Update from Campbell River, Vancouver Island, BC

We woke up this morning to a beautiful blue sky, showing no signs of drizzle in the near future. We are on the docks at the Discovery Harbour in Campbell River, which is a great place to provision, as the shops are quite close to the harbour. They also have laundry services and restrooms right on the docks.

Tomorrow we'll leave Campbell River, continuing to move further north as fast as the weather will permit. Our plans are flexible, but we are looking at nearterm stops in: Shoal Bay, Lagoon Cove, Port McNeil, Port Hardy, and most likely Blunden Harbour. After that, we just know the stops will be further north and timing is weather dependant. But for now the weather looks quite good.

Following is an update on what we've been up to, since our last blog update:

Overall, we've been focused on moving north, but have enjoyed cruising very much. Weather on a typical day has pretty much been half day of grey clouds with on again, off again, drizzle, with the other half of the day quite sunny. Frequently, the best time of the day has been between 3pm-7pm, when the sun comes out. Temperatures have been 45-65...with one day we hit 70.

• Sunday, May 25th - departed Anacortes, WA. Before departing we purchased 120 galls of fuel @$4.75/gal. An obvious sign that this adventure was going to be big$$$ Note: In our previous cruise north we departed Anacortes on June 25th. We're finding that so far, the weather has been much nicer than our previous cruise.
  
• Monday, May 26th - Blind Bay, Shaw Island. Anchored: Lat: 48 34.672N Long: 122.56.163W
• Tuesday, May 27th - Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island. Anchored: Lat 48 40.67N Long 123.11.685W Enjoyed our hike to Turn Point Light House. Met some young college students from Illinois. They were spending the summer on Stuart Island researching whales, and they were living at the local school house in exchange for some work at the school. They'd been on the island 10 days and had not yet seen a whale. We also met a Park Ranger who lives on the island in the summertime, and winters in Floriday. His wife is a native of Stuart Island. He said everyone on the island is related!
• Wednesday, May 28th - Tseshum Harbour, Vancouver Island. Cleared Canadian customs at Van Islae (in the rain) and tied up at a guest slip at Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club (SNSYC). Caugt a bus into Sidney and had fun walking around the town. Bought some tasty pastries at a local bakery, before catching the bus back to SNSYC. While on the docks at SNSYC we met a lovely couple (Cliff &Orma Bowering, on Skylark, a Seabird 37 from Port Moody, BC) that is also sailing north, to Alaska,but will be departing a few weeks after us. They are master mariners, having spent 7 years cruising in Venezuela! We are hoping to see them again this summer, as we both have cruise north.
  
• Thursday, May 29th - Comox, Vancouver Island. Anchored. Enjoyed watching Jr. Sailing (CYC) in the Comox Bay in late afternoon. Sun was shining down and the water replets looked beautiful. The mountain peaks also still had snow too!
• Friday, May 31st - Campbell River, Vancouver Island
• Saturday, June lst - " " " "

While we could have stayed only one day in Campbell River, with laundry, shopping and a few minor things Brad needs to do on the boat, we felt it would be better to have two days. One of Brad's projects is to debug why we are not getting as many AMP Hours into our batteries, when we run our engines, as we should. Yesterday he tested the alternator, spoke with the manufacturer, as well as took it to a local shop for further testing. All tests have confirmed the alternator is working fine, so he will do more investigation on the boat today to determine what is causing the problem. Other than that issue, the boat and us are all doing quite well. We're anxious to get to Alaska.

Please feel free to email us and we'll respond when we can. Or you can call us on Brad's cell. You'll most likely get VM if we are running the engines. And if you wish to send snail mail, y ou can mail us: General Delivery, Brad & Darlene Simmons, Ketchikan Post Office, 3609 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901 This general delivery address should work for us thru the end of July, but not certain how much later.

Photos from Prevost Harbor:



Here are some photos of Sidney North Saanich (SNSYC) and Sidney:

Departing Anacortes tomorrow (Sunday) morning

We have had an absolutely beautiful day today. It was our first day where we didn't have any rain, throughout the entire day, and it was definitely a day to wear shorts! While I've seen the locals wearing shorts in 50 degree weather, this was a shorts day for those coming from sunny Southern California - probably in the mid 70's. And a beautiful blue sky too!

We spent more time again today at the Trawler Fest boat show. We have fallen in love with a Nordic Tug 42' and an American Tug 41'. Brad is currently out on a test run for the Nordic Tug. We had hoped to take a test run on the American Tug this evening, but it looks like we'll have to schedule one in September for when we return to Anacortes. Both are very nice boats, but were trying to understand the differences vs cost to determine the best value for what we'd like.

El Bucanero is polished and fully provisioned, with the exception of fuel. If you hear very loud noise early tomorrow morning it is probably our screams from seeing the first fuel bill for this adventure. We realized everything would be more costly when we started planning this trip, but in reality the fuel price is a killer.....for now we'll try to not look at what this adventure costs, as we do want to encourge others to giving it a try. After all, how often does a boater from Southern California get an opportunity to cruise North to Alaska?

