Since our last update we've had more days of sunshine than not, but still too many days of overcast, fog, or drizzle, for our taste. We can tell the berries are late coming to season, and we are also hearing that the salmon are late to spawn. So we really want to know....Can this cold summer in the PNW be a sign of global warming?
We are now counting the hours we've had sunshine, not the days. We've also heard the locals say they cound the number of times it rains, not the number of days (e.g. it rained once in July for 10 days and once in July for 19 days, thus it rained twice in July). We've also heard that Mike, from Sea Spirit II, whom we met boating in Alaska, is back in sunny San Diego with family and now complaining of the heat! Thus we ask all our So. Cal friends to send some sunshine to the PNW and we'll try to send water to So. Cal.
THE BROUGHTONs are an area in North BC waters that includes many inlets, islands and waterways that lie on the mainland side of Queen Charlotte Strait, north of Johnstone Strait. Many PNW boaters will spend an entire summer cruising The Broughtons, as there is so much to see. When we cruised the PNW in 2005 we did not have time to go this far north, and unfortunately this summer, having spent time in Alaska, we think we'll only be able to stay in The Broughtons for a week, before we need to continue cruising south. But from what we've seen so far, the area is spectacular. Definitely an area worthy of exploring on the water, as well as on land. And an area rich in history.
We've identified 15 areas that we'd like to visit while cruising The Broughtons, and there are many more wonderful places to go that didn't make it to our list. But with 15 on our list, we know it will be difficult to see them all in the time we have. To clarify, there are more wonderful places in The Broughtons that our list of 15. But as we have such limited time to explore we needed to par down this list. Now, it is going to be interesting to see how many of the 15 we actually get to visit. Here is the list: 1) Jennis Bay, 2) Sullivan Bay, 3) Pierre's/Echo Bay, 4) Shawl Bay, 5) Claydon Bay, 6) Turnbull Cove, 7) Joe's Cove, 8) Greenway Sound Marine Resort, 9) Laura Bay, 10) Kwatsi Bay, 11) Lagoon Cove, 12)Farewell Harbour Resort, 13) Mamalilaculla, 14)Kingcome Inlet, 15) Port Neville
Oh. Before I forget. We've not had cell phone coverage for a few days. Seems there are not enough people in areas near Cape Caution for good cell coverage. It also looks like, while we'll have cell coverage in The Broughtons it may be sporadic. But as we get further south we should have great cell coverage. Still, please don't hesitate to call - just leave a message and be patient if it takes a few days for us to get back to you.
Here is an update on what we've been up to since our last posting:
August 2nd – Prince Rupert to Klewnugget (52.7 nm)
Klewnugget is slightly south of Kumealean, where we stayed on our way North. We wanted to try something different and we were very happy with both Kumealean and Klewnugget anchorages. In Klewnugget we anchored at 53 42.930N 129 43.691W
The view from inside the cabin of our boat.
August 3rd – Klewnugget to Hartley Bay (36.6 nm)
We had stopped at Hartley Bay on our way north. While there were other places to stay nearby, this was one of the places we wanted to visit again on our way south. This time was a bit different as the sun was out. We did the same hikes, but enjoyed the sunshine and warmth. Weather was in the low to mid 80's. Our GPS location was 53 25.464N 129 15.038W
Here is a photo of Brad on the boardwalk, in Hartley Bay, which passes the fish hatchery and leads to the lake.
August 4th – Hartley Bay to Khutze Inlet (42 nm)
We had stayed in Khutze Inlet when we cruised north, but this inlet is so large that there are many places to anchor that all offer a different perspective. On our way north we had anchored close to the mouth of the inlet, near a bar. This time we anchored close to the head of the inlet, in between the falls and the river.
All afternoon we had warm weather, in the mid 80's. We enjoyed sitting in the cockpit watching the seals and Bald Eagles catch fish. We observed what we felt was an unusual feeding behavior for seals, or at least unusual for our So. Cal seal population. These seals would line up at the mouth of the river and hold perfectly still, waiting for fish. Then, all at once, they would circle and flap their bodies, creating a bubble feeding type of technique where they'd then catch fish.
There were many eagles and at one point we counted 12 eagles on the river's sandbar. Some had caught fish, but the others were acting like little beggers, too lazy to catch their own fish.
The following morning the tide was quite low and we were entertained with many bears on the meadow and low tide area. Some would stand on their hind legs and look out at the water (toward us), and at times we would see them on all fours raise their head up out of the meadow grass. Quite fun to watch.
Our anchorage location was 53 05.334N 128 25.944W
Brad setting his crab trap.
Some of the catch of the day.
The nearby falls, of which this photo does not capture their beauty.
