Lowe Inlet - Nettle Basin

We left Kumealon quite early in the morning. Jim quickly to Jenny to shore, we set the skiff up to tow and we left before 8 am. 

Grenville Channel was flat calm - like a lake.  The sky was high cloud - no rain. Sun peaking out every so often. It was a lovely site. 

I thought this was a cool shot with the reflection in the still water of Grenville Channel. 

The only down side was we were bucking a strong flood tide and once we entered the narrow section of Grenville we were doing 5 knots or less. It took an hour longer than expected to get the 28 miles to Lowe inlet.  But because we left early we arrived nice and early. 

We wanted to get into Lowe inlet early and look around and see what it looked like and see if there were any bears around. 

In Nettle Basin at the head of Lowe Inlet there is a lovely waterfall - Verney Falls - and that is where the bears were said to hang out when the salmon are trying to jump up the falls and into the river.  But apparently the bears are only there for a short period of time. As soon as salmon start to get past the falls the bears follow the salmon up the river to where they are easier to catch. 

We were not sure what it would be like for anchoring as there were mixed comments about where to anchor and what the holding was like in front of the falls. So if the holding was poor we would just stay for a few hours and have lunch and then go further south to anchor somewhere else. 

Once we arrived at Nettle Basin we were thrilled. It was beautiful. We were the only boat there. We anchored in 35 ft right in front of the falls and then the current from the falls pushed the boat back and set the anchor. And we never moved. The boat didn't even swing around on the anchor. It was a wonderful spot. We decided to stay - of course!  

The view of the falls at high tide from the bow of the boat. 

We took Jenny out on the dingy and explored the site a bit. Took the dingy right into the basin of the falls and watched the salmon jump all around us. Sockeye - says Jim, they were everywhere. No bears though. 

A view of Phoenix Hunter at anchor from our walk along the south shore. 

We spent the night right in front of the Verny waterfalls. Beautiful. 

As the tide goes out the height of the falls increases and the salmon have a harder time jumping up the fall. 

By late afternoon a sailboat and a motor yacht - a big Seline came in and dropped their anchor behind us. 

And then in the early evening seven fishing boats came in and rafted together for the night on two anchors!  

Lucky for us we were the first to arrive and got the best spot!  

We went for an evening walk with Jenny along the north shore where there was an ancient rockfish weir. 

That was quite interesting to see.  This was a pretty low tide and it was easy to see the circle of rocks there on the shore. 

We really liked this spot and will make sure we come back here again. 

A view of the anchorage from the North shore during our evening walk with Jenny.  It's hard to believe there is a waterfall not that far from the front of the boats, just out of the view of this photo. 

Kumealon Inlet

We left Rupert in the pouring rain. It was a bit of an event getting out.  Jim was hoping to get some fuel at the fuel dock right behind us. The price was good.  Coast guard vessel Captain Goddard was still at the fuel dock from the previous night and there were a whole fleet of various fishing boats wanting to fuel up!  They were lined up three deep at the dock. So not only could we not get fuel we had to get out a narrow space with fishing boats cause wake behind us and moving in and out of the fuel dock.  We managed to get away around 9 am. 

It rained hard for the first part of the trip. We were heading down Grenville Channel - "The Inside Passage".   Grenville Channel is a long narrow channel that the BC ferry route and often used by cruise ships.  

A big yacht cruising north in the rain. 

As we traveled south the rain stopped and slowly turned to just a drizzle. The wind was minimal. 

There are not that many spots along the Grenville channel to stop and anchor, but from Prince Rupert to Hartley Bay is about 80 miles so we needed to stop along the route.   

We planned two stops along the route.  Our first stop was Kumealon Inlet, about 35 miles from Rupert. By the time we arrived the rain had stopped and we didn't have to drop the anchor in our wet gear!  Kumealon is a lovely spot!  There used to be a logging camp at the entrance but it has long since gone and the only thing left is a big corrugated equipment shed and a gravel ramp to bring equipment to shore. You couldn't see the equipment shed from the anchorage and the gravel ramp was a perfect spot to take a dingy to shore to walk Jenny. 

We took Jenny to shore and wandered around the equipment shed and area. There were paths and open areas there with deciduous tress. The area did not look like it had been logged for a long time and it was well grown in with trees. 

There were a number of small islands and islets as well as a small lagoon that could possibly be accessed at high tide by dingy.  We did not go into the lagoon. It would be a great place to explore by kayak - maybe one day. 

