Bella Bella and around Cape Caution to Port Hardy

 Things started to get real summer like after we left Bishop's Bay Hotsprings. As we left Bishop's Bay we headed right into a fog bank and started really missing our radar. Ultimately it cleared up and we made great progress as the ocean currents worked in our favour for a change. 




We made it 50 or 60 miles to Bottleneck Inlet, a perfect anchorage. Next day we were close to Bella Bella. We had to wait until noon for the fog to lift and then fueled up in Shearwater where the friendly gas jockey told us to tie up to a rickety dock for free instead of paying two dollars a foot at Shearwater. 

It was here that we found out the Queen had died. I am antimonarchist to the core but it was a little discombobulating to hear the news. The Queen was coronated the year of my birth in 1953.




From Shearwater we once headed out in the fog. When we realized we could hardly see the front of the boat we found a mooring buoy to tie up to until the fog lifted.Then it was a long motor down Fitz Hugh Sound to Kwakume Inlet a great anchorage and the next day only 20 miles further to Fury Cove one of the premier anchorages around these parts. There is a good view out to the ocean and it is a good jumping off point to get around Cape Caution. 









Our trip around Cape Caution was almost perfect except we could have used another five knots of wind. We spent many hours ghosting along at two and a half to three and a half knots. It was very pleasant with whales blowing periodically and hundreds of shearwaters flying by. Ultimately we made it to Skull Cove in Queen Charlotte Strait. It is another perfect anchorage. That night we shared it with a log scavenger. He had accumulated about twenty logs and I suspect he was going to tow them to Port Hardy.



We waited until noon for the fog to lift but no such luck. We blindly felt our way down the coast and after an hour the fog lifted . We spent a couple hours sailing in light winds and then decided to motor into Port Hardy where we anchored just off of town. Next day we moved to the dock around the corner.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back in Nanaimo

 While we were midway in our SE Asia trip we received the disconcerting news that our boat had been broken into. A homeless person had broken in and set up housekeeping while at the same time removing about $5000 worth of our belongings. To say this caused us some sleepless nights in our travels would be vastly understating things.  Thankfully our good friend Angus Mcintyre was keeping an eye on the boat and was actually responsible for reporting the incident and assisting the RCMP in arresting this person. He also cleaned things up before our arrival. What a great guy and we are forever indebted to him.  I was actually able to order a bunch of stuff from Asia and it was waiting for us when we arrived. Since then we have been cleaning up and going on shopping sprees to replace the missing stuff. The missing stuff included my log book , and Yammys and my personal clothing. I suspect a lot of our stuff is in a dumpster or a land fill by now.  I was tempted to throw in ...
Read more

Into the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands

Image
 We had a few days to kill before Yammy headed home to the Yukon. We decided she should go bus ferry bus to the Vancouver Airport, leaving from Sidney.  We stayed once more at Pirate's Cove where we discovered the pirate's chest had been refilled.  Then Montague Hbr and then Royal Cove close to Sidney. After that Yammy left and I was on my own for the first time in many months. I spent a couple of beautiful days  on Sidney Spit . Then Friday Harbour where for various reasons my entry into the US was a two hour ordeal.  The next day I went to Sucia Island and spent a couple of days there.  Then it was over to Stuart Island  and the next day back to Sidney Tomorrow I start heading North.
Read more