Page one of the trip

Log of the Cruise of the S/V Sirius through the Southern

Queen Charlotte Islands (Gwaii Haanas)

Saturday, 9 June, 2007

We’re enjoying a lay day here in Schooner Cover Marina. We docked last night about 1615 hrs after a relatively easy day running before light southerlies in the Strait of Georgia. The original plan was to head on towards Seymour Narrows today. However, the revised forecast yesterday afternoon told of gale force SE winds for this afternoon. Note the section of the appropriate NOAA weather chart:

Weather charts such as this are available on the internet at: http://weather.noaa.gov/fax/ptreyes.shtml

The strong SE pressure gradient should, indeed drive strong SE winds through the Strait of Georgia. We’ve allowed plenty of weather days in our schedule; so no point in going out and getting beat up.

Besides, it’s raining; the visibility is less than ¼ mile off the harbor entrance and there are lots of rocky bits out there. So, we relax; listen to talking books including Myths of the Masset Haida; study charts & guides; do a full engine room check, etc.

Mid afternoon, we wandered up to the 2^nd floor pub, which has a great view out over the strait. It is a curiously guilty pleasure to be warm, dry and enjoying a libation while watching the Strait of Gerogia throw a real hissy-fit. The latest WX charts show that the low has stalled and is expected to gradually weaken. So, we are planning to departure for Campbell River in the morning, and do expect the influence of this low to persist through to Monday.

To back up just a bit: Our crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca was the first time we have sailed the entire crossing. We made sail at 0920, Thursday, just off the Sequim Bay entrance buoy, and relished in a fast beam reach under partial jib and single reefed main until we started up the Haro Strait. The crossing was so fast, that we arrived at the Haro Strait before the turn to flood.

We called Canadian Customs via cell phone (we hold CANPASS’s) with an ETA of 1730 at Bedwell Harbor, South Pender Island. After waiting the required 15 minutes at the Customs Dock without sighting any officials, we were underway again at 1745 hrs.

The wind died away entirely as we motored north towards Prevost Island. Glenthorne Channel along the SW shore made a snug, quiet anchorage for the night at the end of a 58-mile day. MJ created a wonderful smoked salmon pasta dinner. Then we shared a bit of port and turned in.

Our new electric windlass worked beautifully the next morning (Friday) as we headed for Active Pass to start our next leg. A gentle flood current through Active Pass gave a welcome boost. The Frazier River has been running at near flood stage for several days, and an enormous volume of debris has washed out into the southern Strait of Georgia. We had to pilot with great care to miss the more modest sized logs. The entire trees, along with their flocks of gulls were easy to spot.

"Red at night". Our first night in BC waters

By late afternoon, the sky showed evidence of a front approaching from the SW, and the revised CA weather forecast spoke of a strong low strengthening and tracking NE towards the Queen Charlottes. Time to find a snug harbor for the night – and Schooner Cove Marina was near by, complete with reciprocal mooring privileges with Sequim Bay Yacht Club.

Sunday, 10 June

“twas a very dynamic day weather wise. It blew like stink in the night. The swell that ran into the marina had all the boats dancing an agitated jig. We earned our sea legs through the night. The wind stopped rather abruptly about 0600 so we had a quick breakfast, downloaded the latest weather charts (the lobby of the hotel has an open high speed wireless network) and prepared Sirius for another day on the strait.

We cleared the entrance at 0650 and motored clear of the rocky bits. The wind shortly made up from the east and soon we were deep reaching under whites at 6 knots right along the rhumb line. Shortly, the wind veered to the SE and we were forced to gibe back and forth down wind, trying, unsuccessfully to dodge the rain squalls. We sailed into a confused sea and very light air north of Lasqueti Island. Motoring back towards the center of the strait soon brought us into good air again.

By noon, the weather had stabilized with clearing skies, warm sun and 10 – 15 knots on the stern. So we converted to one of our favorite dead-down-wind modes – running under our poled out

asymmetric spinnaker (no main). We enjoyed about three hours of exciting spinnaker running and reaching. MJ had the best boat speed of the day – 8.3 knots. Then the wind quickly stepped up to 25+ knots and we went back to running under gennie alone.

Once again, a favorable current stayed with us much longer than expected. About five miles south of Campbell River, we began to feel the ebb starting through the Seymour narrows, and had about 4 knots with us as we entered the Discovery Harbour Marina about 1630. There, we topped off the diesel tank and found a vacant slip for the night. The rhumb line distance for the day was 63 nautical miles covered in 9 hrs 40 minutes of travel time. This gives a VMG of 6.5 knots! Quite good for a 32-foot sailboat.

