Adventures of Dunvegan

Full Circle

2007-07-29T21:11:00.001-07:00

I left Nanaimo early to slip through Dodd Narrows on the tail of the ebb tide. Dodd Narrows is the last, albeit minor, tidal rapids between me and Anacortes. The weather was pretty good but I could have done with a little less breeze.

There were many options and I could have extended the cruise but I was still focused on going home. I called the Small Boat Clearance Center and was once again a bit surprised at the apparent lack of coordination in the Department of Homeland Security. However, I was able to clear Customs without another face to face. I then called the marina in Anacortes and scheduled a haul out for 1000hrs on Friday, the 27^th. The next call was to the Motor Carrier Services Division of Montana Department of Transportation to have an over-width permit faxed to the marina. Everything was in place to drag DUNVEGAN back home to Montana.

I motored to an anchorage in Shoal Bay on Lopez Island to make a short hop across Rosario Strait to Anacortes in the morning. I had anchored in Shoal Bay on a previous cruise and found it nice and quiet. This time there were crab trap buoys everywhere and crab boats zipping around the bay like it was some kind of demolition derby competition that lasted until sundown. I stayed anyway and it did quiet down.

I awoke at 0300hrs and climbed into the pilothouse. The water was like glass, the air was warm and still and the sky was light. I stood there at the bridge and looked through all the pilothouse windows, remembering all the days of the cruise. The boat had done everything I asked of her and all without hesitation. She carried me and my first mate on a wonderful passage to Alaska and, with the Lord’s blessing, returned us safely home. It was so peaceful and I felt so at ease. It came to me at that moment; I must sell DUNVEGAN.

I knew I would not be making a similar or better cruise than this one, at least not in this boat, and I would not want to diminish the experience by doing something less. I will return to Alaska in a boat, but under different circumstances. It is now time to pass this great little tug on to someone else so they can experience the joys she still has to offer. I will not be towing DUNVEGAN back to Montana. I will probably leave her in Anacortes and list her with a broker (ouch!).

I hope some of you have enjoyed this blog as much as I have enjoyed putting it together. I am thankful for the encouragement of friends and family along the way and am eternally thankful for having had the opportunity to experience the wonders we’ve seen on this trip and the ability, through technology, to share some of that with you.

I will probably make a couple more posts in the near future when I have an opportunity and will be glad to address any comments. Here are some leftover photos. Thanks!

M/V DUNVEGAN is officially for sale. Inquiries can be sent to fogillin@gmail.com.

My Headed Home Face

2007-07-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

The weather has turned absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, as you know Ginger has flown out back to hot, hot, hot Montana.

I have gotten the romantic vision of solo cruising out of my head and so I am now focused on going home.

For those of you who know the area, I motored from Lagoon Cove to Francis Bay (N 50 degrees 21.011' W 125 degrees 02.506') at the lower end of Yaculta Rapids, 69nm, transiting all five tidal rapids. I noticed a Sundowner Tug at the dock in Shoal Bay but I was between rapids and couldn't take the time to stop in. I think it was a 36' with red trim. The further south I get the more boats there are. Going through the rapids was like playing bumper cars! That was the day after Ginger left, yesterday.

Today I left Francis Bay and am now at anchor in Nanaimo Harbour, 88nm! New record for me in a slow boat solo. Excellent traveling weather and favorable currents.

These photos are; my going home face, another shot of Cutter Cove and an example of what I mean when I say there are too many boats. That is a shot of my radar screen while at anchor in Nanaimo (notice the scale).

I should be back in Anacortes in acouple of days. 1963nm to date.

Alaska veteran M/V DUNVEGAN may be for sale.

Changeup

2007-07-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

(This was written two days ago and I've traveled a lot since but here is what I had to say then.)

Fog, fog, fog and five straight days of driving rain. These photos are of Lagoon Cove Marina, Ginger's ride and morning in Cutter Cove.

But today is a transition day. Same weather this morning but much improved in the afternoon. Broken skies and the sun is burning hot when it peeks through. The boat is soggy. Soggy to the point that there is mold growing in many, many hard to clean places. Everything that can be opened is now open.

The other part of this transition is that Ginger flew out of Lagoon Cove (N 50 degrees 35.939’ W 126 degrees 18.821’) on a Kenmore Air float plane. The plan was that I would see that she got off OK and then I would head downstream trying to make a full day’s transit in a half of a day. But Kenmore Air was four hours late and put me way behind the curve so I am spending the night in Lagoon Cove again. There are worse things than spending another night here. Tomorrow morning I will shove off at 0530hrs.

I am sad to see her go. Ginger has been the best first mate. I have put her through the fog, the endless rain, the five footers, the eight foot steep-to swells and the long days with not a whimper. There have also been the amazing, beyond belief days sprinkled throughout! She spent 44 days on this little boat with me, that might be asking too much. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

It is really amazing how quickly things can change. I am rapidly shifting back into my singlehanding mode. I have been aboard 65 days as of today and am feeling quite comfortable with it. I was feeling very pressed to push hard to get back to Anacortes once Ginger left but with the weather change and the experiences along the way, I am now starting to want this to never end.

Dear Owen

2007-07-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

Owen,
As much as I sometimes worry about something going wrong, DUNVEGAN (PLACEBO) has not missed a beat. she is a natural for this kind of cruising. We have met a lot of people cruising who admire her even though she is usually the smallest boat in the harbour. Thanks for taking such good care of PLACEBO (DUNVEGAN) and passing her onto us. She has given us a once in a lifetime experience and we are grateful. (Although, this trip has convinced us that we will return to Alaska in a boat).

Tom and Ann remembered the boat and said to say hi to you and Suzette. I updated them on BOOMER, I think they would like to hear from you sometime.

My advice to you is to not wait until everything is perfect with BOOMER to cruise to Alaska, just do it! You will probably want to make some modifications as a result of the cruise anyway.

We are currently sitting at the dock in Kwatsi Bay, still as wonderous as ever. In two days we will be in Lagoon Cove where Ginger will fly from, back to the lower 48. I will singlehand back to Anacortes on no particular schedule. We stopped by Lacy Falls on the way in. Here are some shots of the falls and Kwatsi Bay.

Fog and Fish

2007-07-19T22:47:00.001-07:00

Arriving at Shearwater after a long run we took on fuel, took showers, did the laundry, shopped for groceries and went to dinner in a real restaurant. Sorry, no time for blogging.

As I write this (7-19-07, 2112hrs.Pacific Time), we are at the dock at Greenway Sound Marine Resort (N 50 degrees 50.323' W126 degrees 46.290'). Business looks to be a little slow here but they weren’t even open when I came by here on the way up.

I will catch you up on the last three days.

We left Shearwater knowing we would find an anchorage north of Cape Caution and stage for the big crossing. Cape Caution, you will remember is the biggest crossing on this cruise and feared by many and I am at the top of the list. As we approached the SE end of Fitz Hugh Sound we were monitoring the weather, buoy and lighthouse reports and everything was looking good. Except, of course, the fog bank at Egg Island. We decided to push on to find the edge of the fog bank and then find the nearest anchorage. At some point you reach a point of no return in this area and we reached that point before we got to the fog bank. The sea state was looking good and we still had some daylight left. One thing I’ve learned on this trip is, if you see an open window, jump through it!

So we did. About a half of a mile past Egg Island we ran into the fog. At first it still allowed about a quarter of a mile of visibility but that soon went away. The rest of the crossing to Allison Harbour past Cape Caution was in less than fifty yards of visibility, we never saw Cape Caution. The approach to Allison is littered with rocks, small islets and Allison Reef. Sometimes the word "cruising" just doesn't seem to fit.

Right in the middle of trying to decipher all the little black and grey splotches chasing each other around on the RADAR screen, two targets abruptly appeared on a heading intersecting with our course making us ground zero. The targets were moving together leading me to believe a vessel was towing something and it was moving much faster than we were. The prudent thing to do would be to deviate from your course to starboard hoping to pass port to port. All the while hoping the skipper of the other vessel picked you up on his RADAR and was also prudent enough to deviate from his course to starboard. We passed within 1/8 of a mile and didn’t see each other so I guess one could say it was a successful maneuver.

We spent the night in Allison Harbour and awoke to heavy fog again. About mid afternoon we decided to spend another night due to the fog. After setting the crab trap we motored out to the mouth of the harbour to look for a good fishing spot in deeper water and could see that the visibility had improved somewhat. So we ran back, grabbed the trap and headed to Blunden Harbour 20nm away.

Blunden is a nice place and had about a dozen boats sitting in it waiting to head north or south, either way in the fog. We left in the morning at a time that would get us to Wells Passage on the flood tide and carry us out of Queen Charlotte Sound and into the protected cruising waters of the Broughton Archipelago.

