Cruising 6/9/2015

Boating Season 2015, June 8^th

We carry several detailed route planning maps and books on exploring from Washington State to Southeast Alaska. There are usually two maps and two books open at all times along with our Garmin GPS plotter which is our navigational system. We also have a VHF Marine radio which has the Coast Guard channel 16 and several other channels you can use to talk to other boaters. We have four life jackets, first aide kits, an emergency ditch bag (we would grab if we had to leave the boat, full of emergency supplies, VHF handheld radio, flares, etc.), and an 8 ½ foot dingy, our lifeboat. We always plan the evening before we start our cruise the next morning. We check the weather every day in order to make our plans. Weather has a lot to do with where we go and when. So we are very prepared before we even start!!

We are in Canada looking for marinas for fuel but we found them weathered, deteriorated, and closed. These were once thriving communities with successful canneries. We head for Shearwater Marina, north up Fitz Hugh Sound, to Fisher Channel, to Laura Passage, located in Kliktsoatli Harbour. (This is why you need a map to locate these places!) It's not only nice, it has a restaurant and pub. I have decided Alaska has the biggest eagles anywhere! They are beautiful. On our cruise we saw porpoise, two whales, three blue heron, and a deer swimming across the channel.

Ours is the green one.

One of many waterfall.

All sidewalks are decking.

We left very early the next morning to cruise in calm waters to Hartley Bay off the Douglas Channel behind Promise Island. Hartley Bay is a Native settlement with a protected Harbor. It has fuel and that is all. The fuel hose is dropped from the top of the fuel dock down to your boat. Very different but the low tides can go twenty feet down. You also get free moorage. This native settlement is very friendly and stay true to their culture. They are known for saving 101 passengers from a British Columbia Ferry, that sank at 1am in the morning, after receiving a distress call. We met the son of the village Chief and learned a little about the village. They are also known for their 'Spirit Bears'. We hope to stop there on our way back and get a tour.

The next morning we are headed for Kumealon Inlet, off Grenville Channel, to anchor for the night. This inlet has a narrows and lagoon and I was so excited to go in our dingy and explore. The little narrows was unbelievable! Rushing water going into the lagoon over rocks and very swift. We decided to wait for the outgoing tide and when we came back, you couldn't see the rocks but you could see the huge amount of water coming towards you and all the foam from the rush of water returning to the channel. It was very fascinating but scary at the same time. Tides can be very dangerous and you must know when and where to go through them. Obviously, we didn't go through these!!

This one didn't make it!

A floating Lodge

It was a beautiful cruise into Prince Rupert Harbour off Kaien Island. Prince Rupert has the third deepest harbor in the world. Coal, grain, lumber, minerals, pulp, and fish are exported all over the world from there. They have a very large shipping container facility where containers are off loaded on to rail cars and hauled to their destinations. We were able to dock at the Yacht Club, (don't get any ideas, very rustic!) and the best part, they had a laundry pick up and delivery service. For twenty dollars ,I was able to have all our laundry and bedding washed. Now I'm really getting spoiled. They also had a nice walking path to town, museums, along the boardwalk from the marina. We enjoyed our stay there.

Mural on wall

We waited two days for a very good weather report. The winds needed to be 5 to 15 MPH, blowing from the south, and waves three foot or less. We saw boaters that we had seen before we left Campbell River waiting for better weather also. Three boats, 60 to 78 feet long, asked Russ if they could follow us through Venn Passage into Dixon Entrance. They had never been through there before and weren't sure. Now remember, our boat is only 27 feet long and 8 ½ feet wide. We were both surprised but smug at the same time. Wow, those big boats are asking us!? We started at 5:00am in the morning with the three large boats behind us and 45 minutes later we were through Venn Passage and into Dixon Entrance on our way to Alaska. The passage is very narrow and intricate with strong currents. You have to watch the maps, your GPS and the buoy markers all the way through.

One of three following us.

Our cruise from Prince Rupert to Ketchikan, Alaska was beautiful with calm seas. We radioed the US Customs and they met us at the fuel dock for entry. They looked at our passports, asked us if we had any fruit or chicken and if we did, we were not to take it off the boat but consume it on the boat. OK

Disney cruise ship

We are now in Ketchikan, Alaska, USA and it has been cold, rainy, and windy every day. And of course, we are waiting for good weather before heading farther north. We are in the marina protected from the weather and are looking forward to our next adventure.

Love to all, Toni and Russ