May 30, Wrangell Alaska

May 30, 2008

Meyers Chuck was recommended by several people as a great place to stay and it is. We visited with another couple that we met in Prince Rupert and a fellow who has been up about 20 times. He comes up every year, spends several days at Meyers Chuck then heads up to the Sitka area where he spends two months. He is a musician and plays for the boaters and sells Indian mask carvings for money. He invited us over after dinner for some music and we brought the drinks. We had a nice warm evening to sit on his upper deck and listen to his guitar and ballads.

Left Meyers Chuck for the Blashke Islands which sit at the intersection of Clarence Strait and Stikine Strait. There is not much written about them in the guide books but there appears to be a good anchorage and some exploring to be done by dinghy. The entrance to the anchorage is tight. Lots of rocks and the best charts we have do not show it in detail. Even nobeltec is a bit sketchy on the hidden rocks. The Douglas guide book has a drawing showing two bays that are accessible but nobeltec shows both entrances drying at low tide. We entered and found a secure spot in between the two bays. Both bays it turns out are able to be entered even at low tide with a minimum of 14 feet of water but you have to wind your way through some rocks to get there so it is a little stressful your first time going in but now that we have done it and know where the rocks are not, I would do it again. I would go all the way into the second bay as it has the better views but it is less protected than the little cove we chose to stay in. It is a great place to explore by dinghy or kayak. The only sign of civilization is a commercial fish farm operation in one of the bays on the other side of the islands.

I tried my hand at fishing again and caught some more crab bait but nothing that was edible by humans. It is really tough to fillet a flounder with a dull knife. The crabs were elusive as were the shrimp. Glen decided he wanted to drop the pots in a 350 foot hole he spotted on the charts and thought it was just a little way out from the anchorage. Half way across Kassevaroff passage in the dinks and we were there. Just a short run if the waves and wind are non existent. My back may never the same after this morning’s high speed run through the waves to pick them up.

Weather is still good. Cloudy this morning but it should burn off as it did yesterday by early afternoon.

Only problem to date is the Generator. Two days ago it did not want to stay running and then died. No fuel in the filter so I primed it and it ran for several hours and I checked it and the filter bowl was half empty again. Somewhere I am sucking in air and so far have not found the source. It runs but I have to keep putting fuel into the filter bowel to keep it running. I may have found the source this morning, a loose fitting but cannot fix it till I get to Wrangell. Will have to take the fuel pump off to tighten the fitting, hopefully that will solve the problem.

Were headed to Wrangell today to try and arrange dog sitters for next week and ensure I have a place to keep the boat for the week. None of that is firmed up so were hoping that we can get in early enough today to make those arrangements.

Phones and internet connections are still sporadic. Glen and Liz have had better luck now that we are in Alaska with AT&T. We still get good connection with the Verizon air card and the AT&T go phone works in the same areas but there are plenty of blank coverage areas.

Moorage at Wrangell was no problem. $148 for 8 days of moorage. They waived the requirement to have a boat attendant for us which both Ketchikan and Petersberg required and they were both quite a bit more expensive. Wrangell has a new marina that has plenty of room and both 30 and 50 amp service.

May 26-28

May 26-27 Naha Bay to Yes Bay

Naha bay is a fun little spot. We went hiking on Monday along the lake which appears to be a very popular destination for locals. The trail is all built on wood trestles; it is a raised trail of boards with hand rails. A lot of work has gone into this trail and it makes for an interesting hike. It winds along the lake for several miles through old growth timber. The lake can only be entered by dinghy at a very high tide. We tried with the high we had and there was no way even Glen was getting through without damage to a prop or worse. They have built a skid trail for small boats from below the falls to above the falls so Glen and I hauled kayaks up there and paddled to the end of the lake early on Tuesday morning. We continued a ways up the river at the other end and spooked a black bear and a couple of deer feeding in the shallows. About a half mile up the river is a large youth camp. It is used by church and scout groups and looks like a great place for a group outing. The bear we spooked was right across from the camp so I am sure they have lots of wildlife stories in that place. We pulled to shore and walked up the trail a bit more beyond the camp and there is a 5 to 6 foot water fall spanning the river. According to the locals and information we could find the salmon run up this river is huge. This would be an amazing place to sit and watch the salmon jump up the falls and the river is so shallow that you could easily see them swimming and I imagine the bears would be much more prevalent and less likely to run when they see you. Not sure but I don’t think that is a good thing although they probably will not be very hungry bears if the salmon are running so we might not look like a meal to them. They have built a covered shelter on the point above the falls just for the purpose of viewing the salmon run and bears feeding.

We spent two nights at Naha and had the entire place all to ourselves the second night. All the campers left and the other boats headed home. Tour boats from Ketchikan come in a couple times each day to show the falls to people from the cruise ships. There is no way they get the same experience since they don’t get to get off and walk up to the lake or get very close to the actual falls. Not exactly sure what else the tour does or where it goes as there is not much else close by and this is easily an hour out of Ketchikan for the tour boats.

Left Naha headed for Yes Bay. The wind kicked up and we had a fairly rough two hour run with following 3 foot seas. Liz was not very happy about that run. Yes Bay has two recommended anchorages in it and we stopped at the first one just past the fishing lodge. We should have continued to the inner basin as it is much more scenic and secluded. We ran down in the dinghy’s and spent about a hour sunning ourselves on a little island at low tide on the exposed rocks.

No luck with crab here or at Naha and my fishing skills need work. I have caught about 6 flounder now and we use them for crab bait since they are all too small for a meal of any kind. It is a good thing we put a freezer on board and stocked it with meat because we would be looking like the Survivor contestants if we had to rely on my ability to capture food and live off the land.

Will start moving towards Wrangell this week so we can find a place to store the boat for a week while we return home for the week of US&R meetings I am hosting. Sure hope my staff have got it all put together because I get home on a Sunday and people start arriving on Monday. Hate to leave because the weather is uncharacteristically warm and dry for SE Alaska this time of year and I hate to think of leaving if it going to remain that way.

May 28
Today is a bit cloudy with a slight chance of showers but then it is supposed to improve over the next week.
Were headed for Meyers Chuck tonight and starting to head north towards Wrangell. Todays water is slightly rippled, less than 5mph of wind vs yesterdays 20 mph and 4 foot waves on the same stretch of water, what a difference. Liz appreciates it a bit more than yesterday.

Technology is amazing. I am in the middle of the bay, cruising along typing a message for the blog. We take whatever chance we get to check emails, make phone calls or make a blog entry when we have strong signals.