We have been running pretty hard for two weeks now and haven’t done any fishing so I decided to tease some bottom fish on the way in to Wells Passage. I turned back a couple small rockfish and then found a nice wall to fish. One 36” lingcod, in the boat! In case you don't know, lingcod are really mean looking with big mouths and taste really good.

I filleted him (actually her) in the driving rain, drove to Greenway Marina in the driving rain and am writing this in the driving rain. At least it is not windy.

Tomorrow will be here soon.

We have put on 702nm in 14 days since leaving Juneau averaging 50nm per day. 1761nm total to date.

Admit It, There are Easier Routes

2007-07-19T20:58:00.001-07:00

We left Klemtu with a favorable weather report (except for the fog which didn’t last very long) and decided to take on Milbanke Sound where I got me butt kicked on the way up. Well, that lasted about three miles, or until the swells reached about eight feet and a little too steep. Ginger didn’t much like that and I didn’t either. We reversed course and headed for Oscar Passage to take the much more protected inside route to Ivory Island. This route is very interesting in a lot of ways. At one point we transited a narrow point against 5kts of current. That is a lot when your boat only goes 7kts.

Once inside Reid Passage we saw a humpback whale in 20 to 30 feet of water! There is something amazing around every corner.

The water smoothed out and the run past Bella Bella to Shearwater put on another 50nm. As happens quite often, we were the smallest cruising boat in the harbour.

Spirit Bear Makes an Appearance

2007-07-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

Note to “Chicago”:

The reason the glaciers are blue is because the ice is formed under tremendous pressure, and all the oxygen is forced out of the ice. So it is not at all like the stuff that comes out of the freezer compartment of your Frigidaire. Like getting diamonds from coal, except not. Anyway, the glacier ice absorbs most of the light spectrum, except the blue light, which is reflected, making the ice blue.

Note to Gigi:

Think I’m pulling your leg on the halibut huh? Here is an exact quote, taken from the British Columbia sport fishing guide, “Halibut larvae begin life in an upright position with an eye on each side of the head. When they are an inch long, the left eye moves over the snout to the right side of the head and pigmentation on the left side fades.”

Ain’t nature wonderful!

From Coghlan Anchorage we crossed Wright Sound and entered Princess Royal Channel. This channel is also long and narrow but is beautiful. I posted some waterfall photos from this area earlier. Here are a couple photos of the channel where you can get an idea of the weather and spectacular scenery.

The Canadian Coast guard was conducting some barge, helicopter and ship training exercises in the channel so we had to behave ourselves as we passed by.

Now the best part! I had been feeling bad about not being able to spend the time to explore the west side of Princess Royal Island looking for the elusive Kermode bear, a white phase black bear called the “Spirit Bear”. Motoring down the channel I just happened to be looking in the right place at the right time and saw one on the shoreline! We slipped slowly in towards shore and cut the engine. The bear was grazing on the new grass high on the rocky shoreline and didn’t seem to mind the attention. I do have to apologize for the poor quality photos but I will run them anyway.

The end of the day’s run found us at Klemtu, a little native village that the guide books glamorize far beyond any stretch of the imagination. We made fast to the rapidly failing government dock and awoke to Mr. FOG once again. 65nm today and 1574 nm to date.

Big Ships, Little Boats

2007-07-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the range of sizes of vessels plying the waters of the Prince Rupert area.

Leaving the harbour, within one hour we were back in the fog. Two hours of dodging navy ships, fishing boats, logs and islands led us to the top of Grenville Channel, or "The Ditch" as it is called because it is a channel 45nm long and an average of about two miles wide. Here we got a pretty good closeup view of a large killer whale. We motored 77nm today to an anchorage called Coghlan (N 53 degrees 23.740' W 129 degrees 17.211') near Hartley Bay. Not much time for play right now, just putting some miles on.

Full Steam Ahead!

2007-07-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

If every day was perfect, how would you expand your experience?

Yesterday was great, sunny skies, running with the wind and tide. We anchored in a spot that isn’t even in the books, just north of the border, our last full day in Alaska (N 54 degrees 44.303’ W 130 degrees 41.095’). A saltwater lagoon, a bit of a deep anchorage, 76 to 96 feet counting the 20 foot tidal exchange. Caught a couple of halibut right in the anchorage. Woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Dalls Porpoise surfacing in the channel. Beautiful, the grandeur of Alaska is overwhelming.

The morning broke not quite so bright. Fog, fog, fog. The weather report included a disturbance moving in with high winds for the afternoon and possible thunderstorms for the late morning. Do you sit and wait it out or do you stick your nose out and see what is happening. We still needed to cross Portland Canal which is part of Dixon Entrance, a big crossing.

I have been practicing for a big crossing in the fog for a long time, all the while hoping I would not ever need to do it. This is a lot like SCUBA diving, especially in low or no visibility. You need to know and trust your instruments. So, instead of risking losing one or two days waiting for the weather, we headed out into the big water. Eyes on the RADAR and the chartplotter. The visibility was about ¼ mile and within 20 minutes it got bad. After another 20 minutes I was adjusting and feeling a little more comfortable. I could see the little cells of rain and waves on the RADAR as we passed through. The sea state was about a two foot chop. OK.

And then the lightening started. Big bright close strikes. No place to run and hide and it doesn’t do any good to whine or run in circles. Stay the course! Damn you George Bush!

We had battened down the hatches before we left the anchorage so I couldn’t give that order but it would have been fitting. So I told Ginger that maybe she should dig out the life jackets and put together an abandon ship bag with all the necessaries. I didn’t mean to scare her but it did distract me somewhat from the dire situation at hand, watching her scurry about gathering up all our survival gear.

The lightening continued until we reached the mainland, about 1 1/2 hours. The leg from here to Prince Rupert is through a shallow and complicated, winding passage called Venn Passage. I have been saving my tracks on the GPS throughout this cruise so I was able to call up a saved track and run a reverse course on it through the passage. That was helpful but the other thing that helped was that the fog finally lifted. Wow! What a difference a little visibility makes!

It actually turned out to be quite a nice day in Rainy Rupert. 1432nm. Cleared Canadian Customs.

Leaving Ketchikan

2007-07-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

We are leaving Ketchikan heading down coast towards the big Dixon Entrance Crossing and Canada. We won't actually make the crossing today as it is about 100nm, too much for one day. The Canadian Environment Canada weather info, which is quite good, says the weather is perfect for the crossing. A big high pressure system is building and I think it will last a few days.

Ketchikan has no clouds and is warm and absolutely beautiful!

Too Cool!

2007-07-11T17:51:00.001-07:00

This blog site will allow only five photos per post and I know how hot it is down there so I will try my best to add some more relief.

Special Edition

2007-07-11T17:14:00.001-07:00

Sometimes on this cruise, posts can get a little out of sequence as you may have noticed. I hope that most of it makes sense though. Here is one that I didn’t get to and I have posted some similar photos before but these are better.

It sounds like the lower 48 is scorched and burning up. Up here it nice and cool, not too cool, just right.

We wanted to go into a long inlet called Tracy Arm south of Juneau but I didn’t want the wear and tear on the boat. The wear and tear would come from all the ice floating away from Sawyer Glacier that we would have to navigate through. A company runs a charter service using two boats, one 58 feet and the other 65 feet long. The owner and captain did a great job of getting us up close and personal with the glacier. To be honest, Tracy Arm would be absolutely spectacular even if there was no ice! Again, the blue of the ice is just amazing and the glacier was actively calving when we were there.

I will include a photo of a 37’ Nordic Tug that I will guess was a charter because I don’t think this guy would take his own boat into this place.

So, I hope that gazing at these beautiful ice photos will provide some relief from the heat. Fire up the air conditioner, grab an ice cold beverage and click on the photos for a close up view. Enjoy!

The Wonders of Stephens Passage

2007-07-08T20:48:00.001-07:00

July 7 - Ginger started the day in a sad and somber mood, mourning the death of a friend, but Alaska just kept throwing spectacular nature shows at us, making it impossible not to smile. We motored down Stephens Passage from Taku Harbor, expecting a south wind and rough seas. The passage stayed a mill pond all day. Passing Sunset Island we came upon a colony of sea lions. There must have been a hundred, swimming, fishing, and lolling on the rocks. Wish this blog had a sound track so you could hear their groaning and growls. The bigger ones looked like they weighed 1000 lbs.

We were seeing whales all along the route, but at the southern end of Stephens Passage, the humpbacks started breaching. We first noticed it off in the distance, by the giant splashes they were making. Leaping into the air and landing on their backs- kerplosh!

