Well, we are home now and I think I have done as much laundry as I possibly want to do in one week!!  So I will catch you up on our journey.

 

After leaving Greenway Sound Marina, we left for Shawl Bay Marina to join with Merlin (Susan, Rod and Katie).  This was a typical marina in that they cram you in which is what the 3 boats did.  Luckily there is usually help on the docks and of course, since we are usually the last in, we get help from our friends!  It is almost worth being slower.  The next morning this marina has a pancake breakfast for all of their guests.  We left Shawl Bay for Waddington Bay.  The 3 boats anchored.  This was an absolutely fantastic place.  I think when we come back to the Broughtons that this is a must stop.  The kayakers kayaked and Larry and I took a dinghy ride.

 

The next day Merlin left to meet other friends.  Puffin and LaMouette anchored at Village Island.  This is where the last of the potlatches were held way back.  When Larry and I were here several years ago, many of the houses were still standing but now only 2 still stand.  I have just finished reading Totem Poles and Tea by one of the school teachers of long ago.  What a life these people had.  Tuberculosis being a common occurrance.  It was also overgrown with blackberry bushes and the like.  Steve pointed out a ball of snakes!!!!!!!which I greatfully avoided!!!

 

We left Village Island for Potts Lagoon.  We had been the only 3 boats here on our way up but tonight there are 5 or 6.  From here we went thru Whirlpool and Greenway Rapids to Blind Channel Resort.  Here we reprovisioned and had a nice dinner in the gourmet restaurant that is usually not open when we are here.  The next morning we motored to Dent Rapids and killed some time to get thru them at the right time.  We went throught Dent, Guillard and Yaculta Rapids and on to Von Donop Inlet where we spent another delightful night.  Von Donop is another of our favorite anchorages.

 

We crossed over the water to Heriot Bay Marina where we met up with Merlin again. One of the boats on the dock was "Art Sea".  It turned out to belong to Sue Coleman a world renown watercolorist.  Needless to say, I was totally in awe of her.  We have one of her prints on LaMouette. We reprovisioned at the great grocery store they have here and then had dinner at the restaurant.  The food was awesome!  On the 23 we went to Rebecca Spit and walked the Spit collecting who knows what.

 

On the 24, 25, and 26 we were a Comox on the Vancouver Island side.  We are waiting out weather before heading to Nanaimo.  This is a working harbor and we were able to partake fish from the vendors.  Steve bought salmon and Larry bought prawns.  We love these working docks.  We hung out a Nanaimo before heading through Dodds Narrows and on to Montague Marine Park.  Traveling in August is very different for us as most anchorages and marinas are crowded.  From Montague we went to Beaumont Marine Park where we met up with Merlin again.

 

After clearing customs Puffin and LaMouette headed off to Garrison Bay on San Juan Island where we will participate in Squalicum Yacht Clubs annual cruise.

 

So after covering almost 23 hundred miles on LaMouette over a 17 week period there are lots of thoughts about this journey.  What a journey it was.  We are very glad that we did it and we had an incredible time.  The whales, icebergs, bears and scenery were amazing but in actuality the people we meet along the way made this trip fantastic.  It was proven time and time again that boaters are boaters and that the size of your boat did not matter.  In spite of a couple of glitches, LaMouette proved to be smallish but handled each situation well.  I am not sure that we would do this trip again in a 30 foot sailboat.  There is big water up there!  The things I missed most on this trip was, and not necessarily in order, the washer dryer, the dish washer, looooooong free showers, Fred Meyers and of course all of you---our friends and family.

 

So where are we going next, you may ask.  Well, LaMouette is coming out of the water tomorrow for cleaning, waxing, etc.  I think we would like to spend much more time exploring the Broughtons, like a month or so in early summer.

When we left Shearwater, the weather was partly cloudy with some sun.  It was warm.  We are heading to Namu, B.C.  Namu was once a thriving cannery (sound familiar?) that slowly went down hill.  It now has two couples as caretakers:  Renie and Pete and Teresa and Tom.  They are something else.

 

We arrived 2 days before the annual pig roast.  It was decided by the four of us to stay as we felt this might be another "happening"!  And it was!  First off people from all over come to this event.  On Saturday morning, the party barge became THE place to be.  Pete, one of the caretakers, started the pigs on the barbeque.  The big decision of the moment was whether the pigs should be snout to snout, snout to butt or butt to butt.  Snout to snout won out.  Pete would painstakingly baste these pigs with beer and he told Larry that he wasn't sure whether it was 2 beers for the pigs and one beer for him or the other way around!  This was at 9:30 in the morning!  As the potluck progressed, more food was put out on the table and then at 5 p.m. the pigs were done.  I am sure that you are all wondering what a nice Jewish girl is doing at a pig roast and I know I cannot answer this question.  But it was definitely an event.  We were the "outsiders" but were welcomed with open arms.

