5/19/13 Motoring north in Mathieson Channel headed for Jackson Narrows. Goal is Alexander inlet. Five boats still together, Pete's moved ahead to keep to his schedule. We're doing 40 to 70 miles a day. Fuel consumption is good but will need to add some at PR to cross Dixon Entrance. Second whale sighting. Not very active. The first was off Codville Lagoon and he came half out of the water once then we never saw him again. This one surfaced twice and was gone. Big greys. 5/20/13 Miscalculated distance to PR. Will need fuel so I hope Hartley Bay has some. Stopped at khutze Bay. Beautiful day until dinner when the wind picked up considerably. Had to anchor at a different spot from last trip. Another creek just out a bit further from the river mouth. Glen dropped anchor in 80 feet and backed to within 20 feet of the steep rocky shore and stern tied. Current was amazing right next to shore. More than Nats bow thruster could overcome. Took Glen pushing with the dinghy to get the boats together. I had to put out my anchor as a third because of the force of the current, two was not enough and also my stern tie which ended up tight as a bow string. The current kept swirling all night, first one way then the other. 100 feet off shore there was no current. Very strange. Took a trip up the river a short distance by small boat. Did I not get far. Definitely this is bear country. Had steak and prawns for dinner. Pulled a full pot of shrimp this morning from Alexander inlet. 300 feet seems to be the sweet spot. I had full pot but Nat had a few and Glen had only four and we were all within 100 yards of each other. Weather next few days calls for gale force winds in Dixon entrance. Pete will have to wait for his chance to cross. We are likely to catch them before they cross. Pulled the crab pots and had 16 good sized crab. 5/21/13 Left about 1130 and had a pleasant but breezy run past Buttedale. To bad this historic site is just falling apart just like Namu. Steve contacted Hartley Bay and they have fuel. Third whale sighting, two or three off in the distance. Again not very active and not close enough to get photos. Both Dave and I need fuel. We decided that we had adequate fuel for a 20 mile side trip to Bishop Hot springs where we anchored in 30 mph winds that quit once we got secured. Sunny all day, just breezy Spent an hour relaxing in the hot springs. Very pleasant temperature. Dinner of crab and gooey duck chowder garnished by a few remaining prawns. A lot more debris in the water now, must be some really high tides last few days. Everything is floating. Caught three small lingcod off the boat, to small to keep and no big ones biting deeper. 5/22/13 Beautiful sunny day, blue sky and the sun is warm. no winds. Off to Hartley Bay for fuel for Dave and I. We're at a quarter tank remaining. Would be cutting it close to wait for Prince Rupert. We're moving less distance cause the forecast for Dixon crossing is not favorable till Saturday. Lowe Inlett tonight and Baker the next. The views are spectacular as we run down Ursula Channel. High steep mountains with large snow fields ending in huge cirques carved ages ago by glaciers. Both sides are just small islands rising from depths of 500 feet and soaring to 3000 feet or more. Pete is in Ketchikan! Fix may be quick. Sounds like parts may be available in Ketchikan. Took on 200 gallons of fuel at Hartley Bay. Small First Nations village at the southern end of Grenville Channel. $1.68 per liter. We have put 40 hours of cruising since the last fuel stop burning about 360 gallons which means if my calculations and fuel burn are accurate i had about 70 gallons left in each tank or about 15 hours of cruise time, so in theory we should have made it to Prince Rupert but it would have been very close. The village is neat and clean with raised boardwalks for roads. There is no road to it so all the cars are for local use and are small smart cars or super Mimi sized or they use little all terrain vehicles. Their food all comes in by ferry, there is no store so each family orders what the need. There was a snack shop so while Dave and I fueled the boats Mary and Chris went to check out the town. they came back with a really good ice cream bar. Should have bought several, they were that good. The drinking water is straight out of the river and is clean and clear unlike the rest of the rivers up here which are brown with tannin. We filled up our tanks though we really did not need to. We have been very conservative with our water usage. Last fill up was at Port McNeil. Just a short run up Grenville to Lowe Inlet. Should see bear up here. Rendevouz on the rocks. Ok the beans have been spilled by Pete. Back at Pruth Bay Pete managed to find a big rock in the middle of the bay to park his boat on. Not good. Got him off ok with Glens help, the rest of us were out of position to be of any help. We checked out the damage with my underwater camera and the prop and rudder are toast. Pete left the group next morning making best speed on one engine. He hauled at Shearwater and confirmed it was major damage and would be a lengthy prospect in Shearwater. He chose to put back in and head for Ketchikan. He arrived today and it looks like all the work and parts may be available there. Lots of work but may be not as long as initially thought. Nothing that money cannot fix. Oh by the way, the rock was marked on the chart. Lesson, give charted rocks a wide berth. Bear in the grass. Just across the bay from us is a large black bear. We took the dinghy to get a loser look and watched as he stood on his hind legs and scratched his back on a tree. Glen and Nat hiked to the lake, not so easy as it sounds and not as close as you think. They came back a bit worse for wear. 5/23/13 Pulled the crab pots, nothing. Pulled shrimp pots and mine was full! Anchored in Baker inlet tonight, really nice place, well protected. 8 boats in Lowe last night, 7 here tonight. 5/24/13 Rain today. More shrimp in the pots. Mine anyway. Wind has died down and the trip to Prince Rupert was non eventful. Smooth sailing tomorrow for Dixon Entrance, wind forecast is for light winds minimal s