We motored in to Port Houghton, headed for Sanborn Canal. We stopped to fish a little, mainly because we needed some fresh bait for the crab trap. We hadn’t been fishing more than a half-hour when Ginger tied into a big one! Another barn door halibut! This time, we felt like old experienced deck hands. Frank got the halibut spear ready while Ginger horsed the beast up from the bottom. Then a sea lion popped up, right next to the boat, obviously attracted by all the splashing and thrashing. So much for old experienced deck hands… we really didn’t know what we were going to do if that sea lion grabbed a hold of the halibut, which by this time was tied to the boat dragging in the water behind us. Ginger started yelling at the sea lion like it was a misbehaving dog. NO! GET BACK! And other words not suitable for a family-friendly blog. Maybe the yelling worked, because the sea lion stayed away long enough for us to get the beast hoisted up by the lifting boom.

After a couple hours of labor, the 100 lb halibut was reduced to 45 lbs of ziplock bagged fillets, completely filling the mini-fridge of the DUNVEGAN. Dinner was cooked and cleaned and it was time for rest. But no, there’s more.

All day long we had been hearing the Coast Guard talking about a boat in need of assistance, but we couldn’t really tell where the boat was located. Finally, we heard the skipper of the broken-down boat spell the name of the bay where he was located, and we realized we were in the same bay. So, off we went to do some “night ops”. The broken boat was a commercial crabber, who has lost his outdrive. I mean really lost it as in totally gone! We towed him into Sanborn Canal, a safer place for him to wait for a tow to town. (58 nm away).

Finally hit the rack at midnight, with the realization that being sad wasn’t going to help anyone. We will carry on with the trip.

Sad News

2007-07-08T19:01:00.001-07:00

July 6, the phone rang early. Never a good sign. It was news that a close colleague and friend of Ginger’s had passed away suddenly while on a business trip. He was only 46, and left a wife and two young daughters. She will miss his bad jokes, politically incorrect everything, and his wildly creative intelligence.

With a heavy heart, we left Juneau, pointed south. It is time to retrace our steps and head in the direction of home.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

2007-07-04T22:26:00.001-07:00

The Fourth of July appears to be a big deal in Juneau. Big parades and a great fireworks celebration, or so I’ve been told. I was in bed long before the bombs were bursting in the air. We did get mixed up with the parade a little bit when we tried to make our way down town to pick up our tickets for the Tracy Arm run tomorrow. The parade had just a bit of a freaky touch to it. Lots of politics and great diversity. This was a kind of a day off, at least we started out without any plans.

The weather here is about 58 degrees, overcast and occasional sprinkles. I did get to look at the weather in Missoula. 101 on Thursday and 103 on Friday and then cooling way off to 95. I think I will be happy with the weather here.

A nice day to go to Mendenhall Glacier! I post some photos for you folks in all those hot places so you can just gaze at them and cool off! As I’ve mentioned before, if you click on the photo, you should be able to get a much closer look at the ice!

An aside to this post; we got information today that the Ketchikan newspaper quoted this blog in reference to the situation back in Prince Rupert and the flooding problem. We’re almost famous!

Hire the Guys that do it Best.

2007-07-04T21:37:00.001-07:00

Today we took an early cab to Auke Bay, about ten miles from Juneau, to meet with our guide, Jason from Southeast Sportfishing for a day of salmon fishing. We need to get Collin hooked up with a salmon! The outfit is running all new welded aluminum Allen Marine boats set up for charter. Jason is the kind of guy that eats, drinks and breathes fishing. Born and raised in Alaska, he knows this area and the fish intimately. He took us down the west coast of Admiralty Island to Lizard Head.

We spent the whole day and had good luck. Collin even hooked a halibut under very unusual circumstances. The bottom was at about 100 to 125 feet and we were trolling at 55 feet. We all thought he had a king salmon on; it was big and put up a pretty good fight. At the boat it turned out to be about a 35 pound halibut! Halibut are bottom fish and are almost never caught trolling, so this was a big surprise.

We also caught two king salmon, three nice bright chum, and two fresh pinks as well as assorted rockfish. The kings were undersized and were released, as were the rockfish.

We will get some of this salmon smoked and canned for the trip back to Montana. Did I mention fishing is good in Alaska?

By the way, if any cruisers read this blog and are headed to the Juneau area, Auke Bay is the place to go. I’ll expound on that a little bit later.

Taku Harbor

2007-07-04T20:52:00.001-07:00

The morning after Collin arrived we set out for Taku Harbor, about 25nm south of Juneau for an overnight stay. This harbor is quite well protected for most weather. There are two floats, one connected to shore with a ramp. We stayed at the other float. The idea was to do some fishing and set a crab trap. We did try to chase down some salmon but DUNVEGAN is just not set up for salmon. I have downriggers but they are sitting in Montana!

We were fishing along a wall that goes to about 400 feet at 75 feet from shore when Ginger snagged the wall. We worked diligently to retrieve the tackle because 1) it is expensive and 2) we had very heavy/strong line on. After working every angle and pulling as hard as possible, I took a couple dallies around the Sampson post and backed away. The bottom gave way and Ginger reeled in some Alaskan coral. It was incredibly strong but came up in one piece. Very beautiful and quite unexpected in these cold waters but here is a nice photo of it.

We managed to capture one nice dusky rockfish, big enough for a couple nice fillets.

Leaving Taku Harbor (N 58 degrees 03.736' W 134 degrees 01.225') we headed back to Juneau to get ready for our charter salmon trip on Tuesday. In Southeast, charter fishing and commercial fishing operate side by side but there is plenty of animosity as evidenced by the bumper sticker we saw in Sitka “Charter Fishing…… How Gay is That”. We did meet a commercial fisherman at the float in Taku Harbor who gave us a sockeye salmon just because he was a nice guy.

Skipped Town to Sitka.

2007-07-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Plans are firming up for the next portion of this cruise. We have decided that Juneau is the farthest point north we will venture. We will be in the Juneau/Sitka area for about two weeks and then head south.

Ginger’s son, Collin will fly to Juneau arriving on June 30^th at midnight and will leave on the 6^{th of} July. On the 27^th we boarded the Alaska State Ferry M/V FAIRWEATHER, a fast ferry (32kts.) and went to Sitka. Sitka was on our itinerary but with the new plan, we could not make the run in DUNVEGAN from Juneau to Sitka and return within the time allotted. Our boat would take about four days each way and the fast ferry takes 4.5 hours each way.

The fast ferry runs only on odd numbered days so that is why the wait until Wednesday to go to Sitka. While Collin is here we will do some fishing on DUNVEGAN and possibly do a charter fishing trip on one day.

We also have a charter booked for a trip to Tracy Arm for the glaciers. The Tracy Arm trip would take three to four days also. One overnight at an anchorage at the mouth of Tracy, one day to run up the inlet and then overnight in the same anchorage, plus the time to get to the area. Also, it is not advisable to go into an area with so much ice in the water without a spare propeller due to the possibility of hitting ice and causing damage.

SITKA I must say, I am quite taken with Sitka. I think it is the nicest town we have seen in Southeast. If I was considering living in Alaska (and I am considering it!) it could very well be Sitka. I saw a statistic that said there is more sport caught salmon landed in Sitka than in all other fishing ports in Southeast combined! Halibut may have similar stats.

We had great weather while in Sitka so that always serves to skew one's impressions.

When the Fish Hold is Full, Head to Port

2007-06-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

57 nm is a long day’s run but the weather looked good and we didn’t really have a choice. Almost as soon as we left Windham Bay and re-entered Stephens Passage we started seeing humpback whales. We were much closer this time but still could not get any acceptable photos so we tried to not be too distracted from our mission at hand and continued north towards Juneau.

There were whales in every direction, first marking their locations with tall water spouts and then their backs would show and then about every third or fourth time one would show their entire tail in the classic fluke shot. Many times we could see whales, porpoises and glaciers at the same time through the binoculars!

On our route we had to motor past the mouth of Tracy Arm which some people say rivals Glacier Bay for glacier viewing and shear beauty. The other thing Tracy Arm does is produce icebergs that often drift out into Stephens Passage and become hazards to navigation. So on this day, another first. Our first iceberg in our own boat! The blue is so amazing and we were able to slip in close for a good look but I wasn’t comfortable getting close enough to grab a chunk. The problem is that most of the iceberg is underwater and you can’t see it very well. This presents a huge hazard to the prop as well as the hull (does HMS TITANIC ring a bell?).

Entering Gasinteau Channel and approaching the bridge between Juneau and Douglass, Ginger called Alaska Seafood Company and arranged to offload the fillets which weighed in at 57 pounds and we called for a slip.

The owner of the seafood company actually picked us up at the marina and drove us to the Alaska Brewing Company to wait while he delivered the meat to his facility and then returned for us. He then drove us to Mendenhall glacier and dropped us there for a visit. The owner’s name is Dick Hand and could not be a nicer person!

So that is how we ended up in Juneau.

The Rest of the Fish Story

2007-06-27T15:22:00.001-07:00

Hi, this is Ginger writing an answer to Gigi's other question.