We'll be anchoring in the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands, over the coming week....our next chance to have internet access will most likely be when we make it to Tseshum Harbour in British Columbia in ~7-10 days. Until then....

Happy Cruising!

Darlene & Brad

The wind is howling!

Funny how much is dependent on the weather when one is boating. It is certainly difficult to clean and wax a boat when it is raining. And it is difficult to move a boat when it is windy. But when the sun is out and there is calm seas, boating can be very fun. Don't get me wrong, as we are having fun.

Still in anacortes and liesurely preparing the boat to begin cruising. Weather had been ~55 degrees for the high and 45 degrees for a low, with various showers on and off throughout the day. Yesterday afternoon we reached a delightful 70 degrees in the afternoon, making it really nice to finish waxing the hull. While we do see locals in shorts in the ~50 degree weather, we finally started thinking about wearing shorts when it reached 70 degrees.

We woke up this morning to winds with ~35 knot gusts and have are having light sprinkles and the weather is 65 degrees (inside our cabin) and 45 outside! No telling what the weather will be at the end of the day, but for now we are happy to be in a slip.

Brad has arranged for the US Customs to come inspect our boat this coming Saturday at 10am to allow us to get an I-68 pass, which will allow us to call in vs making an actual landing to clear US customs.

We are now planning on departing Anacortes this coming Sunday, heading North. We'll keep you posted on our destinations.

We're now living on our boat in Anacortes

Our boat arrived via truck transport Monday, May 19th ~1am. We had spent the night at the Anaco Bay Inn and were at the marina early morning. We were able to get El Bucanero (EB) launched at the Cap Santa Marina and by 9am were starting to put her back together.

We spent Monday getting the dingy inflated and back up top, bemini up, and all our clothing is now in the proper place. We also did a quick outside cleanup before it started raining.

Today, Tuesday, May 20th we spent provision EB, trying to fill our freezer with items for our cruise. Later in the week we'll pick up items to stock up the fridge, before we set off on our cruise.

Here are some of our photos while in Anacortes:

El Bucanero has left home port!

Wave Runner Boat Transport picked up El Bucanero today, with help from Driscoll's Boat Yard. The plan is to launch El Bucanero in Anacortes, Wa on Monday, May 19th with help from Cap Sante Boat Yard. While the boat left San Diego today, we'll be leaving tomorrow (Sat) early.















{above} Jorge at Driscoll's Boat Yard has lifted our boat out (and put back in) so many times it is difficult to count, and always with great care and cheerfulness.

{below} Jimmy Jackson, owner of Wave Runner Boat Transport, is a really nice man. When we met him in March, he had one very cute traveling companion. But he acquired another traveling companion when he found a cute match to his, abandoned in a truck stop. Aren't these two Apricot Poodles cute?




















{Below} El Bucanero is loaded on Wave Runner and getting ready for the trip to Anacortes, WA.














We're leaving 80+ degree weather in San Diego. It will be fun to see the change of weather as we go north to Alaska.

While we plan to arrive in Anacortes, WA this coming Monday we are thinking of staying over for the Trawler Fest that will be held in Anacortes this coming TH-FR.

We'll keep you posted when we get to Anacortes, WA.

Why Alaska Bound?

Why not?

Actually, in our 2005 cruise we met so many cruisers in the PNW that had cruised North to Alaska it sounded like a wonderful cruise. You can also see so much more on your own boat than on a commercial cruise line with 2,000 of your best friends! Plus, in our 2005 PNW cruise we found that everything got better the further North we cruised, which is amazing given every place we went in 2005 was absolutely wonderful.

Personally, I (Darlene) wanted to have a few experiences with nature (e.g. bears, whales, eagles, waterfalls, hotsprings, fishing, etc.).

We knew we'd cover some areas we cruised in '05, but we looked forward to visiting spending most of our time in SE Alaska and visiting some of our favorite places in that we had visited in 2005. To clarify, Sonora Island in BC was probably the most northerly part of our cruise and we simply didn't have sufficient time to go more North.

Here is a summary of our 2005 PNW adventure.:

0603 - departed MBYC
0604 - spent the night at a truck stop in LeBec, CA
0605 - spent night in Grants Pass, Or
0606 - spent night in Anacortes, WA
0607 - boat arrived, spent night in Anacortes (on boat)
0608 - Anacortes, Fidalgo Island
0609 - Anacortes, Fidalgo Island
0610 - Blakely Island, WA
0611 - OIYC, West sound, Orcas Island
0612 - Reid Harbor, Stuart Island
0613 - Garrison Bay, San Juan Island
0614 - Roche Harbor, San Juan Island
0615 - Friday Harbor, San Juan Island
0616 - Fisherman Bay, Lopez Island
0617 - Blind Bay, Shaw Island
0618 - Blind Bay, Shaw Island
0619 - North Cove, Jones Island
0620 - North Cove, Jones Island
0621 – Echo Bay, Sucia Island
0622 - Anacortes, Fidaglo Island
0623 - Anacortes, Fidaglo Island
0624 - Anacortes, Fidaglo Island
0625 - Deer Harbor, Orcas Island
0626 - Sidney, Vancouver Island, BC
0627 - Capital City YC, Tsehum Hbr, Vancouver Island, BC
0628 - Capital City YC, Tsehum Hbr, Vancouver Island, BC
0629 – Tod Inlet (Buchart Gardens), Vancouver Island, BC.
0630 – Tod Inlet (Buchart Gardens), Vancouver Island, BC

