Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah is packed with spectacular, spire-shaped formations. Known as “hoodoos”, these red-rock pillars form over time as holes in the canyon walls form when frost enlarges cracks. The holes eventually collapse, leaving the hoodoos. From Springdale UT, near Zion National Park, we drove 232 miles northeast to Bryce Canyon,…
Boatel For Sale
After 14 months of being stranded in the US due to COVID travel restrictions, the Boatel has finally returned to Canada. After 16 amazing years of operating Making Waves Boatel, Diane and Ted Greene have decided to put the Boatel … Continue reading →
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Aug. 8-14 Vermont Vacation
“Families are like branches on a tree. We grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one.” –Unknown
Our August stacation…was actually a real vacation. We left the state and enjoyed a week with our family in the mountains of Vermont. We were joined by Bryt’s parents Tom and Cynthia. We had two adults for every child, that’s a great way to take care of kids. There was always someone for the kids to do something with and plenty of time for everyone to relax.
Aug. 8 – Indian Ladder Trail
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” -Jawaharlal Nehru
We’re on our way to Vermont to spend a week with family. Check in time at the house we’ve rented isn’t till 4:00, so we thought we’d check out the beautiful Thacher State Park on our way. The park is situated along the Helderberg Escarpment (The Great Ledge), 15 miles southwest of Albany. It provides a marvelous panorama view of the Hudson-Mohawk Valleys and the Adirondack and Green Mountains. We hiked the Indian Ladder Trail today.
Road Trip to Seattle: Zion
Utah’s Zion National Park is exceedingly popular, and for good reason. The rugged red-rock canyon scenery is spectacular, with many hiking trials, climbing and canyoneering opportunities for unique perspectives and experiences. And after enjoying a day at the park, nearby Springdale has excellent accommodations and restaurants. From Flagstaff, AZ we drove 328 miles to Springdale,…
Ketchikan to Port Townsend
Like so many boaters we followed the monthly announcements out of Ottawa as to whether the Canadians would reopen their borders to foreign visitors entering for non-essential reasons. or at least those who are fully vaccinated. The July 19 announcement, while allowing fully vaccinated US citizens with a current negative COVID test to enter for any reason, was a bit of a disappointment because it didn’t go into effect until August 9, the scheduled date for our haul out in Port Townsend. Sadly it would be another quick transit through British Columbia.
After 3-nights in Ketchikan (we now regularly spend an extra day in port so that Drake can get “just one more shore experience” before being stuck on the boat) we departed on July 27. So that we clear into Canada at Prince Rupert as early in the day as possible, we anchored one more night in Alaska just north of the border.
The next morning started our transit through Canada in earnest and we arrived at the Customs Dock at Cow Bay Marina at 1028 PDT (losing an hour from AKDT). The transit clearing process went smoothly and we departed the dock at 1118. The table below shows the transit travel days with anchorages between our last anchorage in Alaska and our first anchorage is Washington.
| Date | Anchorage | NM Traveled | Engine Hours |
| July 29 | Lowe Inlet, Grenville Channel | 93.7 | 14.4 |
| July 30 | Bottleneck Inlet, Roderick Island | 74.6 | 11.5 |
| July 31 | Fury Cove, Penrose Island | 91.9 | 14.0 |
| August 1 | Mist Islet, Port Harvey, Cracroft Island |
95.7 | 14.1 |
| August 2 | Tribune Bay, Hornby Island | 103.0 | 14.3 |
| August 3 | Lyall Harbor, Saturna Island | 76.0 | 11.1 |
| August 4 | Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island | 11.4 | 2.4 |
On our last night, rather than arriving in the late evening at a crowded San Juan Island anchorage, we chose to stop a little early at a quiet and uncrowded anchorage in BC. The next morning we started leisurely, traveled a short distance, cleared back into the US along the way, and arrived at Prevost Harbor after many of the previous night’s boaters had left left .
The total distance travelled during the transit (last US anchorage to first US anchorage) was 546.3 nautical miles in 81.8 engine hours (that includes the time to drop and retrieve the anchor). The clock time from our departure from the Alaska anchorage to our arrival at the Washington anchorage was 149.1 hours.
We relaxed a couple of nights in Prevost Harbor before positioning ourselves on the southeast corner of Lopez Island. On the morning of Saturday, August 7 we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca and moored in Boat Haven at Port Townsend. Arriving early gave us time to prepare the boat for the yard work that begins Monday, August 9.
