This blog is a cut/paste from our Facebook posts for those who don’t do FB. Click on the youtube links to see animation.
Day 5
Our goal today – somewhere in the vicinity of Cape Caution.
There are 3 open water crossings on the way to Alaska. Since they are exposed to the open Pacific Ocean, they can get rough, depending on offshore conditions. The first crossing (headed North) is Cape Caution, just beyond the northern end of Vancouver Island. It takes 4 hours, and we have crossed it when it was as smooth as glass, and once when one of our passengers was clutching her rosary beads and praying.
But in order to get to Cape Caution, first we have to go the length of Johnstone Strait. We spent the last 2 nights anchored in the Chained Islands, waiting for a change in the weather. Today we started early and headed west.
Johnstone Strait runs more or less east-west, so there are often strong winds funneling through the strait. Today when we first entered the strait, the wind was blowing 20 knots, and it looked like a long day of getting beat up. About a mile down stream, the wind dropped to negligible, and we had a strong current pushing us westward. We were going as fast as 11.1 knots, which for this old boat is just short of flying.
Every day before we depart, we consider where we will anchor that night. Depending on the weather, we pick a bay which we are certain that we will be able to make, even if the weather goes south and we spend the entire day being beat up by the elements. Today, that was one of several spots near the western end of Johnstone Strait. After a few hours of great speed under excellent conditions, we reassessed how far we could go. We knew we couldn’t get across Cape Caution before sunset, but we wanted to get as close as possible.
We ended up going much farther than we had thought possible, passed through the Broughtons, crossed Blackfish Sound, and ended up at Knight Island, a spot just south of the open water crossing. As we got closer, we began to rock in the swells from the waves coming in from the ocean.
Tucked behind the island, we were calm and secure. We could see the action out in the Strait, but didn’t feel it in the anchorage. There was only one other boat, a 100 footer named Bear Paw.
It’s a beautiful spot, which is good, since it looks like we will be here for 2 nights. The forecast for tomorrow is for 5.2 foot waves with a frequency of 4 seconds. This would be a lot of bouncing for 4+ hours. The forecast for Monday is much better – the waves should only be 3 feet high, and the frequency will be about 6 seconds – still a bumpy ride, but one that we could handle. Perhaps we will take the dinghy down and explore the nooks and crannies of Knight Island.
Here’s a picture that Nancy took of the moon over the anchorage tonight after dinner.
Day 6
Since we were planning on spending the day anchored behind Knight Island, I didn’t bother to set the alarm this morning. When I got up, the shine was shining brightly, the water in the anchorage was glassy, and the other boat, Bear Paw, was leaving headed north. I checked the weather forecast, and it had improved – 3 foot wave with a 5 second frequency – much better than the 5+ foot from the day before. I waited about 20 minutes and then raised Bear Paw on the radio. They reported minimal waves with some swell.
We decided to go for it. We left the anchorage, came around the corner and headed for Cape Caution. It was incredible. The waves were under a foot the entire way. The frequency started around 5 seconds and improved to 8 seconds by the time we reached the northern end of the passage. It was gentle swell the entire way. We agreed that this was the second best crossing we have ever had (once we crossed with no swell at all; a trip that will be hard to top). The actual conditions were so much better than the forecast. “Goes to show, you don’t ever know, you watch each card you play, and play it slow.”When we were about half way across, there was an announcement on the radio from the Canadian Coast Guard that there were Gale Warnings in Johnstone Strait. What a difference a day can make!
Once we got behind the headlands of Calvert Island, the swells disappeared and it was smooth sailing up Fitzhugh Sound. We turned west into Lama passage, and then north toward Bella Bella. We are anchored tonight in Shearwater, a large bay across the channel from new Bella Bella. Since we have had a couple of very long days (and our arrival time in Juneau is still looking good), we are going to spend tomorrow at anchor in Shearwater. Exciting plans include going over to new Bella Bella, hitting the grocery store (fresh produce arrives on Sunday), a visit to the chandelry for some bits and pieces and maybe a meal in the local pub. High life on the high seas!
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Day 7
A day of R&R in Shearwater. Got up, made breakfast, read the papers, practiced Spanish. Around noon we took the NFB (New Fast Boat – our inflatable that replaced the GFB – the Go Fast Boat several years ago.) to the dock here in Shearwater, and took the shuttle to Bella Bella across the channel. Bella Bella has a Big House (closed), a Cutural Education Centre (closed), a cafe (closed) and a Waglisla Band Store (grocery store), which was open and doing a booming business. The barge delivers fresh supplies on Sundays, so lots of townspeople were stocking up today. Everyone in town waved and said hello.
One of my favorite stories about Juneau is that since all the groceries arrive on a barge, one week every store in town will have baby bok choy, while the next week there are no bok choy, but lots of green peppers. May be apocryphal, but I love telling it. Today the store in Bella Bella had – drumroll please – Baby Bok choy. Of course we bought some – Dan Dan noodles in the next few days.
After we returned to Shearwater (the tourist center of this part of the coast), a local fisherman motored by the Gyr. The guy said, “your Trump flag is marring the beauty of your boat”. I said, “I think I have to fly it”. He said, “ No you don’t. About half the American boats aren’t flying their flags this year. It’s like you’re giving us the finger!”. I told him I’d cover it. I checked, and it turns out he was wrong about needing to fly the flag in international waters, but I don’t want to offend our hosts.
Dinner tonight at the pub in Shearwater. Nancy had fish and chips. I ordered a hamburger, but was told they were out of beef, so it would be a bison burger. Fine by me. Twenty minutes later our waitress came out, apologized and said they were out of burgers, and would I like a chicken burger? I would not, so I got the pork chop special. Excellent meal, don’t know why I didn’t order,it in the first place.
Here’s a picture of the Gyrfalcon at anchor in Shearwater today as well as one of the big house in Bella Bella.
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Gyr at anchorage
And Bella Bella
Day 8
It’s a good thing that the sun rises so early in June as you get farther north – it makes these early departures easier.
Today we crossed Milbanke Sound – the second ocean water crossing in the Inside Passage. Milbanke is the shortest, but for us it has often been the worst. I’m talking doors flying open, bruises and hematomas, chairs flying down the pilot house steps, and ashen-faced passengers clutching their rosaries.
With that buildup, I’m pleased to report that today Milbanke was a Millpond. No waves, almost no swell and gentle winds. We saw our first sea otter of the year just north of Milbanke, and a single humpback spouted.
After Milbanke, we entered the Days of the Ditches. The Inside Passage here consists of several consecutive fjords (Finlayson Channel, Tolmie Channel, Graham Reach, Butedale Passage, Fraser Reach, McKay Reach). The walls are rugged and steep, and there are several big waterfalls. But not much variety and little wildlife. Also, since we are headed to Alaska, we tend to push through this part of the voyage. No doubt we are selling it short, there you have it.
During the trip today, we communicated with the folks on Bear Paw, the 90 foot charter vessel that shared Knight Island with us a few nights ago. We decided to share the anchorage at Coughlan – our stretch goal for today, and they invited us over for dinner. Nice boat with very fancy guest staterooms, and a great pilot house. Nice folks as well.
On our very first trip north, we were in this stretch of the passage and running out of daylight. We tried several several anchorages listed in guidebooks, but they weren’t great for a boat of our size. And the wind was starting to pick up. Then our friend Andy said, “Here’s a place called Coughlan Anchorage, just outside of Hartley Bay that looks ok”. It’s a long, wide, protected anchorage in just the right spot. We got in after sunset and spent a calm night. We will always have a warm spot in our hearts for the anchorage that saved us that night.
Tomorrow we will continue north.
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