Saturday, July 23, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
We made it!!!!
We have completed the loop. We arrived in Friday Harbor at 3 pm, July 21st, just 15 days and 4 hour hours to complete the entire circumnavigaiton of Vancouver island. We ended up in a slip directly across from the one we left from so we litterally have done a complete circumnavigation.
We finally sailed! We left Victoria about 10 am this morning and the winds were about 15 out of the west so we put up the sails and averaged 6 knots for the next several hours and sailed all the way into Friday Harbor. First time we were actually able to sail faster than we could motor. It was a fun day, the sun came out part of the time and it did not rain.
We arrived at the customs dock in strong westerly winds and watched as various other boats struggled to get to the dock. We made it and passed through customs without any difficulty, Jeff is a very competent skipper and Fran is magic when smoozing officials.
Getting into our assigned slip was a bit exciting with 20 mph side winds as we tried to slide into the finger pier. We left a little smudge on the hull but no damage to any other boats and nothing that Fran can't rub out with a bit of elbow grease.
Several other skippers did not fair so well in their docking efforts. One large sailboat, the same one we helped get onto the customs dock, managed to mangle a 47 bayliners swim step as he left the customs dock.
Chris will pick me up tomorrow as I say fairwell to Jeff and Fran and they begin the short trip to Tacoma. I think they can manage that short distance without my expertise.
Despite the lack of wind, lack of sun, lack of heat and lack of caught fish lack of diesel it was a pretty darned good trip. The scenery is amazing, the people very friendly and the route is plenty challenging. I would do it again with a buddy boat but would probably not go all the way around. I think I would go from the south and not go beyond the Brooks Peninsula as most of the really good fishing and exploring is south of that.
Photos to follow. Till the next expedition, thanks for following along.
We finally sailed! We left Victoria about 10 am this morning and the winds were about 15 out of the west so we put up the sails and averaged 6 knots for the next several hours and sailed all the way into Friday Harbor. First time we were actually able to sail faster than we could motor. It was a fun day, the sun came out part of the time and it did not rain.
We arrived at the customs dock in strong westerly winds and watched as various other boats struggled to get to the dock. We made it and passed through customs without any difficulty, Jeff is a very competent skipper and Fran is magic when smoozing officials.
Getting into our assigned slip was a bit exciting with 20 mph side winds as we tried to slide into the finger pier. We left a little smudge on the hull but no damage to any other boats and nothing that Fran can't rub out with a bit of elbow grease.
Several other skippers did not fair so well in their docking efforts. One large sailboat, the same one we helped get onto the customs dock, managed to mangle a 47 bayliners swim step as he left the customs dock.
Chris will pick me up tomorrow as I say fairwell to Jeff and Fran and they begin the short trip to Tacoma. I think they can manage that short distance without my expertise.
Despite the lack of wind, lack of sun, lack of heat and lack of caught fish lack of diesel it was a pretty darned good trip. The scenery is amazing, the people very friendly and the route is plenty challenging. I would do it again with a buddy boat but would probably not go all the way around. I think I would go from the south and not go beyond the Brooks Peninsula as most of the really good fishing and exploring is south of that.
Photos to follow. Till the next expedition, thanks for following along.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Sooke Vancover Island
July 19, 2011
OK, where did I leave off last? We have left our last refuge on the West Coast and are headed around the south corner of the island and down the Straits of Juan De Fuca. We have a 70 plus mile day today with building winds forecast for gale strength by this afternoon in the east entrance to the straits where we should be late this afternoon. OK!
So we stayed in Bamfield last night which is a very quirky (is that a word) little town. West Bamfield has no road to it so you tour the town on a boardwalk that fronts all of the little cottages, abandoned cabins and immaculately groomed yards and trimmed shrubs. The homes are very small, old and unique. About half look occupied or occupied sometimes. According to the dock master it is a very slow year as it has been all up and down the coast and no one is quite sure the full reason other than the weather and the economy.
We had salmon again for dinner last night, that’s three nights in a row.
The previous night we spent in Tofino. Tricky little place to get into especially when you’re worried about running out of fuel again. We made it with our emergency fill up so all turned out well and it was a good learning experience. Jeff does not have 44 gallons of usable fuel in his 44 gallon tank. When the meter reads full he still has room for about 4 gallons and he has about 4 gallons that he can never use because it is below the pickup tube so he actually has at best 36 usable gallons so he calculated correctly his fuel consumption but missed by about 4 gallons, either the top 4 or the bottom 4 it doesn’t matter cause it simply was not enough to get from there to here without some sailing to augment the distance and that we did not get.
