!@#$ Computer

No, we haven't sunk or been overcome by pirates.  The reason that the blog suddenly stops in July is that our laptop has decided  to stop running Microsoft Word.  We are not terribly computer literate so this has not been overcome as of yet.

We have  been to Ketchikan, Alaska and had two set of visitors.  Fred was shown how to fish by my cousin Don.  Fred is now outside on the rear deck casting a line all the time.  No more fresh salmon, but he won't stop trying. 

We are leaving Shearwater, BC tomorrow morning.  We will be heading back around Cape Caution within the next week. 

Hopefully we can get this computer problem solved soon.

To be continued...

Wednesday, July 11 Khutze Inlet

We awaken to a mostly sunny day with white puffy clouds.  That’s the good news.  However, big, ugly, biting flies have arrived.  Fred was trying to do some work on the dinghy and replace the bilge pump.  Multiple complications occurred and these flies are making us all crazy.  It is impossible to sit out on the deck.  Thank goodness we have screens on the windows!  Fred went out to pick up the crab traps and we had a total of seven.  We are allowed to keep six if they are males and of a large enough size.  We had six keepers and Fred did the cleaning (we can’t put live crabs in boiling water).  For the first time I’ve been bitten by a crab!  I was helping Fred with the trap and thought I was being scratched by the metal trap until I looked down and one of the crabs had a bit of my ankle in his claw. He got a little chunk of me but we got the last laugh...

Tuesday, July 10 Kynoch Inlet to Khutze Inlet 4 ½ hours 50 miles

As we were heading north on Mathieson Channel, just before Sheep Passage Fred saw a large whale.  It was a single humpback which gradually made a arch dive and showed us his beautiful tail.  He/she was about 30 feet in front of the boat.  We watched in wonder and forgot to take photos.  We passed through Hiekish Narrows at one hour before slack and had a 1 knot push and no turbulence.  We traveled 5 miles into our favorite anchorage in BC.  Khutze Inlet is so hard to describe.  On either side are 3000-4000 foot high cliffs with more waterfalls than we can count.  At the head is a drying mud flat and on the right is a spectacular waterfall that meanders down the 4000 foot mountain.  We are surrounded by snow-capped mountains.  All you can here is the sound of the waterfalls.  We have usually found this place to be wonderful for crabbing.  Fred put out two pots that we will check in the morning. 

Monday, July 9 Rescue Bay to Kynoch Inlet 2 ½ hours 28 miles

At last we are in Fiordland (correct spelling in Canada).  This area is like traveling through Yosemite Valley by boat.  The water in the channel is up to 1500 feet deep.  We are surrounded by snow capped mountains and amazing granite monoliths.  As we entered Kynoch we first stopped at the magnificent water fall on the left side of the channel.  It is very tall and wide and the rocks in its path give it the shape of a person.  It is called Man Falls by some.  Kynoch Inlet is 12 miles long and we are heading the end of the inlet for the night.  Seeing this area on a sunny day is spectacular.  Bright sunny days are not that common up here in BC.  There was one other boat already anchored when we arrived at the anchorage. Near the head was a very interesting waterfall.  One could see it meander down the mountain but it terminated in a large snow bank.  We couldn’t see where the water entered the bay.  Very interesting.  It is tricky anchoring here because the water is quite deep and shallows very rapidly.  We dropped our anchor in 80 feet and settled in at 42 feet.  Fred said the anchor hooked up well.  We hope so because as the day progressed the wind kicked up to 15-20 knots and we had 1-2 foot chop here at anchor.  We really thought it would be very calm back here.  We worried about our anchor holding and slept very poorly with each of getting up periodically to check our position on the chart plotter.  The rain was coming down so hard we really couldn’t see outside.  Plus, the other boat here did not put his anchor light on so we couldn’t determine our position in reference to his boat.  As it turned out we moved a lot in a small area and our anchor held fast.

Sunday, July 8 Shearwater to Rescue Bay 3 ½ hours 35 miles

We have lovely weather to travel in again today.  We waited until 10 am for the store to open to get something I still needed and of course a latte from Rosies’.  We had up to 20 knots of wind of one foot chop in Seaforth Channel.  This is really fortunate since this channel opens to the sea.  We then traveled through Reid Passage.  This passage is very narrow and rocky, but spectacularly beautiful.  There are several navigational markers along the way to keep us off the rocks.  We then entered Mathieson Channel.  This waterway is huge and bordered with mountains.  Rescue Bay is another beautiful anchorage.  It is quite large with many acceptable places to anchor.  There was only one other boat here with us.  We put the dinghy down and explored the bay and Jackson Passage just outside the anchorage.  Jackson Passage is very narrow with bull kelp marking the rocks.  It is best traveled at high tide.  We will not take Emerald Star through here tomorrow. 

Saturday, July 7 Kwakume Inlet to Shearwater 3 ½ hours 38 miles

We are having a string of beautiful days.  As we leave the anchorage we enter Fitz Hugh Sound again.  It is flat and beautiful.  However, we still have to dodge a lot of logs.  One second of inattention and we had a glancing blow from a huge log.  No damage but it sure got our attention.  When we had phone service I called up Shearwater Marina for a slip assignment.  There were quite a few openings when we arrived but the dock gradually filled up over the afternoon.  We did some grocery shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables and allowed Merlin some freedom.  In the late afternoon we saw two bald eagles sitting on a tree top and we were informed that a fellow here placed raw meat on the lawn and allowed folks to photograph the eagles more closely.  The lady I saw on the bench with a high end Nikon camera is the same lady on the Nordic Tug that nearly broadsided us in Port McNeill.    Faye is quite knowledgeable about eagle and bear behavior.  They were selling black t-shirts with the image of a Spirit Bear to benefit a local charity.  We really want to see a spirit bear!  They are actually black bears with a recessive gene making them an ivory cream color.  They are not albinos.  I stopped by their boat, Fellowship, after dinner and was shown their marvelous photos of the spirit bear. She gave me the name and phone number of a fellow who does small tours to see the bears.   Faye said that she needed waders to get into the stream with the bears for her photos.  I’m not sure if I am ready to get into a stream with the bears.  We will have to think about that.  I was leaving the boat at dusk (10 pm) and a fellow in a small aluminum skiff asked for Fred (he was already asleep).  Apparently this was the harbourmaster, Christoffe.  He had just finished making this skiff himself and wanted Fred to see it.  He did all the cutting of the aluminum and welding himself.  I told him I would send Fred to him in the  morning. 

Friday, July 6 Allison Harbour to Kwakume Inlet 4 ½ hours 51 miles

West Sea Otter buoy reports 1.0 meter seas.  It’s a go.  We will round Cape Caution today.  The sun is breaking out of the clouds and it is a beautiful day.  As we neared Cape Caution we encountered 3-4 foot rolling waves.  We upped the RPM to 2000 and traveled at about 12 knots to get out of the waves sooner.  In Fitz Hugh Channel we only had 1-2 kts of wind and a following see.  It was quite nice to sit on the bow in the sun.  Kwakume Inlet is quite large but has a rocky entrance.  We tucked in safely and were surprised that we were the only boat there.