Back to West Beach on Calvert Island.

Monday August 8, 2011
exit Fury Cove
anchor Pruth Bay, Calvert Island 51 39.24N, 128 07.46W
Lazy morning, such a beautiful day, what is the hurry? After breakfast, Invictus breaks loose and goes to haul their prawn and crab traps. We head out of Fury Cove, our destination today is Calvert Island and one of the most beautiful beaches on the coast, at least in my humble opinion. Peter radios over to find out if I would like to try my hand at fishing for a salmon. Of course! So I get transferred and Jerry motors on alone, heading towards our anchorage.
To this point in my life, I have never caught a salmon. Other fish, yes, but never a salmon. Peter has all the gear and I feel confident I will turn a corner in my life. Ha! Not today, you silly! No, no, no. Peter hauls in a couple, but my rod does not! Oh well, ever the optimist, I am not worried. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

All of us on West Beach, Calvert Island.

After we get anchored, we head over to shore for the 15 minute walk to the west side of the island. We have been so lucky with the weather, it is so nice and warm, even though it is a little cloudy. 

The only wildlife we have seen so far today.

Back on the boats, we try our luck with the crab traps. Of course, Peter and Roma haul up a whole bucket full of Dungeness within about an hour. How many did Kathy and Jerry catch? One. The Invictus crew were very nice to invite us over for a crab dinner.

Invictus and Splendid Mane at anchor in Pruth Bay, Calvert Island.

On to Fury Cove, Rivers Inlet

Sunday August 7, 2011
exit Beaver Cove
anchor Fury Cove 51 29.29N, 127 45.62W

It was easier taking pictures of the loons than trying to get a good on of the humpbacks.

Our crab trap was totally empty, not even a starfish! Oh well, I am an optimist, and I know we will catch one sooner or later. Beautiful day for cruising and as we rounded the corner to head into Rivers Inlet, we spotted a humpback whale, then another one and then noticed they were everywhere. And because there were so many, we could actually smell them... they smell awful! Of course, we had to stop and watch for awhile. I got out my camera and as usual, the only pictures I got were of water.... you know, after the whale disappeared!
We got anchored in popular Fury Cove and shortly after Peter and Roma arrived as planned in Invictus. Now we are two!

Beaver Cove

Saturday August 6, 2011
exit Boswell Cove
anchor Beaver Cove 51 33.06N 127 35.99W

Leaving Boswell Cove just as the sun was coming up.

Smith Inlet was home to 16 salmon canneries during the early to middle 1900's... this is all that remains of one.

Another pier from a different cannery site, nature is reclaiming her territory.

Did a bit of sailing today. The wind seems to come up around noon and then blow pretty good up Smith Inlet.
Mom went down for an afternoon snooze and we almost rolled her out of bed when we went to tack... oops! That woke her up pretty quick. Tried a bit of fishing, but nothing of any size was biting. We put the crab traps down in our little anchorage and then another boat came into Beaver cove and put one down too. This made us a bit hopeful that our trap would have something in it in the morning. Sure would be nice to have a Dungeness crab dinner tomorrow!

Boswell Cove, Smith Inlet

Friday August 5, 2011
exit Ahclakerho Islet anchorage
arrive Boswell Cove 51 22.50N, 127 26.51W

Leaving Ahclakerho Islet.

We had put the prawn trap trap down in the entrance to Ahclakerho Channel in about 250 feet, marked the spot on our GPS but when we got there this morning, it was gone. When a trap disappears, there are only three things that could happen: it was stolen, the rope came undone or it drifted away. We didn't think it could have been stolen because no one else is around. So we assumed the rope came undone and that maybe we would see the float somewhere. I got out the binoculars and started scanning and there off in the distance, about a mile away, I could see what I thought might be a float. Getting closer we could see, that yes, it was our float. So thinking that it would have 350 feet of yellow line floating near it, Jerry got in Tail and motored over while I stayed away with the boat, not wanting to get any line tangled in the prop (has happened too many times already). When he got there, he was surprised to see that the trap was still attached! So, for the first time, we have had a prawn trap just drift away and now we know we will have to pick our sites more carefully in the future. Unfortunately, there was not a single thing in the trap.

A visitor on our way to Boswell Cove, stopped for a rest.

After leaving Ahclakerho Channel, we stopped for lunch in a little nook aptly named Finis Nook. There is really only room for one or two boats and it is almost completely surrounded by land except, of course, for a very narrow entry. Jerry and I got in the dingy, Tail, and left mom to relax and read, while we explored. Around the corner we found exactly what we have been looking for! A fixer upper!

Fixer upper in Finis Nook.

