updated 8-19-11
Fall has arrived!
Arrived, backed into our slip, and shut down the diesels for the summer in the Port of Edmonds. We did notice a lot of empty slips,
with no summertime renters. All up the coast we observed fewer boats in most of the places that we visit every year. Economy is
hitting everyone hard.
Leaving La Conner on another beautiful morning.
We arrived in La Conner around 1:45 pm and fueled up at the Fuel Dock. With the current moving, and no help on the guest dock,
we were still able to pull up and tie off for the night. We were relaxing on board, after walking down to our special Market to
pick up chicken and potato salad for dinner, when who should pop on board but, Marsha. Bill was right behind her and they
surprised us and were a very wonderful 'welcome home committee' of two. What a nice start to our return to the US. Thank you Bill
and Marsha.
A dead head, clearly marked and going straight down into the water, plus a Clam Bay sunrise pulling anchor.
Traveling south on the Vancouver Island side has been interesting and our first time going in this direction. We have learned of
new places to duck into in order to get out of building weather. Before heading into Seymour Narrows we had to wait for slack
water. We pulled into a fishing camp called Brown Bay and tied up to the guest dock. We had a nice lunch and walked around the
camp. Lots of small fishing boats were tied up to the docks and the campground was full. We left there and hit the rapids at
Seymour Narrows at perfect slack. We tried to anchor in a logging lagoon named Menzies Bay, but we were not comfortable with all
the logs laying around us. We continued on and found a marina called Discovery Harbor in Campbell River. Rebecca was able to
contact our friend Ruth Montoya and we visited and had pizza for dinner with them. We stayed two nights at Discovery and left
early to continue our journey back. The weather started picking up so we headed for Ford Cove on Hornby Island, and took shelter.
It's an old government dock that is under construction. After rafting alongside another boat, Rebecca went kayaking. We had nice
steaks for dinner and left early the next morning, hoping to reach Nanaimo; however, we only made it to French Creek. Wind picked
up very quickly and with a following sea pushing us, we had enough for the day. French Creek is a active working fishing terminal
and there was lots of activities going on. The next morning we went to the restaurant for breakfast but they were not open. We
left French Creek and continued on to Nanaimo where we purchased fuel and anchored in Marks Bay. This evening we went back over
to the Dingy Dock for fish and chips and we plan on leaving early in the morning for Dodd Narrows. Our current goal is to stop in
Clam Bay for overnight anchorage. Each day gets us closer to Edmonds and the reality that our summer is almost over.
French Creek and the geoducks
We passed Cape Lazo (we hear the name on the weather channel all the time) and then stayed in Ford Cove with turkey buzzards
hanging out at low tide
Waited in Brown Bay around two hours, for Seymour Narrows slack water. Went through no problem.
Busy people working in Lagoon Cove.
Upon arrival at Lagoon Cove, we fueled up and then carefully slipped into the backside of the south dock on the inside of the
crab shack. Hopefully pictures will show that with the wind blowing onshore, the nose of a boat sticking way out, and the narrowness
of the channel made for a challenging situation. Plus, we don't dare go to far forward, or the bow will end up kissing one of
Bill's rocks, and then he gets a little upset. Doesn't like to have his underwater boulders scraped by boats! Then, the bakery
lady came in and parked under our bow! Those cinnamon buns are delicious, along with all of the other items you can see in the
picture! Her name is Jenny and she lives in Chatham Channel. Will verify shortly, but our understanding is that the name of her
baking business is Knight Inlet Outpost and she has a website at-> http://www.knightinletoutpost.com and then click on Bakery Boat.
Also, further information includes: Call ahead and have fresh baking prepared for your trip through the Broughtons or your passage south! 250-230-0509 minstrelisland@gmail.com
Bill always finds a place to put us, no matter how late we happen to show up in Lagoon Cove. This is the first time in our 38' that
we have parked on the back side of the crab shack, making sure we don't scratch any of Bill's rocks on shore, nor the one just
under the surface that has a marker on it to make sure we miss coming up on it too far.
