Well, we’re on our way at last, and this is the first chance I’ve had to post an update on the internet. Wi-Fi and cell phone coverage is very spotty up here. A number of people asked us to keep them informed about our trip, so here it is. It’s probably a bit much, so feel free to skim it or delete it. I won’t mind, and there will not be a quiz when we return. I’ll try to include a few photos, but that may be limited by the small bandwidth available.
We left Ladysmith, where we moor our boat, on Jeanie’s birthday, May 10, 2013. It was the end of a long period of unseasonably sunny and warm/hot weather. The good weather was perfect for getting the boat and the house ready to leave. We have some folks staying in our house this summer, as part of a wedding party for a friend’s niece, so we couldn’t just dump stuff and leave. We paid for an extra week of moorage, and Jean wangled another three days for free, so we could do all of our final boat preparations at the dock, which made it much easier than being anchored out. We're giving up our marina slip until we return from Alaska in a couple of years.
The first day we traveled with our Canadian friends, Bruce Maclock and Elaine Abbott on their boat Freya. Ashland friends Monty and Lorna Elliott, on their boat Integrity, had arrived in Nanaimo the day before, traveling north from Anacortes, WA. The winds were light, and we were obliged to motor most of the day. We had to transit a tidal gate called Dodd Narrows at a narrow time window during slack water, so didn’t have the luxury of poking along under sail. We arrived in Nanaimo and anchored just off Protection Island, where we live. This was a rather odd start to the trip, but turned out to be very convenient, as we walked over to our house to pick up some things we forgot, turned off the hot water heater, etc. We met up with Monty and Lorna and had dinner at the floating pub on our island. We drank a lot of wine, ate some good food, and had a good start to our voyage.
The next day, Saturday, we had a wonderful sail across the Strait of Georgia. To begin with, the Navy was not testing torpedoes, so we could sail straight through the test range, which makes the trip much more straightforward. The sunshine had disappeared, but an ancillary effect of that was a change in the wind, so it was blowing hard from the southeast. This allowed us to make the entire trip on a broad reach, and the boat was screaming along. We had to reef the sails to keep our speed down to a manageable level (less than seven knots). For those of you are not sailors, seven knots is faster than you can walk, but nowhere near as fast as you can run. It’s pretty exciting, considering how slow it is – rather odd, really. The seas were a bit rough, but not too bad. Our Portuguese water dog Schooner was fine until half way across the Strait. Then he inexplicably freaked out and wanted to go below. He was OK after he got down there. He’s not a big fan of bouncy, heeling boats.
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| Garden Bay, Pender Harbour, BC |
We dropped anchor in Garden Bay in Pender Harbour, on the mainland coast of British Columbia. It began to rain just as we arrived. We rowed Schooner ashore in the dinghy so he could do his stuff, then gathered on one of the boats for wine and snacks, and to discuss the day and make plans for tomorrow. This is pretty much our standard routine at the end of the day. Both of the other boats have new refrigerators, with new solar panels to help provide the large amounts of electricity required for this luxury. So there is a lot of discussion about electricity. Jean and I are sort of Luddites, and use ice to cool meat and dairy products. We keep fruits and vegetables in bins close to the hull below the waterline, where it is reasonably cool. On the other hand, we don’t worry too much about our electricity.
The weather for Sunday was blowing nearly a gale, so we decided to stay put. A good friend of Bruce and Elaine’s lives here, and we spent most of the day with him. After a leisurely morning, and some communication difficulties, we all met at a local pub for lunch. To go with my beer, I had a plate of nutritious poutine. This is a Canadian dish of French fries and cheese curds covered with gravy. I did also order a Greek salad to avoid too many derisive comments from the others. We then piled into Wayne’s two cars and went to look at his classic sailboat. It was designed by Carl Alberg, the same man who designed ours, and it was interesting to see the similarities. A trip to the grocery brought us to Wayne’s house, where we put together a barbeque dinner. His house was filled with artwork, much of it by his wife who died just this past October. He is a very nice man, and we had a wonderful time. Schooner didn’t like it so much, as he spent most of the day alone on the boat.
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| Rover & Integrity, Garden Bay, Pender Harbour, BC |
We have been to Pender Harbour a number of times, and it seemed like a close community of different villages found in the various coves. This was the first time we had driven around in a car, and it is amazingly different. The terrain is quite mountainous, and the distances to get to the other side of the harbor are large. A simple boat trip becomes a long circuitous car drive. Cars and roads are clearly a recent addition to this community. We arrived back at Garden Bay just as it was getting dark, and found a shocking surprise. The owner of the pub told us that the Elliotts would find their boat tied to his dock, rather than anchored out in the bay. The strong winds had caused it to drag anchor, and he had managed to save it from drifting onto the rocks. Needless to say they were profoundly grateful, as well as profoundly stunned. What great good luck that was for them.