Off again, we ventured further into Smith Inlet and end up in Boswell Cove. So peaceful and the water was so nice a warm, we went for a swim. Quiet, peaceful and warm.

The beautiful Ahclakerho Islets

Thursday August 4, 2011
exit Anchor Bight, Indian Island
anchor: Ahclakerho Islet 51 16.45N, 127 27.80W
Pulled up the prawn trap and as usual it was totally empty. I am thinking we are either getting too deep or not deep enough. Who knows?

Pictograph in Ahclackerho Channel, looks something like a bug. Cool, eh?

Off to Ah-clack-er-ho Islands, Prideaux Haven without the crowds. We motored-sailed most of the day, still in Smith Inlet, then down through Ahclackerho Channel where we passed a humpback whale on his way out and the pictograph pictured above.

Seagulls line up to roost for the night.

We didn't see another boat the whole day. Our companions were the whales, birds and seals.

Exploring Smith Inlet

Wednesday August 3, 2011
Exit Walker Group
Arrive Anchor Bight, Indian Island 51 17.14N, 127 38.38W

A starfish and limpets.

Our fist venture into Smith Inlet. It is beautiful and quiet. This is the traditional territory of the Gwasilla tribe and we have anchored in a small cove off Indian Island. Upon closer inspection, we realized that it is an old site of an Indian village. We waited for low tide, then took the dingy over and had a look around. The site was only abandoned back in the early 1960's, but nature is reclaiming her territory. Trees have grown up so thick it would be next to impossible to go ashore and explore. The middens we saw were over 6 feet thick on some edges that are being washed away by the sea.
We dingyed over to the center of the bay and plunked the prawn trap down in about 250 feet of water (we think). 

The continuation of our trip.

On a shore in Johnstone Strait, example of what boats plying these waters have to watch out for.

Tuesday August 2, 2011
exit Port McNeill
anchor Walker Group 50 53.91N, 127 05.73W
Engine hrs: 1864 Fuel consumption: 94 lt / 47 hrs.
Sometimes I take a picture and then later look at what I have on my camera and ask myself "wt*?" Not sure what the picture is of or why I took it and on this trip there are a lot of pictures like that. But I know that sometimes I was trying to get the picture of a whale or dolphin and all you see in the photo is blurry water. But I will be posting at least one awesome picture of a whale's tail I was finally able to get.
Anyway, we left PM with full tanks of fuel (136 lt) and water (130 gal). We are going to be ultra conservative with the water because there are three of us on board and we are not quite sure when we will be filling again. Mom is still getting used to how things work on the boat after accidentally leaving the bathroom tap in the on position and draining one water tank while we were motoring under way.
The Walker Group is an almost bomb proof anchorage. Once you get inside you are totally protected from the winds and swells or chop in Queen Charlotte Strait. We usually have the snug little cove to ourselves, but on this night we shared with two commercial fishing boats that tied up to the mooring buoy.

Catch up time.

Our internet availability was so sketchy on this trip we decided to not even try to make regular posts. So, just so we can keep track of our trip and for anyone else interested, over the next month I will be posting (from home) all about our latest journey.
So check back in with us, you'll see some pretty cool stuff!

Port McNeill

It's been a few days since I posted, but with three of us on board all wanting computer time, it is hard to fit it in. Grandma is having a great time so far, she has blown through two and a half books so far, been playing lots of cards and taking lots of pictures.
Right now we are sitting in Port McNeill, but we will be leaving soon. We had quite a time going through Green Point Rapids, we had it almost WOT and were not going anywhere. Finally we got through the worst of it, decided to anchor in a quiet bay and have lunch. While we waiting for the current to change I did a little fishing and managed to catch a beautiful ling cod, which we ate for dinner!I did it all by myself too! That is rally rally amazing.

The next few days or so, we will be out of internet service and really I am not sure when we will find it again. We are planning to meet up with P & R on Sunday August 7th and then puddle jump around Calvert Island and the mainland coast, hopefully catching a halibut and maybe some prawns and crabs.
We've got the kayaks on board so we will be doing lots of that, and of course I will take many pictures.
Until next internet stop, Ciao!
K

On the road (water) again! ~~~~~~/)~~~~

It is important to stay within radio contact range.

We are currently on our way out of Nanaimo Harbour. Had a great 24 hours with the two 5 year olds and now have great grandma on board. The weather is perfect for sailing, we are heading across to Lasqueti Island for the night. We will be in and out of internet range, but will respond to all emails when we get them.
Cheerio!

Gettin' ready to go, finally!