We did a little exploring by dingy. Took some photos or the interesting little islands and rock formations around the lagoon entrance.  

This anchorage is worth the stop. 

The plan was to leave early the next morning and go to Lowe inlet where there is a waterfall at the head in Nettle Basin and possibly we would see a bear - if we are lucky. 

Prince Rupert

The trip to Prince Rupert was nice. The Gale warning had ended. It wasn't raining too much.  As we were getting close there was a line of pleasure boat leaving Rupert and heading south and a line of fishing boats heading out to fish.  It is a busy port. 

We were able to get moorage at Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club.  Apparently moorage is scarce in PR and we probably got the space because the weather had been holding some boats at the dock for a few days and now that it was nicer boats were able to leave. 

The spaces at the PRRYC are tight!  And the docks have wobbly little fingers between the boats.  We had to make quite the maneuver to get into our assigned slip and it was quite breezy as we were trying to dock. But - we didn't hit anything!  After we docked they said because of the 15 1/2 foot beam they were going to have to move the boat to another slip the next day!!  

We had left a message with former workmate and friend of Jim that we were coming to Rupert.  Steve came down to the dock to see us shortly after we arrived, so we were pleased he had received the message and we were looking forward to visiting with Steve and his wife Marie. We had stayed with Steve and Marie a few years back when we took the ferry from Rupert to Haida Gwaii. 

The first evening we went to a newly established brew pub with Steve for a couple of beer. Very tasty beer. It was a very small pub. Making beer in very small batches ( says Jim )  The brewery is only open as a tasting room for a few hours each week and luckily it was open. 

A selfie of us at Wheel House Brewery in Prince Rupert 

  After the beer Jim and I had a very good dinner at Breakers Pub which is right in front of the marina. 

The next morning we moved the boat - the slips are very tight!  We were now on an outside slip right in front of the fuel dock and nothing in the way of a breakwater.  So we rocked and rolled quite a bit from the wake of boats going to and from the fuel dock.  And the finger we tied up to was very rocky. 

After we moved the boat Jim got to spend the day with Steve fishing for halibut his boat.  No photos!  But they caught two small halibut. 

And I did some laundry and enjoyed lunch and a visit with Marie.   We planned to do all our laundry on the boat to use up the Shearwater water and full up with good Rupert water. 

The area around the marina is called Cow Bay. There are quite a few artsy and interesting shops in the area. There was a time when the plan was to have cruise ships stop at a dock there, Atlin Terminal, but nothing too much came of the cruise ship business.

 That area of Rupert is quite nice though. There is a Mariners Marine Park, and a lovely big old court house set back on a big property of grass and trees.  The last time we were in Rupert I never walked around that area of the city so this time I got to see more of the Cow Bay and downtown area. 

We had a wonderful dinner at Steve and Marie's.  Marie packaged up the halibut with a sauce and mushrooms and peppers and Steve cooked the tin foil packs on the BBQ. Great food and great company. 

On Monday we did all those things we came to do - groceries, trip to Walmart, liquor store, laundry and water. We walked up to the stores just a few blocks away and then took a cab back for $4.50 plus tip. 

It rained hard off and on all day.  Later in the day decided to find the local quilt shop - in the rain ( heavy at times ) !!!  The quilt shop that I found online had long since closed - I should have phoned first. So walking from the boat up 4 blocks past the Safeway in the rain was a waste of time. But I found a store that sold household items and I popped on out of the rain and got a bath mat for the front head - which was on my list. And on talking to the cashier in there found out there was a new quilt shop down the street - back in the direction of the boat. So I found the quilt shop. Looked like a really good one - Fishskins Quilt Shop - Closed Sunday and Monday!  Ah well. Back to the boat.  I spent the rest of the day doing laundry. 

Jim had decided we would get fuel if the fuel dock was not too busy as we were leaving Tuesday morning. Monday evening the large coast guard vessel "Captain Goddard" tied up to the fuel dock for a fill, and it never left. 

Captain Cove

We left Patterson Inlet around 9:30. We left the poles down and put up the skiff. Another day of Gale warnings and rain! 

The trip was pretty good up up Principe Channel and most of Petrel Sound but about 1 pm the winds started to pick up and by the time we got close to Captain Cove it was blowing hard and the waves were 2-3 foot chop at least.  Fortunately when we turned into the cove the winds and the sea settled down quite nicely.  We were able to drop the anchor into a 6-8 knot wind and it wasn't pouring rain - yet!  As soon as the anchor was down the wind picked up blowing as hard as 20! And it poured rain off and all all evening.  The rain would stop for a few minutes and then an absolute deluge for a few minutes. Wet gear anytime we had to be outside. 

