Port McNeill to Pruth Bay

Phoenix Hunter on the dock in Port Harvey




May 22 to May 26.

Four nights in Port McNeill at North Island Marina.

If you ever find yourself in Port McNeill the best place to be is North Island Marina. The owner - Steve and all the staff are just great and friendly and helpful. We are becoming regulars there and they are always happy to see us and it seems we are always there for at least 3 nights - usually 4. Often waiting for a weather warning to end.

The grocery store and marine store are just a quick walk up the dock. There used to be two groceries stores but Super Valu closed last summer. So grocery shopping is so-so there.

There is also a laundry and a wonderful little Thrift store all within easy walking distance. I always seem to find something to buy at the Thrift store. We usually get a few items from Fields and. Rona and the Bargin store. We either forget stuff or we "need" stuff and by the time we get to Port McNeill we have a list.

Our skiff trouble was quickly solved by Graham. I'm sure we are assisting in his retirement fund! Seems every year we have a little skiff issue that Graham has to fix.

And we got pizza! The pizza oven wasn't running yet in Port Harvey ( another favourite dock ) but we found a very good pizza at the Sportsman Bar and Steakhouse at the top of the dock.

We always seem to meet a few new boaters at North Island Marina.

We met a couple on a sailboat that we're heading north and waiting for the wind to pass. There were two really windy days in Port McNeill - blowing 25 kts in the Marina -- very windy!!

There was a break in the wind on Friday May 26th so we left the dock and motored up to Clam Cove. The couple we met in Port McNeill came up on Saturday - we had a Happy hour on their sailboat.

This little hand painted sign was there in 2015.




There is a little collection of float houses in Clam Cove. We've been here before. It's a nice little spot and an easy staging spot for Cape Caution





We went for a little dingy ride around the Cove




And a walk on shore.




The first part of the path was an old logging road. But as soon as the path ended it was mossy and wet. It was a very difficult walk for me.






Sunday morning we pulled anchor and left Calm Cove at 5 AM. The trip crossing Cape Caution we pretty much uneventful. We had the poles down - ready in case there was some wild wave action but we never put the fish in the water. It got a little foggy around Smiths Inlet and then a little windy as we came up to the Pruth Bay. The wind always blows the fog away!




It was a beautiful sunrise as we were leaving Sunday morning at the crack of dawn. Not often are we underway at this time of day!!

We travel all the way from Clam Cove to Pruth Bay - 57 nautical miles. Something we probably would not have done with Jenny on board. Getting such an early start is difficult when you have a dog to take to shore - a skiff to put on the boat deck and then poles to put down. So all the prep work was done the night before and we just had to pull the anchor in the morning.



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Prideaux Haven and Shoal Bay

The last couple of years we have not stopped in Prideaux Haven - or Shoal Bay. Both spots are on our favourite places list but they can be quite busy in the peak seasons.

Prideaux Haven is so lovely with the "big vistas" - a fellow boater called them. This year we were able to drop our anchor in the one spot in Prideaux Haven that was his favourite place to anchor. Looking up towards Homfrey Channel and the Coast Mountain range.














A bit of a grey day though when we arrived.

The next morning it was a glorious bright blue sky sunny day.














Could it get any better than this??

We pulled up our anchor and headed north through "The Dents".

When we arrived in Shoal Bay around 1:30 pm the dock was empty. The view from the dock is just stunning - straight up Phillips Arm.




That photo is taken from the cockpit of Phoenix Hunter shortly after we tied up.

There was a photography group from Nanaimo staying in the rooms in the pub. So the pub was not yet open. The group of photographers had been out on their boat and had seen some bears in the estuary at the top of Phillips Arm.

We took the skiff down from the boat deck for a little test and ride up to check out Bickley Bay. It looks like a nice anchorage if the weather is good. The skiff ran well.

Later in the early evening we thought we'd take the skiff up Phillips Arm and look for bears. And -- nope - that darn skiff! Didn't start!!! Well. That's why we wanted to check it out before we got too far along. Probably the battery? We were able to get enough power with the pull cord to get the engine into the tilt position for raising back onto the boat deck.

Nothing ever goes 100% smoothly. And this skiff of ours has caused us a few extra days in Port McNeill before.



Shoal Bay dock from the shore.






Not quite as sunny the morning we left.

So after a night in Port Harvey - where we were too early for pizza and cinnamon buns -- we are now in Port McNeill. And it's blowing a gale out there in Queen Charlotte Straight! So we will be here for a couple of nights and we will get the skiff issue sorted before we leave.


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Lovely evening last night.







This morning we left around 9 Am. obviously not have the dog to take to shore in the morning doesn't get us moving any faster!

The weather has been cool but no real wind and no rain. So that is a good thing.

Flat calm seas on the way north around Powell River.







I am trying to sort out photo size. I used to have a "Blogger" app on my iPad but it no longer is supported or working. I don't think Google really wants people to use Blogger any more. They have made the whole process complicated not not very user friendly!!

This app is called "BlogPress". It works fairly well but I'm having difficulty figuring out how to get a decent photo size. So this list is mostly a test.




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Location:Leaving Pender Harbour

May 18, 2017

Here it is -- a new cruising season and I have not quite finished the last cruising season. Terrible!

So a quick update.

We returned from the Central Coast in early August and took our granddaughter Phoenix on a trip into the Gulf islands for a week. That was great fun! Phoenix - from Alberta - had a couple of rough crossings of the Straight if Georgia and was not sea sick once!

We went to Clam Bay - Sydney Spit Marine Park and Montague Harbour.








We really had a great time with Phoenix.

In early September Jim took a couple of friends on a trip in the Gulf Islands.

At the end September Jim and I went to the "Krog In" in Anacortes. We took a couple of extra days and went to Oak Harbour for fuel and then spent a night in La Conner.

Jessica brought Hunter and Jack for a visit in February. So Jim and Eric brought Hunter to the boat for a little trip up the river.















We are planning to go to Haida Gwaii this year. We have registered to go into the Gwaii Haanas park in mid June.

We have decide not to bring Jenny and Lilly this trip. Although we will miss them terribly. Jenny is getting older and had problems with her knee a couple of times. And getting her on and off the boat and skiff is becoming more difficult. We have found an amazing person to dog/cat and house sit for the summer - so we decided it was the perfect opportunity to make a few long crossings and see some places that we've not been able to see as easily with Jenny and the need for good shore access.

We are heading up to Pender Harbour and will take our usual route up through The Dents. Maybe a night at the Shoal Bay dock.



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