***We’ve reached that point in our cruising that we refer to as, "our starting to head back" mode. We go through the same thing every
year but this year it seems to us that we would just like to ignore it and continue on with our wonderful travels up here in the
Broughton Archipelago, and further north, if time. Of course we both know that is not possible yet, but maybe some time in the
near future that will happen. This has been a wonderful summer for us on the water. We’ve had our usual excitement of fishing,
crabbing, and prawning while we’ve also had more than our share of rainy weather. We enjoyed having friends onboard and sharing
companionship but we missed being able to spend more time with other boating friends because of unexpected happenings. The one
thing that we have learned is that our time together is very precious and special. Rebecca has taught me to always try to be
positive even when I’m grumbling about trying to locate and repair a mysterious symptom, and Rebecca continues to be Rebecca who
always enjoys every single moment on the boat! Of course, we've already started planning our summer cruise for next year. Those
friends that we were not able to hook up with this year, we dearly hope to connect during the wintertime for some tentative
planning for the future.
Now, in Sullivan Bay, it has been an exciting time for some spur of the moment fishing with Pete, Patrick and Chris. Above are
pictures highlighting the end results of being on the boat crabbing, fishing and prawning with the Petersons; showing what a team
they are, in action. We went out a couple of times in our inflatable to Atkinson Island hoping to catch Lingcod or Halibut. Rebecca
caught a 14 pound lingcod and a huge black rockfish. The black rockfish is the best eating and the most fun to catch. Chris and Pat
will testify that Rebecca actually thought she had a salmon on, even after she saw it flashing through the water. Chris caught his
biggest black rockfish on his fly rod which was very exciting for him. We all came home with caught fish, including some greenlings.
We woke up this morning to rain. This summer we have had more than enough rain but we're not complaining. After a nice breakfast
we put on our rain gear and went out to check our prawn traps. We were rewarded with many large prawns and a 2 foot Gunnel which
we turned loose. We rebaited the traps and came back to the boat to dry out. This afternoon we plan on reading books, on our
Kindles while listening to the rain.
A hummingbird broke into our boat and locked himself up on the flybridge. After some skillful negotiations we were able to
convice him to leave. We surveyed the bridge after he left and fortunately he did no damage.
Alright, black bear on beach just off our stern. Paddled closer to get some close up shots. It sure was busy turning over rocks,
looking for things to eat. Yesterday morning we saw, much further down the beach, a black bear with her two little cubs. All
three of them were turning over rocks as well, to eat whatever they find edible. They also did quite a bit of digging in the mud
too. When we tried to paddle closer for a picture, the mama bear was very spooky and disappeared with her cubs before we could
get close enough.
Below are different shots showing the end of a beautiful day in Nimmo Bay, with the sun shining.
With the arrival of Jeff and Megan, Craig has graciously invited us for dinner at Nimmo Lodge for the 2nd night in a row. Last night
was spaghetti and meatballs, tonight is hamburgers.
We are in Nimmo Bay longer than we planned to be. Larry and Trish are over in Port McNeill and due back any day. Larry had an
accident on the 16th but is fine, although a little sore.
As shown in pictures below, we have been having a delightful time in Nimmo Bay, spending time with Trish and Larry. We arrived on the 14th
and they invited us over for dinner that evening. Larry is an awesome cook.
Hope to be able to get some good pictures of the black bears. Trish reported that five minutes prior to our arrival a mama black bear, and her two 'itty-bitty' cubs, was on the
beach. More to come on that particular piece of important information.
Below the first picture is when we have come up Mackenzie Sound, prior to approaching Nimmo Bay. It is a beautiful location and definitely
continuing rainy weather. Remember a couple of weeks ago when we were looking for sunshine. Well, we can honestly state, "It has
not yet arrived!" The next picture you can barely see Nimmo Lodge chalets with their incredible view out into MacKenzie Sound.
As we grew closer it becomes more obvious how picturesque the location and view of the chalets. The 5th picture is the
Nimmo Lodge which is located on docks.
