstone Strait calm as can be, we decided to go through Okisollo Channel instead. We had a very relaxing kayak tour around the Octopus Islands with Walter and Mavis after breakfast of cinnamon buns, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit salad and coffee.
So right now we are heading to Helmken Island, one of our favorite anchorages. It is right smack dab in the middle of Johnstone Strait, but very protected and not too many other boaters stop there. Last time we were there, we found an eagles nest, so we are going to check it out again today. Tomorrow we should be in Port McNeill to fill up with diesel and top off our water tanks. Then it is on to Nakwakto Rapids.

Octopus Islands

Friday August 13, 2010
Leave Copeland Islands Marine Park 0720
Arrive Octopus Islands Marine Park
Trip Log
It is very calm today, virtually no wind, but the sky is hazy, and I think it is from the forest fires in the interior of BC. It will probably remain like this for the next 4-5 days as we have a high moving in over us.
I have a feeling we won't have internet at our anchorage tonight, so this might be the last you hear from us until tomorrow or the next day.

Sunrise in Octopus Islands Marine Park

Copeland Islands

Thursday August 12, 2010
Leave Hardy Island 0650
Arrive Copeland Islands 1330
Trip Log 100.7 nm
Heading north to Copeland Islands 29 miles away. I will continue this post later today, assuming we will still have an internet connection.

Beautiful day today, we motor sailed most of the way. Mavis and Walter were already tucked into a spot by the time we got here even though we left about 1 and a half hours before them! Been in twice for a swim, the water is a cool 18 degrees, but very refreshing!! Tonight we are going to stay up for the metor shower. I will post some pictures soon!

Next stop.... Hardy Island

Wednesday August 11, 2010
Leave Boho Bay 0800
Arrive Hardy Island 1200
Trip Log 69nm
Our original plan for today was to head to Copeland Islands (about 40 miles) but the weather forecast is calling for 20+ knots of wind from the NW which would be right on our nose. So, because we are flexible and it doesn't really matter one way or the other, we are heading to Hardy Island (only about 20 miles). We will do some kayaking later this afternoon. We have our eyes keenly peeled (whatever that means!) for the Transient Pod of Orcas sighted yesterday.
Not much sailing because the wind was straight on our bow again today. It will probably be like this for most of the trip up the coast.

On the way to Jedediah Island

Tuesday August 10, 2010
Leave Nanaimo 0750
Arrive Boho Bay, Lasqueti Island 1410
Trip Log 48.1 nm
It looked like the weather was going to be calm today, but as we left Nanaimo Harbour, the wind picked up to 15 - 20 knots. We motored sailed for an hour with just the main up, but once we got out in the middle of Georgia Strait, we decided the winds were not gusting anymore and pretty steady at 16 knots, both sails went up and we are cruising along at about 5 knots. The sun is out and it is a beautiful day!

An old apple tree at the old homestead on Jedediah Island.

Just after we got anchored and had our lunch, our friends Walter and Mavis showed up. They said they had just spend some time right outside the bay enjoying a pod of 5 or 6 orcas playing, at one point very close to their boat! So, after they got anchored, they came over in their tender to pick us up to head out and see if they were still there. They were gone by this time ( you don't really know how disappointed I was!!), but now that we know they are in the area we will be keeping a keen watch for them again!

And they're at the post....... they're off!!

Monday August 9, 2009
Leave our dock, Ladysmith 1330
Trip log: 0nm
Arrive Nanaimo Harbour 1745
Ultimate destination: Seymour Inlet 51 04.98N 127 39.40W

Lots of reading material for our trip.

We are off, FINALLY!! It took us two full days to pack the boat with enough supplies to last us one month. That is a lot of trips down and up the stairs. But, we are one hour into our trip and so far neither Jerry or myself can think of anything we have forgotten.
We will get through Dodd Narrows just before slack so we get a little push with the current. Next stop will be to fill up on diesel and water in Nanaimo, then we can put the anchor down in the harbour and enjoy our reward..... a nice dinner with a glass of wine. Then Splendid Mane will gently rock us to sleep. Saaa-weeet!!!
Welcome to all our followers, we hope you enjoy the trip!
Fuel: 114 lt (with extra gas can) $125.29
Water tanks full.

We survived Ireland's roads.

My little friend at our bed and breakfast in Ireland, he loves carrots.

