This is where we are going.
This is where we came from.
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Saturday, June 17, 2017
No Rain today.
We are on our way south. We will lose cell soon but I thought I'd post a couple of photos before we lost it.
This is where we are going.
This is where we came from.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
This is where we are going.
This is where we came from.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, June 16, 2017
The Big Leap
We made it!
Here is a map from the book " North Coast of British Columbia"
By Don Douglass and Réanne Hemingway Douglass.
If you start at the bottom of the map around #5 you see Shearwater and Bella Bella. Working north to Klemtu.
We then head north through Laredo Sound and Channel - see #7. That is the east side of Aristazabal Island.
There is an area of open water ( Caamano Sound ) between Aristazabal and Campania that was really rolling and wavy!! We put out the fish - but that's where we waited a little too long and it was quite the roll happening with Jim on the side decks!
North through Estevan Sound - the west side of Campania Island. Then we anchored at Weinberg Inlet.
North through Principe Channel - the east side of Banks Island.
Just north of Banks Island in the Browning Entrance area there is a group of islands called the Spicer Island Group. And we anchored up in there for 3 nights waiting for the right winds and tides to cross Hecate Strait.
It is 75 nautical miles from the Spicer islands to Sandpit Marina in Haida Gwaii. It is a big area of open water that can have high waves -- 3-4 metres with strong winds. The goal is to cross with very little wind or waves!
While we were waiting in Spicer there were wind warnings for two of the nights but on the third day the wind came down and we took the boat out for a little motor up to see the village of Kitkatla on Porcher Island.
After our little drive around Kitkatla Inlet we decide we would move to an anchorage at the top of Banks Island. It would be a little closer and cut off about 10 miles of travel the next morning.
Well - that was quite the event! As we headed out into Browning Entrance the rolling swell and waves kept getting worse and worse and bigger and bigger -- as Coast Guard radio will report -- "waves can sometimes be twice forecast values" it was only going to take an hour to get to the anchorage. As we were being tossed about. Items were falling on the floor - rolling around the decks and we were obviously not expecting that kind of wave action!!
We turned around and went back to Spicer Island group!
We had a lovely evening - the sun came out!
Jim pretended to fish from the big boat!
We were anchored up close to these rocks.
Jim has named them Bra Rocks!
Monday morning we were up at 3:20 AM and set out. It was a 10 hour trip from start to finish
The seas were pretty much flat. A little swell for the first couple of hours and we put the fish in the water and then Jim pulled them out around 9:30 AM.
Hecate Strait. We are stopped and Jim is getting ready to pull the poles.
Sandspit Marina. Which is on Morseby Island and Skidegate and Queen Charlotte City is on Graham Island. So a ferry ride is needed to get to the main commercial area.
We have been here for 4 nights. We rented a car and drove to Queen Charlotte City and Skidegate for shopping and a visit to the museum. And yesterday we drove to Masset. It has been raining -- heavy at times yesterday! And windy! We are expecting better conditions tomorrow and we will be heading south to Morseby Camp and then into the Gwaii Haanas Park
We will not have cell service for a while after that.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Here is a map from the book " North Coast of British Columbia"
By Don Douglass and Réanne Hemingway Douglass.
If you start at the bottom of the map around #5 you see Shearwater and Bella Bella. Working north to Klemtu.
We then head north through Laredo Sound and Channel - see #7. That is the east side of Aristazabal Island.
There is an area of open water ( Caamano Sound ) between Aristazabal and Campania that was really rolling and wavy!! We put out the fish - but that's where we waited a little too long and it was quite the roll happening with Jim on the side decks!
North through Estevan Sound - the west side of Campania Island. Then we anchored at Weinberg Inlet.
North through Principe Channel - the east side of Banks Island.
Just north of Banks Island in the Browning Entrance area there is a group of islands called the Spicer Island Group. And we anchored up in there for 3 nights waiting for the right winds and tides to cross Hecate Strait.
It is 75 nautical miles from the Spicer islands to Sandpit Marina in Haida Gwaii. It is a big area of open water that can have high waves -- 3-4 metres with strong winds. The goal is to cross with very little wind or waves!