 

On Sunday August 12, we left Namu to go to Fury Cove another step closer to home.  There was wind for us and so we put up sails.  The seas were lumpy when we arrived at Fury Cove but it was still as beautiful as on our trip up.  At 0 dark hundred the next morning we left Fury Cove to go around Cape Caution and the open waters.  Leaving early was a great idea because the water was like glass and we went around the Cape quite easily.  On the other side, the rollers started.  Steve and Joyce said that at several moments all they could see of LaMouette was her mast!  The rollers were 6 to 8 feet and not close together.  We arrived at Blunden Harbor and anchored.

 

We decided to spend two nites at Blunden Harbor so in the morning we all got in our dinghies to see how far we could make it to the waterfalls.  On the way, we spotted a black bear.  We turned off our motors and drifted close to him.  He could definitely hear us and knew we were there but he was too busy eating other things than to be concerned about us.  We made it to the waterfalls.  The current was great but it was truly beautiful.  At high tide you can go into the lagoon where the falls started from.  We will definitely do that next time.

 

We left Blunden Harbor on Tuesday to go down Queen Charlotte Strait and head into the Broughtons.  Because this is open water, we were a little concerned but again we had light wind to sail and glassy water.  We pulled into Sullivan Bay Marina and the sun was shining and it was warm.  Sullivan Bay Marina is situated on floats.  There are many float houses, all done in a New England style.  We had dinner at their restaurant and a quiet night followed.

 

The morning was cloudy and then the rains started.  We left Sullivan Bay Marina to go to Greenway Sound Marina where we are now.  This is another marina on floats.  The sun came out finally.  We made contact with Rod and Susan Dean on Merlin of SYC and will meet up with them over the next few days.

On Monday, July 30th, we left our slips in Ketchikan to head to Foggy Bay, our last stop before re-entering British Columbia.  The weather is sunny with some clouds.  Much more uneventful than when we entered Alaska.  The next day we got up at 4 a.m. as weather across Dixon Entrance is good.  The sun was shining and the seas cooperated.  We arrived at the Rushbrook government docks in Prince Rupert and both Puffin and LaMouette had to raft.  This is a very busy fishing dock and no one cares about wakes.  We spent 2 days there restocking.   

 

August 2nd and again another early departure.  The weather is great as we head down Grenville channel.  Our timing was great for the tide and current changes.  We decided to move on to Lowe Inlet which has become a favorite spot.  The next day we jib sailed into Hartley Bay for refueling.  Again we left Hartley and put the jib up.  A radio call from Puffin stated that there were hundreds of dolphins heading our way.  It turned out they were not dolphins but hundreds of pilot whales!  An awesome sight.

 

Our jib sailing kept us going 7 knots as we entered Khutze Inlet.  There we anchored in front of the cascading waterfall.  There was also a small whale here and we believe it to be a minke whale.  If you looked in the water you could see hundreds of schools of salmon!  I guess we know why the whale was here.  A seaplane landed in the inlet long enough to drop 2-3 crab pots off!  After dinner Larry and I took a dinghy ride through the marshes to another waterfall.  The channel got down to 10 feet across.  I tell you this because on the way back, we spotted a "moose" in the water.  That moose turned out to be the biggest grizzly bear!!!  We  were about 20 feet from him!  We kicked up the motor and took off to the safety of LaMouette. 

 

On Sunday August 5th we left Khutze Inlet to go to Klemtu, an Indian Village.  The sun was shining and we had the current with us so we were going 6-7 knots.  Klemtu docks had very little to tie to but we managed.  We learned that the BC Ferry would be serving dinner at 5 p.m.  It seems that this was an "event" as we thought the whole town turned out.  We found that at Klemtu you eat hamburgers with fries and gravy and chocolate cake!!  We four just had the burgers!

 

It was cloudy when we left Klemtu.  We were heading to Boat Inlet in Reid Passage.  The entrance to Boat Inlet is narrow and rocky so after we saw Puffin in there we knew we could make it.  At one point our depth was 12 feet from the water line!!  As we entered we heard sandhill cranes which are known to be here.

 

Yesterday we head across open water for awhile while we headed to Shearwater and the marina.  We have restocked our galleys and fueled up.  Our next stop will be one day closer to Cape Caution.

We left Wrangell to head down through Zimovia Strait to Frosty Bay.  The weather was nice however we did have to zig and zag through the gill netters.  There so many of them.  When we got to Frosty Bay it was sunny so anchoring was easy.

 

The next day we left LaMouette at Frosty Bay and went aboard Puffin to go to the Anan Bear Observatory.  I had read about the Observatory in a Sunset Magazine a few years ago and was anxious to see the black and grizzly bears.  We anchored Puffin and rowed ashore.  The first ranger met us with his rifle half way up the trail and told us what to do if we encountered bears!  We talked loud and sang many songs, clapping our hands and stomping our feet on the boardwalk.  When we got close to the platform to view the bears in Anan Creek, the  next ranger signaled us to stop.  There was a black bear near the boardwalk.   We waited until the ranger signaled us that we could pass.