May 25th Naha Bay

We fueled up at Ketchikan this afternoon after a day of shopping and restocking supplies and doing laundry. Fuel was 4.29 a gallon. So far I am burning about 9 gallons an hour which is 2 to 3 gallons less than I anticipated. My fuel usage calculations were high but my cost calculations are going to be low so I should still be within my fuel budget by the end of the trip and may not have to find work in Alaska to get home.

We cruised a couple hours up to Naha bay, a very secure and quiet little protected bay with a small public float and trail up to Roosevelt Lagoon. The public float is full with small boats so were anchored in 80 feet of water in the outflow current from the Lagoon. Tomorrow we will hike up and explore the lagoon a bit if we cannot dinghy through the rapids that seperate it from the bay. We met a talkative local who gave us a rundown on what it is like growing up on a small island in Alaska. Nice guy, loved to tell us about SE alaska and places and things to see and do.
Everyone is nice and we have met several other boaters headed the same direction and have even met another Roche Harbor member. Jim Crill and his wife in their 60 foot boat Chinoo. We first saw them at the north end of the Queen Charlotte Crossing but did not realize they were fellow Roche Harbor members. He caught my lines when I docked at Ketchikan and it was only then that we realized he was a new member. They headed off today to do Misty Fjords but we will surly run across them again in our travels.

Weather is still fabulous. Hot today, high 70.s and not a cloud in the sky. Chris complained it was too hot. Once we were moving it was not too bad but in town it was too hot.

May 24, Alaska

We did it! We are in Alaska.
We decided last night that we would poke our noses out into Dixon Entrance despite the ominous warnings from a local fisherman who told us that we would get our butts kicked if we headed out. He said that with gale outflow winds from Portland Canal we should sit tight and not go.
Several other recreational boaters were going to give it a go and we thought the inside route would be ok and if we could not scoot across Portland Canal we would hole up at Port Simpson.

We woke up to beautiful blue sky and no wind at Prince Rupert but the weather reporting stations and forcast were reporting 30 plus mph NE winds in the Portland Canal area. We heard a couple other boats talking on the VHF radio and they said it was pretty ugly out there but what the heck, we gotta go see for ourselves.

Yep, the local was right, we were going to get our butts kicked if we went the outside route. I gave Glen the choice, inside our outside and he chose outside, go figure. After about 10 minutes in 5 or 6 foot confused seas I called Glen and suggested we alter course for the inside route, cause three hours of taking white water over the top of the boat was not something Chris or Sophie were going to take real well. He quickly agreed and it took us about 45 minutes to work our way out of the big water and to the sheltered inside route. The wind contined to blow but we were now sheltered and were able to get up past Port Simpson and looked out across Portland Canal. It was slack tide now and the three miles across the canal seemed reaonable so we increased speed and shot across without any problem. Once across we decided to just keep going rather than stop for the day since it was so early. This was the earliest we have started yet so we had all day to get the 90 miles to Ketchikan. The rest of the crossing was rough, 2 or 3 foot seas and I took a lot of spray over the top and the boat is covered in salt now but it was not an uncomfortable crossing especially with the beautiful blue sky and snow covered mountains.

We are sitting in Ketchikan waiting for customs to come down and clear us. they are a bit busy today and there are only two of them so we wait. They are very appologetic for making us wait but what else can you do.

Were checked through customs, not a problem. Very nice lady checked our papers and were done. Did not even come on board.

Off to see town. will post more later tonight.

boys and their toys

Glen and I got up this morning and decided to go play at the falls at Kumeleon Inlet.

We found the inner bays to be accesible for anchorage if you are brave and know exactly where the hidden rocks are. Plenty of water, minimum depth about 12 feet at low tide.

Glen ran through the two feet of foam at high speed while I videotaped. He and the dink were covered and needed a good washdown when we were done.

No we did not make it up the falls, but it was fun playing in the current.

August 1, 2008 Echo Bay

July 31, only one more month left

Buck and Lisa drove up from Seattle to Port McNeil and joined us yesterday. They were a bit later than we thought, not that it really mattered, but I was headed up to the Laundromat to check emails to see if they had left a message for us since there is no way to call us on a phone up here. Glen has the only working phone and he and Liz had already headed out and we were going to meet them after picking up Buck and Lisa. As I got to the head of the dock, they pulled in and parked and I think it took them both a few moments to recognize the bearded one, I look a bit too much like a local right now.

They had a few things they needed to shop for and had to arrange for someplace to leave their car for a week and then we were off. We only had a short run down across Blackfish Sound to meet up with Glen behind Mound island. It was uneventful on calm water under gray skies. It is quite cool right now with rain forecast for the next couple of days but no wind of significance is expected. That will be good.

I had to replace my windshield wiper motor on the fly bridge for the Seaview window insert. Lucky it was a standard part and the marine store had several in stock. I turned the wiper on during the heavy rainstorm we passed through yesterday but forgot to turn it off as we were navigating between rocks and things. As I docked I began to smell something hot, not quite like overheated wires but close. I started checking wires on the bridge, under the command console, under seats, and I finally touched the wiper motor I nearly burned my hand it was so hot. The wiper had stopped in mid stroke on the dry window and the motor burned up trying to move it. Lesson, don’t run the wiper on a dry window. Gil Fetzner had warned me about that problem before I left, as he did the same thing with his new Seaview window just showing people how his new window insert worked.

We docked next to Dave and Janet Robinson on Ashanti, other club members who were just hanging out at Port McNeil. Shortly after we arrived, Jim and Marcia Krell on Chinoo, another club member arrived and docked just across from us. We had first run across Chinoo at Ketchikan on the way up back in May. They too are headed home.

Buck brought up more fishing gear and says we are going to catch fish this week. Were going to give it our best and see what happens. The fish seem to finally running so just maybe there is a salmon out there with my name on it. We even pulled out the fishing for salmon made easy book and read it to find out how it is supposed to work. Stay tuned for more fish stories.

We joined Liz and Glen as planned at the Mound Island Anchorage. It rained all day and then it rained harder. We moved up to Joes Cove on Eden Island after a slow run through the many islands that make up the Broughtons. We tried fishing for a while off Mamalilaculla, the old Indian village on Village Island; again the fish won another round.

Joes Cove is a nice secure anchorage but there were several other boats that we shared the anchorage with. We went out in the Dinghy’s for another try at catching a fish and once again, the fish won. We tried numerous different lures and bait none of which seemed to entice the fish to nibble. It kept raining and after a couple hours in the rain in the dinghy and as the rain got even harder Buck and I decided to retreat and let the fish win this round.

