May 11, 2016 – Port McNeill to Pruth Bay
0500 came all too soon and in the predawn light we prepared to depart. At 0536 the last line was brought aboard Spirit and we backed out of the slip, careful to not use noisy bow or stern thrusters since we saw no lights on the other boats in the marina.
Putting the tender in tow we headed across Neill Ledge and out past Pulteney Point lighthouse where we set a course for Ripple Pass. The light breezes in Broughton Strait were soon replaced by 15-25 knot northwesterly breezes which kicked up a 3 foot chop on top of the low westerly swell. Spirit was soon covered in salt spray, undoing all the work that Ted Marx had done the day before.
As we continued across Queen Charlotte Strait the wind gradually abated to 10-15 knots, but now the swell increased to 6-8 feet from both the offshore effects and the 3 knot ebb tide in Ripple Pass. We had to slow down to keep from going airborne in the larger swells.
After several miles of sloppy water we passed through Ripple Pass and set a course for Cape Caution. The Cape was abeam at 1115, with 5-10 knots of wind and a 6-8 foot swell at 7 seconds period on the port bow. We had occasional light mist/rain as we passed Egg Island and then the sky cleared.
The swell stayed with us until we were in the lee of Calvert Island and entering Fitz Hugh Sound, where the wind dropped to 3 knots and the seas were glassy. We saw only one other pleasure craft crossing Cape Caution, “Salpare”, a Catalina 400 sailboat from Roche Harbor Yacht Club.
When we turned the corner out of Fitz Hugh Sound into Kwakshua Channel the wind picked up, but fortunately subsided as we approached Pruth Bay. Along the way we saw an interesting rock formation. Can you see what we saw?
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| Egg Island Light from 3 miles |
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| The rock formation reminded us of a ??? |
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| Looking east down Kwakshua Channel 5 miles to Fitz Hugh Sound |
At 1610 we slowed down as we entered the anchorage in Pruth Bay, a few hundred yards from the Hakai Beach Institute. One other boat was already at anchor, otherwise it was an empty harbor, in stark contrast to late in the summer when there can be 25 boats anchored. By 1618 the anchor was set and the engine was off after an 82 nautical mile day. We relaxed in the cool sunshine, protected from the wind by the cockpit enclosure.