We will be heading up to Big Nimmo Bay tomorrow, to visit with Larry and Trish. Their floathome is now situated for the summer
and they are busy having fun around Nimmo Lodge: Trish with various gardening activities and Larry with just about any kind of
project you could name to keep a large operation like Nimmo Lodge in top shape. See you soon.
Rebecca went fishing today with Pete, and his grandson Patrick, and they caught an interesting conglomerate of fish. They took
pictures of a couple of varieties of flatfish, before releasing them quickly back, in order for Patrick to learn their differences.
So far, the best guess is that the first two pictures above are the front and back of a Dover Sole. The middle picture is of Patrick,
looking at the aft end of Atkinson Island. The last two pictures above are calculated to be the front and back of a Rock Sole.
We have two delightful g-grandchildren at home who are spending time in different activities that we wanted to share with everyone.
Sophia is a charmer and, as you can see in the picture above, a beautiful little lady who turned one Feb 1st. Kenneth turned three
on April 24th and is very much the adventurer. David and Kazue have their hands full with this delightful young man. Kazue was able
to catch the two of them together in a really special black and white picture on a bench. The last picture shows Kenneth going full
speed ahead....and you know what...with Sophia working very hard to keep up with her older brother. The two share a special relationship
and have really begun to care about each other. Way to go, Kazue and David. Thank you for sharing the pictures.
It is fun trying to catch the wildlife in action. The challenge is getting clear pictures. Above is a young eagle flying about,
looking for fish.
It was a delight to see Pete and Gail Peterson along with their two grandsons, Christopher and Patrick. Gail was present when
pictures were being taken but we were not able to catch her in action...Oops, never mind, I found her and a great picture too.
She is one very busy grandmother and a wonderful person to stop and chat with. Christopher, and his Grandfather, went fishing for
halibut this morning and came back with two. Christopher has the 'growth' problem of all fisherman. Grandpa Pete stated to anybody
that asked, the big one was 39 pounds. As Rebecca was helping him learn to fillet halibut for the first time, people would stop
and exclaim and then ask Christopher, 'How big?' That halibut grew and became 40 pounds. Who knows just how much it has grown at
this point! Way to go Christopher!
When we pulled anchor at Turnbull Cove, it was incredibly beautiful, as seen from the three pictures above. We arrived at Sullivan
Bay, again, and our welcoming committee was Chris. He is a gracious host and we much appreciate his welcoming smile and his helping
hand for coming into the docks. One never knows which way the currents are moving and they can be really strong. Then throw in
the wind factor and the end result is, the more help, the better. Thank you Chris. Okay, it was really calm today and our
timing was perfect for the current pushing us onto the dock. Just wanted to mention that is can be a challenge, some times. Thank
you Chris.
Our time with Alex, Dennis, and Kris regretfully ended this Friday at 5:30 a.m. with their early morning departure to cross Queen
Charlotte Straits. They needed to catch the high tide at Port McNeill in order to pull their boat out successfully and start down
island.
John made his famous sausage and egg burritos and we drank our last cup of coffee with our guests. Rebecca put together
tri-tip sandwiches to tide them over until their next meal. They departed from Turnbull Cove and their next destination was Port
McNeill. The winds had dropped considerably and hopefully they had a smooth ride across the Straits. The guys were a pleasure to have onboard
and we miss their companionship. The weather was not too friendly while they were here, with lots of nonstop raining, but that
didn't stop us from fishing, prawning, and crabbing. They left with a good supply of seafood in their freezer.
We did try trolling for salmon but it's just a little early yet for the run to start. By the end of the week, everyone was becoming
tired and, as seen in picture above, it was sit down to relax and read time. Alex, as shown in the next picture, doesn't know the
meaning of the word, 'relax'. He was busy on the swim platform cleaning crab he had just cooked (third picture). For a change in
activities, we walked the docks at Sullivan Bay looking at floathomes while taking care of some necessities that included fuel. In
the evening, we had dinner at the Sullivan Bay restaurant. Their special for the night was 'Greek' dishes. Alex and Kris ordered
that while Dennis, John, and Rebecca stuck with ribeye steak. When we left Sullivan Bay, there was a beautiful sunset. In Turnbull
Cove, the 'Rebecca Ann' was easy to find due to anchor light (you have to look carefully in the picture).