Ketchikan to Port Townsend
Like so many boaters we followed the monthly announcements out of Ottawa as to whether the Canadians would reopen their borders to foreign visitors entering for non-essential reasons. or at least those who are fully vaccinated. The July 19 announcement, while allowing fully vaccinated US citizens with a current negative COVID test to enter for any reason, was a bit of a disappointment because it didn’t go into effect until August 9, the scheduled date for our haul out in Port Townsend. Sadly it would be another quick transit through British Columbia.
After 3-nights in Ketchikan (we now regularly spend an extra day in port so that Drake can get “just one more shore experience” before being stuck on the boat) we departed on July 27. So that we clear into Canada at Prince Rupert as early in the day as possible, we anchored one more night in Alaska just north of the border.
The next morning started our transit through Canada in earnest and we arrived at the Customs Dock at Cow Bay Marina at 1028 PDT (losing an hour from AKDT). The transit clearing process went smoothly and we departed the dock at 1118. The table below shows the transit travel days with anchorages between our last anchorage in Alaska and our first anchorage is Washington.
| Date | Anchorage | NM Traveled | Engine Hours |
| July 29 | Lowe Inlet, Grenville Channel | 93.7 | 14.4 |
| July 30 | Bottleneck Inlet, Roderick Island | 74.6 | 11.5 |
| July 31 | Fury Cove, Penrose Island | 91.9 | 14.0 |
| August 1 | Mist Islet, Port Harvey, Cracroft Island | 95.7 | 14.1 |
| August 2 | Tribune Bay, Hornby Island | 103.0 | 14.3 |
| August 3 | Lyall Harbor, Saturna Island | 76.0 | 11.1 |
| August 4 | Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island | 11.4 | 2.4 |
On our last night, rather than arriving in the late evening at a crowded San Juan Island anchorage, we chose to stop a little early at a quiet and uncrowded anchorage in BC. The next morning we started leisurely, traveled a short distance, cleared back into the US along the way, and arrived at Prevost Harbor after many of the previous night’s boaters had left left .
The total distance travelled during the transit (last US anchorage to first US anchorage) was 546.3 nautical miles in 81.8 engine hours (that includes the time to drop and retrieve the anchor). The clock time from our departure from the Alaska anchorage to our arrival at the Washington anchorage was 149.1 hours.
We relaxed a couple of nights in Prevost Harbor before positioning ourselves on the southeast corner of Lopez Island. On the morning of Saturday, August 7 we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca and moored in Boat Haven at Port Townsend. Arriving early gave us time to prepare the boat for the yard work that begins Monday, August 9.
STORM DURING NIGHT OF 2 AUGUST
,During
the night of 2 August there was a massive blow in Auckland causing
quite a bit of havoc ashore
including fallen trees and downed
power lines. I
recall lying in bed listening to the gusts thankful not to be out on
our boat.
Hobsonville
marina emailed us the next day advising of gusts up to 67 knots in
the marina with some vessels suffering damage to canopies and
hatches. Di and I went there
to check on Rapport, fortunately
finding everything was fine.
Sir
Peter Blake’s former 36
metre alloy
expedition
yacht Seamaster, now called Archangel, which has been anchored for a
long time off St Heliers Beach dragged her anchor, but fortunately
beached with
apparently no
damage. Her
current owner says Archangel had a heavy anchor and 100 metres of
chain out, but
there
are two issues of interest here:
1.
Her owner was not aboard, but able to tell remotely that Archangel
had dragged and therefore able to go and investigate. I don’t know
what technology the
owner
was using,
but see our
last
posting re Anchor Watch HD as it shows how valuable this free app can
be.
2.
Her owner says Archangel dragged her
anchor due
to a 180 degree wind shift. This is a point I have mentioned many
times, that is with adequate ground tackle set (as Archangel had) you
are most unlikely to drag in a consistent wind. However when you
encounter a 180 degree wind shift – which often happens during
storms and/or as fronts pass through, all bets are off. This is
because your boat’s movement following the wind shift can pull your
anchor out from its set position and just drag it across the seabed.
In other cases as
your chain
moves in
the opposite direction it may
foul the anchor and
drag it
across the seabed preventing
it from
resetting.
But
wait there’s more. You have almost certainly anchored on a weather
shore, that is with your bow pointing to the shore and no matter how
hard the wind blows you are unlikely to see wavelets more than about
25cm high.
After the wind shift you will be on a lee shore, that is with your
stern pointing to shore and in shallower water. Now the wind has much
greater distance to create waves and these can quickly rise to a
metre or more. Waves cause a jerking motion placing further strain on
your anchor and compromising your security.