Thursday August 5, 2010
I didn't post anything on my blog for the past week++ for two reasons...... an internet connection was not handy and we were having way too much fun to even stop to look for one. We are back home now after spending the last week in Ireland for Steve and Martina's wedding. This was my second trip to Ireland, so there were no surprises for me. But Irish roads are still unbelievable!! We rented a car in Dublin and drove almost 2000 kms, mostly on the old country roads. If you ever want an exciting experience, you just have to do this!! The speed limit is 100 km/hr and in reality if you are doing 50 km/hr you might be endangering your lives!
All in all, we had a great trip but of course we are glad to be home too. We are still adjusting to the time change (-8 hours), but hopefully we will be back to normal in another day or so.
Next on the agenda...... sailing to Seymour Inlet, just past the northern tip of Vancouver Island but on the mainland side of British Columbia. We are planning to leave about August 9th for about a month. I will be busy the next few days planning our meals and provisioning the boat. Jerry's job is everything else! And I think he has the easy job.

Last day in Tallinn

Part of the wall that surrounds the upper village.

Sunday, July 25th was our last day in Tallinn. Before we checked out of our hotel, we decided to do a little more sight seeing. It has been really fun doing all these tourist things, I never really pictured myself as one of "those" tourists! Anyway, the only part of the old town we didn't see was up about 200 stairs, so before it got too hot, up we went! Most Embassies are in this part of town, including the Canadian one.

Jerry took this picture of course, but it does show that I was there too! Up at the top of the old town, you can see the Gulf of Finland in the background.

A peacock butterfly, there were loads of them on these flowers.

We got on the ferry heading back to Helsinki, a two hour ride over 80 kilometers, and then caught the commuter train to Hanna and Tommi's house, back in time for a really wonderful dinner and then bed!

Tallinn

July 26, 2010

Today is our last full day in Finland. We will be jumping on a flight tomorrow and heading to Dublin for one week. We got back late yesterday afternoon from a three night trip to Tallinn, Estonia by ferry from Helsinki. We stayed all three nights in the old town of Tallinn at a very nice hotel called the Baltic Imperial. It was nice to stay right in the old town to see the sights and not have to go to far to get back to our room each night. The first day, we went on a 3.5 hour bike tour to some of the sights outside the old town. Our tour guide was a very colorful young man who described himself as definitely not patriotic! It was quite interesting listening to him tell about Estonia`s history.

 

The next day we took it easy, explored around the old town, ate at an outdoor cafe, and snooped around in the shops. Saturday the weather looked like it would rain but we decided to take our chances anyway and head out of town again to see the open air museum, an 80 hectare piece of land with original buildings reconstructed and showing the way life was in Estonia in the 18th century. And yes we got rained on, but it was so warm and a welcome relief from the heat we have had. We didn't mind at all. Below is a new thatched in progress...

and a stone building used as the blacksmith's shop.

Viking Center and Bengtskar Lighthouse

Yesterday we drove about 2.5 hours southeast from Helsinki to go to the Bengtskar Lighthouse, on a very small island in the Gulf of Finland.  We had to get on a boat that first took us to see the Viking Center on the island of Rosala. Below is the sign showing the road ends ahead.

We toured the centre, had a traditional Viking lunch (fish soup and dark Rosala bread) and then got back in the boat for another 45 minutes to see the light house. It is steeped in history and has a very colourful story. Today it is no longer a manned lighthouse but still is in operation with an automatic light.

 

After getting back from our boat ride, we got back in the car and drove to the small town of Fiskars for dinner, and I am sure you can figure out what they are famous for. The town has done a fantastic job of keeping the old buildings in good repair and it is now a worthwhile tourist stop. Unfortunately for me, the store that sells the scissors was closed by the time we got there.

So, tomorrow, Thursday, we will be off to Estonia. I am looking forward to a ride on the Tallinn Ferry, we will let you know how it goes.

Touring around Helsinki

Wednesday July 21, 2010

We spent Monday in Helsinki. First we got on the train from Hanna and Tommi's house and took about 25 minutes to get into downtown. Our first stop was at a travel agent to purchase tickets on the fast ferry for our trip to Estonia. We are heading there tomorrow and will stay three nights in Tallinn, one day renting a car to travel the countryside, and the other two days to explore around Tallinn.

After that we jumped on a tram and got off at the farmers market which is close to the ocean. We wanted to catch a boat to the small, historic island of Suomenlinna (a UNESCO site). This little island was used by the Finnish military as a maritime fortress. Lots of history here and very much worth the trip.