Today we tried sailing for a while but we may never get to our destination if we don’t motor so after an hour of sailing at 4.4 knots we turned on the motor and picked up to a blazing 7.2.
Fran fixed chocolate chip cookies while under way so the crew is happy.
Should be in Sooke this evening and then depending on weather we will either make a short hop to Victoria or run all the way to Friday Harbor where I depart the voyage.
Once I get into better connectivity I will post a bunch of photos of the trip, our download time and expense was too great to try to send too many photos but we have plenty of good ones to share.
Holly crap its cold. The wind is off our port rear quarter out of the SW and it is cold. I finally succumbed and put on long pants. Fran is bundled up in a blanket and Jeff just put on gloves. No sun, poor visibility, gray, no rain but it is a cold dreary day right now. Oh well, it could be worse, just wait.
Were in Sooke! It was a 12 hour day. The winds and weather held and we made it in without too much difficulty. IT is a narrow and tricky entrance to the harbor, two range markers to get inside the narrow entry way and then a very narrow but well marked channel to the docks through several very shallow areas.
Tomorrow Victoria.
OK, where did I leave off last? We have left our last refuge on the West Coast and are headed around the south corner of the island and down the Straits of Juan De Fuca. We have a 70 plus mile day today with building winds forecast for gale strength by this afternoon in the east entrance to the straits where we should be late this afternoon. OK!
So we stayed in Bamfield last night which is a very quirky (is that a word) little town. West Bamfield has no road to it so you tour the town on a boardwalk that fronts all of the little cottages, abandoned cabins and immaculately groomed yards and trimmed shrubs. The homes are very small, old and unique. About half look occupied or occupied sometimes. According to the dock master it is a very slow year as it has been all up and down the coast and no one is quite sure the full reason other than the weather and the economy.
We had salmon again for dinner last night, that’s three nights in a row.
The previous night we spent in Tofino. Tricky little place to get into especially when you’re worried about running out of fuel again. We made it with our emergency fill up so all turned out well and it was a good learning experience. Jeff does not have 44 gallons of usable fuel in his 44 gallon tank. When the meter reads full he still has room for about 4 gallons and he has about 4 gallons that he can never use because it is below the pickup tube so he actually has at best 36 usable gallons so he calculated correctly his fuel consumption but missed by about 4 gallons, either the top 4 or the bottom 4 it doesn’t matter cause it simply was not enough to get from there to here without some sailing to augment the distance and that we did not get.
Today we tried sailing for a while but we may never get to our destination if we don’t motor so after an hour of sailing at 4.4 knots we turned on the motor and picked up to a blazing 7.2.
Fran fixed chocolate chip cookies while under way so the crew is happy.
Should be in Sooke this evening and then depending on weather we will either make a short hop to Victoria or run all the way to Friday Harbor where I depart the voyage.
Once I get into better connectivity I will post a bunch of photos of the trip, our download time and expense was too great to try to send too many photos but we have plenty of good ones to share.
Holly crap its cold. The wind is off our port rear quarter out of the SW and it is cold. I finally succumbed and put on long pants. Fran is bundled up in a blanket and Jeff just put on gloves. No sun, poor visibility, gray, no rain but it is a cold dreary day right now. Oh well, it could be worse, just wait.
Were in Sooke! It was a 12 hour day. The winds and weather held and we made it in without too much difficulty. IT is a narrow and tricky entrance to the harbor, two range markers to get inside the narrow entry way and then a very narrow but well marked channel to the docks through several very shallow areas.
Tomorrow Victoria.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Tolfino, July 17th
July 15, 2011
We are now securely anchored in Queens’s cove in Esperanza inlet. We had to duck in here when we suddenly developed an unusual vibration. The waves were on our nose and fairly short and steep with a 15 to 20 MPH wind out of the SE, on our nose of course. We decided we needed to figure out what was going on before continuing on for another 30 miles so we took the only escape route open to us into this anchorage. It is quite beautiful and secure, And very isolated. There is a house at the end of the cove but it looks vacant. Just down the bay a bit is a fishing lodge and another one is around the corner from us.
We used Fran’s go pro camera to check under the boat after Jeff had done a complete check for problems inside the boat. We found a strand of kelp wrapped around the prop and by the looks of the scrapes on the hull we had been dragging a large amount of the stuff for a while. Jeff donned my dry suit and swam under the boat and freed the prop. It is pretty obvious that was what the problem was so we should be fine tomorrow, nothing broken.