0701 – Ganges Harbor, Salt Spring Island, BC
0702 – Montague Harbor, Galiano Island, BC
0703 – Telegraph Harbor, Thetis Island, BC
0704 – Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, BC
0705 – Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, BC
0706 – Newcastle Island, BC
0707 – Pender Harbor, Schelet Inlet, BC
0708 – Egmont, Schelet Inlet, BC
0709 _ Chatterbox Falls, Princess Louisa Inlet, BC
0710 _ Chatterbox Falls, Princess Louisa Inlet, BC
0711 _ Powell River/Westview
0712 _ Grace Harbor, Desolation Sound
0713 _ Tenedos
0714 _ Prideaux Haven, Melonee Cove
0715 _ Prideaux Haven, Melonee Cove
0716 _ Von Donop Inlet, Cortes Island
0717 _ Gorge Harbor, Cortes Island
0718 _ Campbell River, Vancouver Island
0719 _ Campbell River, Vancouver Island
0720 _ Cameleon Bay, Sonora Island
0721 _ Cameleon Bay, Sonora Island
0722 _ Octopus Islands
0723_ Octopus Islands
0724_ Octopus Islands
0725_ Octopus Islands
0726_ Octopus Islands
0727_ Octopus Islands
0728_ Teakerne Arm, Refuge Cove, Squirrel Cove
0729_ Squirrel Cove
0730_ Squirrel Cove
0731_ Roscoe Bay

0801 _ Pender, Sechelt Peninsula
0802_ Silva Bay, Gabriola Island
0803_ Silva Bay, Gabriola Island
0804_ Pirates Cove, De courcy Island
0805_Pirates Cove, De courcy Island
0806_ Ladysmith, Vancouver Island
0807_ Princess Cove, Wallace Island
0808_ Princess Cove, Wallace Island
0809 _Maple Bay, Vancouver Island
0810_ Maple Bay, Vancouver Island
0811 _Tsehum Harbor (Sidney), Vancouver Island
0812 _Tsehum Harbor (Sidney), Vancouver Island
0813 _Tsehum Harbor (Sidney), Vancouver Island
0814_Portland Island, Princess Margaret Marine Park
0815_Portland Island, Princess Margaret Marine Park
0816_ Fulford, Saltspring Island =>Ganges Harbor, Saltspring Island
0817 Ganges Harbor, Saltspring Island
0818_Ganges Harbor, Saltspring Island
0819_James Bay, Prevost Island
0820_Miners Bay, Mayne Island => Lyall Harbor, Saturna Island
0821_ Lyall Harbor, Saturna Island
0822_ Breezy Bay, Saturna Island => Cabbage Island
0823_Bedwell Harbor, South Pender Island
0824_Bedwell Harbor, South Pender Island
0825_ Roche, Reid Harbor/Stuart Island
0826_ Reid Harbor, Stuart Island
0827_ Reid Harbor, Stuart Island
0828_ Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island
0829_Sucia Island, San Juan Islands
0830_ Jones Island, San Juan Islands
0831_ Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

0901_Friday Harbor, San Juan Island
0902_Friday Harbor, San Juan Island
0903_ Blind Bay, Shaw Island
0904_Blind Bay, Shaw Island
0905_Rosario, Orcas Island ;
0906_Spencer Spit, Lopez Island
0907_Spencer Spit, Lopez Island
0908_James Island
0908_Anacortes
0909 _Anacortes
0910 _Anacortes
0911 _ Anacortes
0912 _Anacortes
0913 _ Grants Pass, Oregon
0914 _ LeBec, California
0915 _ MBYC, San Diego, CA …We are home

Dreaming of heading North to Alaska

We had so much fun cruising the PNW in 2005, we've been dreaming of when we could cruise the PNW again, but this time go further north - North to Alaska! The dream of taking our boat to SE Alaska was on our "bucket list". We didn't want to find ourselves saying, “If we only went to Alaska, when we could have..”

Our boat's home port is Mission Bay Yacht Club (MBYC) in San Diego. It is a great place to be home based and a delightful yacht club. But, our hearts tell us we must cruise north!

We've reviewed our logs from our PNW cruise in 2005, read books & blogs about cruising to SE Alaska, and reviewed appropriate charts. We have new electronics on the boat and added our Mustang Survival Gear, among other items. We feel we are ready to head north and we are anxious for an adventure of a lifetime.

Our boat will be transported by "Wave Maker", boat transporters, from San Diego to Anacortes, Wa, and launched in Anacortes. As our boat is being moved north, we'll drive I-5, and end up leaving our truck Anacortes, while we cruise north.

Updates to this blog are created to keep those concerned aware of where we are, as well as capture insights on cruising the PNW for use by other boaters. For those that are considering cruising the PNW, you may also want to check out our blog which we created during our 2005 cruise:
http://elbucaneropnw.blogspot.com/