When we got back to Helsinki, we got on a tram again and took a trip right around the city, ending up in a waterfront park, and then to the shipping docks for a nice cold beer. Helsinki is much more lively than we thought it would be, lots of people having fun and moving about in the downtown area. There was an outdoor concert with a heavy metal band and a ton of young people sitting around listening, eating and drinking. We explored a few shops, had some dinner and headed back to Rekola on the train to Hanna and Tommi's. Just like worried parents, they were waiting up for us as we arrived about 11 pm.
Yesterday's activities will be on a new post.

Enjoying Finnish hospitality!

Monday July 19, 2010
Well, we have been gone from home a full week now and so much has happened it is hard to know where to start. Of course, our flight over to Helsinki went very well and our baggage arrived at the same time we did, but we never expect this miracle to happen. Hanna and Tommi were waiting for us at the airport, and we were happy to get to their house to relax after traveling for about 20 hours (although the flight was only 14 hours). Jet lag was a problem, but a bigger problem was the length of daylight, so it did take us a good 5 days to get around to Helsinki time. Below Jerry, Tommi and Hanna wave from the top of a lookout tower in the town of Kotka, close to Helsinki.

On Wednesday we drove east to Kotka to stay at Hanna's parent's summer cottage on the Gulf of Finland. It is a really wonderful, rustic (electricity but no running water) cottage right on the water where we enjoyed late nights, good food, saunas and swimming in the warm 28 degree Celsius water. Hanna and Tommi have three very nice children. Below their eldest, Effie, is picking wild blueberries to make a tart which we enjoyed later with vanilla cream...... yum!

 

We are off to tour around Helsinki now, so I will continue this post later.

Off to Finland... but Splendid Mane has to stay home this time.

Monday July 12, 2010
We leave this afternoon on our three week journey to Finland, Estonia, and then Ireland. We will be back on August 4th, when we will be quickly packing up Splendid Mane to go for our much anticipated one month journey to Seymour and Belize Inlets, just off of Queen Charlotte Sound.
But in the meantime, on our Europe trip, I'll get the occasional post in here and there, so check back every so often.

A few of my favorite pictures.

Dunes, not where you would expect them. This is a picture of a sand dune near Carcross in the Yukon. It was formed about 10,000 years ago when an ice dam created a glacial lake. The sand and silt that had been trapped in the glacier, settled to the bottom of the lake leaving behind these huge dunes after the ice melted.

This is taken at our campsite on the Top of the World Highway, we watched rain storms come and go, and then this rainbow showed up when the sun finally got below the layer of clouds.

Also taken on the Top of the World, this is the Canadian border crossing. This road is closed from beginning of October until the beginning of May, but is was a really nice gravel road to travel on at this time of year.

Downtown Dawson City.... most buildings are original and all the roads (except the main road that is the highway) are dirt and the sidewalks are wooden. Very interesting history here, an amazing amount of gold was found in the creeks but the people who got rich were the ones that "mined the miners".

Dawson City buildings again.

Monday June 28, 2010
We are home again, unpacked and getting caught up on stuff from the last 3 weeks.... the phone calls, the mail, etc. Over the next couple days, I will post some of my better photos from our trip. It was truly a memorable excursion, one that we are not likely to take again, at least not for a long time. Although I still think it would be fun to go that far north for the winter solstice! Maybe someday.

Almost home

Saturday June 26, 2010

Downtown Anchorage tourist information center...... a sod-roofed log cabin in the middle of town.

We are on our last leg home, just leaving Burns Lake right now, and we should be home tomorrow afternoon. If we have a good internet connection later today, I will post some about what we have been up to the last 5 days, we have seen some fantastic scenery.

Can't remember the name of this glacier, having a senior moment. It was on the highway between Anchorage and Tok Alaska.

Tuesday June 22 Anchorage to Top of the World camp, our best camp so far. The border crossing closes at 9:00 pm Yukon time, so after clearing customs we drove another couple clicks and then stopped for dinner and decided we couldn't do better for a camping spot. It really was beautiful, we could see forever in every direction and watched as rain came towards us, then over us and then moved on. Best of all, it was soooo quite, we really were the only ones around.

Red Fox looking for some handouts.... check out the beautiful tail.

Wednesday June 23 Top of the World camp to Dawson City then Skagway. Driving from the Top of the World to Dawson City was great! We were concerned the road might not be so good, but it was actually better than the highway from Whitehorse to the US border. In Dawson City we went on a guided historic tour of the town and learned lots about the gold rush in 1896.... all I can say is I am glad we live now and not 100 years ago! On to Skagway. We were going to stop in Whitehorse but then decided to check out Skagway instead. The drive from Whitehorse to Skagway was stunning! I would recommend it to everyone who makes this trip.