 

We spent the next 4 hours in awe and amazement watching black bears catch salmon in the creek.  Later in the day the grizzly bears replaced the black bears for another round of awe and amazement.  There were eagles everywhere.  We cannot explain the feeling to be only a few feet away from grizzly bears as they were catching fish in the stream.  Within the next few days we will be posting the photos.  Like I said before Larry could not help himself in the last posting of pictures.  In his attempt to put the photos into smaller groups, i.e., whales, icebergs, glaciers and bears he removed from our blog the photos and in trying to replace them in those groups, he was denied access to adding more as he had exceeding our monthly limit.  Be patient and check out our blog in August to see the group pictures; i.e., bears, glaciers etc.

 

We returned to Frosty Bay to pick up LaMouette and went to Santa Anna Inlet to anchor for the night.  When we awoke the next morning, the sun was shining and there was blue sky.  We left the anchorage to go to Meyers Chuck with the sun shining.  As we approached Clarence Strait the wind picked up and so did the seas.  We entered the narrow entrance in 20+ knots of wind with 5 foot seas.  We were glad to see the dock.  Puffin arrived shortly thereafter.  After 5 weeks Meyers Chuck was a friendly and secure place to tie up the boats.

 

We stayed one night and decided to head to Ketchikan and headed out into Clarence Strait only to find the conditions a little worse than the day before.  After a short time we all decided to return to the safety of Meyers Chuck spending the day with old friends we had met along the way and new friends at the docks.  Larry baked cookies on the barbeque and they were shared with Puffin.

 

The next day was sunny and the weather conditions had improved.  So we headed for Ketchikan.  By the time we reached Ketchikan it was pouring down rain and it looks like we will be here for the next few days waiting for good conditions before crossing Dixon Entrance.  Alaska has exceeding all of our expectations.  Our adventure will continue as we head to Canada and home.  We will still be updating our blog so keep on checking in with us.

For those of you who are still with us, thank you for looking at all the pictures Larry put on the blog.  The sights here are so unbelievable that it is hard not to want to include all of them.

 

The new docks at Wrangell are not done so we are at the transient dock.  We are rafted to Puffin and most rafts are 3 to 4 boats deep.  There are so many fishing boats here.  Each one different from the next.  Some are in great shape and some are not.  On Saturday, we all spent the day in town.  This town is hurting for something other than fishing to bring in revenue.  We manage to keep busy and leave some tourist money here!  On Sunday we took a taxi to the pictograph beach.  There we walked the beach and the rocks to see the ancient pictographs.  They are not sure whether these rocks were brought here by glacial flow or whether the Indians here did them.  In any event, they took at least a day each of chiseling.

 

Tomorrow we head down Zimovia Strait to Frosty Bay where we will leave LaMouette the next day to travel to the Anan Bear Observatory.  We are hoping for good weather as it has be raining most of today.  Our next big stop will be Ketchikan in 4-5 days.

Monday, July 2nd--Joyce and I spent the day in Juneau shopping.  There are thousands of cruise ship passengers and even more tee shirts with a thousand and one way to say Alaska.  On July 3rd friends we had met at Cannery Cove invited us to her sister's 4th of July party.  From Douglas on the beach we waited almost until midnight as it was not dark enough to see the fire works.  They were spectacular even though a little rain fell.  On the 4th Larry and Steve took the Mt.Roberts Tram while Joyce and I walked around.  From the pictures you can see the view.

 

We left Juneau on July 5th and headed to Auke Bay on the other side of Gastineau Channel.  It took awhile to locate a place for both boats.  This part was not fun.  As you look from the Harbor you can see the Mendenhall Glacier.  It is huge!  After we left Auke Bay we saw the Point Retreat Lighthouse.   This is the farthest North we would travel.  We decided to stop at the State Docks in Funter Bay.  They left a little to be desired as when water hit the docks, some parts of the docks were under water!  It is a good thing we float.   People we met earlier tied up behind us.  We spent the evening on their boat listening to Steve and Van play guitar.  I will not say more as this is Steve's Story.

 

We headed across Chatham Channel to Swanson Harbor.  This Harbor is so tucked away and the weather was warm and sunny.  We are at State Docks for the night.  The State Docks here are free!  In the morning we head to Tenakee Hot Springs.  This little village as you can see from our pictures is funky.  The main street is 3 miles long and 6 feet wide.  We walked to town from the docks to find dinner.  We were told we could get hamburgers at Rosie's Blue Moon Cafe.  When you walked in, the floor space was covered with boxes of soft drinks, beer, and boxes of wine.  In order for her to cook dinner for us, she had to warm up the grills and fryer, peel and cut the potatoes, and then make the burgers. This process took 2-3 hours.  We got great fries but the hamburgers were a little rare.  We decided to leave the Imodium out if we did not die first!!  The next day we spent walking the road and taking pictures.   The waterfront property went for $150,000 while the other side went for $50,000.  While I did laundry that day, 2 young men from the fishing vessel, The Greyling, came in.  They had forgotten their soap and did not want to walk back to the boat so I gave them some soap.   Later that day, they came to LaMouette with 2 huge crabs to thank me.  The crabs were at least 10 inches!  We shared with Steve and Joyce.   They were great!