While we were waiting in Spicer there were wind warnings for two of the nights but on the third day the wind came down and we took the boat out for a little motor up to see the village of Kitkatla on Porcher Island.
After our little drive around Kitkatla Inlet we decide we would move to an anchorage at the top of Banks Island. It would be a little closer and cut off about 10 miles of travel the next morning.
Well - that was quite the event! As we headed out into Browning Entrance the rolling swell and waves kept getting worse and worse and bigger and bigger -- as Coast Guard radio will report -- "waves can sometimes be twice forecast values" it was only going to take an hour to get to the anchorage. As we were being tossed about. Items were falling on the floor - rolling around the decks and we were obviously not expecting that kind of wave action!!
We turned around and went back to Spicer Island group!
We had a lovely evening - the sun came out!
Jim pretended to fish from the big boat!
We were anchored up close to these rocks.
Jim has named them Bra Rocks!
Monday morning we were up at 3:20 AM and set out. It was a 10 hour trip from start to finish
The seas were pretty much flat. A little swell for the first couple of hours and we put the fish in the water and then Jim pulled them out around 9:30 AM.
Hecate Strait. We are stopped and Jim is getting ready to pull the poles.
Sandspit Marina. Which is on Morseby Island and Skidegate and Queen Charlotte City is on Graham Island. So a ferry ride is needed to get to the main commercial area.
We have been here for 4 nights. We rented a car and drove to Queen Charlotte City and Skidegate for shopping and a visit to the museum. And yesterday we drove to Masset. It has been raining -- heavy at times yesterday! And windy! We are expecting better conditions tomorrow and we will be heading south to Morseby Camp and then into the Gwaii Haanas Park
We will not have cell service for a while after that.
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Tuesday, June 13, 2017
The "Fish"
The north coast has been experiencing some mighty South East gale force winds this June. Usually the wind is from the North west. The gale force winds have prevented boaters from getting around the area. Not much fun going out in a gale!
We were able to travel around some of the inside passages and then hang out in an anchorage for a day or two.
We experience some pretty nasty swells when we left Chappel Inlet heading to Weinberg Inlet.
We had the poles out and the fish ready to put in the water. The reason we hold off putting the fish in the water is because it slows the boat down by 1/2 knot. So when you're only travelling 7.5 knots - you hate to lose that 1/2 knot. Plus - once they are out - they are pretty much out for the rest of the trip because pulling them back in later requires going on the top boat deck and pulling in the poles on a boat bobbing around in the ocean. And a wife wondering how to manage a man overboard situation!
Then the decision - when are we ready to put the fish out. It seems that the swell and waves are -- okay - this is okay - nah we think we are still good - to then all of a sudden -- Holy Smokes! But usually said with different words. And then putting the fish in the water becomes kinda risky - in the big waves Jim has to go out on the side decks and take them out of their holders - toss them in the water and hope they don't get caught in a wave and bounce around back toward the boat! Not likely that would ever happen thankfully.
And sometimes it's best to just turn around and go back from whence you came.
Some photos of Jim pulling in the fish.
First he has to go on the top deck and bring the poles a little closer to the boat.
Then down to the side decks and catch the chain with the pike pole.
Pull up the fish.
Put them in the holder on the side deck
Back to the boat deck to secure lines and finish pulling in the poles.
When he is doing this the boat is out of gear and I am watching very carefully.
I think we will be using them a lot this year!
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Monday, June 12, 2017
June 6 -7 Chappel Inlet
We left Clothes Bay and travelled our usual route through Myers Passage. We had the poles down and ready so as soon as we got close to the end of Myers we put the Fish in the water ready for the big swells of Laredo Sound. The swells were not too bad but it was nice to have the stability from the "fish".
As we were motoring along we came to a rise of rocks in the water that Jim thought would be a good fishing spot. So we stopped the boat and float around while Jim caught three rockfish. Three casts of the fishing rod and three fish - a quick stop. One very large black rockfish and a couple of small ones - that were not black rockfish.
I was a little nervous about the whole thing. But we used the new headsets we bought for communicating when docking so when he was in the stern and I watched up in the helm and we could talk easily. It worked. And we had fish for dinner. Much easier than going out in the little skiff.
