Nancy and Rick Unplugged

June 25, Tuesday

• ROUTE: Meyers Chuck, Clarence Strait, Ernest Sound, Seward Passage, Santa Anna Inlet
• ANCHORED GPS LOCATION: 55^o58.676’N – 131^o56.066’W
• ANCHORED IN: 51 feet

Our plan for today was to travel from Meyers Chuck to Frosty Bay. Frosty Bay has been reported as well-protected and scenic, worthy of a visit if only to watch the seals that enjoyed the partially submerged rocks at the entrance. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Frosty Bay the best anchorage was taken and the seals had abandoned the partially submerged rocks for places unknown. We decided to backtrack 4.5 miles south to Santa Anna Inlet. This turn of events put us on the path to see our third humpback whale and our first bear of the trip.

As we were looking though the binoculars to find the entry to Santa Anna Inlet, we saw the whale emerge six times to give a mighty blow, then it presented us with its magnificent tail, dove down and we did not see it again.  Entering Santa Anna Inlet, we selected our anchoring spot and were preparing to drop anchor when we saw our first bear of the trip. The bear was taking a rest on the grassy bank and by the time we had anchored it was gone.

The lovely sound of a waterfall filled the evening. The only visual sign of the waterfall was a small brook that emerge at the edge of the inlet. As we were enjoying our evening on the flybridge Sella Luna entered the bay and anchored for the night.

Tomorrow we are headed to Wrangell, AK. Wrangell is one of the oldest towns in Alaska and the only Alaska town that has existed under three flags and was ruled by four nations: Tlingit, Russia, England, and the United States.

June 23-24, Sunday & Monday

Beautiful day on the water. Leaving Tongass Narrows we entered Clarence Strait and made our way to Meyers Chuck. The waves were 2-3 feet with winds from 10-15 mph. Since the waves were on our stern the ride was comfortable. The rain stayed in Ketchikan and the gray skies turned to blue with lovely white clouds.

Meyers Chuck is a very small fishing settlement with about fifty houses with less than two dozen year around residents. It has been a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of Ketchikan. The settlement sits at the edge of a rain forest and the forest trails have hidden gems of sculptures and art work. There is no grocery store or restaurant but if you are in the need of cinnamon buns or cookies you can call Cassy by 8:00 pm and she will deliver them to your boat by 7:30 the next morning. If you want some excellent Homemade Sourdough Bread call Carrie.

June 20-22, Thursday – Saturday

Around Town

Beautiful Jellyfish

Lost his fish, he looks so sad.

June 19, Wednesday

Kelly Calvert, one of the administrators for the “Boating the Inside Passage to Alaska” on Facebook wrote an article about “Gates of the Inside Passage” that was of interest to us.

Gates Of The Inside Passage by Kelly Calvert:

The “Gates Of The Inside Passage” refers to a sequence of navigational challenges along the Inside Passage that can be impassible depending on the conditions. These “gates” consist of either Tidal rapids, or significant bodies of water with ocean swells, high winds, or high currents (or even worse high winds or swell, opposing high currents).

The easiest of the two to plan for are the rapids. BC is home to the fastest tidal rapids in the world (up to around 20kts in some cases). Perhaps even more dangerous than the speed is the turbulence. For example Seymour Narrows, near CampbelI River, forms a 100’ whirlpool on max flood at spring tides that has capsized many boats over the years.

Fortunately, it is very easy to transit the rapids safely by following a very simple rule. Only transit at or near slack water. By “near” I mean plus/minus 15 min on spring tides, and plus/minus 30 min on neap tides. This requires careful planning to arrive on time. It is essential to have tide and current tables on board in one form or another (eg paper, or electronic, but you still can’t count on cell coverage for the vast majority of the trip).

Since it can be hard to predict how the current will affect your speed as you approach one of the rapids, I always plan to arrive an hour early, and if I’m ahead of schedule it’s a lot easier to slow down than try to make up time. If you follow this approach you will not have any problems with the rapids.

The gates which are bodies of water affected by some combination of swell, wind, and current are harder to predict and plan for. They’re all unique, and require local knowledge, and well beyond the scope of a single FB post.

For example, Johnstone Strait has practically daily afternoon gales in the summer as the prevailing NW , afternoon winds funnel down the strait. When these winds are opposing a significant ebb current it can create surprisingly large waves.