After all the work we have had done on Splendid Mane, we are just itching to get going on our trip. Earlier in our blog, I had mentioned we would be sailing north to spend some time around Rivers Inlet and Calvert Island. We are leaving on Tuesday July 26th, yeah!! Splendid Mane is just about ready to go. We started provisioning today and will finish up on Monday night. We will have enough on board to last us for the next 5 or 6 weeks.
Today Jerry changed the oil (1816 hrs) and yesterday Stephen put new zincs on for us. We are fueled up and full of water.
I hope to be posting as often as possible, but once we get past Port McNeil, the internet is pretty sketchy.
Go'in Boating!

Back at home dock.

Finally we are back at home with Splendid Mane. After a quick trip out to Alberta, we came back to the Island on Friday via Tsawassen/ Swartz Bay Ferry, drove over to Canoe Cove Marina, Jerry got on the boat and I battled rush hour traffic out of Victoria and only got home about 90 minutes ahead of him!
We are planning an outing for this coming up weekend to test all the "improvements" made on our boat, just making sure everything is working before we head out later this summer.
The mast is good as new we are told and the engine is working smoothly. Gotta start making my lists for this weekend!

When I last posted, we were waiting for the mechanic to come by the boat the next day and give us a run down as to what needed to be done to the engine to keep up with regular maintenance. After he left, we jumped on our bikes and biked all the way home (via Saltspring Island) which took us about 3.5 hours of biking and about 54 kms. That was our longest bike trip to date I think (although when we biked to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau  from the marina, that was pretty close to that far), but it was just the exercise we needed!

Sea Pen under the dock in Cove Marina. I love the colors.

Now we are back home of course, just waiting to hear back from the mechanic that Splendid Mane is ready to go. The mast is back on, better than ever, the sails got a good cleaning and inspection and we have some new things to play with on the boat now.

I participated in a 'poker dive' last weekend at Neck Point Marine Park and no, I didn't win anything. My dh took the picture and I am not sure which one is me, but I think it would be the one looking back towards shore.... I was waiting for my dive buddy, Martina, to get in the water. We had a great time though. Ready for my next dive!

Mastless.... is that a real word?

Well, there she sits, sans mast. Pretty funny looking, but we feel right at home here in this marina as there are quite a few other sailboats in the same sad condition.

In the picture below, you can see the footing that holds the mast to the deck of the boat. Inside, you can see some gunk that has built up over the years and is the cause of the cracking in the mast. What happened was the gunk plugged the drain holes just enough to prevent water from seeping out quickly enough and it froze when we had a cold snap this past winter. The weather gods aligned to have the perfect conditions for this to happen. Apparently the mast repairer, Brent, has never seen this happen here, but it is quite common on the east coast. 

You would not believe how many times we have heard that same story..... seems we lack a certain type of force field that other people have for protection against the "I have never seen that happen before" syndrome. Oh, and by the way, Brent said the amount of gunk we had built up was very little, he has seen so much inside the footing it is completely filled.

Prepping the mast for removal.

This is Paul, who works for Blackline Marine, taking the boom off the mast. In the foreground you can see he has already taken the main sail down and lying just beyond it is the head sail. We folded the sails up nicely and shipped them off for cleaning.

Below the crane is being attached to the boom, you can see a small portion of the crane at the top left.

                                             

Mast repair part II

We've had a visit from the repairman at Blackline Marine. The verdict is they are going to take the mast down because there is some question as to whether or not any damage from the freezing has been done to the inside of the mast. Their plan is to make a sleeve, insert it inside the mast and then weld the crack. This process will most likely take two weeks. So, for the next four or five days, we will explore around Sidney and maybe some of the southern Gulf Islands by bike.
No pictures today, but I will be taking lots during this whole process.

We're off to Sidney.

Just getting ready to pull away from the dock to head to Sidney for the night. Tomorrow we should have some news on the mast.

Mast repair update.

Finally we have a date set to get our mast fixed! We will be heading to Sidney BC on Tuesday (day after tomorrow) to visit the mast doctor. They will be taking a look at it on Wednesday, decide the best course of action, and then get started on Thursday. At this point we really don't know how long it will take, could be a couple days if they don't take the mast down or a couple weeks if it does have to come down.

This eagle sat on our ramp railing for quite a long time, all the while keeping an eye on me while I took his picture. At this time of year, we have quite a few eagles in the harbour. They are fishing but as far as I know they don't nest around here.

In the meantime, we will be staying on our boat and during the day we plan to do a lot of bike riding around Sidney peninsula. We are also thinking if it is going to take the longer period of time, we will catch the ferry across to Salt Spring Island and find a B & B there to stay at and then catch the ferry again over to Chemainus and bike home. 

This is not really how we envisioned our first spring boat trip, but as they say, when given lemons, make lemonade! And I love lemonade! :-)

Spring cleaning finds bad news.