As we were motoring into Chappel Inlet there was a prawn boat working away in there. Jim decided that he would drop the prawn pots from the big boat on the way into the inner anchorage. Quite easy to pop them into the water from the back deck.
We have been experiencing a lot of rain and mostly we seem to have to be all dressed up in our wet gear to put down the anchor.
No exception in Chappel - full wet gear to drop the anchor.
But the next day we had a completely dry day.
A lovely morning in Chappel Inlet.
Jim took the skiff out and pulled the prawn pots that he put down the day before. We got 14 prawns in two pots. He put them back down and also put down a crab.
He was gone for quite a while. And I was back at the big boat thinking about what I would do if he fell out of the little skiff while pulling up pots. How long would I wait before I called the Coast guard? He had a radio and his life vest but if the radio was lost...... he wasn't answering the radio when I called ......turns out he was chatting away with the prawn fisherman! We had a bit of a discussion about the need for a better plan than no plan.
Later in the afternoon we took a little skiff ride around the area and went into Emily Carr Cove. A spot that is supposed to have a nice anchorage. It's nice to be able to look around the small anchorages by skiff before going in with the big boat. We have a depth sounder on the skiff and can look around at what space there is for swing room for the big boat and shore for Jenny - future reference. There is one nice little spot in there and we may go there with Phoenix Hunter next time.
The anchorage in Emily Carr Cove that we liked. Spot to take Jenny to shore.
A small creek runs into Chappel Inlet
A small islet close to where Phoenix Hunter is anchored.
There are quite a few little nooks around Chappel for a skiff ride.
That evening we put the skiff up on the boat deck - put the poles back out for the next day's travel and had a lovely dry evening and evening enjoyed our evening dinner of Panko breaded rockfish in the cockpit.
The next morning it was raining when we were ready to pull the anchor -of course! Full wet gear needed. And then the plan was to use the big boat and the windlass with the anchor chain removed to pull the prawn pots and the crab pot as we were leaving the Inlet.
It was a good news - bad news situation.
Good news - pulling the prawn pots with the windlass worked great! I was able to catch them with the pike pole just like hooking on to a mooring bouy and we could bring them toward the bow of the boat. Jim wrapped the line a couple of wraps around the non chain side of the windlass and up came the pots with very little effort.
Bad new - two pots -- one prawn! ONE!! - we threw it back.
The crab pot was in a different spot - a little closer to shore and not so deep. So we ended up just pulling that from the side of the boat. No crab - not even a nibble on the bait. Jim was hoping for a King crab and had baited the trap for them.
All in all though it was a good thing to try the windlass for pulling the pots. Much easier to drop the prawn pots as we enter a spot - they are set in 200-300 feet - and then pull them up with the big boat as we leave. Crab pots are usually set in 30-70 feet and not as difficult to pull.
We spent two nights in Chappel and left the morning of June 8th for Weinberg Inlet on the west side of Campania Island.
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As we were motoring along we came to a rise of rocks in the water that Jim thought would be a good fishing spot. So we stopped the boat and float around while Jim caught three rockfish. Three casts of the fishing rod and three fish - a quick stop. One very large black rockfish and a couple of small ones - that were not black rockfish.
I was a little nervous about the whole thing. But we used the new headsets we bought for communicating when docking so when he was in the stern and I watched up in the helm and we could talk easily. It worked. And we had fish for dinner. Much easier than going out in the little skiff.
As we were motoring into Chappel Inlet there was a prawn boat working away in there. Jim decided that he would drop the prawn pots from the big boat on the way into the inner anchorage. Quite easy to pop them into the water from the back deck.
We have been experiencing a lot of rain and mostly we seem to have to be all dressed up in our wet gear to put down the anchor.
No exception in Chappel - full wet gear to drop the anchor.
But the next day we had a completely dry day.
A lovely morning in Chappel Inlet.
Jim took the skiff out and pulled the prawn pots that he put down the day before. We got 14 prawns in two pots. He put them back down and also put down a crab.
He was gone for quite a while. And I was back at the big boat thinking about what I would do if he fell out of the little skiff while pulling up pots. How long would I wait before I called the Coast guard? He had a radio and his life vest but if the radio was lost...... he wasn't answering the radio when I called ......turns out he was chatting away with the prawn fisherman! We had a bit of a discussion about the need for a better plan than no plan.