The Discovery Center, just up from the docks, will be a great place to finish our provisioning in the morning. We made a scouting run and came back with a steak and fresh strawberries for dinner. The plans for tomorrow are to catch the turn to ebb in the Seymour Narrows late in the afternoon. This will give time in the morning for hot showers, shopping and a bit of walk-about.

Monday, 11 June

We’re now anchored for the night north of Seymour Narrows. We began the day with hot showers and a provisioning run. The Canadian SuperStore is like a Costco without the membership fee. They had a fine selection of everything we needed. Our haul – all we could carry in our five canvas bags –was stowed by 1145. We had Sirius ready for sea by noon.

A nice southerly breeze made for an easy sail up Discovery Passage against the flood. With three hours ‘til the turn to ebb at Seymour Narrows, and only 8 miles to go, we continued on under jib and played the weaker current and back eddies along the west shore. The wind died a bit west of Race Point so we motored into Menzies Bay to wait the remain 45 minutes for slack water.

Passage through the narrows was quite uneventful as are all of these tidal rapids when taken at slack. Light veils of rain played about north and south of us, and over us on occasions. The forecast still includes the possibility of strong southerlies overnight. So, we opted to put the hook down in Cameleon Bay, Sonora Island. It will mean backtracking to the east up Nodales Channel about 4 miles, but we know the holding is good and it is well protected from southerly winds.

We were securely anchored by 1800 after a relaxing 28-mile day. MJ fixed a fine supper of pork steaks, with one extra planned ahead for a stir fry tomorrow. Dessert was a bowl of Bing cherries from the SuperStore. I retrieved the second stack of charts – North end of Strait of Georgia to Port Hardy-- and did a bit of route planning. Then off to bed.

Tuesday, 12 June

The Johnstone Strait doesn’t get better than this: a favorable current, a light tail wind, and enough sun breaking through to entice us to shed a layer or two. We enjoyed these conditions until near the west end of Current Passage. Then we encountered the flood big time. We played the back eddies along the north shore of Helmchen Island while deep reaching under jib. Once we hit the full flood current and associated tiderip just east of Earl Ledge, we converted to power. When our speed dropped to below one knot, we decided to fall back to North Cove on Helmchen Island and anchor for a while.

Galalchiel with top down (above) and up (below).

An interesting, home build craft was sailing astern of us under drifter (the Galalchiel). He, too, opted to anchor and wait out the current. We got underway from our respective coves about the same time, Galalchiel under drifter alone, and Sirius motor-sailing to get past Earl Ledge more quickly. Then, we set the spinnaker and enjoyed a wonderful 4 – 5 knot run to the entrance to Port Neville. Galalchiel is the only other sailboat we have seen out in Johnstone Strait actually using their sails.

We docked in light rain in front of the historic old store. One of the local residents greeted us and helped with dock lines. We explored the grounds around the old store before heading back to start dinner. Galalchiel hove into view; we helped with dock lines and chatted long enough to learn that Scott is single-handing his home build vessel on her maiden voyage.

Later, Scott Davis joined us aboard Sirius for dessert and port. Scott explained that Galalchiel is of cold molded construction, using a lengthened old Navy whale boat as the plug. He is on a leisurely voyage up the BC coast. Leisurely of necessity since his only source of power, other than sails, is a set of oars or an electric trolling motor that he recharges from a wind generator or solar panel.

Wednesday, 13 June

Light rain fell most of the night; the barometer is down, but rising; and the sky showed some promise of clearing as we motored out into the Johnstone Strait about 0800. We made sail as soon as the breeze filled in. It was still an easterly as forecast, but with the expectation of a high-pressure ridge to gradually form off shore tonight and bring back the normal summer westerlies.

Sailing easily under main and jib, we reflected on the gifts brought by the deep low that formed soon after the start of our cruise. It gave us the lay-day in Schooner Cove where we watched the SE gale blow through the Strait of Georgia; then it enabled a remarkably fast passage under sail up to Campbell River. Finally, it gave us several wonderfully easy travel days in the Johnstone Strait. Running out the strait under spinnaker with light to moderate tail winds is very rare.

We have, however, grown tired of the associated low clouds and occasional rain showers. We’re in the mood for an extended sun break, and thoroughly enjoyed the one that developed as we ran on towards the Havannah Channel. We sailed into the mouth of the channel on the last of the ebb and struck our sails. The flood was starting to run hard in the shoal water at the east end of the Chatham channel by the time we got there. Once into deeper water, it was a short motor on to Lagoon Cove Marina. Bill & Dave were quick and welcoming on the radio and helped us moor. We’re about to head out to explore some of the nearby trails, but definitely plan to be back in time for the 1700 communal happy hour and potluck snacks up in the “Work Shop”.