Tomorrow we will make a long run to hot springs cove bypassing Yuquot which was one of our planned stops. Hopefully the weather will clear up a bit. Even if it just stopped raining it would be better out in the open water. The rain has been fairly steady and heavy for the last three days and everything is gray and wet but it is really very beautiful. I can only imagine if it were blue sky and sunny.
Jeff and I took the dingy for a run up Esperanza inlet to the end and found a little black bear on the shore and got some great pictures. It is a very pretty inlet with very different geology and foliage. The trees on the south side are small the land is very rocky with large granite boulders and formations all along the shoreline and small streams cascading into the quiet little coves. There were a couple of very nice secluded anchorages behind a small island just past Queens Cove. At the narrow part of the channel there is a small floating cabin from years past and just beyond that is a new floating fish camp.
Other than that the entire area has a feeling of remoteness and isolation. I would love to spend about three days in this area just exploring.
We left Queens Cove and motored down to Hot springs Cove. Yes we motored, once again no wind or at least not the right wind. More grey and wet sky. We did raise the sails to try and get a little push from the wind because now fuel is becomming an issue. Jeff did not plan on motoring the entire way and there is no fuel until we get to Tofino.
There are more boats in the area now and lots of small fish boats. Everyone is catching fish excpet us. My fishing license has expired so Fish 5 Tom 0.
The hot springs are typical wilderness hotsprings, hot and the pools are natural with virtually no enhancements by man such as the ones we found in Alaska. Not sure where the 100 or so people we passed on the boardwalk trail were able to squeeze themselves in but by the time we got there the visitor population was down to half a dozen people, it still felt crowded in the pools that were barely big enough for one or two of us.
We had salmon for dinner!
The boardwalk is cool, 2 killometers of 2 x 8 inch by 4 foot cedar plank boards with boat names carved into them. Salpare and Rendevouz now have their names to add to the collection. Yep Pete, we left your boat name there as well since you are with us in spirit even if you cannot be here this year. You can see it when you visit next year. We got up early this morning before people started arriving by float plan or tour boat and pried up two old boards and replaced them with the new ones I had purchased and carved our names in. Boy you need a large wrecking bar to get those large nails loose and Jeff's little claw hammer was barely adequate to get it done.
Left Hotsprings cove on the low tide hoping to get a push from the incomming tide, anything will help the fuel situation. Again no wind, not a breath of it. The sea is flat calm, like glass with small swells from the west. Seeing whales off in the distance, Fran is ecstatic but none have been very close up.
Well, Jeff checked the tank, were going to run out of gas before we reach Tofino and we have no wind and the rocks are just off our port beam. Hmmm! Ok he is doing the engineering McGiver thing and has taken the inspectio port off, inserted a plastic butter dish under the intake hose and is hand feeding what remains of the fuel into the cup. Still not going to make it. Sails up, anchor at the ready, we call for delivery of 5 gallons of gas. The Tofino water taxi pulls up with five gallons of diesel at the small price of $125.oo for delivery. Oh well, expensive but well needed since the wind came up but is not enough or in the right direction to let us sail into Tofino. It is a narrow channel anyway so that would not be a good option. As it is we are sweating the last mile or so as the fuel is again just at the bottom of the intake hose and ready to start sucking air. We made it .
Were docked in Tofino which is a busy little place. The locals tell us however that the tourism business is way off this year and things are relatively quiet for the busy season here. Same story all around the island, not good for these people.
Off to Bamfield tomorrow.
Pictures to follow when I have a reliable connection.
We are now securely anchored in Queens’s cove in Esperanza inlet. We had to duck in here when we suddenly developed an unusual vibration. The waves were on our nose and fairly short and steep with a 15 to 20 MPH wind out of the SE, on our nose of course. We decided we needed to figure out what was going on before continuing on for another 30 miles so we took the only escape route open to us into this anchorage. It is quite beautiful and secure, And very isolated. There is a house at the end of the cove but it looks vacant. Just down the bay a bit is a fishing lodge and another one is around the corner from us.
We used Fran’s go pro camera to check under the boat after Jeff had done a complete check for problems inside the boat. We found a strand of kelp wrapped around the prop and by the looks of the scrapes on the hull we had been dragging a large amount of the stuff for a while. Jeff donned my dry suit and swam under the boat and freed the prop. It is pretty obvious that was what the problem was so we should be fine tomorrow, nothing broken.
Tomorrow we will make a long run to hot springs cove bypassing Yuquot which was one of our planned stops. Hopefully the weather will clear up a bit. Even if it just stopped raining it would be better out in the open water. The rain has been fairly steady and heavy for the last three days and everything is gray and wet but it is really very beautiful. I can only imagine if it were blue sky and sunny.