Later in the afternoon we took a little skiff ride around the area and went into Emily Carr Cove. A spot that is supposed to have a nice anchorage. It's nice to be able to look around the small anchorages by skiff before going in with the big boat. We have a depth sounder on the skiff and can look around at what space there is for swing room for the big boat and shore for Jenny - future reference. There is one nice little spot in there and we may go there with Phoenix Hunter next time.
The anchorage in Emily Carr Cove that we liked. Spot to take Jenny to shore.
A small creek runs into Chappel Inlet
A small islet close to where Phoenix Hunter is anchored.
There are quite a few little nooks around Chappel for a skiff ride.
That evening we put the skiff up on the boat deck - put the poles back out for the next day's travel and had a lovely dry evening and evening enjoyed our evening dinner of Panko breaded rockfish in the cockpit.
The next morning it was raining when we were ready to pull the anchor -of course! Full wet gear needed. And then the plan was to use the big boat and the windlass with the anchor chain removed to pull the prawn pots and the crab pot as we were leaving the Inlet.
It was a good news - bad news situation.
Good news - pulling the prawn pots with the windlass worked great! I was able to catch them with the pike pole just like hooking on to a mooring bouy and we could bring them toward the bow of the boat. Jim wrapped the line a couple of wraps around the non chain side of the windlass and up came the pots with very little effort.
Bad new - two pots -- one prawn! ONE!! - we threw it back.
The crab pot was in a different spot - a little closer to shore and not so deep. So we ended up just pulling that from the side of the boat. No crab - not even a nibble on the bait. Jim was hoping for a King crab and had baited the trap for them.
All in all though it was a good thing to try the windlass for pulling the pots. Much easier to drop the prawn pots as we enter a spot - they are set in 200-300 feet - and then pull them up with the big boat as we leave. Crab pots are usually set in 30-70 feet and not as difficult to pull.
We spent two nights in Chappel and left the morning of June 8th for Weinberg Inlet on the west side of Campania Island.
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Location:June 6 - 7 Chappel Inlet
Monday, June 5, 2017
A New Route
Today we traveled from Shearwater to Klemtu.
We traveled this route a number of times now. We leave Shearwater - go out into Seaforth Channel -- around past Ivory Island lighthouse and into Millbank Sound. It is usually pretty rollie --- CVR ( cat vomit rollie ) We need to put the poles down rollie! Not always comfortable rollie with big swells.
But today we decided to try a different route.
Through Reid Passage - Perceval Narrows -- Mathieson Channel and then through Jackson Passage.
There were a couple of little tight spots. And a little bit of Rapids. But it was scenic and calm and very pretty. And in the end on 2 miles longer. I think this is our new route.
Reid Passage has lots of little rocks and Reefs at the entry as you can see on the chart.
Before entering Reid Passage we found Seaforth Channel was starting to get lots of big swells.
Seaforth Channel is where that barge ran aground last year and was leaking oil for days and days.
There was a couple of tugs towing a fishing lodge and some docks along heading to Saint John's Harbour for the fishing season
That was interesting to see.
We arrived at Clothes Bay about 3:30 - we are the only boat in here. It's not a bad anchorage and we get cell service from Klemtu which is a bonus up here.
Next stop is Chappel Inlet and we has the poles down and ready -- because Laredo Sound is often worse that Millbank Sound! And the prawn pots ready to drop in Chappel Inlet. Wish us luck!
We traveled this route a number of times now. We leave Shearwater - go out into Seaforth Channel -- around past Ivory Island lighthouse and into Millbank Sound. It is usually pretty rollie --- CVR ( cat vomit rollie ) We need to put the poles down rollie! Not always comfortable rollie with big swells.
But today we decided to try a different route.
Through Reid Passage - Perceval Narrows -- Mathieson Channel and then through Jackson Passage.
There were a couple of little tight spots. And a little bit of Rapids. But it was scenic and calm and very pretty. And in the end on 2 miles longer. I think this is our new route.
Reid Passage has lots of little rocks and Reefs at the entry as you can see on the chart.
Before entering Reid Passage we found Seaforth Channel was starting to get lots of big swells.
Seaforth Channel is where that barge ran aground last year and was leaking oil for days and days.