Next morning the rain let up, there were patches of blue sky and as it turned out we were finally going to see blue sky and sun in the afternoon. Glen got reservations for us at Pierres at Echo Bay for Friday and Saturday for the pig roast so we pulled the empty crab pots and near empty shrimp pots and trolled our way towards the next stop. The fish won another round today and Buck is now convinced that there is really something to the Miner Curse which prevents us from catching anything significant.

Pierres at Echo Bay is a great place and our first real social event since leaving home. There are dozens of boats and there are a number of old acquaintances here. I spotted a boat headed in to the bay just ahead of us and the captain looked amazingly like Larry Claiborne and the first mate much like Kathy. At lo and behold it was. So we spent a pleasant afternoon at happy hour talking to them and recounting our various experiences and voyages. We found a couple other boats from the yacht club, Ray and Sue Biggs and Richard and Merlyn Symms were here as well.

July 21, Prince Rupert

We made it! We are back in Canada and across Dixon Entrance. It was still lumpy with reported 7 foot seas according to the weather bouys for west Dixon Entrance. If these were 7 footers yesterdays were 10 to 12 footers. Good thing we turned back yesteday, the wind really picked up later and even though we were in a perfectly protected anchorage we felt the force of the wind there. We even saw a water spout at the end of the bay.
A couple of fishing boats came in and tied up at the float with us late last night and we invited the two brothers who were running them over for ice cream and fruit topping for dessert after they graciously gave Nancy two good sized salmon, they were feeling sorry for us I think after hearing our fishing stories.
They had been gill netting at the entrance when we entered the bay at about 130 and they told us the wind just kept getting stronger and stronger where they were until the were certain it was blowing a steady 50 mph at the head of the inlet. They said it would have been really difficult out in Dixon Entrance in these conditions and thought it was one of the worst unpredicted storms of the season.
We had a great time with them as they told us about their lives on Annette Island living in Metlakatla. Their entire family of five brothers and their father are all fishermen. One of them has a house in Spanaway and both graduated from Bothell high school but they moved back to Metlakatla to fish as it is still a lucrative living and they love it.
We left Annette Bay at 630 this morning to take advantage of the break in the weather and had a reasonably decent crossing. Even Liz did not get sick though she fell asleep part way across which is the best defense against seasickness.
It was about 3 hours of big water and 5 hours of reasonably calm water to get to Prince Rupert. The boat and the crew all did well and were sitting here at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club in the sun enjoying its warmth. The forcast is for good weather for the next couple of days.

Prince Rupert, July 21

We made it! We are back in Canada and across Dixon Entrance. It was still lumpy with reported 7 foot seas according to the weather bouys for west Dixon Entrance. If these were 7 footers yesterdays were 10 to 12 footers. Good thing we turned back yesteday, the wind really picked up later and even though we were in a perfectly protected anchorage we felt the force of the wind there. We even saw a water spout at the end of the bay.

A couple of fishing boats came in and tied up at the float with us late last night and we invited the two brothers who were running them over for ice cream and fruit topping for dessert after they graciously gave Nancy two good sized salmon, they were feeling sorry for us I think after hearing our fishing stories.

They had been gill netting at the entrance when we entered the bay at about 130 and they told us the wind just kept getting stronger and stronger where they were until the were certain it was blowing a steady 50 mph at the head of the inlet. They said it would have been really difficult out in Dixon Entrance in these conditions and thought it was one of the worst unpredicted storms of the season.

We had a great time with them as they told us about their lives on Annette Island living in Metlakatla. Their entire family of five brothers and their father are all fishermen. One of them has a house in Spanaway and both graduated from Bothell high school but they moved back to Metlakatla to fish as it is still a lucrative living and they love it.

We left Annette Bay at 630 this morning to take advantage of the break in the weather and had a reasonably decent crossing. Even Liz did not get sick though she fell asleep part way across which is the best defense against seasickness.

It was about 3 hours of big water and 5 hours of reasonably calm water to get to Prince Rupert. The boat and the crew all did well and were sitting here at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club in the sun enjoying its warmth. The forcast is for good weather for the next couple of days.

May 23

We are in Prince Rupert at the Prince Rupert yacht club. We woke up to beautiful blue sky and calm water this morning and 37 degree temperature. It warmed up quickly and we had the best weather day of the trip so far.

It is blowing hard out in Dixon Entrance and they are predicting gail force winds blowing out of Portland entrance which according to the locals means 9 foot waves. That is different than 9 foot rollers we encountered crossing Queen Charlotte strait. So if that is the case we will go as far as Port Simpson and sit tight for calmer weather.

So far we have seen 3 bears. Two black bear and one Grizzly.

Picked up some fuel her for 1.34 a liter which is considerably less than we paid at the last stop.

did ont run out of fuel enroute so I am happy.

Went up and had dinner at Smiley's which came highly recommended by the locals and by Ed, Chris's dad.

No Verizon connectivity here, very strange.

May 21 & 22

Yesterday as we entered Grenville Channel I told Chris to turn on the computer to see if we had an internet connection since we had been out of touch for several days and she was eager to talk to her dad and find out how her mom was doing. son of a gun if we did not have three bars and she was able to skype her father and talk to him for about 10 minutes. Amazing technology we have that we can talk from the middle of Grenville Channel in BC to Gig Harbor Washington as if we standing side by side. By the way Verizon wireless air cards are the way to go. It has been succesful where the others that Glen and Liz have and our Nextel are next to useless ever since we entered canada. Go with Verizon if you have a choice. I was able to dump the last three days worth of blogs onto the site in about five minutes before we lost the signal as we headed north.

Again today, the 22nd I told chris to check the signal as we neared Kumealon Inlet where we decided to stop to get out of the wind. Were in no hurry and have been exploring as we go north, taking side trips into several places just to check them out. Hopefully I will be able to make it to Prince Rupert for fuel as we have been doing a bit of sight seeing and I did the fuel figures today and will be cutting it close.

Chris was again able to talk to her dad using Skype and it was like they were talking on the phone to each other at home. Great system.

Kumealon is a under rated achorage in all the books. This place is really one of the best we have stayed at so far. Protected and pretty even thought there is a helicopter logging operation just outside of where we are anchored. The operation does no adversly impact the location and the logging is being done in such a way that the contours of the land shield the cut timber from the view from the passing boats and ships.
Last night in Lowe inlet it blew hard. We had to repostion the anchor at dusk as we suddenly were much closer to rocks than we had been all afternoon My anchor was set well but with both boats on one the wind was causing us to wander more than we thought prudent. We put down Glens bigger anchor and we still wandered but we were in deeper water and further from shore.