The gardens here are lovely, and the roses were especially fragrant. A brief ‘sun shower’ is passing through. MJ is working on a knitting project and I’m tuning my attention to weather and route planning for the next couple of days.

The 48 hour forecast clearly points towards a more normal summer pattern of westerly winds in the Johnstone and Queen Charlotte Straits. However, we are now through the portion of the Johnstone Strait that experiences the strongest winds, and expect this change to be favorable for us overall.

Thursday, 14 June

This is race day back in Sequim as I dimly recall. The fleet was left in good hands and I’m sure that all is well.

As I write this, we are soaking in the grandeur of Kwatsi Bay. The head of this bay is an intimate bowl surrounded by towering cliffs, some too steep to hold soil or any but the most tenacious vegetation. We can see 6 waterfalls cascading down from our cockpit; their sound is relaxing and therapeutic. A grand place to be.

Kwatsi Bay was a short run from Lagoon Cove, about 23 miles, across Knight Inlet and then up Tribune Channel. We left Lagoon Cove at 0800 and had the hook down here before 1300. Anchoring was a challenge since most of the Bay is steep-to. We found one small shelf with about 60 feet of water, good holding and just enough swinging room.

After lunch, we baited and placed the prawn and crab traps. The fresh prawns back in Lagoon Cove have us in the mood for a prawn/pasta dinner. Next, up for me is some chart time. We want to find a good anchorage about two hours east of Alert Bay for tomorrow night. The general plan is to spend a half day exploring Alert Bay and then take a slip at Port McNeil for the night (about another hour to the west). Port McNeil was recommended over Port Hardy by boaters back at Lagoon Cove. It is said to be more yacht-friendly and has a good reputation for fuel quality. (A further reason to choose Port McNeill over Port Hardy, is that it offers BBExpress wireless Internet in the yacht basin, and our editor is demanding more frequent updates!)

By mid afternoon, the clouds had melted away, and the bright sun enticed us to put aside our various projects and launch the kayak. First we checked the traps – and liberated a large sea star and a small rockfish of some sort. Then, we prowled along the shoreline, trying to spot where the nearby cascades enter the bay. The late day sun was particularly grand on the cliffs behind us.

Now for something entirely different – The World According To The RBO (a.k.a. MJ), from now on refered to as MJ's Musings.

We are looking forward to celebrating our 45^th wedding anniversary on July 8^th, and it is easy to make parallels between this amazing trip of a lifetime and our lifetime together. As we left the mouth of the John Wayne Marina to begin this daunting journey, a feeling came to me that was akin to one I had between our wedding ceremony and the start of the honeymoon -- “What HAVE I gotten myself into now?!!” Now, as then, we have settled into a comfortable travel pattern relishing each other’s company, and celebrating each day as it unfolds.

Durkee is doing a great job of chronicling the daily highlights of this trip. To me it is all the same – and never the same. It is like looking through a kaleidoscope filled with gem-colored stones. The elements are the same, but the designs are infinitely variable. (On the gray days, if the colors fade, Durkee lets me use his rose colored glasses).

Friday, 15 June

We retrieved the traps about 0730: one fine Dungeness crab, but no prawns. Then we caught the last of the ebb to explore the rest of the Tribune Channel.

Lacy Falls was beautiful even with the low morning clouds. The clouds burned through before we reached the west end of the Tribune Channel.

At the west end of the Tribune Channel we turned down Hornet Passage; transited Cramer Pass; tip-toed through the Fox Island Group; down Retreat Passage; turned back to the SE to work through Spring Passage into Knight Inlet where we made for the NW corner of Village Island. The now abandoned village of Mamaliliculla is there, with a decaying dock in a small open bay north of the village. The bay in front of the village is foul, but we were able to work in far enough to spot some of the old houses.

It was here in about 1921 that a potlatch was given by a prominent member of the village, in violation of the law against potlatching. The Canadian Government sized most of the ceremonial regalia – masks, robes, coppers, etc. Often these items ended up in museums and private collections. Now, however, a portion of these items has been returned to the tribe and are on display in the U’Mista Museum in Alert Bay. We plan to visit this museum tomorrow and were glad for the opportunity to see the historic village where they originated.