Every spring we spend a day washing winter's grime off the decks and hull. It is really a very pleasant job to do on a warm sunny day. It also gives us a chance to really check things over carefully. We like to get into all the little nooks and crannies, sometimes using a toothbrush to get the green algae off. Up until this year we have been fairly lucky to only find minor problems, but last week during our spring clean we found a major problem. And we are not going anywhere until it gets fixed.

That picture of course is the bottom of the mast where you can see a crack. We think possibly it happened from water getting in and then freezing but we are still in the investigative stage. If it is from water then the lesson learned is make sure water can drain away from your mast! Some lessons are expensive. But it is not the end of the world and we will still have lots of fun out on the water this summer. :-) Stayed tuned for the saga of the mast! It has only just begun.

Silence... the good kind and the other kind

 Wednesday April 27, 2011
I have really not been ignoring our blog, just didn't have any blog worthy posts, hence the silence. It has been a long winter. We would have gone to Mexico but the violence there kept us home in Ladysmith. To break it up, we did take a trip to the Caribbean, charter a cat and sailed in the clear blue warm waters for 10 days in March. Now that spring is finally on the horizon (can you believe how cold it has been so far?), we are getting anxious to get out on Splendid Mane. First thing we have to do is give her a good wash and that will happen either today or tomorrow.
We did spend the long weekend on Footloose, Al and Margie's home on the water. And what fun we had! We met up with Peter (picture below) and Roma on Invictus on their homeward bound maiden voyage to Bella Colla. We had two beautiful days of sun and warm weather, awesome prawning and even some fishing, in Desolation Sound. Yee haw!!

Splendid Mane will be out on the water soon for a short spring fling, sails set and hull whispering through the water. We have plans to head up to Rivers Inlet and Calvert Island this summer (late July and August) and spend 4 or 5 weeks there. In between, we will be heading out to Alberta to see the newest addition to our family due in early June. 

I promise to be posting more often now that boating weather is here!

A visitor at our dock.

 This is a Lion's Mane Jellyfish we spotted next to our dock this morning. We normally see them a dark reddish brown colour, so this was an unusual sight for us. The bell on this jelly is about 18" across and the tentacles were probably about 10-12 feet long. I would have liked to get a picture of this one from in the water, that would have been very cool. This jellyfish can give a nasty sting, but not life threatening.

Oh the joy$ of owing a boat!

$ince we got home from our last journey, we have (well, mostly Jerry) been busy fixing broken things on the boat. As you know, if you have been following our blog, we ended up without our windlass as the motor was burned out. $o that is all installed now and working nicely.
The front head's macerator pump has not been working for quite awhile, Jerry just finished that $melly job yesterday. He also made a plywood floor for our inflatable $ince the original inflatable floor was no longer holding air for more than 10 minutes (we always took the foot pump with us when we went out). The tubes are still holding air and a new floor is a ridiculous price, so this will get us another few years before we have to buy a new dingy.
The next thing is getting new foam for our mattress $ince it feels like the Rift Valley right down the middle where the two pieces come together. Apparently, foam only lasts about 6-8 years and this mattress is over 8 years now. Time for a new one!
Ever since we had the salt water intake pump for the engine replaced earlier this year, we have had this really irritating very slow leak. I say irritating because so far we have not been able to locate exactly where it is coming from, so that is another job on the list. And another minor leak in the engine coolant lines we have to figure out.
The last thing that needs our attention is the auto pilot. When we very unfortunately backed up into a rock last summer and made the chain slip on the steering column because the rudder was pushed against the rock, our auto pilot has not been working properly. But I think it really is just a matter of fine tuning the settings, which we really don't know a heck of a lot about. This particular job will need to be done one day when we are out on the water and it is very calm.
Well, at least this gives Jerry something to work on since we have finished renovating the house! We will have Splendid Mane in ship shape for her next journey coming up this fall.

All good things.... come to an end.

Motoring home past Nanaimo on a beautiful day.

Thursday September 9, 2010
Leave Pirates Cove 0900
Arrive Ladysmith 1215
Trip log 726.9
Well once again, we have completed another journey. We are home again, unpacking the boat, washing laundry, and catching up on one months worth of mail and phone calls! We are ready to stay put for awhile now, have been traveling all summer... since the beginning of June we have been on the go.
But we have already started talking about our next boating trip...... maybe to the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound. Most likely this will happen in late October or early November. First we have to get the windlass fixed and a few other items for the boat.... it is always something. It really is true what they say ..... "a boat is a hole in the water where you pour your money"!

Colours of fall reflected on the water as the sun sets in Pirates Cove, De Courcy Island

Oil change: 1785

Ayy Matey! On to Pirates Cove

Leaving Hardy Island anchorage, fog still laying low, heading out into Georgia Strait.