It blew all night and all day and only let up early this evening. Right now we have no wind, a few puffy clouds and mostly clear sky. Should be a great day tomorrow as we had in to Prince Rupert for fuel. We probably will not stay there, but press on to Dundas Island in preparation for Crossing Dixon Entrance.

I think I am finally in non work mode as we are no longer in a hurry to get anywhere. I had us in Ketchikan today by my schedule but there was really no reason to pass up some of these fantastic stops that we have made just to rush north and try to meet some kind of arbitrary schedule. This particular stop is well worth it and if you get a chance on your travels by all means spend a night here.

We caught about 6 crab at Low Inlet and half a dozen Shrimp. So far today we have not caught any crab at this stop but we will check again tomorrow.

May 20

May 20, Bishop Hot Springs

This afternoon we pulled into Bishop hot springs after another day of waterfalls and better scenery. We were able to see more because the clouds lifted, it rained less and we actually had some blue sky for a while. Saw more commercial traffic today, three or four tugs and barges went by or we passed by them.
We stopped at Buttedale, a falling down Cannery town with a fabulous waterfall right next to it. There was a hand painted sign advertising the amenities of Buttedale. “Moorage, Water and Ice Cream”. Saw the building where you once could by ice cream and I am thinking if there is still ice cream there it is no longer frozen.

Bishop bay is a thriving spot tonight. There were two other boats at the float when we arrived, both of them were Mainships. One is a leased boat out of Anacortes with a couple from California and the other is the Runaway, with Dave and Linda Fuller on board. Ian, from the Pacific Northwest Mainship association told us about Dave and Linda and lo and behold here they are on their way to Alaska as well.
By the time it was dark two commercial fishing vessels stopped for a dip in the hot springs and two more pleasure boats pulled in and dropped anchor for the night. This is the most boats we have seen since we left Silva Bay.

The hot springs are great. We went up and spent about an hour in them reading all the graffiti on the walls from the visiting boat crews from years past. This is a nice place and a definite required stop going and coming on this trip.

The weather looks a bit better, it is not raining and by evening we had some sun shining on us.

Our routine when we stop and secure the boats if for Glen and Tom to drop the Dinghy’s in and do a quick exploration and drop the shrimp pots down. Then depending on the time, its dinner, drinks and a movie before bed, and best not forget somewhere in there its take the dog to shore time. Tough life but someones gotta do it and it may as well be us.

May 19th

May 19th, Khutze Inlet

The 5 hour run yesterday was foggy and wet. Lots of rain today, but what did we expect, were cruising through a pacific rain forest.

We checked out Jackson Narrows just outside of Rescue bay by the dinghy’s and again, it was not flowing hard on an incoming tide and there was plenty of depth so we upped anchor about 1100 and headed through. Not a problem, no one hit any rocks and cruised through enjoying the scenery passing by 100 feet either side of the boat. This is a Provincial park and is quite pretty. There are no mention of all the bays and coves inside the park that appear to be even better anchorage spots than Rescue Bay, several of which are shallower and much more protected and private. Rescue Bay is big and wide open to the North wind which blew all night long. There is a large rock in Rescue Bay that dries 3 feet at low tide so beware and pay attention to the charts; they don’t put rock marks on the charts for the heck of it. Four Shrimp and no crab last night.

Between Rescue Bay and Khutze inlet there were dozens of large waterfalls. Two cruise ships passed by us in Tribune Channel adjacent Sarah Island. We spotted them well in advance, 8 to 10 miles, with AIS and knew they were coming. Radar had them at 3 miles and they were not visible out of the mist until about 2 miles astern. Yes the AIS is working again. I guess it helps to have data from a ship to receive before you decide the system is not working.

Khutze inlet is large. We are just specks in the bay anchored about 120 feet off the shore in 50 feet of water stern tied to a tree to keep us from swinging. The waterfall behind us is large and drops about 1000 feet to where we are. Just in front of where the Anchor is set the water drops off to 300 feet of depth. The guide books talk about anchoring in 11 fathoms somewhere in this area, that would be 66 feet, but it does not talk about stern ties. We do not believe we could have set an anchor alone here and kept it in place. Non of the books talk about this set up which seems to make sense when the bottom slopes to deeper water so quickly along the shores. 300 feet of anchor rode is barely enough for some of these places and we have not reached the deepest anchorages yet. I think I am going to write another guide book with what we learning. There was one other boat in the bay when we entered; he was anchored in the middle in about 100 feet of water and surrounded by water over 200 feet deep. The bay was so big that he was just a speck of light last night off in the distance. .

Glen and I tried to dinghy up the river and made it about a half mile before we were turned back by current and shallow water. It looks like the perfect place for grizzly bears and I bet there are plenty when the salmon run up the river.

Were eating well with Chris and Liz alternating fixing dinners. Were not doing so well living off the land however, but we brought most of a Costco store between the two of us so we won’t go hungry.

Off to Bishop Hot springs today.

may 18

May 18th Rescue Bay

We left Shearwater at about noon on Sunday. We had to wait for the small grocery store to open up. Normally they are not open on Sunday but being a long holiday weekend for Canada they had Sunday holiday hours. Not sure why, there were no more people on the holiday Sunday around the dozen or so buildings in Shearwater than there were the entire previous afternoon and evening.

We had no more than just left the harbor when I spotted a whale. It appeared to be a relatively small one swimming slowly through the channel in front of Bella Bella. Then we had just rounded the lighthouse north of Bella Bella when I spotted more whales on the other side of the channel. We motored over for a closer look since they appeared to be larger and much more active. One was rolling, splashing with his fluke and raising quite a large froth of water as it was feeding. We watched for several minutes and tried to get some photos but about that time the batteries went dead in the camera. So while I am down below changing them I keep hearing Chris saying ‘oh my god, oh my, oh you gotta see this.’ Of course I saw none of it and did not get one decent photo. While I was down below the whale had surfaced about 50 feet from the boat and was rolling and splashing and it would have made for some great photos. The key words here are would have made great photos.

Chris’s trip is complete, she has seen her whale up close and personal.