Jeff and I took the dingy for a run up Esperanza inlet to the end and found a little black bear on the shore and got some great pictures. It is a very pretty inlet with very different geology and foliage. The trees on the south side are small the land is very rocky with large granite boulders and formations all along the shoreline and small streams cascading into the quiet little coves. There were a couple of very nice secluded anchorages behind a small island just past Queens Cove. At the narrow part of the channel there is a small floating cabin from years past and just beyond that is a new floating fish camp.
Other than that the entire area has a feeling of remoteness and isolation. I would love to spend about three days in this area just exploring.
We left Queens Cove and motored down to Hot springs Cove. Yes we motored, once again no wind or at least not the right wind. More grey and wet sky. We did raise the sails to try and get a little push from the wind because now fuel is becomming an issue. Jeff did not plan on motoring the entire way and there is no fuel until we get to Tofino.
There are more boats in the area now and lots of small fish boats. Everyone is catching fish excpet us. My fishing license has expired so Fish 5 Tom 0.
The hot springs are typical wilderness hotsprings, hot and the pools are natural with virtually no enhancements by man such as the ones we found in Alaska. Not sure where the 100 or so people we passed on the boardwalk trail were able to squeeze themselves in but by the time we got there the visitor population was down to half a dozen people, it still felt crowded in the pools that were barely big enough for one or two of us.
We had salmon for dinner!
The boardwalk is cool, 2 killometers of 2 x 8 inch by 4 foot cedar plank boards with boat names carved into them. Salpare and Rendevouz now have their names to add to the collection. Yep Pete, we left your boat name there as well since you are with us in spirit even if you cannot be here this year. You can see it when you visit next year. We got up early this morning before people started arriving by float plan or tour boat and pried up two old boards and replaced them with the new ones I had purchased and carved our names in. Boy you need a large wrecking bar to get those large nails loose and Jeff's little claw hammer was barely adequate to get it done.
Left Hotsprings cove on the low tide hoping to get a push from the incomming tide, anything will help the fuel situation. Again no wind, not a breath of it. The sea is flat calm, like glass with small swells from the west. Seeing whales off in the distance, Fran is ecstatic but none have been very close up.
Well, Jeff checked the tank, were going to run out of gas before we reach Tofino and we have no wind and the rocks are just off our port beam. Hmmm! Ok he is doing the engineering McGiver thing and has taken the inspectio port off, inserted a plastic butter dish under the intake hose and is hand feeding what remains of the fuel into the cup. Still not going to make it. Sails up, anchor at the ready, we call for delivery of 5 gallons of gas. The Tofino water taxi pulls up with five gallons of diesel at the small price of $125.oo for delivery. Oh well, expensive but well needed since the wind came up but is not enough or in the right direction to let us sail into Tofino. It is a narrow channel anyway so that would not be a good option. As it is we are sweating the last mile or so as the fuel is again just at the bottom of the intake hose and ready to start sucking air. We made it .
Were docked in Tofino which is a busy little place. The locals tell us however that the tourism business is way off this year and things are relatively quiet for the busy season here. Same story all around the island, not good for these people.
Off to Bamfield tomorrow.
Pictures to follow when I have a reliable connection.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Kyuquot (ki U cote)
July 13, 2011
Were in Kyuquot. Neat little place. One of the most picturesque places ever. It is a first nations village and fishing community. Tucked way back in behind an island the entry way is narrow and winding but at least 20 feet deep all the way in.
It is raining real hard right now and there is no internet. Jeff made a command decision and were going to sit here for a day and do some exploring. Hope the rain lets up.
The fishing is good here as well, most everyone looked like they were coming in with fish so I will give it another try tomorrow regardless of the rain conditions.
This is a very safe and snug harbor, well protected in all conditions.
We rounded the Brooks peninsula which is the second crux of the cruise. The rollers north of the peninsula were 5 to 6 feet high from the rear quarter making an uncomfortable ride, the wind was dead on our nose once again and so we motored for 8 hours. Once around the peninsula the rollers calmed down then we just had 20 knot wind waves on the nose. Nothing bad, in fact we have had worse conditions in Puget Sound so the run around the island so far has been pretty uneventful. I would love to spend several days exploring the inlets here and those we passed by as they are quite remote and beautiful but I doubt highly if we will take our boat around. Chris would not like the ride and for us the rolling would be substantial. I think you need stabilizers to make it a bit more comfortable but we could certainly do it and with many more stops thrown in and time to explore all of the inlets.