 

We got up early on July 5th.  There are fog banks everywhere.  As we turn the point all hell breaks loose so we call Puffin and turn back to Pavlof Bay.  The seas had taken a turn for the worse.  We spent 2 nights in this Bay.  When we leave we are able to put up our jib as we go across Peril Strait.  Getting into Cosmos Bay was tricky but oh so beautiful.  On Friday, the 13 we head to Warm Springs Bay on Baranof Island.  Their are more State Docks.  Larry and I head to the hot baths.  There are 3 rooms with locked doors overlooking the huge waterfalls.  Two of the rooms have huge troughs and one had a handmade bath tub out of cedar.  It was hot and wonderful.  The next night all 4 of us were in different bathtubs (you do the math) and Larry said it was not often you could talk to your friends while bathing!!

 

On the 15th we left Warm Springs Bay.  It was foggy and we are greatful we have radar.  As we round the bottom of Admiralty Island, there are many sea lions.  These animals are huge!  Off to our starboard we can see about 20-30 eagles!  There must be good fishing here for them all.    Our next stop was Kake which is a small Tlingit community.  We stop at the fuel docks and learn that there is a funeral in town and we must wait.  Finally we get our fuel and fill up with water.  We ask if they sell ice and they say know.  So the clerk Joanna calls the big grocery store and they are closed but they will give us ice when we get there.  I ask how far it is and Joanna hands me the keys to her Subaru and tells me to take it to the store!  Joyce and I go and when we get the store it is dark but someone opens the door and gives us 3 bags of ice!  What a town!

 

When we leave Kake on the 16th, we pass more eagles.  As we head into Frederick Sound, we see whale spouts.  We motor on over to hear these humpback whales communicating with one another.  They are spouting and fluking.  Then they formed a circle and fed on the fish in the water.  When they do this they come part way out of the water.  We must have watched them for about an hour or so, taking lots of pictures! 

 

We spent the night in Portage Bay and then went on to Petersburg.  It is warm and sunny and we are here for a couple of days.  Our next stop should be Wrangell.

Well, I suppose you are wondering what has happened to us since Prince Rupert.  Wellllllllllllllllllll here goes.

 

We left Prince Rupert in the morning of July 13.  We went through Venn Passage which had many sharp 90 degree turns.  As Puffin and LaMouette headed toward Dundas Island the sun was out and it was flat on the seas.  It was early yet when we entered Chatham Channel.  We called Puffin and decided to head for Foggy Bay which is across Dixon Entrance.  Our first stop in Alaska!  It was glassy smooth when we started across.  About half way the winds picked up.  The swells were 4-5 feet hitting across our beam.  White caps.  Not fun.  We finally got close to Foggy Bay.  Entering was fun (?) because there were breakers and white caps and tide rips and lots of rocks.  But we made it into Foggy Bay where it was flat and peaceful.  We made it to ALASKA!!!!

 

Thursday, June 14th--We leave a comfortable anchorage and head out of Foggy Bay to Ketchikan.  Again it is not an easy trick to get out of Foggy Bay.  There are 2-3 foot waves hitting us broadside for the first couple of hours.  But the sun is shining.  Several huge cruise ships pass us both coming and going to Ketchikan.   Puffin calls us to tell us there are whales ahead!  We see their dorsal fins but are not close enough for pictures.  We moor at Bar Harbor Marina in Ketchikan.  We clear customs.  With our Nexus there is no problem.

 

The next morning we take the city bus to downtown Ketchikan where we go down Creek Street where there used to be many brothels.  There are a lot of  cruise ship passengers.

 

On 6-17 the weather is not good enough to leave so we take the city bus to the Totem Heritage Museum.  These are old totem poles that are being preserved.  We are the only people there.

 

On 6-18 we leave Ketchikan for Meyers Chuck via Clarence Strait which is a huge body of water.  We spot whales and one even flukes for us.  Meyers Chuck has a rocky shallow entrance but is marked well.  We are all tied up at the State Dock.  The State of Alaska provides these docks free.  They are wonderful!  We meet a family of 4 on a Catalina 36 named Wind Dancer from Juneau.  They are on their way to New Zealand taking 3 years to do it all!  Amazing!!

 

On the 19th we leave Meyers Chuck for Santa Anna Inlet.  As we round the point we again are hit by 2-3 foot waves broadside.  We are almost getting used to this!  The Inlet is calm but raining.  We have a very peaceful night.  In the morning it is still drizzling.  We head to Zimovia Narrows where there were many right angle turns.  One must pay attention to the red and green markers.  Locals had told us to go to Roosevelt Bay for a pretty anchorage.  When Puffin called to say they were anchored we could hear in their voice that it was not the greatest anchorage.  When we got there, we agreed.  We did a very long day to St. Johns Harbor.  We went 50 miles today!