At one point I was confused by the marker buoys. There were two, one green and one red that appeared to be marking a channel. And if it was a channel then you would go between them if you followed the rules of the road, In this case we were headed to the sea from a harbor and therefore the red should be on the port and the green on the starboard. If you are returning from sea the red buoy’s should always be kept on the right side or starboard side of the boat. “red right returning”. But upon closer scrutiny they appeared to be marking a reef and one needs to go to either side of the buoy’s. We made the right choice and would have had plenty of depth either way this time but it does point out the need to be vigilant and paying close attention even at 10 knots, cause lots of things are happening and there is a lot of information that you need to know on the charts and radar in order to make good decisions. I have my computer navigation and gps system up and running as my primary navigation, I have a backup plotter that the radar image overlays and then I have Ed’s old charts that I try to keep out and follow. I have several guide books that talk about the route, the bays and anchorages and I have a chart book that I follow along with. There is plenty of information available to keep one out of trouble but you need to be watching and checking all the time. I have redundant systems because more than once the GPS at critical times has suddenly blipped and the boat symbol, us, has suddenly jumped a hundred yards off course and the little green boat icon is suddenly showing that we are in the middle of an island or where we really do not want to be. Fortunately the secondary plotter does not do that and since I can visually see that we have not run aground it is relatively simple to deduce that the GPS is wrong not the pilot.

A little further along the route we spotted about a dozen porpoise swimming towards the boat. As they got to us they turned and began to swim in the bow wave. I ran down to get pictures while Chris piloted the boat. She was not to happy cause she wanted to go down to the bow and watch and told me I better get some good shots or I was a dead man. I am not dead but I got lots of pictures of splashing water and not one that shows the black and white mammals as they swim just under the surface of the water just five or six feet from the bow of the boat. Next time I pilot the boat and Chris gets to go see the fish.

About ten minutes later as were getting ready to enter Reid Channel I spot a twin engine amphibious plane approaching us from dead ahead. He is about 20 feet off the water and headed right at us. Chris starts yelling, do something, hes going to hit us, do something. I had about 10 seconds to grab the camera and start doing something. I got three shots of him as he came at us at about 180 mph, 20 feet off the water and passed between Glen and I at the height of our flying bridge. I could look out level and see the pilot in the cockpit of the plane. He was on a normal flight from somewhere north to Bella Bella and decided to give us and his passengers a thrill. 2 minutes later a second identical type plane did the same thing and I got video of him. He was about 50 feet off the water so it was not quite as exciting.

The rest of the trip to Rescue Bay was really pretty uneventful. It was another gray day, with high clouds and at times mist and fog down to the water. We anchored in 50 feet of water with only two other sail boats here. We put out the shrimp pots and a crab pot and still have to check them this morning. Not looking forward to that since it started raining last night and is raining pretty hard this morning. Another day of rubber boots and rain gear. We have been pretty lucky actually, it has rained at night but the days have generally been really nice. This is the hardest it has rained on the trip so far.

We kayaked around the bay last night and checked out Jackson Narrows by Dinghy. All the guide books are written in a manner to make everything sound daunting and dangerous. So far everything we have encountered has been less than what the books have described. Not that we are going to take anything for granted or with a lack of respect but we have not found any of the passages or rocky entrances all that difficult to navigate through. Jackson narrows is an example. There is one fairly narrow spot in the narrows but there appears to be plenty of water even at low tide and we did not find the currents that overwhelming but we will wait for slow on a rising tide before we give it a go with the big boats today. The narrows are about 100 feet wide at the narrow point and there is a dog leg turn that you have to make but it really does not appear to be as tight or as difficult as the guide books make it sound. Of course if one of us goes aground I will edit this paragraph later.

exploring Elizababeth Lagoon

May17th

Were in Shearwater tonight. Not overly impressed by this place. Ok for a quick overnight stop and were out of here tomorrow. Jim, what is it about this place that you like? Must be the bar.

The run up here to day was nowhere near as much fun as yesterdays crossing. No big waves, no threat of the perfect storm and the scenery is vast but far off in the distance rather than close up like it was going through Rivers Inlet and the Broughtons.

We pulled in at Namu, the old abandoned fish cannery just to say we have seen it. There were the two caretakers and another individual there working at cutting up firewood it appeared. It would probably be an interesting place to stop and explore.

Everything is still running well and the weather is holding. It is cloudy today and kind of grey but no rain and no wind.

Crossing Queen Charlotte Strait

May 16

We left Sullivan Bay at 730 in thick fog. Fortunately it lifted fairly quickly and by the time we were in Queen Charlotte straits the fog completely lifted and was not a factor.
The West Sea Otter Buoy was reporting 3 meter swells and winds less than 10 mph. I know Iknow, we were told to wait for a report of 1.5 meters or less. The forecast was for diminishing swell through the day and light and variably winds. The weather forecast for the following days was for

increasing winds. So despite our friends warnings to not cross unless West Sea Otter was reporting a meter and a half swell or less we decided to go for it. We could always bail out if need be at one of several safe harbors. Besides, we needed another adventure.

We began to encounter increasing swells after we passed Blunden Harbor. Initially the swell was maybe 3 feet but the wind was calm and the sea only slightly rippled so we kept going. The day was glorious, blue sky and warm. We could only see one other boat making the crossing in front of us and other than that we had the strait all to ourselves.

As we went past Allison Harbor the swell increased considerably but the wind remained calm. By the time we approached Cape Caution the swell was easily the full 3 meters being reported by West Sea Otter. The boat handled the conditions quite well, far better than I expected. Can’t say the same for all the passengers.
Glen needed fuel so he decided to pull into Ducanby Landing to get out of the swells and give Liz a rest. She gets sea sick easily and the 9 foot seas were not doing her any favors.

Ducanby landing is in Rivers Inlet and is on the far end of the crossing so once we were there we were safely across one more significant navigation challenge. Ducanby landing is a well kept well maintained fishing lodge. It was not yet open for business but Rick the Caretaker was more than happy to show us around and sell us fuel. (1.74 / liter) The place has a full service restaurant and looks like a great place to stop on our way back down. The islands around the area are full of small coves, well protected for anchoring and exploring by kayak. Rick told us that a week ago they had a cougar hiding under one of the buildings so you know that this place is remote and isolated. The only way in is by air or boat.

We continued on and decided to spend the night at Joes cove in Fish Egg inlet. This is a fantastic, quiet and well protected anchorage.
Tomorrow we will try to explore Elizabeth lagoon by Dinghy. The lagoon is entrance is at the back of Joes cove and can be entered at high water slack through its outlet. When we first looked at it shortly after arrival the lagoon water was flowing out over a 6 foot falls. As the tide rises the water in the lagoon equalizes with the rising tide and the current reverses and water from the outside fills the lagoon.

We made it into the Lagoon with only minor damage to Glens prop. He found all the rocks, I went where he did not and made it through without a ding. Elizabeth Logoon is huge. We spent a good hour cruising through islands, bays and hidden coves and only covered about a third of the entire lagoon. It was so cool inside there, no one else around, no sign of civilization of any kind and wilderness as far as the eye can see. Well worth the time to go and explore and just an amazing experience.

tonight we are in Shearwater. A small resort near the indian community of Bella Bella.