Halibut are flat fish. When they are first born they have eyes on either side of their head like regular fish. In time, their eyes migrate so they are both on the same side of the fish's head. From that point on, they always lie on their side, eyes pointing up. The side of the fish that is down is white and the side that is up (with the eyes) is mottled brown. This makes for good camouflage - when the fish is swimming along the bottom it blends in to the surroundings, when it swims up in the water column a predator looking up at it from below would see the white side which would not be very noticeable against the background of water.

They don't change color when they die - this is just what they look like.

First I would like to answer Gigi’s question about anchoring in 125 feet of water. That is considered fairly deep for anchoring pleasure craft. The common practice would be to use a scope of 5 to 1 or even 7 to 1, depending on the weather. The more wind and current you have the more anchor line you need. For anchoring in a storm in 125 feet of water, you should use as much as 800 feet of anchor line. DUNVEGAN only carries 50 feet of chain with 300 feet of nylon line so you can see we far exceeded the standard. You can also use a line tied to the stern and then to shore if the circumstances allow it.

DUNVEGAN is fitted with a mast and lifting boom. We do not have a dinghy; we use kayaks, so I haven’t used the lifting boom for much of anything. I almost forgot I even had it at my disposal. First I thought we would use the pot puller davit to hoist the halibut while the obvious solution was staring me in the face.

I opened the transom door and hooked the block and tackle from the boom to a loop of line through the fishes jaw and quite easily hauled it aboard. It looked a little bigger hanging in the cockpit than I originally thought. The halibut measured 63” which according to a couple charts we have that show a halibut’s weight extrapolated from it’s length indicated it weighed at least 127.5 pounds!

This is the first halibut I have filleted but as it turns out it is easier than some other fish. This is also the first time I have had to walk from one end of a fish to the other while I was filleting it.

The fillets were cut into chunks and put into ziplock freezer bags. We emptied everything out of the refrigerator and stuffed if full with halibut.

This then explains why we ended up in Juneau a couple days early. The meat was fine for awhile but it needed to be vacuum packed and frozen as soon as possible. We pulled anchor early on Sunday morning and motored the 57 nm to Juneau to find a processor which is a whole other story.

Bottom Fishing is Like a Box of Chocolates

2007-06-27T00:08:00.001-07:00

Last January I went to the Seattle Boat Show as I do every year. This year I attended a seminar on fishing for halibut. The presenter was obviously very experienced with catching salmon as well as halibut. He made several equipment recommendations. I am a person who needs very little encouragement to buy more fishing, hunting or boating equipment so of course I came home with more stuff.

I have two very good heavy reels and one VERY good heavy reel. Two very good heavy poles with roller tips and a halibut spear with three tips. I probably would have bought the spear even if I wasn’t ever planning on going halibut fishing just because it is so cool and a guy can never have too many long knives, long guns or long spears.

We were still fishing for rock fish off a small island in Windham Bay and I was still trying to ignore the fact that we were going to have to anchor in 125 feet of water for the night when, all of a sudden, something very big grabbed my lure. Immediately I knew it had to be a big halibut. The fight was on!

Ginger immediately reeled her line in and started preparing to help with my fish. I gave her instructions on setting up the spear in the event I was able to get the thing to the surface. I had already tied a fifty foot piece of line to one spear tip so that part was done. We were trying to decide if we should tie it to a buoy or just cleat it off, which is not recommended.

I was able to get the halibut up to a depth we could see it and we discussed if we should even try to land it. We could tell that it probably was not in the 200 to 300 pound class and so we decided we probably could take care of it. When I say take care of it I mean process and preserve it.

I knew to not let it break the surface because that causes them to go a little nuts and usually head straight back to the bottom. It didn’t break the surface but it did head back to the bottom, three times. Long hard runs, fortunately we were in only 115 feet of water. The forth time it made it back to the surface, it had lost a lot of steam and I was able to hold it.

I handed the rod to Ginger and she braced herself while I grabbed the spear and crawled out onto the swim platform to spear it. I could see that it was hooked by two points of the treble hook right on the lip, not a real solid hookup. The first attempt failed when the spear just bounced off! The halibut didn’t much like that and started giving Ginger a lesson in fighting big fish. I regrouped and Ginger hung on and a second attempt was successful. The spear was place through the middle of the gill plates and deployed as advertised. A benefit of subduing a halibut in this manner is that it allows the fish to bleed out producing cleaner and better tasting fillets.

The halibut was still on the line and its decent could be controlled so we decided to just cleat off the spear line. I rigged another spear point and prepared to place that one. As the second spear went in the halibut fought free from the fishing line by spreading the swivel wide open. By then the fish was tied fairly securely to the boat. I wasn’t happy yet so I tied another line through its jaw and also cleated that off.

We couldn’t get the halibut in the boat and we really didn’t want to anyway. There was plenty of fight left. I would have shot it but the fine folks in Canada make it very difficult to carry a firearm while cruising so we snugged it up and towed it back to our anchorage.

I dropped the anchor in 125 feet and set it, which, by the way, is ten feet deeper than where I caught the halibut! Everything was pretty well stabilized.

Now I Am Going to Tell a Fish Story.

2007-06-25T20:15:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple photos to ponder.

Sustaining the Sustainable Harvest

2007-06-25T20:08:00.001-07:00

Dinner in Sandborn Canal was excellent! Ginger chose to sauté two large yelloweye fillets. They were dipped in egg and rolled in seasoned Italian bread crumbs and placed in the pan with garlic butter. The chardonnay was perfect and I don’t even remember what else we had!

The next morning the shallow trap gave up six big fat Dungeness crabs! I don’t think crabs really get fat, it just sounds better. We cleaned them and into the refrigerator they went. The deep trap gave up twenty big fat prawns like the ones in some of the previous posts. Life is good. Harvest of the natural resources can be a good thing. Crabs and shrimp only live for a short time so you better hurry!

The plan for today (6-23-07) was to motor to a small bight in the south shore just inside the mouth of Windham Bay. Ginger kind of picked the spot and I thought it was a good distance for our slower pace of recent days. I wasn’t really listening when she said the guide book said to anchor in twenty fathoms, that’s 120 feet deep for you landlubbers! By the time we got there we really didn’t have a good alternative anchorage.

I cruised around the tiny bay for some time trying to convince myself it wasn’t true but I couldn’t find the shallow anchorage I was desperately searching for. As I continued circling and staring at the bottom finder, I kept seeing lots of fish, the deepwater kind of course. When you find yourself without a real good plan, you just as well go fishing.

We immediately began catching dusky rockfish; I used to call them black rock bass when I would take them on SCUBA with a spear in the San Juans back when you could take rockfish in WA State. We then went out to a small island in the middle of the bay that had some interesting looking rocks to see what kind of fishing there was there. Ginger caught a rock sole and I caught a Pacific cod, firsts for both of us. The big ugly buffalo sculpins were hungry too.

Ginger made a comment about my little fish and I said you won’t be laughing when I reel in a big halibut!

Come On Up, the Fishing is Great!

2007-06-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

Soon after leaving Cleveland Passage Anchorage we began seeing humpback whales. I thought I was looking at a boat off in the distance but 10 power binoculars revealed whale flukes. There were several different groups and none of them were close enough to photograph. Whales are awesome creatures like grizzlies are awesome creatures.

We planned to run about 23nm today to an anchorage that the Douglasses, who have written several cruising guides, say is an area that not many cruisers visit. It is called Sandborn Canal. It is quite well protected and beautiful. I don’t understand why more people don’t go there except it is a little out of the way if you are determined to make some distance.

The shrimp trap was set in about 365’ and we started looking around for a good fishing spot. The bottom is very irregular and the bottom finder was marking lots of fish. Ginger, who likes to keep track of all the different species of fish we catch, immediately began catching kelp greenling, male and female as well as buffalo head sculpins, big ones. We motored out to an underwater mount and found excellent fishing in 75 to 200 feet. We both caught our first yelloweye rockfish. They are beautiful, if rockfish can be beautiful.

After turning them all into fillets, we slipped into the canal to the end where there were commercial crab traps lining both sides of the canal. So, what do you do but set your own trap. Another deep anchorage but well protected. (N 57 degrees 16.096’ W 133 degrees 14.323’), 23nm/917nm.

Hello Again From Southeast!

2007-06-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Juneau! We got here a couple days early for reasons I will soon explain, for now let’s just say it has been an awesome several days.

Leaving out of Petersburg we headed NW into Frederick Sound where it is reported that humpback whales like to congregate so we were on the lookout. No whales but Dall Porpoise visited again as they have been doing quite regularly, playing in the bow wake and jumping in front of the boat. They are so graceful and fluid in motion.

The weather was fairly good so we decided to continue on NW past Patterson and Baird glaciers which can be seen easily from Frederick Sound. These are not the biggest glaciers around but actually, they are huge. The glacier blue ice is an amazing color. The skies were overcast so the photos don’t do the glaciers justice.