Lesson:
a 180 degree wind shift is always a case for concern and for close
monitoring of your situation.
STORM DURING NIGHT OF 2 AUGUST
,During the night of 2 August there was a massive blow in Auckland causing quite a bit of havoc ashoreincluding fallen trees and downedpower lines. I recall lying in bed listening to the gusts thankful not to be out on our boat.
Hobsonville marina emailed us the next day advising of gusts up to 67 knots in the marina with some vessels suffering damage to canopies and hatches. Di and I went thereto check on Rapport, fortunatelyfinding everything was fine.
Sir Peter Blake’s former 36 metre alloy expedition yacht Seamaster, now called Archangel, which has been anchored for a long time off St Heliers Beach dragged her anchor, but fortunately beached withapparently no damage. Her current owner says Archangel had a heavy anchor and 100 metres of chain out, but there are two issues of interest here:
1. Her owner was not aboard, but able to tell remotely that Archangelhad dragged and therefore able to go and investigate. I don’t know what technology the owner was using, but see our lastposting re Anchor Watch HD as it shows how valuable this free app canbe.
2. Her owner says Archangel dragged her anchor due to a 180 degree wind shift. This is a point I have mentioned many times, that is with adequate ground tackle set (as Archangel had) you are most unlikely to drag in a consistent wind. However when you encounter a 180 degree wind shift – which often happens during storms and/or as fronts pass through, all bets are off. This is because your boat’s movement following the wind shift can pull your anchor out from its set position and just drag it across the seabed. In other cases as your chain moves in the opposite direction it mayfoul the anchor and drag it across the seabed preventingit from resetting.
But wait there’s more. You have almost certainly anchored on a weather shore, that is with your bow pointing to the shore and no matter how hard the wind blows you are unlikely to see wavelets more than about 25cm high. After the wind shift you will be on a lee shore, that is with your stern pointing to shore and in shallower water. Now the wind has much greater distance to create waves and these can quickly rise to a metre or more. Waves cause a jerking motion placing further strain on your anchor and compromising your security.
Lesson: a 180 degree wind shift is always a case for concern and for close monitoring of your situation.
East Baranof Island Part 2
East Baranof Part 2
July 15, 2021
After spending 2 days in Petersburg doing maintenance, we headed back out Wrangell Narrows at 0905 and headed down Frederick Sound to Henrys Arm for the evening, anchoring at 1605. Spirit was the only vessel anchored in the calm waters. We began a Mexican Train tournament that evening which will continue.
July 16, 2021
We pulled the anchor from the good holding mud in Henrys Arm at 0700 and headed out Frederick Sound and across Chatham Strait to the east shore of Baranof Island just north of Gut Bay. The weather was overcast, with rain at times. We started fishing at 1230 and by 1630 we had a total of 6 Coho salmon in the box, along with a nice rockfish. Heading into Gut Bay we anchored and processed the fish before having a nice dinner under now sunny skies.
July 17, 2021
We pulled the anchor from 100 feet of water at 0810 and headed back out into Chatham Strait. After several hours we had 5 Coho and 2 rockfish in the icebox, so we headed across Chatham Strait to Halleck Harbor in Saginaw Bay on Kuiu Island for the evening. The anchor was set at 1645 after 34 NM of travel. We were treated to many Humpback Whales feeding including several bubble feeds.
July 18, 2021
With no particular schedule in mind, we raised the anchor from the good holding in Halleck Harbor and headed back up Frederick Sound to Portage Bay, where we set the anchor at 1845. We were the only vessel for some time until a commercial crab boat came in and anchored further up the bay.
July 19, 2021
Dense fog greeted us in the morning as we raised the anchor at 0622 and headed out of Portage Bay, never glimpsing the entrance lights. The dense fog, with visibility of often less than 100 yards, continued all the way to the entrance buoy to Wrangell Narrows. Then the weather cleared and we docked in stall N27 with no incidents at 0956. The remainder of the day was spent cleaning as many fish scales and as much dried blood from the cockpit as possible, but now dressed in shorts and t-shirts in the sunny warm weather.
We enjoyed grilled bratwurst and potato salad for dinner, along with appetizers of smoked oysters and cream cheese in the cockpit under sunny skies. A Mexican Train marathon then ensued until nearly midnight.
July 20, 2021
The skies were mostly sunny as we continued cleaning Spirit. Miriam went to “Salty Dawg” for lunch with Jerry Frostad and the visited with Marj Oines before we cooked filet mignon on the BBQ for dinner. The rain began about 2000 as we play mor Mexican Train.