Today I kayaked into McKay cove through dozens of little islands, just amazing and beautiful.
Were sitting in Java the Hut coffee shop waiting for fresh pie and drinking fresh lattes. They have a satalite internet connection here so were updating the blog and reading email. The fresh pie just arrived fresh out of the oven with ice cream. apple, blackberry pie, its great.
Big day in Kyuquot, the supply ship uchuck (upchuck)to the locals is about to arrive so everyone is in town.
Were in Kyuquot. Neat little place. One of the most picturesque places ever. It is a first nations village and fishing community. Tucked way back in behind an island the entry way is narrow and winding but at least 20 feet deep all the way in.
It is raining real hard right now and there is no internet. Jeff made a command decision and were going to sit here for a day and do some exploring. Hope the rain lets up.
The fishing is good here as well, most everyone looked like they were coming in with fish so I will give it another try tomorrow regardless of the rain conditions.
This is a very safe and snug harbor, well protected in all conditions.
We rounded the Brooks peninsula which is the second crux of the cruise. The rollers north of the peninsula were 5 to 6 feet high from the rear quarter making an uncomfortable ride, the wind was dead on our nose once again and so we motored for 8 hours. Once around the peninsula the rollers calmed down then we just had 20 knot wind waves on the nose. Nothing bad, in fact we have had worse conditions in Puget Sound so the run around the island so far has been pretty uneventful. I would love to spend several days exploring the inlets here and those we passed by as they are quite remote and beautiful but I doubt highly if we will take our boat around. Chris would not like the ride and for us the rolling would be substantial. I think you need stabilizers to make it a bit more comfortable but we could certainly do it and with many more stops thrown in and time to explore all of the inlets.
Today I kayaked into McKay cove through dozens of little islands, just amazing and beautiful.
Were sitting in Java the Hut coffee shop waiting for fresh pie and drinking fresh lattes. They have a satalite internet connection here so were updating the blog and reading email. The fresh pie just arrived fresh out of the oven with ice cream. apple, blackberry pie, its great.
Big day in Kyuquot, the supply ship uchuck (upchuck)to the locals is about to arrive so everyone is in town.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
July 12
July 11, 2011
Bull Harbor
We left Pt McNeil this morning and ran north to Bull Harbor which is our jumping off point for rounding the northern tip of the island. Weather is perfect, no wind no waves and minimal current for a rounding point Scott after we cross the Nahwitti Bar which is the crux of the entire trip.
Today was wet, cold and rainy but no wind. I have never seen the Queen Charlotte Straits so flat and calm. There is hardly a swell to be seen or felt out here.
Tomorrow is another long day, about 7 hours to get to Winter Harbor. There is only one other sail boat here in Bull Harbor tonight and they are going around with us. There is a fishing boat here as well, they are from Montana and are going across the bar to fish in the morning. Were trying to decide if we want to leave early or wait for slack water. I think the wind and waves are nothing right now so the Nahwitti bar should not be any kind of problem.
I went out in the dink tonight and did some fishing and actually did some catching. I caught three black rock fish in about 20 minutes. Apparently they are rather fished out and rare so you are not supposed to fish for them. I was fishing for salmon but I kept getting rock fish. If rockfish are so darned rare why is it that the only fish I ever catch are rock fish? I might have caught the same black rockfish three times for all I know. Pretty dumb fish if I did.
Salmon were all around, I could see their fins on the surface a couple of times. But no luck, so why is that a surprise. Fish 2 Tom 0..
Another two days on my license so I will give it another try tomorrow.
July 12, 2011
Winter Harbor. This is a great place. Not much bigger than Kelsey bay as a community but the harbor is much larger. Not much here and what is here is focused on fishing. There is a very well stocked store, a fuel dock, lots of dilapidated docks with many fish cleaning stations and just a few small charter type fishing boats tied up to them. These all are well used unlike the ones at Kelsey Bay. A dozen small boats were out in the rollers just outside of the harbor entrance fishing and the Salmon are running. We got into the harbor and everyone was bringing in 20 to 40 lb salmon plus halibut. We saw a 166 lb halibut that someone caught and I took photos of bunches of fish laid out on the dock from just two of the boats. I am jealous. Guys told me to just troll a flashy thingy behind the boat and a salmon will grab it in no time so tomorrow I am going to give it a try. I thought 7 knots was too fast to troll but they said 12 would not be too fast.
