5/29/2015

2015 Boating Season Friday, May 29, 2013

After leaving Roche Harbor on May 23^rd, we cruised to Garrison Bay on the west side of San Juan Island. San Juan Island is a National Historical Park with The American Camp and the British Camp on the island. We anchored in Garrison Bay where the English Camp is located. Some of the buildings have been restored. We hiked the camp for two hours, taking the trail less traveled! This is the only park in the United States that honors the peaceful settlement of a dispute. If you are interested in the history, please look up the Treaty of 1846. You will be surprised.

The next morning we cruised west to Canada and checked into Canadian Customs in Bedwell Harbour on North Pender Island with no problem. It's a courtesy to hang a small Canadian flag on your boat when traveling in Canadian waters, along with your American flag. So after we were OK'd to enter, Russ hung our Canadian flag. Shortly after, a Canadian Customs officer walked up to our boat and asked us if we knew the Canadian flag was hung upside down! Oh no !!! Russ didn't think about the leaf having to be straight up!

After fixing that little problem, we headed north along Vancouver Island, along the Strait of Georgia, through the Dodd Narrows. A narrows are tidal currents and swirls passing through a narrow and shallow passage between rock cliffs. Narrows are good to go through during slack tide times. These are always fun to time the high and low tides. After successfully cruising through the narrows we anchored in Nanaimo for the night.

Early the next morning, on to Comox for fuel and groceries. Later we walked back up the boardwalk to a nice Restaurant/pub and had their brewed beer and a great dinner. We always enjoy going out to eat. Right Russ?

On May 26^th we were on to Campbell River for fuel and to catch the slack tide on Seymour Narrows. Up Discovery Passage and on to Johnstone Strait. Well, we thought we would go on up Johnstone Strait but the winds were 25 to 30 mph so we followed two larger boats east up Mayne Passage and stayed at Blind Channel Resort on West Thurlow Island. When I say resort, it doesn't mean a fancy spa resort. There are docks to tie up to and sometimes water and electricity are available. I was just happy to get tied up for the night. The men on the boats ahead of us were headed to Alaska also. We met some sport fishermen from the oil fields in Alberta, who gave us four fillets of ling cod and two fresh crab already cleaned. What a feast! They fly in for three days, three to four times a year, and fly home with coolers full of ling cod, snapper, halibut, and crab. Nice!

International Forest Products and the BC Ministry of Forest, along with Blind Channel Resort, have a trail system designed to show the features of a second growth forest. The trails are well marked and we hiked up the Big Cedar Trail which winds its way through 90 year old second growth forest. Along the trail is a large old growth cedar over 800 years old with a diameter of 16 feet. There are very few of those left.

We decided to go around West Thurlow Island and Hardwicke Island back to Johnstone Strait early in the morning, when the winds are calm. On our way we spotted a beautiful black bear along the bank. We went on to fuel at Lagoon Cove on East Cracroft Island. That afternoon we anchored in Cutter Cove and watched another beautiful black bear flipping large rocks and eating shell fish from under them. He stayed for over an hour then wandered off into the trees. Late afternoon the winds pick up and we decided to head for calmer anchorage. So out to Knight Inlet and into Port Elizabeth Cove where we enjoyed a nice calm night swinging on the anchor.

Sullivan Bay Marina is our last stop for fuel, laundry and overnight anchorage before heading into Queen Charlotte Sound north around Cape Caution. We got up at 5am, May 29^th, had coffee, and took off. Our goal was to be around Cape Caution which is north of Queen Charlotte Strait and east of Vancouver Island. The night before, we made our list of coves we could duck into if the winds and waves got bad. We made it half way before the wind and rollers got a little too much for me. I know Russ could have went on but he does think of the times I end up on the floor, in the bathroom, sick! We ducked in between Southgrate Group Islands and into Skull Cove. The only boat there and a nice calm anchorage for the night.

Up at 5:30 am (he let me sleep in) coffee and off we went to conquer Cape Caution. The morning was beautiful. Calm water, slow rollers, and great weather. Just what a boater looks for. (I must tell you, I was not looking forward to this at all. You have to go out into the Pacific Ocean and I was not very excited and slightly cranky.). We can now say we have gone around the Cape!! Russ did mention, after we made it around, that we will be returning the same way! Yikes!

We cruised into Rivers Inlet and stopped at Duncanby Resort only to find out it doesn't open until June 13^th. I was looking forward to breakfast, it was only 8:30 in the morning!! We ate our bowl of cereal with banana and on we cruised around Walbran Island and on to Dawson Landing Resort, down Darby Channel. It was not open on Saturdays. What day is it anyway?? It looked pretty rough from the winter weather and they probably were not ready for summer boaters anyway.

We cruised up Fitz Hugh Sound, past Addenbroke Light House, and into Kwakume Inlet. It is a large beautiful inlet with a huge rock island on one end and we anchored behind it. We are the only boat here. There are a lot of different bird species here. Eagles, several species of sea birds, ducks including wood ducks, and four beautiful loons. (We even had two swallows try to get inside the back canopy of the boat.) The different bird calls, the quiet, and the calm waters are amazing to experience. The view is beautiful from every window in our boat.

We are getting up early in the morning (HA) and are heading north to Denny Island and Shearwater Marina some 43 miles. It's fuel and water time. Hoping they have WiFi so we can send our blog. I hope they're open on sundays ??!!

If you look at a map of Canada and the inside passage of Alaska, you can watch us cruise “North to Alaska”!!

Love, hugs, and kisses to our families and friends

Toni and Russ