There was a couple of tugs towing a fishing lodge and some docks along heading to Saint John's Harbour for the fishing season
That was interesting to see.
We arrived at Clothes Bay about 3:30 - we are the only boat in here. It's not a bad anchorage and we get cell service from Klemtu which is a bonus up here.
Next stop is Chappel Inlet and we has the poles down and ready -- because Laredo Sound is often worse that Millbank Sound! And the prawn pots ready to drop in Chappel Inlet. Wish us luck!
Ocean Falls
First a note about prawns. There was reason we did not get any prawns in Codville Lagoon -- even though there were lots of prawns in there. Jim did not set our pots near the commercial pots -- the commercial fishermen lay big long strings of pots and you don't want to get tangled up in their gear.
The reason the other two boats got lots of prawns is because they put their puts very near ( and on top ) of the commercial gear - and they needed to call the prawn fisherman and get help with untangling their gear. So - although we didn't get prawns we also didn't get tangled!
A downloaded a few photos from the camera from Ocean Falls. I thought I'd post them today.
A few photos from the Ocean Falls Marina during a brief interlude in the rain.
The coast Guard ship - Captain Godard came and anchored up for a night.
I didn't get out much in Ocean Falls. It was raining the entire time we were there. And cold - it was 7-8 degrees Celsius.
I discovered that in the cold and the wet this year my foot -- my mankle - as my sister calls it - has really felt the cold. It's almost as if the actual metal bits in my foot are colder on the inside of my foot. It was strange. I could feel the screws and plate in my foot freezing inside. And then my foot would get stiff and painful. So I didn't really walk anyway this year in Ocean Falls. Hopefully the weather warms up soon.
We are now in Klemtu. We will have 3G until tomorrow morning and then we will be without any cell service until we get to Haida Gwaii - Queen Charlotte City and Sandspit area.
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The reason the other two boats got lots of prawns is because they put their puts very near ( and on top ) of the commercial gear - and they needed to call the prawn fisherman and get help with untangling their gear. So - although we didn't get prawns we also didn't get tangled!
A downloaded a few photos from the camera from Ocean Falls. I thought I'd post them today.
A few photos from the Ocean Falls Marina during a brief interlude in the rain.
The coast Guard ship - Captain Godard came and anchored up for a night.
I didn't get out much in Ocean Falls. It was raining the entire time we were there. And cold - it was 7-8 degrees Celsius.
I discovered that in the cold and the wet this year my foot -- my mankle - as my sister calls it - has really felt the cold. It's almost as if the actual metal bits in my foot are colder on the inside of my foot. It was strange. I could feel the screws and plate in my foot freezing inside. And then my foot would get stiff and painful. So I didn't really walk anyway this year in Ocean Falls. Hopefully the weather warms up soon.
We are now in Klemtu. We will have 3G until tomorrow morning and then we will be without any cell service until we get to Haida Gwaii - Queen Charlotte City and Sandspit area.
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Sunday, June 4, 2017
Rain - Heavy at Times.
Hakai Pass was flat calm when we left Pruth Bay. Often in the past it's been very windy and wavy through there. And no sports fishing boats in the pass either. We are too early for the salmon season.
Our plan is to go to spend a couple of nights in Codville Lagoon and get some prawns have a birthday dinner for me!
As soon as we got into Codville Lagoon we discover there were a bunch of commercial prawn pots about - so Jim muttered a few choice words that meant - we might not be getting prawns!
We were the only boat in the anchorage and we were quite successful in setting the anchor right where we wanted it.
Jim got busy and we got the two prawn pots down from the boat deck and started setting them up to drop them in the main part of the Lagoon - in 200 feet of water or so. The boat is anchored in about 45 feet of water.
As he was preparing the two pots he'd had them both sitting on the swim step. As I was watching - one of the pots just ever so gently tipped off the swim step and started to fall into the water -- Jim - Jim!! I yelled. And he looked up and reached out to try to catch it as it slipped just out of reach - gently sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Well that sucked! In the end he did have another pot - an old one that was needing work but useable. So after quite a bit of fiddling he got the two down and then we hoped for prawns for my birthday dinner. We did have a Plan B though -- pasta.
So --- we had pasta.