Jim took Jenny to shore and put the crab pot down. Then he put the poles up. We won't have them down going into a harbour in Prince Rupert. 

We had to crack the various windows to let some of the moisture out of the boat. One of the pilot house portholes was cracked a bit - although I have little bungees around so a cat can't get out!  I don't know if this is how she got out but she got out somehow and I think it was a little more open than I usually crack it. 

We were in the salon and I heard a plaintive little meow. Hmm sounded like a - Can you help me Meow! We try to keep track of her all the time. We are always saying - where is the cat?  So we started looking - again a little meow. It sounds like she's outside. Sure enough - she is on the flybridge in the prawn pots - not right in the rain as it is partially undercover but it's not too pleasant up there - pretty windy and damp. That Darn Cat -- FC!   

I looked around and I think the pilothouse porthole is how she got out. The porthole over the stove was partially open but it was raining quite hard and the deck was very wet so I don't think she went from the galley to the foredeck to the flybridge. She has done that move before but it requires her balance on a narrow wire railing and then to jump on a very narrow wood railing and then to the boat deck. So I think it was too wet and windy for that move!  Between Lilly and Jenny we are constantly managing pets!  Keeps the trip interesting I guess. 

This is a photo of Lilly from a previous time of her going up through the pilot house portholes and sleeping on the prawn pots. 

After dinner Jim took Jenny to the shore and then picked up the crab pot - in the pouring rain as usual. 

We got two crab but we decide we didn't want to be cooking and cleaning crab at 9 o'clock at night so we let them go. 

There was an interesting arrangement of a couple of long logs on the shore on one of the little islets in Captain Cove. 

The rain would stop for short periods and there was this light coming from the distance shingling between two small islets. 

Lilly still doesn't understand - NOT ON THE COUNTER! 

Patterson Inlet

So we left McMicking  about 9 am in a "Gale force wind warning in effect for Hecate Straight". We put the poles down and the skiff up. If was grey and drizzly and windy with gust of 20 knots as we were pulling up the skiff. The wind was supposed to be blowing south south west. Since we were going pretty much due north we figured we would have the wind on our stern most of the trip and that wouldn't be as bad. 

It was good we had the poles down. There was a time when we had a bit more of a beam sea and it was CVR. Poor Lilly.   It was a bit chilly as well.  

It is amazing how quickly she recovers!  Within a few minutes of the anchor dropping she is back to her usual self - if not a little more so after sleeping half the day away! 

As we got closer to Patterson Inlet the wind got stronger and it started raining hard. There are two little coves at the end of the inlet - the south cove is a little deeper. We anchored in the north cove in about 40 feet of water. It was raining hard and gusting up to 23 or so when we put out the anchor. With the wind blowing all around - it didn't seem to be coming for any one particular direction we ended up bringing up the anchor and repositioning the boat a little deeper into the cove.  The wind gusted upwards of 32 at one point. It was the strangest wind as it seemed to come in from the northwest and swirl around the cove. Even though the wind was blowing from the southwest every where else. Fortunately it did eventually settle down a bit later in the evening.  But the rain was heavy at times all night. 

Jim and Jenny going to shore in Patterson Inlet 

The shore for dog walks was poor - it was a C. Bears had been there from what Jim could tell. Jenny was quite interested in sniffing around the beach. 

We set up the rubber tubing to catch rain water and with in two hours of our arrival we had 3 four gallon pails of water almost full to the top!  We have decided to wash some of the dirty and smelly dog and cat towels. 

We collected a lot of water. Washed and rinsed the washer full of dirty dog and cat towels. We ran the generator to wash and dry the towels. Nice to have dry pet towels. They were soaked and salty so with the damp weather they were just wet and sticky. 

We had a curry soup/stew for dinner from a mix that we bought in Calgary at the lilac festival in August. It was pretty good. We put a piece of Red Snapper in the curry. 

Jim was plotting out our next stop along the way - Captain Cove - for crab. And he realized once we were there we were only 36 or so miles from Prince Rupert. One more day of travel. So we decided we would go to Prince Rupert. Get some groceries and water and 3G and maybe a meal in a pub. Sounded like a good idea to me!  

McMicking Inlet

We had  quite the eventful morning on our journey to McMicking Inlet. It seemed a bunch of little issues popped up all along the trip. 