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| Jeanie, Lewis Channel, BC, May 2013 |
The morning forecast was for moderated winds with “a few showers.” While Jean was walking Schooner it began to rain, and didn’t stop. After waiting most of the morning, we decided to leave anyway. The other two boats have canvas coverings over their cockpits, so can pretty much avoid getting wet. We, however, have no such contrivances. Who wants to look at the world through blurry panels of clear plastic, or have to peer around canvas to watch the sails, or stick your head out a window to feel the wind? Not us. However, we do get wet. In anticipation of this, we did purchase sets of rain gear worn by professional fishermen. We look like the guys on “The Deadliest Catch.” True yachtsmen have stylish gear made of GoreTex, which is OK for an afternoon sail. We have a much more salty appearance (including Sou’wester hats) and stay dry and warm.
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| Thulin Passage, BC |
The wind was less than the day before, but still blowing pretty hard. The seas were miserable until we got offshore into deeper water. We then ran straight downwind using our whisker pole, or else a broad reach. Again, we had to reef to slow the boat down. Even though our suits kept us dry, sailing in the rain isn’t all that great, so it was nice to finally tie to the dock in the town of Westview, just south of Powell River. Another note for non-sailors:
it might seem that sailing in exactly the same direction as the wind (called running) would be perfect, but it is less than ideal.
The wind just pushes the sails rather than flowing along them, so the lift (similar to an airplane wing) is lost. Also, since the sails are perpendicular to the boat, they don’t provide any stabilization against side to side roll. In a sea such as we had today, this produces a corkscrew motion of the boat which is not all that comfortable.
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| Desolation Sound, BC |
Tuesday we walked up into town to have coffee and pastries at the bakery, and walked around town with Schooner to give him a chance to do some off-boat sniffing around. We had a beautiful sunny day with another strong southeast wind, so we ran downwind all day, making excellent time, and enjoying the warm sunshine.
As we got near the north end of the Strait of Georgia, islands became more numerous, and the unpleasant following seas eventually died down as we got behind them. We sailed past Lund, which is the northernmost town on Route 101, and the farthest north one can drive. Everything after this is accessible only by boat or floatplane. After Lund, the scenery changes dramatically to rugged snow-capped mountains rising thousands of feet right out of the sea. We had a flail taking down our jib at the end of the day, getting some lines entangled in the wrong places while the wind was blowing really hard, making untangling a difficult task. But no one was hurt, and nothing broken, so we’ll call it a success. We momentarily tied up at the dock of a small general store to buy some more ice for our cooler. Schooner also found a black Lab to play with. We then anchored in nearby Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island. This is a well- protected place and we had a quiet night despite the winds outside.
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| Schooner & Jeanie on Rover, Squirrel Cove, BC, May 2013 |
Wednesday morning the overnight rain stopped. It turned out to be a cloudy day with an occasional light shower. There was some small excitement as we were leaving, as the Elliotts had a problem with their steering, but it was resolved in about half an hour. To our surprise, the winds were blowing from the northwest, exactly the opposite of the forecast. This was a problem, because we had a major tidal gate today – the largest of the trip perhaps. We had to transit the Yuculta and Dent rapids at exactly the correct time. We have seen these rapids from shore, and they produce awesome whirlpools, upwellings and overfalls. It’s a frightening scene that we don’t want to observe from a boat. So we had to motor against the wind to arrive on time. Of course we overdid it and got there a bit early, so we just drifted around for half an hour and then went on through. It was a nonevent, as hoped, and nothing to report.
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| Shoal Bay, BC |
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| Shrimp Boat Leaving Shoal Bay, BC |
On the other side of the rapids the wind was nonexistent, so we didn’t sail at all this day. We docked at the government wharf in Shoal Bay on East Thurlow Island.
The owner, Mark, and his artist wife, Cynthia, have built a homestead there over the past decade. In the 19
th century it had 8000 people, hotels, bars, etc, all the result of gold mining. Today it has a population of 2; maybe 10 in the summer. The setting is stunning with wonderful views of the mountains. We went up and sat on his deck, which also serves as the pub. He sold us some wine and beer, and joined us, telling tales of life at Shoal Bay. We had actually been there for some of the famous incidents, and it was fun to reminisce. We bought some fresh eggs from his chickens, all of whom are named Henrietta, and some live prawns from a fisherman sharing the dock. We decapitated the prawns and put them in Lorna’s frig for dinner the next night.
Thursday, we hung around until noon, waiting for the tides again, as we had two more tidal gates to transit. We got to Greene Point Rapids an hour and a half early, and Whirlpool Rapids an hour late, but it all worked out well, since the tides are “neap” at the moment. We got pushed around a bit by some whirlpools, but nothing very threatening. We anchored for the night in Forward Harbour. This is on the mainland, just east of Hardwicke Island. It’s a beautiful spot with snowy mountain views, bald eagles and a primitive trail through the rain forest to a beach on the neighboring bay. Bruce, Elaine, Jean and I did the hike, while Monty and Lorna put out crab and shrimp traps. We then had a potluck dinner featuring the shrimp we got yesterday; they were wonderful.