 

On June 21st it is raining as we head across the Strait to Wrangell Narrows.  It gets very very narrow in spots.  There is a tide change in the middle of the narrows so we anchor for the afternoon at Half Moon Bay and watch the fisherman.  I have figured fishing out.  First you let your boat float down a ways.  Then you stand up, rev up your engine, wake all the other boats and go up stream to repeat the process until you catch a fish.  I guess that is why they call it fishing and not catching!  We catch the tide to Petersburg.  The water is flat and the sun is shining!

 

We are moored in North Harbor of Petersberg Marina.  This is a working harbor.  Lots of fishing boats even Desire from our own Squalicum Harbor.  They really do come to Alaska to fish!!  The next evening there is a knock on our hull.  One of the locals caught a lot of crab and would we like 2.  You bet!  We share them with Steve and Joyce.

 

June 23rd is a work day for Larry and Steve as they will change the oil. 

 

June 24th--We are up at 6 a.m. to head off thru Frederick Sound to Portage Bay where we spend a pleasant evening.  On June 25th 6 a.m. comes way too soon.  The Bay is covered with fog but we have our radar and as the day progresses the sun comes out.  We have a great sail (yes, sail) with our jib.  We anchor in Cannery Cove on Admiralty Island.  There are several other boats here.  At dusk we see that there are 2 grizzly bears on shore just minding their own business.  We are surrounded by snowy mountains and waterfalls.  This is so serene.

 

June 26 we have a leisurely morning and then head out.  It is warm and sunny.  As we head out of the Bay, we spot humpback whales.   They are frolicking in the water.  Breeching! Splashing their fins.  Fluking!  One whale came about 20 feet from LaMouette!  Then we have dolphins surfing by the bow of LaMouette.  What a day.  We anchor in Good Island Nook in Gambier Bay.  It is so very calm and peaceful.  It is still hard to go to sleep at 10 p.m. with it being as bright as day.

 

June 27th finds us heading to Tracy Arm Cove to see icebergs.  We encounter more whales.  Again we are amazed.  We put our jib up again as we sail into the Cove.  As we enter the Cove we can see icebergs!  They are so very blue.  One even has an eagle sitting on it.  Don't they get cold feet?  Larry and Steve head out to get bergie bits for our iceboxes!

 

On the 28th we leave LaMouette at anchor and board Puffin to see if we can get to Sawyer Glacier up Tracy Arm.  There are so many icebergs each a different blue.  Some as big as boats--some as big as houses!  The sun is shining and there is blue sky as we enter the canyons.  The canyons got very narrow and Steve maneuvered Puffin expertly through the icebergs.  We got to the S curve where we started seeing boats turning around.  It must have been a big day for the glacier in calving as Tracy Arm's icebergs blocked the channel.  We turned around not willing to risk Puffin.  But we were not disappointed.  Sometimes the destination is not as important as the journey!

 

We left Tracy Arm Cove the morning of the 29th where we left for Taku Harbor.  There is another State Dock and Puffin and LaMouette tie up there.  There was an abandoned cannery there and a Forest Service Cabin.  We have decided to spend 2 nights here.  We meet some wonderful people from Juneau.  One, the head of the Department of Transportation for the State of Alaska offers us the use of one of his cars while we are in Juneau.  Every one is so very friendly, helpful and kind.

 

On July 1st we are off to Juneau, our goal!  We are passed by many cruise ships.  One must go under the Juneau-Douglas Bridge in order to get into the Harbor.  It's clearance is 50 feet at high tide.   As LaMouette motors towards the bridge the gauge on the bridge says it is low tide with a clearance of 60 feet.  We make it!  And so does Puffin.  We are moored in Harris Harbor where our slips are a little short for Puffin but even for LaMouette!  Juneau is supposed to get a lot of rain but yesterday and today it is just cloudy.  Behind the city are huge snow capped mountains.  What a view to wake up to.

 

Last year when Larry and I sat down to plan this journey, Juneau was the destination.  We cannot believe we are here!  We will be here thru the 4th of July.  There will be fireworks in Gastineau Channel on the 3rd.  What a trip!  We will be starting our journey back to Bellingham but will visit many new spots along the Inside Passage including the Anan Bear Observatory, Wrangell and many more so keep tuning in. 

 

 

 LaMouette--she is an old boat but she is a good old boat!!

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful morning to head to Shearwater.  The sun was shining as the Alaskan Ferry passed us by.  As we get near New Bella Bella we see a boat actually sailing towards us.  It is Velveteen Rabbit with Sharon at the helm.  They are out of fuel.  Puffin gives them some fuel just as a big BC Ferry approaches.  When we got to Shearwater we all fueled up and headed for the dock to tie up for the evening.  The next morning is a grocery shop and clean the boat day.  Also laundry is done along with showers and dinner out.  The next morning we notice a BBC photographer taking pictures of the local eagle.  There is a man in a dinghy laying salmon on the water and then we all wait for the eagle to approach.  Everyone has their camera out.  It is awesome.