The effects of a glacier... this landscape is over 10,000 years old. Located on the highway into Skagway.

Thursday June 24 Skagway to mosquito camp (just north of Dease Lake BC). Yikkes!!! The mosquitoes were really truly huge! And they were very hungry. Jerry sprayed all over the outside of the car with DEET 40% while I tried to set up our mattress and organize the car. That stuff really works, but I would never spray it on my skin. Jerry was worried it might take the paint off the car! We won't make that mistake again... first check the mosquito meter before deciding on camp location!
Friday June 25 We left mosquito camp (before the little buggers got up) and drove about 8 hours to Smithers to stay with our friends Mary and Rob Boyce. Caught up on about 7 or 8 years worth of happenings between our families, polished off two bottles of wine and lots of good food!
And today will be the last night on the road, we will probably end up somewhere on the Pemberton Highway tonight.

Some of what we have seen everyday....

Turnagain Arm, just outside Anchorage, on the way to Seward.

On the highway a few minutes north of Seward.

On the beach in Seward... how would you like to live here?

Anchorage to Seward and back to Anchorage

Monday June 21, 2010
We left Faribanks early Sundy in the rain. The closer we got to Seward, the nicer the weather became. By the time we stopped for the night, it was pretty much a cloudless sky. Below is the picture I took from our "campsite" along a beautiful glacial river. This photo was taken just before midnight. The sun still had almost another two hours to go before setting. We usually go to bed at about 10 pm, but with these longer days, we are still not tired at midnight and are having to force ourselves to go to sleep. !!??!!

The town of Seward Alaska off in the distance.

We got a great nights sleep and then headed off to Seward, only a few kilometers away. A very beautiful setting but very touristy of course. It is amazing what happened to this town during the earthquake in 1964, it was almost completely destroyed. You would never know anything happened today. 

Headed back to Anchorage after lunch and now we are just takn' it easy, enjoying a little r & r.

Fairbanks AK

Saturday June 19, 2009
Friday night we slept in the car, sounds not that nice, but it was actually pretty comfortable. We found a side road off the main highway, very private and quiet. The only problem was we had to try to block out the light with towels and jackets because we couldn't get to sleep. Oh yes, and did I mention the mosquitoes? It never really got dark, even after the sun set it was still light enough that you could see everything without turning on a light.
We arrived in Fairbanks about noon, checked into a hotel, took a short nap and then headed up to the Univeristy of Alaska to their museum. Here we are sitting on a 4500 pound nugget of copper.

We spent nearly 3 hours at the museum, it was really well done. After dinner we went to the Aleyska Oil Pipeline viewing area just outside Fairbanks. Incredibly, there is about $1million worth of oil that goes through this pipeline each hour....

This picture was taken at almost 11:00 pm on June 19th
Tomorrow we are on the road again, off to Anchorage and we will spend a couple days there.

Whitehorse.... land of the mid-night sun

Friday June 18, 2009
Whitehorse, Yukon
I can't believe it! We are really in the Yukon! We drove almost 1000 kms yesterday, leaving Fort Nelson a little after 8:00 am, stopping at the Laird River Hot Springs for a relaxing dip with Amy, Dave, Ella and Sophia. It was one of the nicest hot springs I have ever visited, well worth the trip.

Our original plan was to stay overnight in Watson Lake, but then since it was still light out (surprise, surprise), we decided just to continue on to Whitehorse, got here at almost midnight. Now when I say midnight, you will probably imagine complete darkness, but the sun was just disappearing behind some mountains, there was quite a bit of traffic around, and I saw a couple walking their dog along the river. It was more like 7:00 pm in Ladysmith.
I am going to put some pictures up on the site, but don't have them off my camera yet, check back later today or tonight.

Goin' to Fort Nelson!

Day 6 Monday June 14, 2010
We left Edson this morning about 8:15 and are on our way to Fort Nelson, should be about a 12 hour drive. It is a really beautiful day for traveling, sunny and 14 degrees.

Wedding Day

Proud dad with his beautiful daughter.

Road trip to Alaska with stops along the way.