Wednesday September 8, 2010
Leave Hardy Island 0920
Arrive Pirates Cove 1900
Trip log 713.3
Fuel $60.59 Nanaimo Engine Hrs 1779.7
Water tanks full
What an absolutely beautiful day! It started out with some very thick fog between Texada Island and the mainland, but by 9:00 we could see that it was starting to lift. So we hauled the anchor (no trouble today!) and headed out. The wind did pick up enough to get the head sail up for about 5 minutes, but then nothing. But the sun is out with big white puffy clouds here and there, and a very light breeze, you can't really ask for anything more. We are hoping to pick up our grandson at the Nanaimo fuel dock later today and take him to Pirates Cove, his favorite anchorage.

The damn painter is always getting tangled up! At the dingy dock in Pirates Cove

Pirates Cove is really a great place to take kids! Aiden loves coming on Nana and Papa's boat if "we can go to the treasure box"! At Pirates Cove, they have a real treasure box (someone stole it a few years ago, but the local boaters made a new one to replace it.... can you believe the nerve of someone to steal it?) in which the policy is "take something, leave something". It works great, and Aiden and Papa love combing through the treasure to find something of interest. You never know, sometimes there are even useful items in there!

You can just feel his excitement as he runs to the treasure box, toy in hand to leave behind for another lucky kid.

Catch up time........

The rain forest on Cortes Island.

Tuesday September 7, 2010
Leave Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island 0800
Arrive Hardy Island 1500
Trip Log 665.5
We had a little panic attack this morning when we went to pull the anchor. We thought it was stuck on something (yesterday we saw a powerboat pull up a large log with his anchor) because we couldn't budge it. We moved the boat forward to try to dislodge whatever it was, no luck.So we pulled up our trip line(the second time we have had to use it), and found that the problem was simply that it was WELL dug into the mud! Uggh, our backs are not used to this!
We are heading towards Hardy Island and the weather is nice enough for a swim!

Monday September 6, 2010
A day of R&R, we are sitting tight in Squirrel Cove because the forecast is for wind from the SE which would be right on our nose and we would be fighting it all the way. It is raining or misting. Took the kayaks out when the weather cleared a bit and went for a walk on Boulder Point then over to Squirrel Cove Marina to see the ``town``.

Salamander we found while hiking in Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island

Sunday September 5, 2010
Leave Billygoat Bay, Helmken Island 1000
Arrive Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island 1900
Trip log 624.7
Uneventful day today compared to yesterday. We took advantage of the currents and wind and had an easy morning running with the head sail up. The wind finally died down after lunch but we still had a nice 3-4 knot current carrying us through Dent, Gillard and Yucalta Rapids. Squirrel Cove is crowded, but still lots of room. TONS of moon jellies in this bay, guess we won`t be going swimming.

Another sailboat, about a 50 footer, heeled almost to his toe rails in Johnstone Strait. This is 25 knots of wind.

Saturday September 4, 2010
Leave Pearse Islands 0800
Arrive Billygoat Bay, Helmken Island 1800
Trip log 573.3
Wind and current are in our favour today so we decide to make a nice run down Johnstone Strait. We hoped our day would go well, but it was not to be. Only about an hour out, with the wind blowing 10-15 knots, motor on but head sail up, the water choppy and the sun shinning right in our eyes,  we ran into a gill netter. All panic broke out, threw her into neutral and  pulled in the head sail. The fisher boat zoomed over to us and threw a line, but his mistake was trying to pull us over the net, unfortunately it only made matters worse. Then he tried to pull us back, but with the wind, and weight of our boat plus the net, he was not successful. Finally, he decided his only option was to drum his net and by doing this he was able to free us, but not without some damage to his net. It was an unfortunate mistake, and we have learned a lesson the hard way.
We kept a keen watch the rest of the day, and if we had not been really (and I mean REALLY) watching, it would have happened again. Another gill netter had his net out and he had drifted away from it about 500 meters or so, and we could not see the other bouy marking the far end of his net  because of the chop. If we had chosen to take that route around him, we would have run into another net.
We arrived at Billygoat Bay, but the wind was still blowing 15-20, even in the anchorage. Without a winlass, anchoring makes the job a little bit of a challenge. Through it all, we ended up loosing our snubber. But I guess since we know exactly where it went down, maybe someday we can dive there and get it back! HA HA
So now we don`t have a snubber to help us with anchoring,.... we`ll see how that goes.
We were very glad once we had gotten our worn out bodies tucked into bed!

Things don't always go as planned.