 

May 30th we leave Shearwater and head to Oliver Cove Marine Park.  We have to go slightly off shore to get there so we experienced rolling roller waves.  LaMouette is invited to raft with Puffin with a stern tie.  Then we all see the black bear on the beach!  Cameras in hand we take pictures.  Shortly there after we notice the bear coming our way.  He sits on our stern line!  We were no less than 50 feet from the bear!  You will see the many pictures we took.  He could not care about us.  He only cared about eating grass.  Another boat anchored in the cove was in their dinghy to take their dogs ashore.  We all yelled that there was a bear on the beach and the captain said--It is okay--we have leashes!!!!  Duh!!!!

 

May 31st and we are all on our way to Klemtu a native village.  It is crisp and clear.  After we get water, we all decided to head across Finlayson Channel to Bottleneck Inlet.  There was enough wind to put the jib up.  As one enters the Inlet there are tall rocky cliffs on both sides and a small narrow passage into a wide lagoon.  Our alarm is set for 6 a.m. on June 1st; however, when we get up we have only 1 foot of water under our keel and the tide is going out still.  We move very quickly to weigh anchor!We cross over Finlayson Channel and travel down Hiekish Narrows to Fraser Reach.  We pass a logging camp where we get to see a helicopter drop logs in the water to a log boom.

 

There are so many waterfalls, each one more beautiful than the last.  We make a port turn into Butedale and are greeted by a massive waterfall and the funky marina.  Butedale was a cannery where many years ago when the fishing industry died the people just upped and left everything.  The caretaker is a character named Lou.  He has revamped the old cook house to be his home.  The docks are made up of logs and planks.  Popeye would have been proud.  Most of the buildings in Butedale have fallen down.  Larry goes into a couple of them without me knowing.  We spent 2 nights in Butedale with evening campfire with Lou both nights.  All of us take different hikes around the area.  Larry and I go to the powerhouse.  As you can tell by the photo that Lou is using the old turbin to operate a small alternator which is fed through an inverter to supply him with a small amount of AC current.  Pretty elaborate system!

 

June 3rd and we are off to Bishop Bay Hot springs.  The ride is pretty uneventful.  We do have blue sky but no wind.  We are all at the dock with a beautiful view of waterfalls.  We enjoyed a long hot soak in the very warm water.

 

In the morning we leave the Hot Springs for Hartley Bay, a native village.  It is cloudy and rainy.  After we all fuel up, we are tied to the same dock.  The whole village is connected with a series of wooden board walks where they use ATVs and electric carts for their mode of transportation.  We went to the Red Feather Cafe for a great halibut dinner which turned out to be in a families dining room.  After dinner Larry walked to the fish hatchery with Bear a smelly dog!  We found the village to be very friendly.  We were interviewed by the Mounties.

 

June 5th and we are off to Nettle Falls Basin in Lowe Inlet.  LaMouette and Velveteen Rabbit are anchored on the side while Puffin is anchored right in front of the Falls.  We see bears along the shoreline.  Also a porcupine!!

 

The following Rob and Sharon left very early to attempt traversing Grenville Channel where there is a separation in the tides.  Several hours later they returned to Lowe Inlet and informed us of large woody debris coming from the Skeena River and flooding conditions which prevented them from reaching the upper end of Grenville Channel.  They decided that they were going back to Hartley Bay.  After a quick conversation with Puffin, we also decided to go back with them.  Upon returning to Hartley Bay we learned that a large slide on the mainland prevent fuel shipments to Prince Rupert.  Rob was able to fill his tanks prior to the Mounties shutting down all fuel sales in the area.  That evening we had a spaghetti potluck on LaMouette at which time Rob and Sharon informed us that they were turning back.  After some discussion Steve and Joyce and Larry and I decided that we were so close to making our goal that we would continue.

 

The next morning Velveteen Rabbit left Hartley Bay.  Puffin and LaMouette returned to Lowe Inlet to spend another delightful night.  That evening Steve and Larry calculated the time of the tides and we followed the flood up Grenville Channel where it turned to an ebb and went into Baker Inlet via Watts Narrows.  We spent 2 nights rafted to Puffin waiting out a storm. 

 

After leaving Baker Inlet we continued up Grenville Channel into Prince Rupert.  There was quite a lot of debris in the water.  We had a following sea and the rest of the trip to Prince Rupert was uneventful.  By the time we got to Prince Rupert we all were ready for showers and dinner out.  We managed to get the last 2 slips available.  A large Coast Guard was unloading fuel and now getting fuel is no problem.

 

Tomorrow June 13th we have a weather window to head Brundage Inlet on Dundas Island.  The following day we will cross over Dickson Entrance to Alaska!!