Rounding Cape Fanshaw leads into Stephens Passage but we had gone far enough for one day. In fact we passed two anchorages that were on our list of possibilities just to make some distance. These passages and sounds in Southeast are quite large and can be intimidating. However, they are much more protected than say Queen Charlotte Sound and are not quite so foreboding. As it turns out, I needed to change a fuel filter and there is a fairly good anchorage in Cleveland Passage just around the Cape so the timing worked out quite well. (N 57 degrees 13.443’ W 133 degrees 30.190’). Thirty-eight nautical miles today and 894nm so far.

We anchored in about 58 feet of water which is as much as I like to anchor in. In Alaska things are just bigger and the anchorages can be much deeper and wilder. DUNVEGAN carries 300 feet of anchor rode and 50 feet of chain shackled to a 15kg Bruce anchor so we do have some flexibility. We also carry 600 feet of line on a reel for use as a stern tie if needed. Deep anchorages, big tidal exchanges, heavy weather and big water all conspire to challenge ones preparations and abilities. After the evening blow, the wind and water flattened out and we had a quiet night. The days start early up here, check out the sunrise time.

Bizarre Transit

2007-06-20T22:34:00.000-07:00

The trip north from Wrangell to Petersburg takes you through Wrangell Narrows. It is said there are more aids to navigation in Wrangell Narrows than anywhere else in Alaska. The narrows is about twenty nautical miles long with a winding and very shallow channel. We did not meet a single boat in transit but did encounter about fifty small sportfishing boats all congregated in a section about three miles long. The boats almost completely plugged off the channel and didn't seem to care that someone was trying to make their way north. I slowed down initially but few even acknowledged our presence and some even seemed to act like we were intruding. Virtually all north/south bound traffic uses this channel and so I imagine they get some exercise from bigger boats. I resumed cruising speed and took as direct a line as possible without actually running over someone. They didn't seem to mind.

Petersburg is a nice little town. There is a nice memorial park, an historic street and a slough with houses built on stilts. The harbor facilities are well laid out but are well used and in need of some updates. As you can see, some of the boats need a little updating also. Heavy current runs through the harbor and fueling facilities making demands on your boat handling expertise.

When you are on a long cruise, you tend to pay particular attention to little things like the quality and condition of showers. Here in Petersburg, I found what I think may be the perfect shower. It is built out of stainless steel, completely! I think my next boat might have a stainless steel dedicated shower with matching industrial stainless steel head. Maybe it is just a guy thing.

Tomorrow we are going to start looking for humpback whales and giant brown bears!

Rock Art in Wrangell

2007-06-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

Wrangell is not the sort of town you take your girl friend to, to impress her. Some of the literature here says this is the real Alaska. Maybe so. Mooring to the public dock is a bit of a different experience. There is a ninety percent chance you will have to raft up and probably to a commercial boat. I don’t really like rafting up because I would not want to damage someone else’s boat. One nice thing about Wrangell, you probably don’t have to worry about that (ICY MIST). (N 56 degrees 27.892' W 132 degrees 22.919').

There is a lot of history and culture here though.

We went to the brand new Museum, Visitors Bureau and Community Center, very nice! Wrangell is a center for Tlingit history and culture. Tlingit art is some of the most beautiful in the world, in my opinion. Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park is on the north end of town and is fascinating as well. We walked the mile and a half to see carvings on stones below the high water mark that are said to be as much as eight thousand years old!

Most everything else in Wrangell is strictly business with no frills. This area is heavily into commercial fishing and most businesses are geared to servicing that industry. I have never been in a bar where you can get drunk and do your laundry and take a shower all at the same time. There also are some nice B & B’s in town. NOTE: You can click on the photos for much greater detail.

There are some tour boats going up the Stikine River (stick-een’) and over to Anan Wildlife Observatory where black and brown bears as well as eagles congregate to feed on salmon.

816nm.

Yes, There is a Santa Anna in Alaska.

2007-06-19T19:44:00.001-07:00

We arrived at the entrance to Santa Anna Inlet at 1930hrs. dropping the shrimp pot in 365’ on the way in. The weather was getting a little nasty by now and the great protection of this beautiful inlet was a welcome sight. There were two sailboats at anchor, one, SPLENDID MANE, I had met in Shearwater, B.C. There is a lake nearby with its trib to the inlet on one side, where we set the crab trap and a waterfall from another stream on the other side of the inlet.

We set the anchor in 56 feet on a fast shoaling shore at 2000hrs. ( N 55 degrees 58.666’ W 131 degrees 56.006’). The temperature was about fifty degrees with misty clouds and rain. We ate fresh box crab until we couldn’t eat any more, almost.

The boat was motionless all night as I think this anchorage will provide protection in almost any weather. Morning comes early now, sunrise is before 0400hrs. We picked up our crab trap with nothing in it and pulled the shrimp trap with prawns enough for a nice meal.

The objective today was to get to Wrangell. The course led through Zimovia Strait and Zimovia Narrows. The narrows is the shallowest and most narrow water we have had to transit so far. Without good charts a person would find the bottom in short order. We tied some herring to our fishing line and threw them overboard and when we reeled them we still just had dead herring on our lines. We will get lucky sooner or later.

Three Days Later

2007-06-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hello from Wrangell! I am going to catch you up a little.

We had a great time in Ketchikan. The town is filled with history and all sorts of interesting people. The weather was a little unsettled when we slipped out under the bow of a huge cruise ship on the 15^th at the mouth to Thomas Basin where we were moored. We headed north to Helm Bay on Cleveland Peninsula. We thought that would be as far north to good moorage as we could go with the weather.

The route took us through an area where the U.S. Navy conducts testing and training on submarines in Behm Canal and is restricted during operational times, although it was open to transit for us.

Entering Helm Bay we set the shrimp trap in 300 feet and went to a state operated float near a USFS cabin. (N 55 degrees 37.823’ W 131 degrees 58.637’)We had the place to ourselves, or so we thought. Before late evening there were five other boats and a couple had to raft up. The other problem turns out, is that there was a minus tide coming and the opposite side of the float from us went dry. Alaska has very big tidal exchanges. You must know your tide tables and understand them. It also helps to have a boat that doesn’t mind being on the bottom.

We had to stay an extra day in Helm Bay due to the wind kicking up and beating us to death against the dock. At this float we met a couple from Montana now living in Ketchikan. They were big time Griz fans! It is really surprising how many people we have met are either from Montana or have some significant connection to Montana.

We kayaked a couple miles to an abandoned gold mine and explored the piles of machinery and all the other left behind accoutrements as well as the beautiful stream nearby.

We didn’t catch many shrimp but we did get eight box crabs and one little Opilio. We kept the four largest box crabs and the prawns. These crabs rival Dungeness for taste and are just a little sweeter.

Resuming the trip north on the 17^th we headed up Clarence Strait with forecasts of 20kt winds and 4’ seas. It was a little breezy but the seas were very tolerable. We decided to bypass Meyers Chuck in order to make up the day we had just lost. Turning from Clarence Strait into Earnest Sound the skies turned grey and fell onto the water so I had to remind myself about trusting your instruments. It was just a little bit creepy being in a huge body of water and not being able to see land. At this point I am content being a “coastal cruiser”.

King Salmon

2007-06-14T16:34:00.001-07:00

Another beautiful day in paradise! Yesterday we booked a charter boat for 0630hrs. today to take us out and fine tune our salmon and halibut fishing skills. It was worth every penny. There were just the two of us and the skipper. He has been doing this since 1968 and was a great guy.

We ran 50 miles to the southern tip of Prince of Wales Island at Cape Chacon. We trolled for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Note; you can tell I have my own personal biologist onboard. We each caught our limit which is one a piece. Then we went around the cape and caught our limit of halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis). We took a good sized salmon fillet back to the boat with us and the rest is being processed and shipped home to Montana.

Once again, the weather could not have been more perfect and the water was as well.

This cruise has changed complexion completely since Ginger arrived, I’m actually enjoying it now! It was her idea to book the charter! Ginger just told me that I am much more pathetic in person than I am in print but in real life she is just the first mate. She can talk but I don’t have to listen, just pretend to. Actually she is sitting right here and laughing. Life is great!

Tomorrow we plan to leave Ketchikan and motor to Helm Bay about 27nm northwest.

ALASKA!

2007-06-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

We made it! Ginger joined me in Prince Rupert on the 10th, on schedule. Forecasts were for continued gales with occasional storm force winds but we were getting itchy to go. We left Prince Rupert on the 11th at 1110hrs and headed out Venn Passage, north. The weather turned out to be excellent for the most part. We got to a point where we needed to make a decision whether to cross Portland Canal or not. Portland Canal is a particularly difficult crossing and is part of the Dixon Entrance crossing which is one of top biggest crossings on this trip. We crossed and dropped anchor in Wales Harbour on Wales Island just about 1/2 mile from the US/Canadian border. (N 54 degrees 45.258' W 130 degrees 35.786').