The rounding of Cape Scott was a non event. We left Bull Harbor early as we agreed that without wind or big waves it really made no difference when we crossed the bar. It was pretty anticlimactic for the crux of the trip. The seas were glassy with no wind and then when there was wind it was right on our nose so we did no sailing. 8 hours of motoring. As we got closer to Winter Harbor the rollers went from about 2 footers to probably 6 footers but they were no big deal and we kept them on our rear quarter most of the way which made for a rather comfortable ride. It is cold, gray and cloudy with intermittent drizzle. We now slated for three days of rain, yippee! It would be a lot prettier if the sun were out and the sea and sky were actually blue and the trees green but the fog and visibility sucks out here and everything is just gray.
Winter Harbor is a very snug and safe harbor; I would definitely return here again and stay for a while to do some fishing. No sense in catching much on this trip because we have no where to keep even a small salmon. Not sure what we would do with a large halibut, no way to get it onto the boat.
We have a problem Houston! The holding tank will not pump out for the aft head and we woke this morning to stench. It gotten better but we have no idea why the tank won’t pump out. Fortunately we can bypass it or use the forward head.
In addition to that Jeff and I had to patch the dinghy, I snagged a fish hook yesterday on the side and there was a pin hole miniscule leak in the tube. Its back to holding air after the repair job, we hope.
Other than that all is going as planned. Wish us luck with the weather. Forecast is for wind from the SE which means no sailing tomorrow either plus Rain rain and rain. What else would one expect on the West Coast? I have not yet succumbed to wearing long pants or socks yet. So far I have remained in shorts and sandals regardless of how cold it is. After all it is summer.
Bull Harbor
We left Pt McNeil this morning and ran north to Bull Harbor which is our jumping off point for rounding the northern tip of the island. Weather is perfect, no wind no waves and minimal current for a rounding point Scott after we cross the Nahwitti Bar which is the crux of the entire trip.
Today was wet, cold and rainy but no wind. I have never seen the Queen Charlotte Straits so flat and calm. There is hardly a swell to be seen or felt out here.
Tomorrow is another long day, about 7 hours to get to Winter Harbor. There is only one other sail boat here in Bull Harbor tonight and they are going around with us. There is a fishing boat here as well, they are from Montana and are going across the bar to fish in the morning. Were trying to decide if we want to leave early or wait for slack water. I think the wind and waves are nothing right now so the Nahwitti bar should not be any kind of problem.
I went out in the dink tonight and did some fishing and actually did some catching. I caught three black rock fish in about 20 minutes. Apparently they are rather fished out and rare so you are not supposed to fish for them. I was fishing for salmon but I kept getting rock fish. If rockfish are so darned rare why is it that the only fish I ever catch are rock fish? I might have caught the same black rockfish three times for all I know. Pretty dumb fish if I did.
Salmon were all around, I could see their fins on the surface a couple of times. But no luck, so why is that a surprise. Fish 2 Tom 0..
Another two days on my license so I will give it another try tomorrow.
July 12, 2011
Winter Harbor. This is a great place. Not much bigger than Kelsey bay as a community but the harbor is much larger. Not much here and what is here is focused on fishing. There is a very well stocked store, a fuel dock, lots of dilapidated docks with many fish cleaning stations and just a few small charter type fishing boats tied up to them. These all are well used unlike the ones at Kelsey Bay. A dozen small boats were out in the rollers just outside of the harbor entrance fishing and the Salmon are running. We got into the harbor and everyone was bringing in 20 to 40 lb salmon plus halibut. We saw a 166 lb halibut that someone caught and I took photos of bunches of fish laid out on the dock from just two of the boats. I am jealous. Guys told me to just troll a flashy thingy behind the boat and a salmon will grab it in no time so tomorrow I am going to give it a try. I thought 7 knots was too fast to troll but they said 12 would not be too fast.
The rounding of Cape Scott was a non event. We left Bull Harbor early as we agreed that without wind or big waves it really made no difference when we crossed the bar. It was pretty anticlimactic for the crux of the trip. The seas were glassy with no wind and then when there was wind it was right on our nose so we did no sailing. 8 hours of motoring. As we got closer to Winter Harbor the rollers went from about 2 footers to probably 6 footers but they were no big deal and we kept them on our rear quarter most of the way which made for a rather comfortable ride. It is cold, gray and cloudy with intermittent drizzle. We now slated for three days of rain, yippee! It would be a lot prettier if the sun were out and the sea and sky were actually blue and the trees green but the fog and visibility sucks out here and everything is just gray.
Winter Harbor is a very snug and safe harbor; I would definitely return here again and stay for a while to do some fishing. No sense in catching much on this trip because we have no where to keep even a small salmon. Not sure what we would do with a large halibut, no way to get it onto the boat.