Did some exploring of the Roaring Hole Rapids with Mt. Stevens in the background.
Prawning gave Kris lots of action pulling the lines. It definitely helped keep his arms in shape for returning to his daily
swimming activity, once he is home again! Thank you Kris for doing the work.
We went on to Turnbull Cove to check out prawning, more crabbing, and some new fishing holes. Have enjoyed the scenery, with
one day of sunshine altogether, so far; since Alex and crew have arrived. Rebecca decided to go kayaking and in the process caught
the guys in action doing some serious crabbing with dropping and pulling five pots on a regular basis. Did okay in Turnbull but
nothing like the action in Claydon Bay.
Remember that beautiful wooden vessel that we saw, when we first arrived? Well, it came right into Claydon Bay and anchored nearby!
As you can see, it is beautiful. Mountain view is looking right out Claydon Bay, towards Sullivan Bay. The next two pictures were
taken right before entering Turnbull Cove. That is a new slide that happened just this last winter, directly across, not to
mention that it is a major one too.
Crabbing was fun in Claydon, even if it continued to rain nonstop. As you can see, John received a bit of a wet shower from the
overhead canvas that was helping keep the rest of us dry! John and Alex worked together raising the crab pots, while Dennis ran the
boat. We pulled some nice looking crabs for the guys, as you can see above. Alex did the cooking and they were delicious. Leaving
Claydon in the morning to go fishing at James Point, spotted a black bear on the beach. Also saw another one, a day later while
pulling the crabpots.
Catch of the day above! Alex says, 'We need to do better than this!'
Dennis, Alex, John and Rebecca went fishing outside Dickson Island in Alex's Offshore 24' Grady-White; a very seaworthy vessel.
We had fun but it sure is a very rainy summer. We then moved up to Claydon Bay with both boats to do some serious crabbing, in
preparation for Kris' arrival. He flew in early to Sullivan Bay and was sitting and waiting for us when we showed up after moving
up to Claydon Bay and putting out crabpots. Beautiful view from out new anchorage.
Alex and Dennis arrived yesterday! They brought all kinds of fresh food, including coffee, fruit and all kinds of delicious things!
Thanks guys. :) Fishing pressure is on and they are here to catch.... Kris is not due until tomorrow, so we need to catch crab in
preparation for his arrival.
Expecting Alex Wong and Dennis Crawford to meet us at Dickson Island this afternoon on their boat, weather permitting. Kris Wong (Alex's son)
will be flying into Sullivan Bay at noon on July 1st. We were really looking forward to all three boats being together, prior to
Garry leaving this morning.
We were very sorry to hear that Garry is heading home early. He has been great company and will miss him for the rest of the summer.
He has been feeling a bit under the weather and will go home and figure out what is going on. Safe travel home Garry. He will go to
Lagoon Cove tonight, then Squirrel Cove the following night, most likely Marks Bay the next night, and then home to Tacoma, WA on the final
day. He tends to travel long legs each day.
BON VOYAGE, GARRY!
We had a good time fishing for crab bait and catching crabs in Claydon Bay. We have been busy checking crabpots, cleaning, cooking
and cracking crabs.
Larry and Trish stopped by, unexpectedly, on the 26th to visit. They are located in Nimmo Bay on their floathome.
It was great seeing them, they had just made it up on the 23rd and are still getting situated.
On the 28th we decided to catch up on laundry, getting ready for company, and making boats shipshape again.
Good morning everyone, getting ready to push off for Claydon Bay. Hopefully crabbing will be much better there. Where are those little puppies hiding anyway?!!! Heard from
boaters here at Lagoon Cove that they did pretty well at Waddington which is another special place to anchor and go out kayaking. Lots to see. Well,
Broughton Archipelago, here we come.
This is the old office on the dock. These guys purchased it from Bill and arrived on the 23rd to haul it off. Ran into the buoy that anchors the end of the 'honeymoon' dock and could
see it actually moving the whole dock. Bill came back out in his dinghy to supervise the guys moving the float and office, without taking his dock with them!