Northbound from Seattle I consider the gates to be (depending on your route):

• Deception Pass
• Strait of Juan de Fuca
• Swinomish Channel
• Dodd Narrows
• Strait of Georgia
• Seymour Narrows or The backwater rapids (Guillard, yaculta, Dent, Greenpoint, whirlpool, etc)
• Johnstone Strait
• Queen Charlotte Strait
• Cape Caution
• Princess Royal Channel
• Grenville Channel
• Dixon Entrance
• Peril Strait Rapids (near Sitka)

–Strait of Juan de Fuca, Strait of Georgia, Queen Charlotte Strait, Cape Caution, and Dixon Entrance fall into “significant bodies of water with ocean swells, high winds, or high currents (or even worse high winds or swell, opposing high currents).” Today we crossed Dixon Entrance, a gate of this type that we had not crossed at some point in our boat in U.S and Canada. For the most part it was a beautiful day, sometimes cloudy and grey and at others sunny and bright. The wind was mostly between 6-9 mph although near Ketchikan it got up to about 15mph. The ocean swells were 1.5 to 2 feet with a few of them up to 4 or 5 feet, creating an uncomfortable ride when they were on the side of the boat. The trip took 12 hours which is a bit of a long day for us. We are now moored at Bar Harbor Basin, North in Ketchikan. 

June 17-18, Monday-Tuesday

We have done our due diligence: Checked Tides and Currents, Weather System Predictions, Weather and Sea Forecasts, Observations and Present Conditions. If the conditions are still favorable in the morning we will cast off for Alaska at 5:oo am, cross the Dixon Entrance and be in U.S waters by noon. In the meantime enjoy some pictures from Prince Rupert.

Eagle Entertainment

Sunken Gardens: History of the Sunken Gardens

Interesting story: The Epic Journey of the Kazu Maru

Around Town

Around Cow Bay Marina

June 16, Sunday

Continued our journey up Grenville Channel to Prince Rupert. We will be staying in Cow Bay Marina for a few days as we enjoy the city and make plans for crossing Dixon Entrance to enter Alaska.

Cow Bay Marina Sunset

June 15, Saturday

Coghlan Anchorage is part of Wright Sound which is where Grenville Channel begins. The channel is about 45 nautical miles long and 0.2 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point, ending at Prince Rupert. Since it is a part of the Inside Passage shipping route you are likely to see all types of vessels.

Anchored in Klewnuggit Inlet at the East Inner Basin. Sharing the Space with Spirit Bear.

Waterfall Day

Coghlan Anchorage at the south end of Grenville Channel and Douglas Channel

June 14, Friday

Our plan for today was to head west to Milbanke Sound and take Finlayson Channel which is part of the main route for B.C. Ferries. Weather predictions last night seemed favorable but today that changed, by the time we arrived at the sound the swells were on the rise. We took Reid Passage to Perceval Narrows, which we were lucky to catch at near low tide and proceeded though. We entered Mathieson Sound and took Oscar Passage to Finlayson Channel.

What a gorgeous day, we saw our first waterfalls of the trip. Two Pacific white-sided dolphins played along our bow for about 5 minutes. These dolphins are noted for being playful, highly social marine mammals, are avid bow-riders, and acrobatic jumpers. They are fascinating creatures, Rick just told me that they they use a sleep technique called unihemispheric sleep, which allows them to sleep while still breathing and being aware of their surroundings. That is a skill I would love to have on this trip.

Anchored in beautiful, secured, peaceful Bottleneck Inlet at Roderick Island, sharing the inlet with two other boats.

June 10-13

Owned by the Heiltsuk Nation, Shearwater Resort is an Indigenous wilderness resort in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Shearwater Park

This beautiful park is dedicated to Shearwater and New Bella Bella residents’ that serve in WW I, WW II, and the Korean wars.

New Bella Bella

While Rick was working on the boat, I took the Sea-Bus taxi to check-out New Bella Bella. The Heiltsuk Cultural Centre, which showcases their art and historical artifacts, was closed. I did shop at the Band Store (grocery store) and they told me the next closest grocery store was in Prince Rupert and that the fastest way to get from Bella Bella to Prince Rupert is by ferry, which takes eleven hours and twenty-three minutes. Students from Shearwaters take the Sea-Bus to the school in New Bella Bella.