Prince Rupert at last

Posted under North to Alaska

Well we are at Prince Rupert, we have both phone and internet, and I can not come up with any good excuses for not updating our blog —- so here goes.

We left Ocean Falls and headed west towards Milbanke Sound, but rather than cross the sound, which can be somewhat snotty at times, we snuck up Reid Passage and on to Mathieson Channel, which was our intended destination at any rate. We tucked into Rescue Bay with the intention on continuing on the following AM. The weather kept nicely, and we stayed a couple of extra days and low and behold, there were more boat chores. Fancy that !. Oh well, it all has to be done I guess.

On to Kynoch Inlet, part of Fiordland Recreation Area. They are definitely fjord-like with steep granite walls dropping straight down to the water. A few trees have missed the loggers axe by clinging precariously to these rock faces. It is amazing how a cup full of questionable soil can support a full grown tree — but they do. The inlet was burdened with some high cloud cover, which prevented us from looking right up to the top, but maybe just as well as by the time I got all the folds in my neck smoothed out by looking upwards, I had a kink in my neck. Half a mountain is good enough. Back on the go as we hope to make Khutze Inlet for the night.

At the end of Mathieson Channel lies Mathieson Narrows. Now this causes the water to hurry up as it all has to get to where it is going at the same time as the rest of the water. If you are going with the current, you can gain mileage big time. The reverse holds true if you are going agin’ the current. We, however, arrived at slack, while the water just lies there while it tries to make up it’s mind what it wants to do. This does give the best ride. See how I look after Bonnie.

Had a small pod of Orcas accompany us through the Narrows and part way down Sheep Passage. The Orca pod was small, only three, but quite spectacular. A lot of leaping clear of the water accompanied by great splashing etc. Very entertaining.

I’m not certain if Sheep Passage was named for the big curly horned animal who likes to stand in the middle of the road at Banff and Jasper, or perhaps a Scotsman trundled his little furry favourites off to the wilds of BC. We were unable to spot either kind, so it is still a mystery. From Sheep Passage we enter Hiekish Narrows. Now those of you who listened to me whine last year, about the nasty log that snuck up upon us with the intention of doing damage to our propellers, this is the spot!! Having put up a valiant struggle in an effort to turn the log to pulp fodder, did create a very noticeable vibration. We did not want a repeat performance!

We made it through unscathed, and no small thanks to the white knuckles Bonnie presented to the helm cabinet. Into Graham Reach and on to Khutze Inlet. Tomorrow another day.

Caught a bit of the tide in our favour, and scooted along passed Butedale. Vicky, you will be happy to know that it is for sale in its entirety, and can be had for only a couple mil. Was going to stop and put an offer in on your behalf, but had to get out of the way of a tug and tow. Maybe on our way back down.

Managed to sneak across Wright Sound just ahead of the lumpy water, and started up Grenville Channel. Pulled into Lowe Inlet in bathroom weather. “Pissing” down rain with a “shitty” outlook for the next two-four hours. Slept the night away accompanied to the sound of buckets of water dumping down on our roof. Morning brought more rain and fog, but we are within sniffing distance of Prince Rupert. Started into Chatham Sound with a slight chop and low swells. Enough to grab Bonnie’s attention once again, but it did not worsen from there to PR. A happy Bonnie.

Speaking of Bonnie, I must mention that I mis-judged her interest in the gathering of sea food. I always knew that she enjoyed eating the stuff, but pulling a trap, or baiting a hook — no thanks. Now it seems that she has been less than pleased with my abilities of filling the deep freeze with prawns. Whilst we were in Ocean Falls, she took it upon herself to show me how the gathering of prawns was done. Now I must admit that she did much, much better than I, but I have come to the conclusion that it is the bait that makes the difference. Bonnie found that the best bait was cash, and that all one had to do was to present it to a commercial dude, on his prawn boat, and you had a quick catch. Not only that. But she found that if you added more “bait”, you could select the size that you wanted. I may try this out here, or may just toss some cash in the trap.

All for now, take care.
T