Although we did get 6 small Humpback shrimp. Not a single Prawn.
Jim left the pots down for overnight and he pulled them again in the morning and we got a few more Humpback shrimp.
Our entire catch of Humpback shrimp from Codville.
Jim decide he would make us an "Amuse-bouche" with them.
There weren't many but they were tasty! Just what we needed.
We decided we didn't need to spend two nights in Codville Lagoon and we headed to Shearwater for some 3G and a dinner in the pub.
We arrived in Shearwater on May 31st. Today is June 4th. It has not stopped raining!
We spend two nights at anchor, the second night we had pizza in the pub.
Although in amongst all the rain there was a lovely rainbow.
The second night it was blowing 35 knots most of the night. What a racket that is! We were just hanging on the anchor. The Rocna Anchor has never failed us! Best anchor EVER!
We left on the morning of June 2nd -- blowing 25-30 knots as we are trying to put the skiff up and pull the anchor between wind gusts.
We motored up through Gunboat Passage and blowing 27 knots in Fisher Channel -- to Ocean Falls.
We spent two nights in Ocean Falls. We did a bunch of laundry, got some crab, got some water.
We met some boaters that had a great catch of prawns from Codville Lagoon, and they gave us prawns. I think they felt sorry for us - every time they talked to us they gave us a bag of prawns!
Today we motored back to Shearwater to spend the night and start the voyage north toward the top of Banks Island - where we will position ourselves to cross Hecate Straight.
And it has not stopped raining!! And it's cold. And wet.
Did I mention it has rained non stop since May 31st? And it's cold!!
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Thursday, June 1, 2017
Pictures or it didn't happen
We stayed two nights in Pruth Bay. The anchorage was empty when we arrived although there was one boat motoring in just before us.
We were so excited to drop anchor as close as we could to the dock. We discovered we were not close enough when two sailboats came in and anchored right in front of us -- much closer! Sometimes we miss the mark a little! We need to be more assertive!
We decide if they left the next morning we were moving up to where they had set.
One of the benefits of being close to the dock is there is free wifi that is available for the boaters from the Hakai Institute and the closer you get to the dock the better the connection.
It's so generous of the institute to give us wifi - 300mb a day. You can go to shore in the dingy and sit at the tables and chairs that are provided and check email - send a few iMessages and fight off the black flies. I was bit pretty bad the first day there.
The wifi has a pretty strong connection and it can be received a short distance out in the anchorage. So if you can get a spot close enough you can check email and send iMessages from the comfort of your own boat away from all the nasty biting black flies!!
The next morning both sailboats left and we hauled anchor and moved in -- nice and close -- success - wifi in the comfort of our salon!! For some reason Jim's iPad seems to pick up the signal a bit better then mine iPad.
We enjoyed a couple of nice walks on the beach. Beach walking is not quite the same without Jenny! We miss them both - although it's hard to say who we miss the most!
In the afternoon Jim went out in the skiff to do a bit of fishing. Soon after he left he excitedly called on the radio that he had just hooked -- but lost a Halibut -- 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. He was pretty thrilled he'd finally caught a halibut. I said - you know that old saying -- Pictures or it didn't happen! Haha. Anyway it sounds like there is hope for halibut one day! And what would we have done with a 50 lbs halibut!! We only need a small one.
We met a couple on a Catamaran who were heading to Alaska. They had travelled all over the world in the Cat for 4 years and home schooled their daughters while traveling. Such interesting adventures and stories from boaters.
On one of our walks Jim found a bug on the beach that he was busy taking photos of when some people came over - the 30 something man said -- "oh ewww" and Jim said " not Ewww -- it's -- Ohhh" -- and you shouldn't be afraid of an Isopod! ". It's the Biologist in him!
And of course --
Later that night a sailboat decided it needed to be right in front of us!! There were 3 boats in Pruth Bay - its big enough for 30 boats - and they needed to drop anchor right in front of us and right around where our anchor was. I let him know that in the morning when we left there was a good possibility we'd be coming pretty close to them as we pulled our anchor. Oh well.
We pulled up fine in the morning. But we did get close. There were a LOT of other places he could have gone!! Seriously!!
Next we are on our way to Codville Lagoon for my birthday.
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