Friday September 3, 2010
Leave Port Mcneill 1430
Arrive Pearse Islands Marine Park 1630
Trip log 530.2

We left the dock yesterday late afternoon and started to put the anchor down using the "fixed" windlass, but it was not to be. We got about 40 feet out and it quit. Jerry fiddled with it for almost two hours and was not able to get it going again, so we pulled the anchor back up by hand and headed back to the dock which is where we are now. We have someone coming at anytime to give us a hand to fix it and then we are hoping to get back on the road (water!).
The mechanic took a look at the windlass motor and said we need a new one but the closest one is in Florida. So, we are heading out of PM now to the Pearse Islands and we will just have to do it the old fashioned way.... by hand! Depending on how it goes tonight and then with retrieving the anchor, that will determine how fast we get home. I already told Jerry a few weeks ago that I wanted to start weight lifting, but I wasn't think of the anchor!

We are back from the nether lands!

Thursday September 2, 2010
Leave Waddington Bay 0940
Arrive Port Mcneill
Trip log but 
We are only a few miles from Port Mcneill. Our original plan for today was to anchor in the Pearse Islands Marine Park, about 11 miles southeast from PM, but things don`t always go as planned. We went to put the anchor down and it would not go down. Jerry determined, after a little inspection, that one wire on the solenoid was corroded and had come off. So, we will fix it in Port Mcneill and get fuel and a few other errands then go to Pearse Islands tomorrow. 
Below is my log from the last two weeks, we had a great trip into the Seymour Inlet area! I will post a few more pictures as I get the time I have kept most of them small, but click on any picture and it will be full size.

Wednesday September 1, 2010
Leave Rusty Cove Simoom Sound 1245
Arrive Waddington Bay 50 43.80, 126 36.93, 1545
Trip log 491.8
An easy motor day today, it was very calm and mostly sunny. We passed a school of dolphins near Cramer Passage (same place as the last time we were here), but they were too busy to play with us today. It was easy to see they were feeding by their behavior. There must be lots of fish around because there are lots of sea birds feeding as well. We are anchored in Waddington Bay with only one other boat, a cat from the US. This is prime kayaking territory, lots of little islets and inlets to explore around.

Tuesday August 31, 2010
The rain has not really let up today, and it is a bit foggy.... a good day to just relax, read, snooze and eat popcorn. We will head out tomorrow whatever the weather as the batteries will need a good recharging.

Monday August 30,2010
Leave Laura cove 0945
Arrive Rusty Cove, Simoom Sound 50 51.36, 126 32.85, 1140
Trip log 477.9
Fog this morning but hopefully it will life early this afternoon. Went out in the kayaks again looking for a trail to Sullivan Bay Marina. The guide book says that there is a trail to the west, but in all four little nooks we looked in, none had anything that looked remotely like a trail. But the book was written over 10 years ago and another boater said her book, which is a bit newer said the trail was overgrown. So we headed back to the boat, then it started to rain as forecast and didn't quit. We hunkered down to a nice salmon dinner and lively conversation about stereotyping and cultures!


Sunday August 29, 2010
Leave Berry Cove 1100
Arrive Laura Cove 50 49.47, 126 34.11, 1245
Trip log 469.6
We are getting a little better at stern tying and even managed to get the job done with two other boats already in the anchorage and without yelling at each other! Laura Cove is a little on the tight side, but has great opportunities for stern tying.
Took a pre-bath dip in the 13 degree water! I would recommend trying this.... it really makes your skin feel alive!
After dinner we toured around the end of Laura Bay (low tide) and saw lots of salmon (coho?) jumping in the shallows. As we quietly drifted across where they were jumping we could see huge schools of the fish swimming under our kayaks. Very cool!!


Saturday August 28, 2010
Leave Steamboat Bay 1445
Arrive Berry Cove in Cypress Harbour 50 50.13, 126 40.32, 1800
Trip log 462.9
This morning we went out at low tide to tour around Mckenzie Sound in out kayaks. We spent three hours, mostly slowly meandering along the shoreline. The intertidal life in this area is incredible. We saw some more species of starfish (including my first Slime Star) and lots of sea cucumbers and sea pens. In Steamboat Bay, yesterday in the late afternoon, we watched swimming Giant Nudibranchs float by our boat, and on the kelp, there were lots of Hooded Nudibranchs, looking like something from another world as they moved about on the kelp.
Back at the boat for lunch, then relaxing (and reading), to wait for the tide to change at Jessie Point.
In Cypress Harbour we took another kayak tour and found a Forest Service Recreational Site in past Burnt Point in the shallow part of the harbour. In our guide book, they say it is not advisable to anchor in this part of the bay, but we talked to some fishermen on a 40 foot power boat and they said they were anchored in 30 feet and there is room for 4 or 5 boats, you just have to know where the channel is for getting in and out. We beached the kayaks and walked about 25 minutes along an old forestry road, saw some bear skat, and as it was starting to get dark, we decided to turn around. But it was a nice hike and good to get some leg exercise. Altogether today, we kayaked for 5 hours, a record for us.