We have a problem Houston! The holding tank will not pump out for the aft head and we woke this morning to stench. It gotten better but we have no idea why the tank won’t pump out. Fortunately we can bypass it or use the forward head.
In addition to that Jeff and I had to patch the dinghy, I snagged a fish hook yesterday on the side and there was a pin hole miniscule leak in the tube. Its back to holding air after the repair job, we hope.
Other than that all is going as planned. Wish us luck with the weather. Forecast is for wind from the SE which means no sailing tomorrow either plus Rain rain and rain. What else would one expect on the West Coast? I have not yet succumbed to wearing long pants or socks yet. So far I have remained in shorts and sandals regardless of how cold it is. After all it is summer.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
North End of Johnstone Straits
Kelsey Bay June 9, 2011
We left Campbell river today about 1100 to run the 8 miles to Seymour narrows. The slack is at 120 pm, If our math is right it will take us two hours to get there bucking the 4 knot currents. As it turns out were their an hour earlier so we end up challenging the rapids that are still running at about 3 knots against us. It goes fineand we pop thru without incident. A couple of strong eddies and swirls turned us a bit but nothing substantial was encountered. Then the current changed in our favor and gave us a push all the way to Kelsey bay. The winds that environment Canada was predicting never materialized and so the run up was quite pleasant.
Kelsey bay is a small fishing village located next to the Salmon river just north of Helmlicken Island and Race Passage. Their was very little room to tie up the boat and we ended up hanging over the end of a dock by about 15 feet. Ther rest of the space is taken up by derelict and well used fishing vessels of all sorts. There was not another liesure recreational boat in their and I doubt highly if they ever see many vessels like ours here. There is nothing ashore. It is the end of a road, there is a small campground and a run down boatyard and two or three residences in poor state of repair. The ferry dock is deteriorationg and no longer in use and the marina has seen better days. The people were very nice and helpful however. I would not recommend this as anything but an emergency stop and even then any boat larger than ours would be hard pressed to find any spot to tie up. The protection from a large storm is questionable at best and uncomfortable at least. I would not opt for this stop but Fran loves it and it does have its own character and flavor so being here is a unique experience. The view up channel is spectacular and that makes it somewhat worthwhile.
Kelsey Bay is not on the list of do overs.
We met up with a solo kyaker heading around the island. He was looking for a water fill up and ended up with dinneer and a place to bed down for the night. Graham was from Duncan, near Maple Bay,Nice guy.
July 10,
No Whales, Fran is bummed. The whale wathcers are reporting fleeting sightings of the elusive creatures and so far nothing. Blackney passage is the best bet for seeing them and we are now north of that.
Plenty more opportunity so I am sure Fran will get her whale fix
Johnstone strait is flat calm today. No wind no waves, perfect run all the way from chatham point yesterday to Pt Mcneil today.
this is slow. Getting used to the slow progress but I do not think I will become a sailboat fan after this extended experience. Visibility is much worse from the cockpit of a sailboat than from my flybridge. Fuel consumption is certainly better but the progress is painfully slow.
At least we had pretty fair currents and they were not to awful this morning as we followed the southern shore and took advantage of some back eddies.
On to Pt Mcneil. Weather is holding and it looks like wednesday when we round Cape Scott the conditions will be ideal.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Day 3
We are in Campbell River tonight. We anchored in Tribune bay on Hornsby Island halfway up the Georgia Strait from Nanaimo. The wind blew pretty hard and it took a while to get used to the noise of the wind blowing through the rigging. I don't have that issue on my boat so it sounded like the wind was a lot stronger than it actually was. It was hard enough that we were swinging pretty hard on the anchor and sleeping up front the noise of the anchor bridal straining was enough to keep me awake for a while. But the anchor held, we were still in the same place we started the night before and we were still afloat. The bay would not be a good place to be in a southeast wind but it was fine for the seasonal N and NW winds that are common this time of the year.
At 6 knots the run up the strait was two long days. We sailed a bit today with a 11 knot head wind and made about 6 knots. The current was running hard from Cape Mudge to Campbell river so we got a 4 knot push all the way to the marina. Tomorrow we buck the current for the first 8 miles to Seymour Narrows which we will pass through at high slack and then ride the Ebb tide north to Kelsey Bay.
