Charlotte City (really, a village)

Going down Felice Straits with a liner passing by

I'm sitting in the "Queen B", a little artsy coffee shop with WiFi writing this short blog.  Haida Guaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) is very interesting so far, and I hope to write you all a complete blog on it the next time I find a WiFi outlet - probably somewhere on Vancouver Island.  Haida Guaii is definitely off the "milk run" of the typical cruiser.  Only the most hardiest of boaters or fishermen come out here, especially on its west coast.  Since I'm not the most hardiest of boaters, I've elected to stay on the east coast, partly because of the rough weather, but mostly so I wouldn't have to brave the treacherous and tricky narrows that separate Graham Island from Moresby Island, especially single handed.

Looking west at Annette Island with Dubuque Mountain

After a week in Ketchikan, Blue Bossa and I headed south through the Tongass Straits, diving into the Revillagigedo Channel until we hit Foggy Bay Cove.  After a full week of nothing but rain, this trip south enjoyed a perfect, cloudless and sunny day. What a treat!

Looking west up Behm canal at the beautiful Mystic Fiordes

Foggy Bay has an outer and inner place to anchor - I would have preferred the inner, but wanted to leave super early the next day, and it would have been too low-tide to get in and out. So I spent the night in the outer anchorage, which was a tricky place to anchor, being very deep and the boat being very close to shore. The wind was blowing slightly out of the northwest, so I was anchored on a lee shore, but there was no indication that the wind was going to increase.  Nonetheless, I stayed up until almost midnight, and woke up about 3am. Not a lot of sleep.  Interestingly enough, there's probably only about 4 hours of dark, the rest is light.

Foggy Bay at 10:30 pm

Foggy Bay at 4:00 am

At 4am, we upped the anchor and proceeded south to Prince Rupert, following the flood tidal current up through the narrows at Metlakatla Bay until we broke into Prince Rupert Harbour, where we spent the night at the PRYC. Because of poor weather and heavy winds, I opted to stay another couple of days in PR, but moved the boat down to a funkier and less expensive docks called Rushbrook Floats, where I rafted up to a classic wooden fishing boat.  There were lots of different, junkier (blue collar) boats with very friendly people.  It was also a launch ramp for lots of other boats that would come in.  During the weekend, there was a couple of small powerboats rafted up with country music wafting out through the harbor and lots of alcohol intake with empty cans of beer on the docks.  Most of the guys and gals were in their twenties, but there was one guy closer to my age that showed me around the harbor, introducing me to some characters.  Of course the guy was drunk as hell, so I was a bit embarrassed for some of the people that we talked to.

The weather cleared and we headed out early, timing a strong ebb tide, heading south through some outside islands in Arthur Channel, until we hit the Ogden Channel which headed west until we got to Beaver Passage, pointing me to the open ocean.  Before we got completely out, we hit Banks Island where we wriggled our way into Larsen Bay where we spent the night.  Banks Island is a low-lying island, open but protected from westerlies (especially at high tide).  During the day, I heard either dogs or wolves howling and barking on the island with no sight of them. 

A mini-tree growing on some pilings at Rushbrook Floats

After spending a quiet night, we left early to head across Hecate Straits to Haida Guaii.  It was a mostly glassy crossing.  What was really amazing was that I never saw a depth more than 200 feet.  Apparently that's the reason that crossing these straits can be really dangerous, especially with strong winds going up against opposing tides.

After a long 45 mile crossing, then rounding the bar off of Graham Island, we headed south another 15 mies to Moresby Island (Sandspit), where I stayed for another 2 days waiting for good weather again.

So here is where I leave you all - I will complete a blog all about my travels in Haida Guaii, a place that I've wanted to explore for a long time.

From Ketchikan to Charlotte City

Driving in the interior of Prince of Wales Island

Cool sign - shows that logging was their main industry

Thorne Bay Marina - east side of POW Island

Leaving Craig on a BEAUTIFUL day

Nice Sail!

Craig to Ketchikan

I'm sitting in the main cabin of Blue Bossa, which is docked with all of the other countless boats in Bar Harbor marina in Ketchikan, listening to the staccato pinging of rain falling on the cabin top, and the hum of the heater warming my feet.

This past week there has been a series of storms coming through the Pan Handle, at times winds piping up to 40 knots from the south. I've been hanging out waiting for the fronts to ease off a bit before heading south to Canada, and to check in at customs at Prince Rupert.  I was hoping to check in directly at Masset, in Haida Guia, but evidently they have closed it down.  That adds about 100 miles to my trip. Ah well…

Despite the rain, I've managed to get a lot done here in Ketchikan, picking up some stuff that I've ordered from West Marine that I needed - a new VHF radio, as the one I have is not working right - and installing a new clock and barometer, installing a 12V plug so I can keep my anchor watch alarm going without batteries, etc. etc.  As well, I've indulged in being in civilization by going out to the movie theater and watching some just released summer escapism movies ("The Avengers" and "Men in Black 3").  All this time I'm wondering when summer is gonna come.

I left at noon from Craig on May 24rth on an absolutely clear and beautiful day, with a slight westerly, which increased enough to put out the sails and go sailing close-haul up Bucareli Bay, and then head down Ulloa Channel to Port




















Refugio.

BB in Port Refugio

Port Refugio log ramp - clear cuts

Port Refugio is a big bay, with an island in the middle of it where I anchored behind it.  I had a chance to kayak around the bay a bit and found what looked like two iron skids on shore leading into the water for logs to splash from the clear cut above. Except for the clear cuts that scarred up the upper landscape, the bay was quite beautiful and the water clear.

Because of the series of storms predicted by the weather radio, I opted that night not to go the west side of Dall Island as previously planned as I didn't want to undergo the same thing that happen to me at Still Cove on Baranof Island last year.  Instead I took the boat through the Tlevak Narrows (which had to be timed right for slack water - I knew I timed it right as I ended up following a tug boat towing a large barge) and head into Tlevak Strait, east of Dall Island.

I ended up at a safe anchorage in Mabel Cove, before the south winds started to pipe up.  I had a quiet night, and in the morning I heard blowing noises, and looking around the cove I noticed that there were small whales going around my boat. The could have been small humpbacks (I saw signs of them in the straits), and I tried my best to take some pics, with not too much success.

In the meantime, the weather forecast predicted storm warnings to come within a few days, so I left that day to Kassa Island Bay, just to the south of Mabel, and from there to Ketchikan before the main force of the storm would hit. So I spent the night in Kassa Island, sharing it with two other yachts (the first time for a very long time that I shared an anchorage with other boats) and left at 5am the next day to head to Ketchikan.
It turned out to be a long motorsail to Chacon Cape, banging against 15-20knot SE winds and finally rounding the cape into Clarence Strait, where I eased off the main and rolled out the jib and enjoyed a nice 6-7 knot sail to Ketchikan.  It was very pleasant and I was pleased to save some fuel.

Mabel Bay Visitors

So now I'm going to send this bog out, do some laundry and get the boat ready for the next leg. The way the weather pattern is shaping up, I think I will have a clear weather window to head south this Sunday, stop at Foggy Cove and then onto Prince Rupert to check in, maybe get a bit more food, then find the opportunity to head west to north Haida Guai. I have no idea where the next internet stop will be - it's unlikely I will find anything until I reach Queen Charlotte City, which will be at least a couple of weeks away.  So…stay tuned.