We spent two days in Port McNeil.  Then on the morning of May 24th we decided to cross Queen Charlotte Strait.  LaMouette was the first to leave and as we rounded Malcolm Island we headed across to Blunden Harbor.  All went well.  We pulled into Blunden Harbor.  Such a beautiful place.  As you can see in the pictures there was an old house there plus you could see where the long house was built.  We took a long dinghy ride in and out of the little nooks and cranies.  It was glorious.  In the morning we left to go around Cape Caution which is in Queen Charlotte Sound.  Puffin stayed relatively close to us--just in case.  It was not as bad as it could have been.  There were 1-2 foot rollers but all in all a good passing.  We pulled in to Fury Bay (thanks you Hummels!!!!) and anchored in front of the openings.  We went to shore where we found lots of shells.  The mussel shells we found were 6-8 inches long.  Larry even found an abalone shell!  We spent two nights in this beautiful bay.  We could have spent longer and may on our way back.

 

Sunday May 27th found us going to Codville Lagoon Marine Park.  LaMouette had a seaplane buzz us and then wave at us.  I thought he was going to hit the mast!  Planes wave at you by tip their wings up and down, in case you did not know this.  The entrance to Codville Lagoon Marine Park was narrow with lots of rocks but we made it in.  We went to the 2nd lagoon and anchored while awaiting Puffin and Velveteen Rabbit.  It was cloudy and rainy but beautiful.  The trees surrounding us were old growth but had never been harvested as they were growing on mostly rock.  Their bark was silvery.  Larry and I watched two Canada Geese tend to their young.  We also saw a weasel and what we think was a common merganser.  All three boats thought we would see more bears but we didn't. 

 

Monday, May 28th.  We left codville Lagoon Marine Park for Shearwater.  The Alaskan Ferry passed us.  The sky is blue with no wind.  We all got fuel.  LaMouette took 10 gallons.  Since leaving Bellingham we have used 24 gallons of fuel!  Not bad!  We all took showers and some of us did laundry.  We met for dinner at the pub at 6 and had wonderful meals.  Today, May 29th, the guys will change the oil in the boats and we will resupply.

 

I cannot explain to you all how very beautiful it is up here.  A friend of ours, Bill Dingle, went on the original SPAM TOUR in 1999 and would say to Larry:  "If this is as far as we go, I am very happy!"  Well, we are going further but we are all having a wonderful time.  Our next major stop is Prince Rupert.  We have met some wonderful boaters on this adventure!

We were up early and there is light rain.  We headed towards Johnstone Strait where it was relatively flat and so we went.  The sun came out to give us a pretty day.  One BC Ferry past all of us.  There was a lot of drift in the water but we managed to get by without hitting anything.  We pulled into Port Harvey and the three of us anchored behind Mist Island.  It was a peaceful and quiet night.  In the morning we headed down Havannah Channel to Chatham Channel.  To enter Chatham Channel you must line up two range markers as it is very shallow.  It was a pretty as Larry and I remembered it and peaceful.  The decision was to anchor in Cutter Cove.  The day was sunny and all of the guide books except one described it as protected from all winds.  We felt safe with the prediction of small westerlies to blow throughout the night.  All three boats plus their captains and crew stayed awake listening to strange sounds.  One of Puffin's cats refused to go into the V berth.  The next day we all agreed that it must have been anchor chains rubbing against the rocks and permeating thru the hull.  We all hope that we never hear this sound again.

 

As we headed out it was cloudy with light rain.  We were headed for Potts Lagoon in Clio Channel.  We anchored in the second bay where the sun was shining.  The bay was calm.  Just what we all needed.  We all took well needed naps to recover from the night before.  All of sudden were awakened by Steve on Puffin yelling: "Bear, Bear on the beach!"  No it was not their cat who is called Bear.  It was a momma black bear and her cub!  The digital pictures attached are poor quality but hopefully the ones we took with our 35 mm will be better.  After a restful night we headed for Port McNeil.  We went through Baronet Channel into Blackfish Sound.  We went behind Cormorant Island into Port McNeil where we are now.  This is our laundry and provisioning stop plus we all agreed to eat out.  While at the marina who comes walking our way but Bruce Henninger from Corinthian Yacht Club.  He is here with his Dad on a "go fast" boat.  In scanning the marina and the parking lots around the markets, there appears to be more eagles than seagulls.  Quite an awesome sight.  Tomorrow we plan on heading to Blunden Harbor on the mainland and to prepare for our trip around Cape Caution.  It is our first open ocean crossing.  Think good thoughts.  More to come.

We stayed at Garden Bay in Pender Harbor fueling LaMouette and adding some fresh groceries.  The store there is fantastic.  We all met for dinner at the Pub.  While there, Larry as usual struck up a conversation with the couple sitting next to us.  We had a nice dinner and asked the couple to take some pictures of us in our SPAM hats.  As we left the Pub, they hailed Larry and I over to their boat (a 50 something foot power boat) and dropped a bottle of wine from their bridge into our boat.  We will share it in Alaska.