All is going as planned, the crew is getting along well, The admiral, (sharps cat) has accepted the fact that I am now the occupant of the forward cabin not him.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Van Isle 360 2011
July 6th, 2011
Day 1 of the great adventure
Left home at 0530 to catch the 0900 ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. Traffic that early in the morning was non existent so the trip was an easy one. Chris dropped me off and I walked on to the ferry with just one backpack since I had dropped off most of my gear on the boat last week.. Foggy crossing as usual through Thatcher Pass but the sun broke out on the other side and it was simply a perfect day.
I met Jeff and Fran at the marina and within 10 minutes of arrival we were underway for the fuel dock. Picked up a paltry 22 gallons of diesel to top off the tank. I am jealous, I will fill up with over 250 gallons when I get home in a few weeks. My bill will be significantly different. Fuel was 4.11 a gallon, at least back home it is below 4.00.
We crossed over to Poets cove where we checked in with customs and got a clean bill of health. The Customs dock of old is gone. Rumor has it that a very large boat with a crew, somehow failed to stop and tore out the entire float in the process. The captain decided to go below deck to check the engines or something and the rest of the crew did not know how to take it out of gear or slow it down. Better find out who that was and stay clear of them. The entire dock, pilings and all is simply no longer there. A couple of orange floats mark the spot where pilings are apparently broken off just below the surface.
We continued north to Clam Bay doing a bit of motor sailing along the way. Clam bay is a very nice if not secluded anchorage. We took the dink through the shallow channel between Clam Bay and Telegraph harbor and found the only rock in the entire channel with the prop. Looks like we spun it on the hub so when we get to Campbell river we will need to find a new prop.
Started the evening with fresh shrimp and crab that Fran caught for us in town.
July 7th, 2011
Got up early and headed north to catch slack water at Dodd Narrows. Weather is supposed to be a bit cloudy with chance of rain and strong wind warnings in the straights of Georgia.
We made it through Dodd without any problem then headed out past Nanaimo in 15 to knot winds out of the NW. Big 3 to 4 foot rollers for the first hour then the tide changed and everything died out. The water flattened out as the tide was now going the same direction as the wind. By the end of the day the water was relatively calm with only a light chop to contend with. Unfortunately the wind was right on our nose so sailing was not an option since we had a long way to go to Tribune bay on Hornby Island. We made it at 1530 as predicted and the anchorage was quite nice. Would not want to be here in a southerly wind but it is fine with the normal NE wind pattern for this time of year.
On to Campbell river tomorrow.
Day 1 of the great adventure
Left home at 0530 to catch the 0900 ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. Traffic that early in the morning was non existent so the trip was an easy one. Chris dropped me off and I walked on to the ferry with just one backpack since I had dropped off most of my gear on the boat last week.. Foggy crossing as usual through Thatcher Pass but the sun broke out on the other side and it was simply a perfect day.
I met Jeff and Fran at the marina and within 10 minutes of arrival we were underway for the fuel dock. Picked up a paltry 22 gallons of diesel to top off the tank. I am jealous, I will fill up with over 250 gallons when I get home in a few weeks. My bill will be significantly different. Fuel was 4.11 a gallon, at least back home it is below 4.00.
We crossed over to Poets cove where we checked in with customs and got a clean bill of health. The Customs dock of old is gone. Rumor has it that a very large boat with a crew, somehow failed to stop and tore out the entire float in the process. The captain decided to go below deck to check the engines or something and the rest of the crew did not know how to take it out of gear or slow it down. Better find out who that was and stay clear of them. The entire dock, pilings and all is simply no longer there. A couple of orange floats mark the spot where pilings are apparently broken off just below the surface.
We continued north to Clam Bay doing a bit of motor sailing along the way. Clam bay is a very nice if not secluded anchorage. We took the dink through the shallow channel between Clam Bay and Telegraph harbor and found the only rock in the entire channel with the prop. Looks like we spun it on the hub so when we get to Campbell river we will need to find a new prop.
Started the evening with fresh shrimp and crab that Fran caught for us in town.
July 7th, 2011
Got up early and headed north to catch slack water at Dodd Narrows. Weather is supposed to be a bit cloudy with chance of rain and strong wind warnings in the straights of Georgia.
We made it through Dodd without any problem then headed out past Nanaimo in 15 to knot winds out of the NW. Big 3 to 4 foot rollers for the first hour then the tide changed and everything died out. The water flattened out as the tide was now going the same direction as the wind. By the end of the day the water was relatively calm with only a light chop to contend with. Unfortunately the wind was right on our nose so sailing was not an option since we had a long way to go to Tribune bay on Hornby Island. We made it at 1530 as predicted and the anchorage was quite nice. Would not want to be here in a southerly wind but it is fine with the normal NE wind pattern for this time of year.
On to Campbell river tomorrow.
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