May 15th

What a glorious Day! Sun and virtually no wind all day today and we cruised through some of the greatest scenery imaginable.

Tonight we are sitting in Sullivan Bay enjoying the sun. We are the only boats here tonight but they have had about 14 other boats come through this week headed for Alaska.

Sullivan Bay is a unique place. The entire community is floating on the bay. The docks have street names like Hootchie Lane and Halibut Heights. One of the homes here has a helicopter landing pad on the roof top. Most of the floating houses are summer homes. Later this place will be packed with boats.

Were possibly going to try the straits tomorrow but I have my doubts about how far we will get. If the waves are too big we will take shelter in Blunden Harbor or Allison Harbor or Miles Inlet. Right now the West Sea Otter Bouy is reporting 3 meter swells. Everyone we have talked to suggests not going until the West Sea Otter Bouy is reporting only a meter and a half swell.

We shall see, it could be interesting. The wind is supposed to be calm tomorrow and building again with another frontal system approaching 9 foot swells without wind is one thing, but 9 foot swells with wind is not something I care to try.

May 14, day 8

This will have to be quick because the internet connection is sporadic. We are at Lagoon Cove today. Met Liz and Glen on Tuesday at the Copeland Islands. Left there and made it to Yaculta Rapids right on time to pass through Yaculta, Guilliard and Dent rapids at high water slack.
Stayed at Shoal Bay last night.
It rained all day and all night.
Ran through Green Point and Whirlpool rapids today with a slight assist from currents and then made it through Johnstone strait before the winds picked up. The Water was like glass when we started but by the time we turned off to head for Lagoon Cove the wind was picking up and two foot rollers were coming from astern.
It is blowing hard right now but it is clear and we are hoping for warmer weather the next couple of days.
Will fill in the details later when we have a better connection.

Copeland Islands, day 7

We left Pender harbor and immediately ran into pretty rough water. 2 foot rollers were comming from the SW off the straits and for about two hours we had a quartering sea. The boat actually did quite well and I was pleased with the way it handled.
It calmed down a bit just befor Powell River.
Were sitting in a little cove in the copeland Islands, stern tied and anchored. Suprisingly I have connection to the internet here. Good thing no one was around to see the stern tie rodeo. Got the anchor down after scouting the cove with the dinghy to make sure there wer no rocks. The water is not as clear as I remember it so seeing the submerged rocks is a bit more difficult and I would rather use the brail method with the dinghy than with the mainship. After dropping the anchor I tried to go ashore and at low tide the rocks are covered with slippery seaweed which made the footing exciting to say the least. On top of that I had on the wrong shoes but I made it and only got one foot slightly wet.
Were well protected from the SE which is where the confounded weather report says the strong winds are predicted to blow. It appears they are correct today because the wind has been blowing steady out of the SE. But were supposed to be moving into better weather later this week, lets hope so because right now it is grey and looks like rain.
I dropped the shrimp pot over and after I finish this will drop a crab pot down for the heck of it.
Prepping the shrimp pot was another circus. The 400 feet of line became 4o0 feet of tangled line that only got worse the harder we tried to untangle it. After about 40 minutes we managed to pile it into the bow of the dinghy and I found a deep spot to put it just outside of the cove. Hopefully we have fresh shrimp tomorrow. Good thing there was no locals around to watch the flatlanders try their hand at shrimping. They would have had a good laugh.

May 11, day 6

We stayed in Pender Harbor today and played. Absolutely 5 star day up here. It was a bit windy in the morning and cool but sunny. We took the Kayaks out for about 3 hours and paddled all over this harbor. It is probably the neatest place to explore by kayak for a populated area. The harbor is actually about 6 seperate bays all with their own character. we paddled through a narrow channel, about two feet deep into Bargain Bay and had a great time. We came back and I was sent on a mission to find a restaurant to take Chris to for mothers day. As it turns out there are not a lot of options here. Two of the three restaurants listed are all closed down. Irvines landing and its pub is closed down and it looks like the prperty all around there has been subdivided into lots. The lots look a bit precarious to build on, quite steep and rocky but thats par for the course up here it appears. Most homes are sitting on rock ledges over the water.

The restaurant that was located in the old missionary hospital has also closed down. So the only option is the Garden bay Pub. There is a new resort and marina being built and as of our visit it is not yet open but supposedly there will be an upscale restraurant there. From the looks of it it will be quite nice.

We went over to the Garden Bay pub and were pleasantly surprised. There was a small local crowd and a live band. Apparently every Sunday afternoon there is a jam session with local musicians. Apparently they have nothing better to do up here in the winter than to practice because these people were really good. Not your average kareoke group. There was this one guy with a fiddle that was amazingto listen to. Then they had a visitor who played classical spanish guitar and he was phenominal. They all looked a bit rough around the edges but they could play and sing.

Oh yea, we had a fantastic meal as well. If you ever get up here you have to try the seafood chowder. Even Chris's chowder looses out to this one. There was every type of seafood imaginable in their except maybe squid. Oysters, muscles in the shell, salmon, clams, crab legs and shrimp. Best I have ever had and it was a full meal, not just a small cup like most places serve.

The wind died down completely in the afternoon and the water is like glass tonight. It is clear and cold and tomorrow should be about the same. Another weather front is moving in and it does not look too good for Tuesday or Wednesday. .

We are about the only tourist up here right now. Were surrounded by working boats tonight, not another recreational boat in sight. I guess were about the first northbound boat this season by the looks of things.

Were moving north tomorrow, probably Lund or Squirrel Cove and wait for Glen and Liz there.

From Lund it is an easy run to Yaculta, Guilliard and Dent Rapids. We need to be at Yaculta half an hour before slack tide at Guilliard in order to make it through Dent at high water slack. This is where you want to make sure your timing is right because Chris and Liz are not gong to be happy campers if we misjudge the tides and currents here. It is not a pretty picture watching a 43 foot boat spin in circles in the whirlpools especially if your on it at the time. If we time it right we can ride the ebb tide north to Greenpoint rapids and once past that the second challenging navigation problem is behind us. Only about a dozen more to go.

Still not luck on my Yahoo email. Everything else works but I still cannot read my email when I use the Verizon card.

Still no luck on my AIS but I got a good response from the Jeppson software tech. He emailed me on Chris's hotmail account with some things to check and I am closer to a solution but not yet there.