Friday August 27, 2010
Leave Claydon Bay 1000
Arrive Steamboat Bay,Watson Island 50 56.18, 126 48.25, 1150
Trip log 448.4

Thursday August 26, 2010
Leave Napier Bay, 1015
Arrive Claydon Bay 50 56.28, 126 53.44, 1215
Trip log 440.5
This is an area of the Broughtons that we have not been to before. Only a short distance from our anchorage last night, Claydon Bay is a popular anchorage especially with sport fishermen (there are 5 boats here now) because it is very protected and easy to get in to. There is also a small group of float homes in the southern corner of the bay. We didn't do much today except read as it rained most of the day.


Wednesday August 25, 2010
Leave Knight Island anchorage 1045
Arrive Napier Bay, Tracy Harbour, North Broughton Island 5050.98, 126 51.12, 1715
Trip log 433.2
We took the kayaks out early this morning while the tide was out. The area where we anchored last night is a group of islets with lots of little channels to explore. Got back to the boat just as it started to rain.
Foggy most of the morning and into the afternoon, but it finally lifted around 1:00 and we sailed down wind for the rest of the day almost right into the harbour where we are anchored. Saw another bear working his way along the shoreline this evening as we were eating dinner.


Tuesday August 24, 2010
Leave Charlotte Bay 1030
Arrive close to Nenahlmai Rapids 1215
Trip log 398.8

We are taking a tour of Nenahlmai Lagoon by dingy because the entrance to the lagoon is guarded by a shallow narrows with up to a 5 knot current. When we arrived at the rapids, Tail didn't quite have the power (6hp) to get us through so we waited almost 30 minutes, exploring around the shoreline close to the rapids. I have never seen such a high concentration of starfish in my life!! Truly, they were thick, covering every nook and rock, turning the bottom and sides of the narrows beautiful shades of orange and pink. We saw leather stars, mottled stars, sand stars, sunflower stars, giant sea cucumbers, red sea cucumbers and  green sea urchins as we slowly paddled around. It was well worth the effort to make this side trip.
Had lunch and then pulled anchor to head to Nakwakto Rapids for slack at 1645.
Arrive Knight Island 51 00.06, 127 31.17, 1815
Perfect timing for slack at Nakwakto and then through Schooner Channel on the flood. We are anchored close to the mainland with a nice view through the islets to Vancouver Island.

Monday August 23, 2010
Leave Head of Nugent Sound 1030
Arrive Charlotte Bay 1345
Trip log 375.5
Picked up the crab trap on our way out of Nugent Sound and as usual, it was empty except for a little kelp crab. I let him go. Jerry`s sharp eye spied another bear, this one much bigger and probably a male, feeding along the shore at low tide.
So, now we have the trap down again in Charlotte Bay, a place known for good crabbing. We will see! We got the kayaks out again to check out Ellis Bay, about a 4 mile round trip from our anchorage. A fun trip and we got back just as the rain started pelting down. This trip we have seen very few other boats in this area and all our anchorages up until tonight have been by ourselves. Tonight we are sharing with a small charter fishing boat and they put their crab traps out too, so that is a good omen!


Sunday August 22, 2010
Leave Nugent Sound Cove 0930
Arrive Head of Nugent Sound 1050
Trip log 357.7

At the head of Nugent Sound is a very small opening into Schwartzenberg Lagoon that is too narrow and shallow to get a boat through. The current can run at over 5 knots so even with a dingy, we had to wait for close to slack water. While we waited we had a swim (the water temp is a refreshing 18 degrees) and Jerry surprised me by being the first one in again! After touring Schwartzenberg Lagoon, we had dinner then took the kayaks out to explore the bay we were in. The thing about using our kayaks instead of Tail, is that we can be very quiet and hopefully sneak up on a bear.  It was our lucky night, Jerry spotted a mother black bear with her cub feeding along the rocky shore. He got to within about 20 feet before she realized something was not quite right, then high tailed it with her little one into the trees, then proceeded to humpff humpff us for a few minutes until we were around the corner.

Saw lots of moon jellys, green sea urchins, about 6 different species of star fish, and a few small crabs.

