June 17th

We enjoyed a great couple of days at Prideaux Haven. We even went in for a swim on Monday evening.  It was quite hot and sunny and the water was very warm.  

A very interesting wood sailboat in Prideaux. 

Lilly had full reign over the boat while we were at anchor and would often go on the swim step and jump on to the skiff and sit at the bow of the skiff - that was when she wasn't getting into trouble! 

We left Prideaux very early Tuesday morning - up at 5:30 AM to pull the anchor for 6:00 to catch slack water at "The Dents". A set of three rapids with very fast currents. 

Our plan was to go through The Dents and stay at one of our favourite little docks-  Shoal Bay.  As we got into Shoal Bay we discovered the dock was completely full.  It seems there was some Gale force winds that had been keeping boats from travelling and most people were staying put until the winds died down in Johnstone Straight.  We decided to go to Handfield Bay and anchor up. Another spot we liked and not too far away. And it was early in the day still. 

We saw this wood sailboat in Handfield Bay. They were there waiting out the winds. This boat if from New Zealand and the couple sailing her had come to Canada via the Aleutians.  Quite the adventure they were having. Unfortunate the west coast is not a great place to sail as the winds are often blowing in the opposite direction of where you want to go! 

The wind was down enough for us to leave Handfield Bay this morning and motor up Johnstone Straight to Port Harvey.  It was a bit windy and bumpy and poor Lilly was a bit sea sick. 

We were here at Port Harvey a of times last summer. A nice dock and and nice little store and restaurant well known for great home made pizza.  

The next night we went to a dock at Kwatsi Bay.  The dock there is getting quite run down. But it's a nice little spot. Not much of a trail to walk Jenny. And there - just after Jim was walking Jenny we saw a cougar on the shore!  That was a little disconcerting. 

Eagle on a tree in Stopford Bay 

The next day we left Kwatsi and planned to go to a little anchorage called Stopford Bay. When we arrived there was a logging camp set up and signs to indicated they were blasting in the area!  So we left there and spent the night at Pierre's in Echo Bay. I like Pierre's a lot, it's a great spot - clean and well managed. Large docks. Great people. There were only 3-4 boats there for the night.  Not quite the season yet. They have planned a pig roast for the start of the season on June 27th. There are Halibut and chips some nights - Prime Rib night!  Great spot. 

Phoenix Hunter at the dock at Pierre's 

After Echo Bay we motored to Monday Anchorage.  It is a nice quiet little spot with the occasional kayaker on the Midden Beach. 

After we dropped anchor Jim took Jenny to shore and she was bitten by something - wasps we think - on her face and her foot.  I never saw anything on her face but her foot was quite swollen and she was limping a bit on it. She came back to the boat and was almost unresponsive for a few minutes.  She was shaking and staggering and her foot was spasming.  We debated pulling the anchor and heading to Port McNeill.  We gave her half an aspirin and let her rest a bit. She recovered completely.  I think the aspirin helped. Then later in the afternoon - while having a little sit out in the cockpit - Lilly wandering about the skiff as she like to do - Lilly fell into the water!   Boy can she swim!  She was going like the wind!  Jim grabbed the halibut net and was able to net her along the starboard side of the boat.  So she was completely soaked in salt water - we gave her a shower with fresh water and a good towel dry.  Hopefully she has learned a lesson there.  We need a little re boarding device for her!  Some people will hang a little piece of carpet off the swim step for their cats to grab.  Of course we have the halibut net at the ready for that exact reason.  What a day that was!  

We spent two nights at Monday Anchorage. Jim went fishing yesterday and hooked a small harbour seal. He tried to get it close to the skiff to pull out the hook but couldn't manage to do that. So had to cut the line.  He felt terrible about that.  The hook was just in the outer skin, so it will most likely work it's way out over time.  Jim and fishing just don't seem to be coming together as he hoped. 

This morning we are off to Booker Lagoon. 

June 15th

We are sitting here having our morning coffee to this view - 

Prideaux Haven

We had a lovely - and very uneventful cruise from Pender Harbour, 53 nautical miles, about 7 hours.   Lilly slept the entire trip, not seasick at all. 

I'm still wondering if bring the cat along was a good idea!! She is a lot of work!  A bit of a hooligan - very curious - and fearless. She has almost fallen in a couple of times and she gets mad if you tell her - NO.  We can keep her contained in the boat quite well when we want. But she knows all the ways she can get out if they are not closed and locked.  She will go to each locked door and porthole and try to get out. And then just gets mad!  It seems half the time she's mad and the other half she walking on the edge of something or climbing into something. 

Here she has climbed INSIDE the crab trap. Seriously? !!!  

And then yesterday --- Jenny decided to jump in the water at the end of her walk on shore with Jim.  Just leapt off a rock.  Jim said she went right under - I guess Jenny misjudged the depth - he couldn't see her and called her - the dog who has never come when she's called - so he leapt in the water after her.  Jenny made it back to shore without assistance and they both came back completely soaked head to toe.  

This trip is going to be an adventure!! 

And we're off!

We have been busy getting the boat to more to how we want it.  New inverter/charger, new batteries and a few other items to upgrade the boat. Plus we replaced the old blue chairs and bought Jim a new Ikea chair. Lots of work with cleaning - replacing windows etc. Jim has been working hard. The boat went up "on the hard" for two weeks in May. 

We went to Calgary for a visit with Jessica and Tim and the kids after the boat went back in the water and then spent two weeks cleaning, packing and finishing up small tasks.  We were having trouble getting the newly installed AIS to transmit properly so that held us up quite a bit. 

I have not posted much on this blog. Although I have done a little bit of a journal on my iPad of previous trips we have done since we bought the boat.  

We are now in to our third summer with Phoenix Hunter.  This summer we plan to head north of Cape Caution and up to the Central Coast - Bella Bella and Shearwater area. 

So I thought I would blog along the way. Add a photo or two and record our adventure of our first "big trip". 

We left home port - June 11th   ( Trites Marina in Steveston ) with a Gale warning forecast for South of Nanimo.  We decided to deploy the Stabilizing poles in case the water was a bit sloppy.  And it was - so we were happy to have the poles down and the "fish" in the water. 

We made good time to Pender Harbour on the Sunshine Coast. We are bringing our cat - Lilly who is 11 months old and new to boating, and our dog Jenny who has been along on this journey since we got the boat.  This year Jenny got a major fur cut - shave - and it has given her a new zest for life. 

As you can see - Lilly is not sure she is impressed with this whole adventure yet!  

We have been in Pender Harbour for a 3 nights. Weather and a small mechanical issue with the skiff has kept us here longer than we had planned. But that's boating for you!  Gave Lilly a chance to recover from a long day at sea and some sea sickness. 

Tomorrow morning we will head out for 2 nights in Prideaux Haven.  We like that anchorage and haven't been there for a couple of years so it will be nice to go back. 

A couple of boat photos from last year.  

I will try to update regularly on this trip but there will be times where there is no 3G and limited wifi at remote marinas.