First we decided that the weather was pretty benign and we not use the stabilizing poles. We had left them down all night while at anchor. But we needed to put one up to put up the skiff. So Jim put up both the poles and we put up the skiff. The anchor came up without any problem, but it was really hard to get the mud off -'it took quite a bit of work to get the mud off. 

Then as we were leaving the anchorage I was watching on the bow and Jim was following the chart -'as it turned out the chart is a bit out of date and didn't have a reef marked. I was watching and all of a sudden we were very close to the reef and in very shallow.  I yelled - he quickly backed up as he saw the depth sounder go very shallow. All was well - part of the reason I was watching from the bow we knew this inlet had not been charted for a long time and the chart was not too accurate. 

The weather was rainy and misty a bit of a mizzle. The seas were pretty calm for the first hour and a bit and then we got a low rolling swell that hit us on the beam and then poor Lilly barfed.  Our new term for rolling seas - CVR - Cat Vomit Rollie. Poor thing. 

And then as we were going along I saw something that looked like a small orca swimming right around the boat. Jim quickly slowed the boat and the engine stalled.  Jim was able to restart the engine and we idled for a bit. Jim thought they were Dolls Porpoises or maybe False Killer Whales. They had the markings of an Orca but they were smaller. They were swimming right around and under the boat quite quickly so it was hard to get a good look at them. 

The weather was heavy overcast and at times visibility was quite poor but it wasn't foggy.  The entry into McMicking is reported to be quite tricky. The Douglass book says " McMicking Inlet, a special place for boaters up to a navigational challenge". Hmm. I wasn't sure if we were!  But the chart for the inlet was accurate and in the end it was not as difficult as we anticipated. 

McMicking Inlet on Campania Island is a special place. Beautiful old growth cedars and spruce and hemlock, a number of white sandy beaches, Mount Pender as a backdrop. 

    

We anchored up at the far end just out of reach of a large drying rock. It was an okay spot to anchor.  There was a small cove on the east side that was a little more protected but there was 2 other boats in there already so we anchored at the end instead.  And it was fine - but not a place to be in a strong south wind. 

We spent two nights there. The weather was overcast with sunny breaks. No rain.  We decide to set up the hose system to the rain gutters on the boat to collect rain water so that's why there was no rain! 

We walked on the beaches. There are four or five small separate sandy beaches around the entrance to the inlet. We saw what looked like wolf prints on one of the beaches. 

Jenny was so happy to be back on a sandy beach again running around like a puppy!  The sand was very soft and we sunk quite deep into it as we walked. 

Jim put down the crab pots to try to get some King Crabs but came up empty. He did catch some rock fish. 

We saw a deer and her fawn swim from one shore to the other right in front of the boat. 

The second night we enjoyed a Happy Hour on Lolani - a  54 ft Nordharvn Motor Sailer with Ian and Barb and there friend Jan who was on a Nordhavrn 40'.  

The weather forecast was for Gale force winds for the next (Thursday) afternoon. We were planning to leave in the morning. It is very difficult to hear the weather forecast in some of these enclosed inlets and bays so we have been getting the kids to send us the reports on the Delorme. 

Jim has decided that is his favourite tree he's ever seen. 

We definitely enjoyed McMicking and want to return one day. 

 

Chapple Inlet

Our next stop on our way to Campania Island was Chapple Inlet. 

The weather is starting to get rainy and grey and then a drizzle/mist.  We have been enjoying such lovely sunshine for the most part up until now. 

We put the stabilizing poles down as there were be a bit of open ocean and possibly wind and swell.  It was a good idea. There was a fair amount of swell at different times.  The trip was about 34 knts. And it was nice to have the poles down. We put the skiff up so it wouldn't be bouncing around. 

The stabilizing poles down with the metal "fish" in the water. 

Chapple inlet had quite the long entry and a bit tricky with some reefs and shallow water. We were able to navigate into the head of the inlet without too much trouble and the tide was fairly high so that helped. 

There was a sailboat and another KK42 already anchored up. The KK42 was called "Abductor". It looked well loved and well used!  

There were a couple of grassy spots to take Jenny to shore. Jim and I put the skiff down and then went for a little skiff ride with Jenny to explore. We got Jenny to shore  - she wandered about in the grass - 15-20 mins - No Pee!  She can be frustrating. 

So we left that spot and did a little further exploring. Apparently Kermode bears have been seen here - near the top of the Inlet where there are a couple little streams. We did not see any bears. 