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| Forward Harbour, BC |
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| Fido, Forward Harbour, BC |
In the morning, Schooner and I collected firewood on the beach, and we motored down calm Sunderland Channel to Johnstone Strait. This region is virtually uninhabited, and has a wilderness feel, but is really anything but wilderness. It is probably best described as an industrial wilderness. The forests are all subject to pretty intensive logging, and there is the occasional log dump or logging camp. Tugs pulling log booms are a common sight. On the water there are a number of fish farms, mostly owned by Norwegians, and with the recent opening of prawn season, there are a lot of fishermen out. Well, we may see half a dozen in the course of a day, which seems like a lot. There are also a few sport fishing lodges around, but they are quiet at this time of year.
As we entered Johnstone Strait, the major waterway separating Vancouver Island from the mainland, the wind returned. The past few days we have been meandering through narrow channels in the mountains without much wind. Johnstone Strait is a much more substantial bit of water. It is also notorious for its bad weather, but this day we had a following wind and fair seas. It was a good sail until a squall blew in. We got the sails reduced in time, and didn’t have any difficulty, though we had enough excitement. The major problem was that we didn’t make the proper sartorial preparations, and we got pretty wet.
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| Port Harvey, BC |
We currently are moored in Port Harvey on West Cracroft Island, with a fire blazing in our wood stove and wet laundry hung all over the inside of the boat. It is a bit claustrophobic, and a bit warm. We are at a Mom and Pop one-dock marina tucked in the back of this inlet. During the summer they cook pizzas and have fresh cinnamon buns in the morning. However, we are too early for such delights, and have to be satisfied with a dock to tie to, and an easy place to walk the dog.
The dock manager/owner warned us to watch for grizzly bears on the beach, so with that and the rain showers our walking has been limited.
Saturday we left Port Harvey in a drizzle that continued on and off all day. There was a black bear on the beach searching for breakfast as we left. We again had a timing issue, as we had to traverse Chatham Channel at a time without an adverse current, though there were no rapids involved. It is a very narrow route surrounded by rocks, and the coast guard provides a range to keep you on course by lining up a couple of markers one above the other. We had a good downwind sail down Clio Channel with some porpoises sighted along the way. There were pictographs on a cliff there which looked like a sailing ship; don’t know how old there are.
Just as we entered the aptly named Beware Passage we got smashed by another nasty squall, just like yesterday. We were better prepared, so didn’t really get wet, but it was cold and unpleasant, and added stress to transiting this pile of rocks. We sailed upwind most of the way to our anchorage at Mound Island.
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| Mound Island, BC |
This is an interesting area of dozens of islands surrounded by unmarked rocks. It requires continuous attention to the chart to make sure you don’t get lost or run into something hard. It’s very pretty and also of historic interest. This was a center of the native Kwakiutl culture (now known as the Kwakkwak’wakw). There are still a few villages here, but mostly a large number of abandoned village sites. Several years ago we visited one that still had standing longhouse poles and moldering fallen totem poles. These sites are easily recognized by the white beaches. There is very little sand up here. Most of the shore is rock, and the beaches are made of smaller stones. The natives used clams as a large part of their diet, and actually farmed them. All of those shells over thousands of years make quite a pile. The village sites are thus fronted by white beaches composed of broken clam shell fragments. Just inland from this beach there were numerous pits which were the sites of longhouses. The houses were dug halfway into the earth. The pits are now filled with red cedar trees several feet in diameter, so it has been awhile since they were abandoned. Several trees had blown over, and the roots were filled with broken clam shells.
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| Shell Beach, Mound Island, BC |
Sunday we awoke to a stiff northwest wind. Northwest was the direction we had to go, so it looked like a difficult day. We worked our way out of the islands and into Blackfish Sound, the southeast portion of Queen Charlotte Strait. This strait is open to the ocean, so the winds blow down it unimpeded. We sailed upwind all day, tacking back and forth. The sun came out, and it was in fact a wonderful day for a sail if you didn’t have a schedule. Well, we don’t have a schedule, so it was pretty nice. As the afternoon wore on the wind increased, and by the time it was blowing 25 knots it wasn’t so much fun, but we arrived at our destination just in time to avoid a serious mood change.
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| Freya and Rover, Port McNeill, BC |
Our destination was Port McNeill on the north end of Vancouver Island. It is a real place with maybe 3000 people, cars, stores, etc. We bought 11 gallons of diesel fuel (not bad for 10 days of travel), and fell into our boats to rest and eat. We plan to stay here tomorrow and buy groceries, do laundry, take showers, check e-mail, and generally regroup before heading back into the wilderness.
I’ve added a few photos as attachments if you’re interested in seeing some of the sights.
If this is way more than you want to know about our trip, let me know, and I’ll delete you from the list.
Reading the blogs of others who have made portions of this trip was an invaluable resource in planning our own journey. This blog is posted as a contribution to that resource, in the hope that it will be of some benefit for others hoping to undertake a similar cruise.