From Mamalilaculla we continued a few miles further to the west into Farewell Harbor between Swanson, Crease and Berry Islands. It is a lovely, large anchorage. We found Scott Davis already anchored. He had rowed much of the way from his previous anchorage after exhausting his trolling motor battery. Before setting the hook ourselves, we placed our crab trap. Later, I paddled the kayak out to place the prawn trap. A quick check of the crab trap revealed another hugh sea star trying to raid the place.

These last two days have given us an opportunity to get the flavor of the Broughton Archipelago. It is a wonderful, complex network of intimate channels and island groups with handfuls of islets scattered about for added interest. The prospects for sailing are very limited, but it is a great place for trawlers and kayakers.

We are enjoying a remarkably beautiful day here at anchor. The current conditions out in the Queen Charlotte Strait would be quite good for transiting the strait. We briefly considered pushing on, but the forecast of developing gales out in the Queen Charlotte Sound and Hecate Strait convinced us to stay with plan A. Plan A is to spend half a day in Alert Bay tomorrow, and then arrive in Port McNeill in time to do laundry, fuel & water the boat and do a bit of provisioning. Then it is back into Travel Mode for us. We need to leave some long wakes over the next several days after leaving Port McNeill.

More of MJ’s Musings:

We retain our different approaches to life aboard the boat:

Obstacles: When there is debris in the water, we spot for one another. However, I instinctively recommend turning to starboard and he to port. Hmm. Either way, we are soon back on our original course.

Navigation: Durkee has a North Up world view, and keeps the chart plotter set that way. I want to orient the chart in the direction we are traveling. When we encountered situations requiring very careful navigation, we use two sets of eyes; me with the paper chart and Durkee at the chart plotter; each using their preferred style. If we don’t agree on where we are, we stop the boat ---- and someone gets off!

Saturday, 16 June

We’re starting to see a pattern – cool mornings with low cloud layers that start to burn off about mid afternoon. We retrieved our sea-star feeding stations and were threading our way out of Farewell Harbour about 0800. The last of the ebb gave us a lift on our way to Alert Bay until Weynton Passage where it turned strongly against us in a confused sea.

The municipal wharf in Alert Bay had just enough room left for Sirius. The boat basin farther to the west is very compact, and it looked as though overnight moorage would be hard to find. We headed off afoot to explore. Our first stop was the Namgis Burial Grounds just east of town facing out over the water. The mix of totem poles (old and new) and head stones gave these grounds an unusually strong sense of spirituality.

U'mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay

Our primary goal was the U’Mista Cultural Centre. (“U’Mista” is a native word that refers to the return of someone, or something of great value.) The Centre is situated at the far west end of town, again looking out over the water. This center is not so much a museum as a retelling of cultural conflict and cultural survival. The presentation of the potlatch regalia is very effective. Before going into the long house to see this display, we watched a powerful video featuring interviews with tribal members who had lived through this difficult period.

As we first approached the U’Mista Cultural Centre, we noticed an old hulk of a building in the background. To us, there was a rather ominous air about it. We learned from the staff in the gift store that it had been first used as a Residential School. These government-funded, church-run schools were intended to strip native children of their heritage. We personally find this a potent

Old residential school in Alert Bay.

image – the old residential school looming behind a dramatic symbol of native cultural revival.

We were underway again by 1250 and at the fuel dock in Port McNeill just after 1400. En route to Port McNeill, we monitored 66A. We heard enough requests for dock space for large vessels, 50’ and larger, that we wondered if they would have room for us. They did manage to shoehorn us in. This is a compact, and very busy marina. Space is likely to be at a premium in high season.

Once docked, we found the Laundromat, IGA, liquor store, and showers. MJ put together a fine Thanksgiving type dinner – turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Now we are preparing Sirius for an early morning departure. Port McNeill is a fine town with a nicely managed marina, but we are already looking forward to a remote anchorage where we can tune into the sounds of eagles and cascading streams.

I was able to find a BBXpress hot spot and download some

weather charts. My reading of them agrees with the forecast of brisk

westerlies in the Queen Charlotte Strait tomorrow. However, the pressure gradient does not seem strong enough to cause gale force winds locally. So, we will head out early and travel as far as the day allows. We have discussed several bailout points along both the Vancouver Island and mainland shores. Time to break out the third pack of charts – north end of Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert.

We leave you with more of MJ’s Musings:

Ebb And Flow: I don’t get this ebb and flow thing. If you’re looking one way and the tide is going away – that is ebb . If you turn around and the tide is now coming toward you – that should be flow; right? Maybe if I were the center of my universe.

Charts: Why are they never folded right?