Saturday August 21, 2010

Leave Peet Cove 1015

Arrive Nugent Sound Cove 1540

Trip log 352.0

On our way through the entrance to Nugent Sound, we put the crab trap down in about 38 feet, keeping our fingers crossed that maybe we will catch something. Nugent Sound Cove is a snug little anchorage, about big enough for three boats. But we are the only ones here, except for a pair of Harbour Seals, who are a little perturb we have invaded their home. Just after we got the anchor set up, it started to rain. And I mean RAIN!! For a good 10 minutes it just pelted down, then all of a sudden it stopped and the sun came out. We climbed outside the boat and stood listening to the forest... it still sounded like it was raining for another 30 minutes or so from all the water dripping off the trees. Really amazing! We get Tail out for a look around and the pair of seals followed us from a safe distance everywhere we went. At one point, we shut off the engine and sat very quietly to see what they would do. After about 5 minutes, they both popped up almost simultaneously about 15 feet from the dingy, scarred themselves silly and disappeared again. We had a good laugh!

Friday August 20, 2010

Leave unnamed bay 1015

Arrive Head of Alison Sound, Belize Inlet 1300

Trip Log 315.6

It took us over 30 minutes to decide where to put the anchor down, and even then we decided we would put out a stern anchor. There are two creeks that empty into this bay making it shallow out quickly. So the depths go from 90+ feet to 10 feet fast, with not much swing room and no place to stern tie. After getting set up, Jerry took Tail out for a look around the creeks and checking depths. Then we both headed out in the kayaks for a very enjoyable tour up the creeks until we got to the rapids. We were hoping to see a bear or something, but it seems we are here at just the wrong time. There were not really even many birds to see.

Back at the boat, the wind started to pick up after dinner and push our boat towards shore, so we decided to pull anchor and find a more secure spot.

Arrive Peet Cove, Alison Sound 2015

This is a small cove we checked out on our way by earlier this morning. We wanted an option in case the head of the inlet proved not that great. We are having ``fun`` practicing our stern tying, good thing there is no one else around to hear us practicing!

Thursday August 19, 2010

Leave Strachan Bay 0800

Arrive unnamed bay, Alison Sound, Belize Inlet 51 09.17, 127 06.19, 1430

Trip Log 304.0

No crabs, not a single one, in the trap from the day before. Humff! Oh well, we can try again.

This area is really beautiful, reminds me somewhat of our trip to Alaska with the steep sided mountains with waterfalls and thick with giant cedars and firs. We got pictures of the pictographs along the way, these are over 150 years old and still look good. Rained a bit after we got anchored, but then cleared off so we went on a short tour with Tail.

This photo was taken at the bow (which you can just see in the bottom left corner), me hanging over the lifelines and the dolphin turning to have a look!

Wednesday August 18, 2010

Leave Walker Group Cove 0800

Arrive Strachan Bay, inner basin, Belize Inlet 1400

Trip log 284.3

We had internet right across the sound from Port McNeill until we reached the mainland side and then it faded out. It is not far to go through Queen Charlotte Sound to reach the mainland side and the wind was fairly calm so we didn't get the sails up. But there is no getting away from the swells once you enter the sound. Our challenge today was to get through Nakwakto Rapids, the only entry into Seymour and Belize Inlets, on or near the high water slack. We arrived about an hour early, and watched the rapids for 30 minutes then decided it wasn`t anything worse than we had already been through. Nakwakto Rapids can reach over 14 knots and slack lasts somewhere between 6 and 10 minutes. With careful planning, any boat can navigate through these narrows. We made it through easily with about a two knot current with us.

Turrett Rock, in the middle of Nakwakto rapids, at slack high tide. The water looks almost like glass, but that is very deceiving.

I can never get over the excitement and amazement of having a group of dolphins swim along side our boat. Just after going through Nakwakto, we were greeted by a group of Pacific White Sided Dolphins. They are very curious and ofter will "bow ride" for 10 or 15 minutes. I like standing at the bow, leaning out and watching them watching me! They will turn on their sides to get a better look and actually make eye contact. I watched as they scooted ahead of the boat about 50 feet or so and then slowed down to let us catch up to them. This went on for over 20 minutes, until they either lost interest or decided they were getting out of their territory. What fun it is!!

We found a nice anchorage in Strachan Bay, put the crab trap down with high hopes and then jumped in Tail to do some exploring. We met Buck and his friend Bob, full time residents (log salvagers) of Belize Inlet. Coho were jumping but we couldn't catch one!

Tuesday August 17, 2010

Leave Port McNeill 0800

Arrive Walker Group Cove 1645  50 53.93 127 31.91

Trip Log 256.8

This is an anchorage we haven`t tried yet, so we were cautious entering the "landlocked" cove through a shallow narrow opening. But once inside, it proved to be quite secure and relatively quiet. We toured around the Walker Group of islands in Tail (the name we have given our dingy), enjoying the ride on the swells on the outside of the islands.