One of many falls that we passed on our cruise to today.
August 5th – Khutze Inlet to Rescue Bay (43.7 nm)
Rescue Bay was an anchorage that we had passed on our way North. We found it to be a beautiful anchorage and we were also blessed with sunshine in the afternoon. Oddly enough, at night time, we could hear seals feeding nearby and we felt one hit our anchor chain as it was chasing fish!
Our anchorage location was 52 30.814N 128 17.263W
This is our left over crab, after last night's all you can eat crabfest dinner. These leftovers will be used to make crabcakes.
A view from our boat during the cruise today.
August 6th – Rescue Bay to Shearwater (36 nm) to Codville Lagoon (17 nm)
This leg of the journey we had very thick fog from the majority of Rescue Bay to Shearwater. Shortly before Shearwater it felt as if we had gone thru an open door, where on one side was very thick fog and the other side was bright sunshine. In the fog conditions, which were so thick there were times you couldn't see much forward the bow of our boat, we needed to cruise quite slowly. There were also many logs in the water, but fortunately most had birds sitting on top, making it easier to spot them. Seems like when there isn't any winds there are more birds on top of the floating timber.
We tried to get fuel in Bella Bella, which is near Shearwater, but logistically a more better match for our route South. Unfortunately the fuel docks were out of fuel and would not have anymore until Friday. Thus, we ended up having to go into Shearwater to simply pick up some fuel. Fortunately it wasn't too much out of the way and it was under good weather conditions (delightful sunshine). But, we ended up with the highest fuel bill we've seen to-date. And keep in mind this was for "topping off" our tanks. $724 CDN for 442 litres. Ouch!!!
We found anchoring in Codville Lagoon to be delightful. It is a beautiful area but the sun was out and weather was in the low 80's. We spent time relaxing in our cockpit, reading and enjoying the warmth of the sun in the afternoon.
Our anchorage location was 52 03.656N 127 50.229W
A view from inside the cabin today.
Taking on fuel in Shearwater. Yeap, that is a floatplane getting fuel behind us!
Entering Codville Lagoon
Brad relaxing in Codville Lagoon..
This beautiful wooden boat, built in 1932, was next to us in Codville Lagoon.
August 7th – Codville Lagoon – Fury Cove, Penrose Island (41nm)
We can understand why Fury Cove is a favorite anchorage among many PNW boaters. It certainly has become one of our favorites. On the west side of the cove there are several mini-islands, some with trees, and several with white sandy beaches (true sand, not midden beaches). We had one of the most spectacular sunsets we've had this year, even better than any sunset we had in Hawaii during our April/May trip.
Our anchorage was 52 29.281N 127 45.548W
One of the white sandy beaches in Fury Cove
The sunset at Fury Cove
August 8th – Fury Cove to Blunden Harbor (52nm)
This leg of the cruise can be one of the more dangerous parts of cruising to north, if you do not watch the weather. You round Cape Caution, which the nearby waters are quite shallow, contributing to bad seas under bad weather conditions. We felt lucky that our journey south was under great weather, as most of the time the seas were quite calm & glassy. This made up for our passage north, when we had to hold tight in Port McNeil for 3 days due to gale force winds.
Blundon Harbor is an area rich in history. This is a site of an old Indian village, which became famous as a trading post when Europeans explored the PNW. To clarify, this area dates back to prior to white men being in the PNW. While I've learned only a little of the history, it appears that when the French came to the area they brought glass beads to trade with the Indians. The Indians ended up with so many glass beads that when they'd greet and/or send fellow Indians off in their canoes the ones on land would toss glass beads to those in the canoes, thus creating a situation where there were many glass beads on the shoreline. Today, people still find glass beads on the shoreline.
Unfortunately our stay in Blunden didn't occur at a time when low tide and daylight would allow us to explore the beaches. But we did have fun exploring at close to high tide. While we didn't find any glass beads (like trying to find a pearl on a sandy beach), another couple on the beach did find a beautiful blue bead while we were nearby.
Our anchorage location was 50 54.312N 127 17.431W
Exploring the beach in Blunden Harbor
A beautiful ship in Blunden Harbor.
August 9th - Blunden Harbor to Jennis Bay, The Broughtons (24 nm)
Jennis Bay is located on Drury Inlet on the NW side of The Broughtons. Our short cruise this morning was quite beautiful and we were greeted by a few Dahls Porpoise as we entered Drury Inlet. The resort is hosting a potluck social this evening, which we are looking forward to as it also gives us a chance to chat with other boaters currently cruising these waters. There are plenty of hiking trails nearby, lakes, and the bay is spectacular. The nearby waters are perfect for exploring by kayak or dinghy. http://www.jennisbay.com/
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