Day 3 Friday June 11, 2010
Coaldale Alberta
(Day 1 was Ladysmith to Kelowna, Day 2 Kelowna to Coaldale)
We arrived in Coaldale yesterday evening after leaving Kelowna about 8:00 am. Lots of construction is going on on the trans-Canada highway so it took us about an extra hour to get here. Today we are mostly just hanging out at Becky and Lance's house, this evening is the rehearsal for Abby's wedding tomorrow and tonight is dinner at Erik's parent's house. No pictures today, but I will have lots to post after the wedding. 

Haul home.... or maybe not!

Friday May 28,2009

Splendid Mane still in the sling, with bottom paint all done.

Still in the sling, being lowered into the water, only a few inches to go.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Jerry motored away from the dock and I got in the car to head home, hoping to meet him at our dock in a little more than 3 hours. After I got home, I checked messages on the phone (we are one of those few people that do not have a cell phone) and there was one from Jerry. He was back at Cove Yachts, there was a problem with the impeller (or that is what he and Phil thought), so could I come and pick him up? Good grief! Jump back in the car, drive 45 minutes again, and there he was, waiting for me. I think he was quite worried I wouldn't check messages on the phone right away. 

Monday a mechanic will have a look at the engine and hopefully we will get it fixed quickly. But on the way home in the car, we talked about what good luck we had in that we were so close to help when we had the problem! There is always a happy side to every problem!
Update: as suspected, it was the impeller that broke. Splendid Mane is back in her berth now all ready to head out for a sail. Our next trip on the water will not be until the first week of August when we will head up to Seymour Inlet for 3 - 4 weeks. But we head out on June 9th by car and will end up in Alaska somewhere around June 21 for summer solstice. We will be blogging our road trip, so stay tuned!

Haul Out Day

Thursday May 27, 2009
Leave: our dock 1140
Arrive: Maple Bay Marina, Cove Yachts 1500
new zincs and bottom paint

Stephen doin' his part gettin' Splendid Mane in the sling.

We motored all the way to Maple Bay to Cove Yachts for our bi-annual haul out. Once they got the boat in the sling, we were glad to see it didn't have as much growth as we had thought. The donut zinc on the shaft was gone but the autostream zinc was still in pretty good shape, but still we will replace it. The bottom of the keel had a good growth of mussels and anemone and around the shaft was quite a few mussels. Other than that, she looked pretty good. More pics tomorrow when we go back to pick her up.

North Cove to home....

Tuesday May 25, 2009
Leave: North Cove, Thetis Island, 1130
Arrive: our dock, Ladysmith Harbour, 1415

We lazed around all morning, me reading a book (Napoleon's Buttons), and Jerry on the computer watching the stock market go down then back up. The sun finally warmed up our cockpit and then we had visitors looking for handouts for breakfast. This pair of geese only has 4 goslings, but maybe that is all that has survived to this point. We also had several harbour seals hanging around our boat, checking us out and a couple loons.
Back home again now, but we will be heading out again in a few days to get the boat hauled in Maple Bay.

Montague Harbour to North Cove

Monday May 24, 2009
Leave: Montague Harbour, Galiano Island, 1050
Arrive: North Cove, Thetis Island, 1420
Lat: 49 00.96 Lon: 123 41.50

Splendid Mane (left) at anchor in Montague Harbour

It is an absolutely beautiful, picture perfect boating day today. Although the forecast is for winds between 15 and 20 knots this morning, we are only seeing light winds, nothing to get excited about. Our destination for tonight is North Cove on Thetis Island, one of our favorite anchorages.
It's been a beautiful day, we got some sailing in down Tricomali Channel with winds up to about 18 knots. Saa-weet!

Another sailboat getting some wind.

First cruise of the season! yeah!

Sunday May 23, 2010

Leave: Ladysmith Harbour, our dock, 1100

Arrive:  1615 Montague Harbour, northwest of Gray Peninsula

Lon: 123 24.61 Lat: 48 54.07

Canadian Coast Guard Hovercraft checking out a submerged sailboat in Ladysmith Harbour.

Our first stop was in Princess Cove on Wallace Island, but with the wind blowing at about 9 knots and already 10 other boats there, we decided a better option was to head to Montague Harbour on Galiano Island. We are heading south in Trincomali Channel, the water is very choppy and the wind is blowing at about 15 knots right on our nose, but the sun is shinning. It is a beautiful day after all!
*oil change 1600 hrs

We headed over to the beach before dinner and had a walk around Montague Harbour Marine Park. There were over 80 boats at anchor or tied up on moorings in the main part of the harbour, very busy start to the boating season!