 

LaMouette left early with plans to stop in Lund; however, it was still early when we got there and we decided to go a bit further to Squirrel Cove.  This is one of our favorite anchorages.  Puffin joined us while Velveteen Rabbit stayed in Lund. 

 

Our next plan was to head towards Big Bay on Stuart Island through the Yaculta Rapids--the first of many!  Getting out of Squirrel Cove was lumpy and bumpy but as we turned into Lewis Channel there was light wind and ripply seas so we all put up our head sails.  We had a wonderful sail as we crossed Deep Passage.  The sky was blue and one could see many snow-capped mountains.  We headed up Calm Channel to the Yaculta Rapids.  We were an hour early but decided to make a run for it.  LaMouette was first---smallest boat, smallest engine.  I kept thinking of the Little Engine that Could and we did it!  We crossed over to Stuart Island and went to the Community Dock for the evening.  We hung around Big Bay until 5:30 p.m. to go through Guillard and Dent Rapids.  While waiting for slack our three boats made several circles, some kind of dance I suppose.  Then Puffin went through followed by Velveteen Rabbit.  We were next!  We were through Guillard and approaching Dent Rapids.  We just powered right on through.  We decided to stay in Shoal Bay.  The docks were rickety but fine.  The view unbelievable.

 

A boat named Big Brevit whom we met at Nanaimo was there.  As I talked with Dorothy and Larry I realized that we had met them some 10 years ago in Friday Harbor.  What a coincidence.  They have a Defevre 48--Absolutely wonderful!!!

 

We left in the morning for Blind Channel Resort where we topped off the fuel tank on LaMouette, did laundry and took showers.  It is raining and we are in our cozy little boat with the heat on.  Tomorrow we will head towards 2 more rapids and contemplate Johnstone Strait! 

We had a great first nite on Sucia Island in Shallow Bay.  We share a bottle of champagne (thank you Randy and Lorretta!) on Puffin.  In the morning we headed out to clear Canadian Customs in Bedwell Harbor.  It was a beautiful clear day, little wind.  Puffin, Velveteen Rabbit cleared Customs.  LaMouette was boarded but once the Agent found out we had Nexus, the interview and boarding ended.  We left Bedwell Harbor and rounded the corner to Swanson Channel.  About 3 miles along the way, LaMouette had to shut down her motor because of overheating.  We rafted next to Puffin but then all hell broke loose.  Surprise gale winds hit us and we quickly cut away from Puffin.  We put up the jib and started back to Bedwell Harbor.  The wind was too much and we started to head for the rocks.  We had to call the Canadian Coast Guard to help us.  They not only did but a whale watching boat, customs boat, parks boat and the RMCP appeared!  We sailed into Bedwell Harbor and the Parks boat got us into a slip.  It was the water pump pulley that went bad.  So the manager of Poets Cove had it delivered to her water taxi.  Larry fixed it and all is well.  The six of us showered (no not together!) and then had dinner at the Pub toasting an exciting day.

In the morning we left for Pirates Cove on Decourcy Island.  We were all near each other and we all stern tied.  The next morning we left for Dodd Narrows to Nanaimo where Velveteen Rabbit needed a part for their autopilot.  In the meantime, LaMouette discovered that the new windlass had malfunctioned.  So Larry called West Marine, of course, and a new windlass was delivered to us.  Steve and Larry spent a large part of the day installing it.  We all went to town and had dinner aboard our respective boats. 

We are up at the crack of dawn and we are now heading across Georgia Strait to Pender Harbor on the mainland side of B.C.  We are anchored in Garden Bay.  The sun is shining but  there are clouds in the sky.

   We left Thursday for our shakedown cruise to Sucia Island in the San Juan Islands.  We arrived late in the evening just in time for the beautiful sunset.   All systems are go.  The next time LaMouette pulls away from its dock it will be North to Alaska.  Be sure to check in from time to time to see how things are going.

 

As most of you know S/V LaMouette along with our friends Steve and Joyce Glenn on S/V Puffin and joining us along with Rob and Sharon Wells on S/V Velveteen Rabbit are heading north to Alaska on or around May 7th.  We have been very busy for the last few months getting LaMouette ready in preparation for our adventure.  We have added radar, a new GPS, and an electric windlass to help us raise and lower the anchor in deep water.  Our plans are to go North as far as Skagway with stops at Tracey Arm, Glacier Bay, Misty Fjords and Anan Bear Observatory.  We plan on attaching photos along with our log entries to this site.  You will be receiving emails letting you know that a new entry has been made.  Feel free to log on anytime or you can wait for the email.  We think you can leave a comment--this is all new to us.  We are planning on going to Sucia Island next weekend for a shakedown cruise.  Squalicum Yacht Club is helping the Washington Parks clean up after our winter storms.

 

Fair Winds and Calm Seas,

 

Larry and Barbee