We were able to get to shore again by the little streams. There was a grassy area with a pebble bottom that seemed to have a built up semi circle of rocks about 4 feet below high tide to enclose the area closer to shore. Jim thought it was a fish weir or a clam garden. It certainly looked like it was man made. Jenny got to go for another romp about and had a pee this time. 

We stayed only one night and it rained off and on all night long. It would briefly clear - and then just as you thought it was going to stop raining and went to do something without the wet gear - it would pour!  I got soaked putting down the anchor.  I wore the jacket but decided it wasn't raining and I didn't need the pants and in the middle of everything it poured and I got drenched. We turned the generator on in the evening to have a bit of hot water and run the dryer to dry some of our very wet clothes. 

We enjoyed some red snapper for dinner and Jim had a little chat with the fellow in the other KK42.  

I didn't take a lot of photos of Chapple Inlet. It was just too wet to use the camera outside.  

So Lilly would like to share her favourite inside spots to hang out. 

Jim's chair is her favourite spot - sometimes she lounges on the seat - 

Mostly she likes to lounge on the top. 

The chair in the pilot house is great for lounging as well. 

Jenny wants to know - Why did we bring a cat?? 

The plan is to go to McMicking Inlet on Campania Island tomorrow. 

Princess Royal Island and Bay of Plenty

We had a very pleasant trip to Bay of Plenty.  We had to travel through a couple of scenic passages - Meyer Passage between Swindle Island and Princess Royal Island and Thistle Passage and then up Larendo Inlet.  Princess Royal Island is a huge Island. It's known as the Great Bear Rainforest. 

It has not been very rainy here right now. We are happy to enjoy the sunshine and the warm - almost hot days. But it is very dry here. The central coast needs some rain. 

We were able to talk to another boat coming down and they had just been in Bay of Plenty. They said there trip was flat calm and there were lots of crab in BOP. We were excited!  Maybe there was hope for us to get some crab!

The Bay is quite the large anchorage with a very long mud flat at the top of the bay. We anchored in about 35 ft and very close to the mudflat. So when the tide was out there was a dry spot not far from the boat.  

A view from the skiff towards the anchorage. We were exploring the long mud flat at high tide. 

We were the only boat in there the first night. The next night a couple on a sailboat came and anchored for two nights. We were I visited for a drink and a visit on the sailboat. They were Bob and Lois that owned the Desolation Sound Charter when we chartered the boats from there.  We had a nice visit. Learned a bit about going to Alaska. Seems like it would be a good trip.  

The bay had a couple of spots that were low and grassy and easy access to take Jenny to shore. Jim rated this spot as a B. 

The one spot that Jim used to take Jenny had a lot of grass and a small creek that flowed with fresh water as well as the sea water would come up into the creek on high tide. 

It also had a Watchman standing guard on the shore 

Jenny really enjoyed the time on shore, lying in the little creek and rolling in the grass. 

Rolling in the grass!  She really liked this beach!  Every time she went to shore she would lie in the creek and roll in the grass. 

Jim  put the crab pots in the water and we got a total of 9 crabs - 8 of which we ate. Three meals of crab. The first night we had four crabs we ate all 4!  We just ate them boiled with butter and garlic and had a few carrots on the side. Jim made a crab curry one night and I made crab and potato cakes another night. 

Jenny and Lilly inspecting the crab pot. 

Look - finally crab!! Yay. 

We had hummingbirds coming to the boat in Bay of Plenty 

The weather was beautiful while we were there although it was quite windy at times. Some evenings blowing close to 20 knots. The forecast for Gale warning in the Central Cast kept us at anchor for the 4 nights. Although we should have left after 3 nights. It was much less windy on the last night. But the extra day did get Jim a great big Red snapper!  So that was worth another day I guess. 

The morning we were ready to leave the wind was a bit down but it was pouring rain!  Rain - heavy at times!  We needed the full wet gear to put the skiff up and pull the anchor. The anchor was just heaped with mud, the most mud I've ever seen on it. Jim put the poles in the water. There is a little bit of open ocean area we will be going through as we go north so we decided to use the poles. There are no other boats around!  

The coast guard is busy today trying to help a sailboat that has been stuck in Safety Cove on Calvert Island for the past 3-4 days with a broken fuel pump. They are looking for a tow to Port Hardy. The weather has been a bit windy up here and probably not many boaters going around the Cape at this time. 

We are on our way to Chapple Inlet.