Leaving Little Port Walter, we motor north on Chatham Strait. We detour briefly to explore the narrow fiord of Patterson Bay. There is very little information about the inlet in our guide books but it looks to have deep water all the way up to its head. It is a beautiful six mile cruise to […]
Return to Norway
It’s an unusual day when you get up in the morning to start a short coastal cruise, and end up making a 2.5-day crossing of the North Sea to an entirely different country. Given the current world situation, Norway was number one on our list of desired destinations, with its excellent hiking and abundance of…
July 15-17 Cora’s Visit
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park
“Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life.” -Lisa Weed
It was finally Cora’s turn to spend individual time on The Pearl. We were all excited about this special time and it was wonderful. She was so much fun and so entertaining. We loved getting to spend one on one time with her. This kind of time with our grands…is what life is all about. The weather was very windy while she was onboard, so we didn’t get to spend time on the Tiny Pearl. We couldn’t be out on the water, but we had plenty to keep us busy.
Loch Laxford
We very much enjoyed our month in Stornoway. It was wonderful to be fully fueled and provisioned again, with the bottom painted, the zincs replaced and the insurance survey complete, and we were looking forward to some relaxing cruising with our generator now back in full operating condition after replacing the cylinder head. Our first…
Sharing….
It would seem Dora needs a lesson in sharing…Dylan wanted in on it too. Dora would not be outdone.
Muddy Belly
Dylan knows how to have fun at the dog park just like those young whipper snappers. What a sweet boy.
Stornoway Haulout
The Stornoway slipway is a big commercial railway that can lift boats up to 50m long and weighing up to 850 tons. The railway cradle uses three pairs of hydraulic support arms to hold boats in place, making for an efficient lift process. Once the vessel is in the correct position, the arms are simply…
Replacing 12kW GenSet Cylinder Head Part II
This installment of our maintenance series picks up from our previous video, where we removed the defective cylinder head from our Northern Lights 12kW generator and ended with the engine in pieces on the floor. In this third part of the set covering the low power output issue with our generator, we install the…
Dee Dee’s Morning
It’s clear that Dylan and Dora have fun each morning at the dog park. Dee Dee has her own special morning as well.
Dee Dee and Mom set off early to miss the heat and make a 1.5+ mile loop through the beautiful neighborhood.
The streets are canopied by massive old oak and cedar trees covered in Spanish moss. Magnolias and palms are interspersed. It’s a beautiful walk. We see squirrels and Dee Dee’s nemesis, two black cats, and even an occasional deer.
It’s a special time each morning leaving Dee Dee tired and happy. Mom too.
Escape to Alaska
On June 26, the Canadians threw us a life line by allowing foreign vessels, for any purpose, to transit their waters, either coastal or inside channels, from one foreign country to another foreign country. The transit must be done in a direct route and expeditious fashion but anchoring or essential stops, for fuel or food, are allowed.
We depart Bainbridge Island the afternoon of July 2 anchoring the first night in Port Townsend Bay. An early start gets us across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, up Haro Strait and to the customs dock at Van Isle Marina before noon. With our clearance number in hand, we continue through Active Pass and up the Strait of Georgia to a bay northwest of Nanaimo for the night.
In the anchorage, our paths cross with Rosy & Jim Addington of Sea Venture who are planning a similar quick (or as least as quickly as 6.5 knot boats can be) transit to Alaska. We’ve known Rosy & Jim for several years and had been commiserating electronically with them about this year’s border closure, so finding them was not a surprise. Since our boats are similar in category (slow, long range cruiser), we decide to buddy boat
to Alaska.
From northwest of Nanaimo, the next day, July 4, we position in Gowlland Harbor, a few miles south of Seymour Narrows, halfway up Vancouver Island. The next day (and night and day, again) is a long one. We catch the 0530 slack before the ebb at Seymour, ride the favorable ebb current through Johnstone, pass Port McNeill, enter Gordon Channel, cross Queen Charlotte Sound, enter Laredo Sound and make our way up Principe Channel to McMicking Inlet on Campania Island, a 263 mile and 39 hour journey. From here its one more anchorage in Canada at Kelp Passage, SW of Prince Rupert. The next day, July 8, we cross the border between Canada and the USA, clear US customs via the ROAM app on our phones, and enter Alaska.
To prevent the spread of Corona virus, Alaska requires those entering the state to bring a recent negative Covid-19 test, take a test upon entering and stay in quarantine until negative results are returned, or complete a 14-day quarantine. Since the quarantine clock started at our last port of call in Bainbridge we decide to stay isolated on our boat cruising in Misty Fjords and not arrive in Ketchikan until our quarantine is complete. Jim & Rosy on Sea Venture, had left their last port of call in Anacortes earlier than we had and elect to proceed to Ketchikan more directly, so we split up at this point.
With fewer cruising boats we are able to secure the USFS buoys in Punchbowl Cove, Walker Cove and Klu Bay as well as anchor in isolation in Fitzgibbon Cove and Moser Bay, as we make our way slowly up Eastern Behm Canal, across the north side of Revillagigedo Island and then back down Western Behm Canal. Misty Fjord lives up to its name and reputation. We arrive in Ketchikan on Thursday, July 16, having completed the transit to Alaska and satisfied our Covid-19 quarantine period.