One photo is of the anchorage entrance at Wales, where we were the only boat. This was a 40nm day.

The other photos are of Ketchikan, Alaska taken this morning. (N 55 degrees 20.359' W 131 degrees 38.518'). This was a 61nm day. 101nm in two days, now we are at 699nm. Hard to believe this incredible sunshine in a place that gets over 160 inches of precip a year! There currently are three huge cruise ships here, that I can see. There also is a crab boat from the series Deadliest Catch. Sea Star from Seattle

Time to hit the town to get some errands done and act like tourists! I will fill in some blanks when we have a chance.

This connection is not good enough to upload a photo at the present time so I will add them when I can.

Up Grenville Channel to Prince Rupert with a Stop in Kumealon Island Cove

2007-06-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

Grenville is sometimes call "the ditch". It is 45nm long and almost straight as an arrow. The current floods and ebbs at both ends with the current meeting in the middle. Usually, you head west on the evening flood to the middle where you catch the slack and anchor somewhere. Then in the morning you ride the ebb to the top. Sounds simple enough so long as it meets with your schedule.

But I was about 180 degrees out of sync so of course I bucked the current all the way. The last three hours with the wind on my bow we powered into about a three foot sloppy chop. Water was coming into the pilothouse in places I didn't realize there were gaps. That gave me something to do when I wasn't wrestling with the helm.

I gladly pulled into Kumealon Island Cove ( N 53 degrees 51.718' W 130 degrees 01.589' ) at almost 1600hrs. to sit on the anchor for the night. This cove is almost at the west end of Grenville and makes for a good starting place for the run into Prince Rupert.

The last two or three hours in Grenville, the water changed color to a light brown, like runoff back home. The next morning, Thursday, I headed back out into the ditch and shortly was in Arthur Passage approaching the mouth of the Skeena River. Yesterday Prince Rupert Coast Guard had issued several notices of large debris fields accumulating near this area as a result of higher than normal runoff from the Skeena. Fortunately the winds were light because there were vast amounts of debris everywhere to pick through.

The cruise takes on a very industrial feel as you approach Prince Rupert. This is one of the very few deep water ports in the world so it well suited to serving hugh cargo ships which all have the right-of-way. By common sense as well as the law.

Hartley Bay For the Night

2007-06-08T15:48:00.001-07:00

At Butedale I met a couple in a sailboat also headed north. They recommended Hartley Bay as a unique and quiet stop. A short run, at least by yesterday's standard. Heading on up the Frazer Reach of Princess Royal Channel there were waterfalls everywhere again.

A nice peaceful morning. Here is a photo of some white sided dolphins, trust me, that is what is making the splash. They came to visit for about twenty minutes, keeping me company as I sipped my coffee and took in this great creation.

As I entered into Wright Sound, a couple of bigger boats continued on straight towards Grenville Channel, the leg I was going to tackle tomorrow.

Hartley Bay (N 53 degrees 25.473' W 129 degrees 15.048') is a unique little Native village. There are no streets and no cars. Wooden boardwalks connect all the houses and the very few businesses and government buildings. Several people were using 4X4 ATV's to get around from house to house. A siren sounds at 2000hrs. to let all the children know they should be home.

You might remember last year hearing about the B.C. ferry, The Queen of the North, that hit Gil Rock and sank in Wright Sound. The residents of Hartley Bay came to the aid of the sinking ship and saved the lives of all but two that day.

Shearwater to Butedale in One Hop. 75nm

2007-06-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Leaving out of Shearwater on Monday morning under heavy clouds and rain, the first thing I encountered was a BC Ferry southbound in the narrow channel to Bella Bella. Fortunately the big ships announce their intent to transit these narrow passages so I had time to turn around and wait her out.

I followed another cruising boat through and headed down Seaforth Channel towards Ivory Island and Milbanke Sound. There a person has a choice; turn at Ivory Island and take the inside and more protected route or turn into Milbanke and take the faster route. The winds were fairly calm and the gale warning had been lifted for the outside. The closer I got the bolder I felt. A welded aluminum salmon troller had been following me and when the boat ahead turned inside, the troller continued towards Milbanke.

I called the troller on the radio and chatted. He said the route through Milbanke Sound was indeed a lot quicker. I asked his opinion about what he thought the conditions might be in the sound. He said "There's not much happen'n out there. No problem, follow me!".

"Not much happen'n" and "No problem" need to be viewed in light of one's range of experiences.

He was using his and I was using mine. The two are not the same.

Soon we were in 3 to 4 meter southwest seas on the port beam and quarter, remnants of the dying gale blowing the night before. Forty-five degree rolls for the next two hours. The surge was so big that the breakers were marking the rocks with spray 50 to 75 feet into the air! Yeah, "No problem" seeing where the rocks were!

A long way into Finlayson Channel the troller came to a stop. The skipper was out on the deck as I slipped up alongside. He said he needed to change a fuel filter and that I didn't need to wait. I said OK and then said "I'm sure glad that was so flat back there!". With a big grin he said "Yeah, that was nice!". I think he was serious.

I began thinking that I had saved enough time that possibly I could skip an anchorage and pick up a day in my schedule to get to Prince Rupert to meet Ginger. I had planned to stay in Bottleneck in Finlayson Channel but I turned into Tolmie Channel and just kept going. Tolmie Channel turns into Princess Royal Channel, long and narrow with high mountains on both sides and beautiful waterfalls all along it.

Butedale ( N 53 degrees 09.624' W 128 degrees 41.673' ) was my next scheduled stop and I arrived there at 1900hrs. A long day, 75 nm is a long day in this slow boat alone. Lou Simoneau is the caretaker here and I think he and Butedale are a perfect match. A very nice fellow. In the photos you will see the beautiful waterfall and how Butedale, an old fish processing plant, is falling into the sea. Lou told me there has been a white bear hanging around the beach the last couple days but I was not fortunate enough to see it.

Sitting here in Prince Rupert I must say, the internet connections are very spotty. I have been kicked off a hundred times or more but I will continue to try to post.

Hello From Prince Rupert! 597nm

2007-06-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

I am sitting at the dock at Prince Rupert Yacht and Rowing Club, a couple days ahead of time. It has been an interesting four days.

I will try to catch up using separate posts for each day (after this one) so as to not confuse me or you.

I will however tell you about a bit of an interesting situation occurring here and in a few smaller towns in the area.

Apparently, this area received more snow this winter than any time since the 1950's. 50 to 60 feet in some of the mountains, according to the locals. A lot of the snow was late in the season , very wet and heavy. Now, of course it is rapidly melting. Two days ago the Skeena River washed out the only highway and the railroad. This town is now cut off from the rest of the world, at least as far as moving freight and goods by rail or road. Some places are already out of diesel and gas and the sources that have any are rationing their supply.

I went to the Safeway store and there is no milk, eggs or flour and very little fresh produce left in town. Everyone went into a bit of a panic and started laying in their supplies. I guess a couple of the smaller towns already have partial evacuation orders in place.

Prince Rupert is one of my planned fuel stops so I will have to wait to see if this problem will affect my plans. The next fuel stop is probably Ketchikan.

I am glad that you all are following along and I really enjoy reading your posts. It means a lot when you are traveling alone but can feel connected.

A Note; Verizon says they have cell service in Prince Rupert so long as you have the correct plan and jump through a couple extra hoops. Not true! The locals say no one gets Verizon service here and haven't for years. So, if anyone sees my wife, please tell her I'm patiently waiting for her in Prince Rupert. Thanks!

UPDATE! The Prince Rupert Coast Guard just broadcast a message; All marine fuel has been seized by the Navy and is being held for essential governmental purposes only! Ouch!

Early Start

2007-06-03T21:55:00.001-07:00

I keep hearing about all the bad weather outside and how it is going to get worse in the next few days so I pulled the anchor at 0515hrs. today the third of June. I looked out through a gap and saw fog again. This time I was just determined to run it. As I got outside of Green Island Anchorage I took this photo of the moon and mist. As it turned out I didn't get into any fog at all.

Today is a double post; The Cape post was done after I arrived at Shearwater this afternoon (N 52 degrees 08.852' W 128 degrees 05.305'). You are right in your surprise, Owen, there is no WiFi at Green Island, I was just catching up.

The cruising weather was great once again, still no storm. The early morning start was nice. I am a morning person and it was just beautiful. At the top of Fitz Hugh Sound I turned into Lama Passage and motored into Bella Bella and Shearwater. There is good cell service out in the bay in front of Bell Bella if you have the correct phone company. That would be Verizon. I've talked to other people who have been here recently and they could not get any signal at all with other companies. I even had one bar of signal at the dock in Shearwater and could make calls from there.

The WiFi here is $7.00/hour! But you can't even get a password until the store opens at 0900hrs. tomorrow. However, the WiFi at the pub is having some technical difficulties and is wide open and $0.00/hour. Shearwater is a newer place but seems to be lacking in coordination and customer service.