Hope everyone had as nice a mothers day as we did, it can't get much better

Day 5

It's like were dragging our anchor behind us. Not going far each day, delaying and waiting for Glen and Liz to catch up. I think they left today but my email is still acting very strange so I cannot read her return email to me. I can connect, i can blog, I can get into Chris's email and I can get into my email, I just cannot open or send any of my emails because when I try it says I am not connected to the internet. I am totally confused. Anyone got any brilliant ideas about why my email won't work on the vorizon air card. When I was hooked up to the local wireless network my email worked fine. If your sending us emails send it to Chris's as well as mine. Chris's email is mrsmajor@hotmail.com.

I think there is a computer bug. My navigation software went buggy as we crossed the straits of Georgia today. Lost GPS connection and my AIS. At this rate we could end up in Siberia.

I got the GPS working again but still cannot figure out the AIS. That is the system that identifies shipping via a radio receiver and plots the location onto the computer map so not only do you know there is a commercial ship there but where they are going, how fast and when they will most likely run over you. Without that I will have to rely on just radar and eyeballs. I guess they have worked for years so we should be ok. But it is frustrating, the AIS worked fine for two days and now won't work. But lesson learned, do not try to trouble shoot while underway. Its hard to watch for logs, ships and stay on course while ones head is buried in a computer screen.

Were at Pender Harbor tonight and we will stay here tomorrow waiting for Glen and Liz. Its a big harbor with lots of places to explore by dinghy or kayak. Hopefully the weather will finally warm up. It was grey and cloudy all day but the wind held off and the storm front the Canadian weather service was predicting never materialized. I am guessing they come from the same school as american weather men.

We will head north towards Squirrel Cove on Cortez Island on Monday and hopefully meet Glen and Liz there. Without phone service its a bit hard to connect once they leave until were within radio range.

May 9, day 4

Did not get far today. Left Montegue at 1100 and cruised slowly north to Gabriola pass. Needed slack tide to pass through and that was at 1:50. Made it through without any difficulty and stopped at Silva Bay. Decided to stay at Silva bay today because the candadian weather service was reporting "an intense low pressure system will cross Vancouver Island this afternoon bringing strong to gail force winds south east of Nanaimo. Well that is where we would be in early afternoon if we continued across the straits so we decided to stay on this side today and see what Saturday brings.
Three hours later the water in the strait is still flat calm and we would have been safely on the other side but better safe than live with a ticked off wife in a 43 foot boat.
No more boat issues today, things went well except that I cannot email from my account or read emails. I can access web sites, download weather, blog, read chris's email but I cannot get any of my mail. Kind of frustrating and it dosn't seem to make any sense. Not sure if it is on my end or Yahoo's end. Oh well.

Send emails to both Chris and I and between the two of us we may be able to read them.
My nextel no longer works. Chris ordered a special nextel account that was supposed to allow her phone to work in Canada but it is not working either. Not sure why were worried about not being able to talk to people, were supposed to be on vacation and out of reach aren't we?

Today was a beautiful day. Woke to blue sky and flat water. Clouded up today and we are expecting rain by tomorrow morning.

day 3, customs

We crossed into Canada today. Left Roche Harbor at about 1130 and debated between Sydney and Bedwell Harbor for entry. Chose Sydney because the currents were more favorable. Good thing, Bedwell is not open for business until May 15th at the earliest. It could be May 31st.

Sydney is a mess. The Marina is in a state of disassembly. The customs dock has been moved to the far end and is not functional. they are putting in more floats and they don't even have the cleats attached to the floats yet. We tried calling the marina office by radio and phone for directions but they were out to lunch. There were no signs for customs and the only information we had was to tie up at the end of F dock which we did. There is not a customs offieice at Sydney marina, the customs officers have to come over from the airport. We later were informed by the marinal manager that the red box lying on the dock is the customs phone. No sign and the box looks nothing like a phone box. So if you cross over in the next few weeks through sydney, look for a worn, red metal box that looks like someones toolbox lying on the dock and open it to call customs.
We finally called Bedwell marina and they gave us the customs phone number to call. I spoke with a very nice lady and it seemed like we were just about to get a phone clearance when she asked about fire arms. I have a shotgun on board and that required a visit from an officer. so we waited about 30 minutes and two very young officers came down and ran through all the questions again. Chris had more booze than she was supposed to have but because we declared it all and were up front they did not charge us for it. It cost 27.50 to get the shotgun registered but that was painless and I now have a permit that is good for 30 days.
They did not ask us about the freezer full of meat. the looked through the refer but were only concerned about fruit and vegitables.
chris asked about the health document for the dog and they were unaware of any new requirement. All they said they need is a current shot certificate for the dog and they are happy.
So all in all the crossing north into Canada was a piece of cake. We will have to check in on the way back for a face to face inspection because of the gun.
We go it registered ahead of time with US customs while we were at Roche so there should not be a problem entering Alaska with it.
Were sitting in the sun, blue skys, no clouds with 10 mph cold wind blowing here at Montegue harbor. Stopped here to by a crab license. Yikes, 109.00 for crab. I better find 109.00 worth of crab to eat while were in BC.

Not many others here at Montegue. about 5 other boats hanging out with us. Normally there are between 50 and 100 boats in here.

Day 2

Woke up to cold west wind at La Conner this morning and grey sky's. Got a slow start, topped off the fuel tanks so we can make it half way to ketchican before filling up again. Paid $4.24 a gallon and took 100 gallons. My milage calculations are right on, after 10 hours cruising since the last fill up we are burning about 5 gallons an hour per engine. Better than I hoped for. .

Bob Bjerk called and said that he and Sheryl were at their boat and planned on meeting us somewhere in the islands and suggested James Island. We headed north on an outgoing tide and found the north end of the Swinomish slew just about as shallow as the other end. Ran most of the way with about 5 feet of water under the keel. I think the last red bouy, the northern most one is missing. According the the gas dock attendant the funds for dredging the canal all went to New Orleans so there is nothing left to repair this waterway.

Bob called a little later and changed the meeting place to Spencer Spit. The tide was a minus 3 and was running strong out Rosario straight and he was not making much headway against it so he let the tide take him south to Lopez Pass and went through where he could make an easier run north to Spencer Spit.

We found them hooked up to one of the bouys and we impressed them with how easy we made it look as we tied on to the adjacent one. Chris was piloting and I was hooking up and we got it done in one pass with the "Happy Hooker" device that came with the other boat.

We spent the next four hours on their boat catching up on family and friends. The clouds cleared up, the sun came out, the wind never materialized and the afternoon turned out perfect.

Were sitting here at Roche Harbor in the Yacht Club out station. From the looks of things were the only people here. Most of the boats are dark, no one is walking the docks and it is pretty quiet here. Never been here this early and have never seen it this quiet.