I changed the Racor 500 filter last night and changed the engine oil and filter today. There was only 76 hours on the oil since leaving Anacortes but with the "oil milkshake" at the beginning of this trip, I just thought I would give my engine a little treat!

Now I might hazard a guess on the next communication. I don't think there is much between here and Prince Rupert for either cell service or internet so you might not hear from me for awhile. If things go according to schedule, I plan to meet my darling wife in Prince Rupert on June 10. Ginger will fly to Vancouver, B.C. in the morning and then on to Prince Rupert. This has all been precisely coordinated without the ability to communicate for the seven days prior. I just hope we both show up at the same place and the same time. It will take Ginger one day to get to Prince Rupert, it will have taken me 22.

Fog, Rock, Ferry, Cape and Whale

2007-06-03T15:43:00.001-07:00

Well, we headed out to Blunden Harbour to begin our approach to Cape Caution but the weather and seas were so nice that we continued on to Allison Harbour next to Nakwakto Rapids. Allison Harbour (N 51 degrees 03.439' W 127 degrees 30.501') is beautiful and quiet.

Since we skipped an anchorage, we moved the crossing date up to Saturday.

"What a Day"

Saturday began with calm winds and heavy fog. While I was sitting in the pilothouse drinking my coffee and thinking I could just as easily be in a Starbucks somewhere in Seattle instead in pea soup with Cape Caution staring me in the face, I heard Comox Coast Guard Radio taking the information from a 32' sailing vessel that was issuing a Mayday after they hit Mary Rock in the fog (0800hrs.). We had passed Mary Rock the day before and were anchored 10.5nm NW of that location.

Port Hardy sent two Coast Guard Rescue boats and three other boats were within 30 minutes of their location. I could not hear the boat's radio traffic but I know they were giving a description of their life raft. Two hours later I heard Comox tell a boat that the sailboat was off the rock but nothing else. A Mayday in the morning wakes you up almost as well as a good cup of coffee!

At 0825hrs., we left the security of Allison Harbour and stuck our anchors into the fog. The boat ahead of me had much more sophisticated radar and chart plotters and this was my first time ever running in the fog. The skipper had explained a little about his system so I knew it was just right for this kind of monkeying around. He has AIS which allows him to see on his plotter anything over 500 tons, their name, bearing, course, cargo, port of call and on and on. We ran the first two hours in the fog. At one point He identified a BC Ferry bearing down on us at 15.9 kts. I was able to pick it up on my radar but determining what it was just isn't that easy. He made contact after two attempts and we passed at a safe distance. The ferry is quite big and was quite startling to see bursting out of the fog so close. If I had been by myself, I might have had a much closer view.

We broke out of the fog and the sea conditions , once again, were great. From what I understand, it probably was as good as it gets for Cape Caution. Swells and wind waves were probably less than 1.5 meters combined to start but rose a little as time went on. Passed the Cape at 1155hrs., June 3, 2007. We parted ways after the Cape and I continued on to Green Island Anchorage (N 51 degrees 38.689' W 127 degrees 50.195'). The conditions were deteriorating rapidly after passing Cape Calvert and heading into Fitz Hugh Sound so I pushed a little harder to get in.

Running up the middle of Fitz Hugh Sound, a very large and loud Coast Guard helicopter flew directly overhead at low altitude. I was a little surprise but grabbed my binoculars to get a good look. When I lowered the binoculars, there were whale flukes about fifty yards directly in front of me! The tail was about ten feet in the air and must have been as wide as my boat. Another first for me!

I now understand why Cape Caution is such a barrier to going north for so many people. I guess I will get to see what it like going south also. This is a big deal for a slow boat.

Just When You Think You Can't Connect.

2007-05-31T15:09:00.001-07:00

Hello again!

One thing that really comes through about a cruising plan up here is that you need to be ready to change it quickly and often. We intended to stay at Greenway Sound tonight but when we got there, the place was closed up tight and not a soul was in sight!

We motored on into Sullivan Bay (photo) and are going to spend the night at the docks here. (N 50 degrees.097' W 126 degrees 49.691'). This place has good facilities but is open only for fuel and moorage during the "off season". The restaurant opens June 1st. However, the folks I am traveling with ran into two other couples in two boats that they know from Oregon and so there is a group of seven. The restaurant has agreed to open a day early just to accommodate us! So we go from no customer service to excellent customer service in a flash! Moorage rates are $o.50/foot today and $0.80/foot beginning tomorrow. I haven't checked on the fuel price here yet, but in answer to Owen's question, Echo Bay is the highest I've seen so far on this trip. I have been paying at least $1.18/liter.

This change in plans has moved the Queen Charlotte Sound crossing up one day to Sunday morning, weather permitting. The sailboat, of course can take a lot more rough water than DUNVEGAN but I have promised to push as hard as I can so as to stay on the crossing schedule, if possible. I installed a new radar reflector this morning so at least the big boys should be able to see me as I'm getting in their way.

I am going to stop trying to predict when and where I might have WiFi, I missed several times already.

Opportunities to Communicate Becoming Fewer

2007-05-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hello! It's Wednesday and I am at the dock in Echo Bay Resort, all alone. I mean, DUNVEGAN is the only boat in the whole marina! I just gave them $92.36 for 15.9 gallons of diesel. Maybe that is the reason I am the only boat in the marina! (N 50 degrees 45.155' W 126 degrees 29.870').

Since Shoal Bay I have been cruising with a great couple aboard a 40' Endeavor sailboat. They have far more experience than I do and I think they sense some of my concern. They have been good morale boosters! Last night we anchored in Cutter Cove across from The Blow Hole on Minstral Island. The night before we anchored in Forward Harbour just north of Whirlpool Rapids at the east end of Sunderland Channel. Sunderland connects to infamous Johnstone Strait which was really calm during our transit. We plan to travel together for the next several days. Hopefully, we will be crossing Queen Charlotte Sound together on Monday morning. 267 nm so far.

I had fresh shrimp for dinner tonight. I had to barter for the shrimp from a shrimp boat. I used money and they used shrimp. It seems to work well that way.

Sorry for the short post but I will be powering down shortly. I will update when possible. I do thank everyone who has posted here and I am looking forward to more!

Rapids? What Rapids?

2007-05-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Cruising up Lewis Channel from Refuge Cove to the rapids.

I knew if my plan was going to work, there were some things that just needed to be done. like crossing the Strait of Georgia and running the rapids. There still are many more in the same category.

Today I took care of some of those things. Yuculta Rapids, Gillard Passage and Dent Rapids. Now, I have actually been through these a couple times before but I either had someone else in the boat or I was singlehanding but running with another boat. Today I was all alone in a slow boat.

I have read just about everything written about these rapids and I must say, if you follow the advice given in the Waggoner Cruising Guide and the Douglass' Exploring Series, everything will probably work out just fine! I slipped through without knocking anything to the deck and with only a tiny bit of psychological damage, (spread out over the entire morning of course!).The nice thing about the rapids is, unless there is genuine trouble, it only lasts a short time. On the other hand, the Strait can beat you to death for hours!

Right now there are gale force winds blowing in Johnstone Strait and my next leg will take me through there so I am going to go with plan B, just as soon as I figure out what plan B is.

I am currently sitting at the dock in Shoal Bay where the bulk of the wind can't quite get a purchase on the water. Mark McDonald, who runs the lodge here, provides free WiFi but there is no cellphone service. ( N 50 degrees 27.508' W 125 degrees 21.955' )

Here's a Place I've Never Been Before

2007-05-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

Got up this morning without a plan but I know Lund is a little too cramped. I headed into Desolation Sound, not wanting to go too far today. I need to get some chores done on the boat and formulate some kind of a plan. I've heard so much about Refuge Cove that it just needed to be checked out. This place is, of course, beautiful but really quiet right now. It turns out that it is still pretty early for the cruising crowd and so they are not even officially open! However, they are great folks and they had the front door to the store open as they were working to open for business by the first of June. So I helped myself to the diesel fuel and had my pick of any place on the dock. Pretty much the opposite of Lund.

I haven't decided if I might hang around Desolation Sound for a bit or run uphill a ways. It's tough to leave one incredible place just to go to another incredibly beautiful place. The plan is to go north however. The next leg will take me through five sets of tidal rapids. I put in a link to them in one of the older posts, "The Plan".

Met a great older couple in a 34' CHB Trawler from Port Angeles. They lived in the Bitterroot Valley just south of where I now live, about 35 years ago and still have four kids living in western Montana.

The WiFi connection failed last night so this is a little late.
( N 50 degrees 07.41' W 124 degrees 50.41' )

Across One Strait and Up the Other!

2007-05-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

I left the fuel dock at Nanaimo at 0810hrs., headed out into the Strait of Georgia under a small craft advisory, which is about as good as it gets for this body of water I think. Area Whiskey Gulf (WG) was not active so I was able to cross in a straight line from Nanaimo to the south tip of Texada Island, about fifteen and a half miles. WG is a military exercise area that you are forbidden to enter into when they are conducting operations. It is up to you to know where the boundaries are. If you get it wrong, the military will definitely make contact!

Fortunately I had my Bose noise cancelling headphones and my IPod with a new Jimmy Buffett album, "Take the Weather With You". Buffett just sounds better when you're on the water. Actually, I had time to listen to all three of my Buffett albums and some other tunes along the way, that's a big piece of water.

I started a couple hours earlier than I had planned so when I got across the Strait of Georgia I just continued on up Malaspina Strait all the way to Lund where I planned to stay at the dock. (N 49 degrees 58.84' W 124 degrees 46.09'). That made for a long day at 61.7 nm. That might not sound like much but it took 8hrs. and 15 minutes. I got a phone call out in the middle from a guy I work with. Can you hear me now?

Lund is a very small harbour and is home to a commercial shrimping fleet. Here is a photo of where I had to dock. Yes there is a dock in there somewhere. Singlehanding does have it's trials.

There is some kind of an orange colored algae bloom going on up here and Lund seemed to be getting its share as can been seen in the photo.

The last time we were in Lund they had WiFi but not this time so this post is a day late. I did have cell service so I got to talk to one of my kids which is a big treat!

Here is today's parting shot

2007-05-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

A good day to cruise.

2007-05-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hello from Nanaimo, British Columbia! I did not have a chance to take any interesting photos today so I will post one I took last night in Prevost Harbor after my last post. I have never anchored overnight where it was as calm as it was last night. Absolutely like glass all night.

As beautiful as it was this morning, it didn't get off to a very good start. I had pulled the anchor and was almost to the mouth of the bay when I realized I had not hoisted my Canadian courtesy flag. I would be in Canada within 30 minutes so I bailed out of the rear cabin, opening the sliding door but not the overhead hatch. I climbed up on the roof of the rear cabin and as I was attaching the flag I realized I needed some tape so back in I went on a dead run. Do you see where this is going yet? I thought I had all the square corners worn off the boat and me, but NOOOOO! On the way back out, I headbutted the hatch at almost full power. My ears started ringing louder than they usually do, my teeth made a sound like my dentist just made another payment on his Mercedes and I almost took a nap. But I didn't have time for one. I grabbed my head to sooth it a little but before I could get back on top of the cabin, the blood soaked through my hat and started running down my face and dripping off the end of my nose. Remember, I'm still adrift. I went back inside and grabbed a paper towel, folded it about 5 or 6 times, stuck it where most of the blood was coming from, pulled my hat down tight and headed for Canada. If I wasn't otherwise occupied, I would have taken a photo. Maybe you have seen the guy who does the ads for that famous bear spray. The one that got mauled by the grizzly. I did at least find the Neosporin so now my head looks like a bird pecked a hole in it and then crapped on it.

The rest of the day went much better. I made Canadian Customs just after 0800hrs. and headed north. I missed the slack tide at Dodd Narrows (tidal rapids) by 1 1/2 hours but I ran against the current anyway. About one knot more current and it wouldn't have happened.

I am fully stocked up on Canadian groceries and Canadian money and am now sitting at the dock on Newcastle Island across from Nanaimo where the weather is beautiful.

It looks like there might be favorable conditions for a crossing tomorrow. The currents will ease beginning about 1000hrs. so hopefully, I will be crossing the Strait of Georgia in the morning.

Break on through to the other side!

2007-05-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

I spent yesterday working on a big engine problem which I managed to solve after 11 hours. Thankfully, I discovered it at the dock or it would have been probably too big to solve. Here is a photo of the problem but the explanation is strictly on a need to know basis.

Today is a totally different story though!. As of 1330hrs., I am sitting at anchor in Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island (N 48 degrees 40.697' W 123 degrees 11.639' if you would like to GoogleEarth that).

This place is kind of out of the way in the San Juans and I am about .6 miles from any structures east and west but the WiFi signal is 100%. There appears to be some cell phone coverage also.

I'm getting the boat squared away and am actually beginning to enjoy this! Tomorrow I will clear Canadian Customs at Bedwell Harbour (I have to go with the Canadian spelling now) and continue north. I haven't calculated the slack at Dodd Narrows but if it works I might just make it to Nanaimo.

2007-05-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

Launched DUNVEGAN at 0900hrs. this date. Atallo, the yard manager was once again the key to making everything happen. They need to pay this guy more money.

All systems seem to be up and running, at least after the mechanic straightened out the wiring they had already straightened out.

There appears to be at least four other Sundowner Tugs here. That is a lot in one place since they only made sixty some of these. I met the owner of ADAMANT, a 32' who has a long history with Sundowners and is quite knowledgeable. I encouraged him to look up the owners association.

Weather has improved and I am getting a lot of the little odds and ends taken care of. Took on fuel and water and am topping off the batteries. I have a slip here for two nights and then it's probably going to be on the hook somewhere in the San Juans.

It is nice to hear from you, Ben. That nice side view of DUNVEGAN is one of Ben's photos and I need to give him credit. Everyone should know that Ben is about to charter a 36' Grand Banks in the Bahamas for about ten days. That's gonna be a real nice honeymoon! Your big adventure is about to begin too! You know, if you blogged your honeymoon, it would be a WAY more popular site than this one!

I have finally pulled the trigger!

2007-05-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

After working day and night on DUNVEGAN for three weeks, hustling to get most of the necessary projects finished, I finally backed the truck up and hooked on! Sunday, the 20th of May, 2007, I towed DUNVEGAN 560 miles from Missoula, Montana to Anacortes, Washington. I am thankful for my IPod and XM Radio.

Anacortes is wet! Driving rain and windy, 50 degrees. I am already in survival mode. Just like the reality shows on TV, I could die right here in the parking lot. Soaking wet, hypothermia setting in, no place to sleep. The boat is still on the trailer as I cannot launch until tomorrow. Boats function better in the water than out. This one sits about 20 degrees bow down on the trailer but I can sleep onboard tonight. I'll make a little nest in the foc'sle and probably end up in a ball in the anchor locker in the morning.

I was able to fire up the Dickenson propane furnace which is taking a little bit of the chill off so maybe I won't die tonight after all. Another thing that has helped is that I am parked next to the Flounder Bay Cafe and the clam chowder and calamari are excellent! Well, I'll probably get by.

I must say though, I could not have made it this far without the support, understanding and encouragement of my First Mate and loving wife. Thank you! I want to thank my kids for their love and support also!

The Plan

2007-04-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

THE PLAN

Mid May, Dunvegan will launch at Anacortes, Washington, from Skyline Marina in Flounder Bay.

I would like to head north in a fairly aggressive manner, however, I've found some loose ends with some of the work I had done over the winter. Now I will probably hang around the San Juan Islands for a few days to make sure everything is as it should be. The end of May is still early enough to start a trip north.

I expect this cruise to take from 2,500 to 3,000 miles and about four months. I will be singlehanding for about half that time, my wife/First Mate will fly up to meet me in the third or fourth week and stay with me for seven or eight weeks. A couple friends have expressed interest in doing the same but for maybe a week or so at a time. It should be a good mix of having company and having solitude in one of the most beautiful cruising areas of the world.

I have taken DUNVEGAN on a couple trips north from Anacortes, through the Canadian Gulf Islands, through Desolation Sound, and through the tidal rapids as far north as the Broughton Islands, singlehanding about 60% of the time. I know, that is just a drop in the bucket compared to going all the way up the Inside Passage. But, I'm not getting any younger and everything is as close as it has ever been to being favorable. I will soon be 53 years old and who knows when a person might get sick or worse yet, just loose interest after all the years of getting the cruising fund, the boat, some experience and the time to do it. I want to do this on my own, I'm not interested in paying a big cruise line to do it for me, although it would be a whole lot cheaper.

This adventure is also a part of my decision process which will probably lead to a major career change. More about that later.

For now, the boat is sitting in my driveway in Missoula, Montana, on a hill, without a drop of water in sight. A sad situation for sure, a proper boat should be in the water. I had to bring it home so I could do several final projects in preparation for this cruise and to properly provision it. I hope to have it ready to cruise in a couple weeks and will make the first 600 miles of this adventure on the trailer. Living in Montana and cruising can certainly be a challenge but there are solutions to almost any roadblock. I don't want to be the one to write the book "One Hundred and One Reasons Why I Can't Go Cruising Today".

MV DUNVEGAN

2007-04-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

1984 30' Sundowner Tug
Ford Lehman Super 90 diesel engine

Sitting at anchor in Skeeko Bay on Wildhorse Island in Flathead Lake in western Montana.

DUNVEGAN CASTLE

Dunvegan's first mate

2007-04-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

DUNVEGAN'S Captain

2007-04-28T09:29:00.000-07:00