Tomorrow were crossing into Canada and weather permitting and customs permitting and if we time the tides right we will head for Silva Bay. Friday is supposed to be the best day of the week so if were at Silva bay and the winds and forcast are calm we will shoot across Georgia Strait and hang out in desolation sound to wait for Glen and Liz.

The tracker system is working well and a couple fo people have called to tell us they are keeping track of us and watching our progress.

Day 1

We finally made it, were on our way. We left Port Orchard at about 7 am this morning, cold but no wind. I let Chris sleep while I untied and got us underway. We made it to the Bremerton side of the bay when alarms started sounding and poor Chris was rudly awakened by blaring horns. good thing I put in the alarms when I did, they saved the trip. This was not a good omen or the best way to start a 4 month cruise. . Suffice it to say you need sea water to cool the engines. Once that little oversight was fixed and I checked to engines to make sure they were not over done, we got back underway. Everything seemed to purr right along after than. We debated going the outside route across straits of Juan De Fuca but the coast guard kept broadcasting a gale warning for afternoon, winds up to 35 mph predicted from the West. Smith Rock was reporting 20 mph hour winds at the point I had to make a decision so after checking a couple other weather sites I decided to go the inside route. Not as much push from the current that way but it was calm all the way.
Swinomish channel is hazardous at low tide, No I did not run aground the but the sailboat entering next to me did. I was in four feet of water when lined up with the range markers on the west entrance for most of the way in to the first island on the south side of the channel. A sand bar protrudes out into the channel about a third of the way at the east end of that island. And right in the middle of the channel adjacent to that island are three nasty deadheads, pointed west and set to put a nasty hole in any unwary boat that does not see them. I am not sure if they stay in that position as the tide rises, if they do, anoter two feet and they would be absolutely impossible to see and set perfect to take out the running gear of any boat.
We are tied at the Swinomish yacht club reciprocal dock enjoying some sun at last. Wind had died down finally and it has warmed up nicely.

final days, a change in plans

Were down the the last weekend before departure. Today was my last day at work, said goodby to the office and apparently I was already in vacation mode because I left my phone sitting on the desk. All afternoon I was lost without it because it is my electronic brain with all my contact information and phone numbers. Withhout it I could not even coordinate with Chris regarding a meeting place for the send off party at Dukes. A bunch of friends gathered for a few drinks, some food and lots of bad jokes and good stories. I got my phone back so now at least Chris and I can communicate. I had sent her to the wrong restaurant so I got the phone back just in time to divert her to the right one, not a good way to start a four month trip, send you wife off to a different restaurant. I wonder how long she would have waited for us to show up before I was a dead man.

Were not quite ready. Small repair job to the starboard engine. I noticed the raw water pump was dripping oil from the weep holes a few weeks ago. I debated whether I needed to change the pump or not, and initially figured I would chance it, surely the pump would last another 3000 miles. Bad decision Tom! I decided on Wednesday to make a better decision and do the preventive maintenance and to pull the pump and rebuild or replace it. Thankfully the other pump looks in great shape because getting to it would be not much fun. Getting this one off was hard enough and it was the one with easy access. I got it off then called around to get a price and pick one up. Well the best of plans usually overlooks a few small details, like no one has my pump in stock. Uh oh! Called Tacoma Diesel. The sales guy their said, uh oh, these are on back order. I might be able to have one next day or more likely in about a week. Not the answer I was looking for. He said he would get right back to me when he found one. I am still waiting for his call. I called fisheries supply and they found one right away. In Maine. they could have it in a couple days for a mere 650 bucks. Yikes that is 130 gallons of diesel. Everyting is now calculated in fuel units not dollars and cents.
I asked the guy at Fisheries if they had a rebuild kit and he said they did. I said I would be right up to pick it up, not even asking the price and I would let him know if I wanted him to order the new unit. I do need a spare but was not sure I wanted to spend the money on one so I would just rebuild the old one. and hope for the best As I headed North to Seattle I called the Cat dealer to see if they had a pump in stock. He could not tell me if they had one because they used cat part numbers not Sherwood pump numbers. He needed the engine serial numbers. The only place to get those is off the engines. I turned back around and made a short side trip from Tacoma to Port Orchar, got the numbers and called the Cat dealer back. Not only did they have one but it was only 25o dollars. Hmm, must be some problem here, how in the world can there be a 400 dollar difference in price for the same pump. I headed for the the Cat dealer figuring for sure there was going to be some mistake and the pumps would not be the same. Wrong! They were exactly the same. So I picked up the new pump but the salesman forgot to tell me over the phone there was a 250 dollar core fee. They wanted the old one to rebuild. I figured I was still money ahead if I picked up the rebuild kit from Fisheries, it could not be all that expensive, keep the old pump, rebuild it for the spare and install the new one.
I got to Fisheries about 3 hours later than planned and they had the rebuild kit waiting for me. The small box of parts cost a stunning 350, more than the entire new unit at Cat.

On my way home I started doing the math. If I return the rebuild kit, get my 350 back, go to Cat and buy another new pump and turn in the old one I would only be out 750. Right now I was out about 850. I could save a whole 100 dollars or 25 gallons of diesel.
I figured my time was worth something so instead of doing the driving to return things I decided to use the kit to rebuild the old one. After spending about 4 hours trying to get the old one apart, spending more money on tools to do that and then reading the instructions about how hard it is to rebuiild correctly unless you have the right tools, (I don't) I decided to go back to cat and pick up another new pump as a spare and get rid of the old one to get my 250 back.

I called them and the salesman told me that he sold the last one to some guy the day before. No kidding, what luck. But he could have another one by Monday. So Plans do change.

tomorrow I will install the new pump, put everything back together and pick up and clean the boat. Saturday afternoon we will finish sinking the boat with the additional clothing and food that Chris is convinced she needs. Sunday we will finish up around the house and have breakfast with the kids, dinner with the in laws and fret over last minute details.

Monday I run up to the Cat dealer and pick up the second spare water pump. Go to Fisheries to return the parts kit, head back to the house and have someone drive us to the boat. Hopefully we can be underway by mid morning. the morning tide runs north turning to flood and working against us by noon. I am going to try to use the tides to improve milage and gas consumption so we have to time our travels according the the currents and tides wherever possible.

The weather is finally showing signs of improvement, sun and calm weather for the next 5 to six days. so if the wind is in our favor (calm) we will go the west side of Whidby and across the straigts of Juan De Fuca. If not we will go the inside route to Deception Pass which is a bit longer but fare less bumpy.