Woke up this morning with a unique view....floathome being pulled out of Lagoon Cove by a commercial boat. As you can see, there
is a whole bunch of other "stuff" attached to this package.
The latitude and longitude for Lagoon Cove is (50.598753, -126.314085).
Left Matilpi at 11:00 a.m. and cruised slowly up Chatham Channel, through the Blowhole and tied up in Lagoon Cove. We have to go
through 'The Blowhole' which is right underneath Minstrel Island on the map. Definitely nothing like the 'Hole-In-The-Wall' for
entering and leaving the Octopus Islands, just have to be careful of the bull kelp especially since it is lowtide as we are passing through.
Left Big Bay at 8:45 a.m. and it was an absolutely perfect day with weather, tides and currents. Went through Gillard Passage
(it had just turned our direction) then the Dent Rapids and we moved along at our normal RPMs, but traveling one to two knots
faster. Went through Green Point Rapids and it was moving our direction at about 4 knots, we are really flying. Water is calm,
light breeze and so instead of Whirlpool Rapids and then staying the night in Forward Harbor, we continued straight down Chancellor
Channel and then out to Current Passage and finally Johnstone Strait. Outgoing tide, SE breeze and flying along on the average of
10 knots. WHEW! Very nice. Went up Havannah Channel and decided to check out the anchorage behind Matilpi Island right off an old
midden. Tried to anchor in 30 feet, but bottom dropped so quickly, we ended up in approximately 50 feet with a swing between 40
and 65 feet. All secure by 2:45 p.m., a great day on the water! In the evening, John spotted a black bear on the beach. Our
first for this summer. The next morning, as we were enjoying coffee, THREE black bears walked out and were there for a short time.
Something spooked them down the beach, before we could get our cameras. Dang!
The latitude and longitude for Big Bay on Stuart Island is (50.391790, -125.136284)
As you can see from the pictures below, we enjoyed raccoon company every day. We were out and about, exploring the shoreline when we
spotted four raccoons on shore, digging for clams and whatever else they might find edible. A big raccoon was also seen from our boat
digging a clam. After it was dug up, the raccoon played 'juggle the clam' to the water, all the way to the water where he/she washed and
then crunched clam shell and all with its teeth and down the hatch it swallowed the whole thing. The last picture below was Rebecca
trying to catch clam squirts on the camera with our boat in the background. No luck what so ever, on crabbing, so we pulled our hooks
and headed for Big Bay to catch some wi-fi time.
The latitude and longitude for Octopus Islands is (50.274421, -125.233326)
We crossed Georgia Straits with a southeasterly swell and a SE wind that pushed us northward. We pulled anchor at 4:45 a.m. and entered Georgia Strait by 5:05 am. We dropped the hook in Squirrel Cove by 1:15 p.m.!
Actually made it from Marks Bay to Squirrel Cove in 8 1/2 hours! Plucked oysters at the low tide with Garry and then fried them up for dinner. Delicious!
The next day we headed north by 10:00 a.m. to catch slack waters at 12:40 pm for going through Hole-In-The-Wall. Hit it perfect.
We then entered the Octopus Islands and found our usual anchorage. Had to be careful entering the channel, due to low tide.
Good thing we keep a log book on board or wouldn't remember all the dates of traveling!
Plan to get up at 3:30 a.m., pull anchor by 4, and take off across Georgia Straits, our destination is Squirrel Cove. Below are more pictures from Marks Bay.
Have a little story from this morning. We were on our 2nd cup of coffee when we saw a guy in his sailboat pulling anchor behind us. After
watching for a bit, we saw his anchor was hooked on something really heavy. He had a tripline attached to the anchor and had secured this line to a
winch on his mast, and was cranking it by hand. The guy was getting frustrated and the next thing we saw was the handle to the winch go flying through
the air and "plop" into the water. While we agonized for his situation, we did have a hard time not laughing at the comedy. Turned out that his anchor
chain was wrapped around the concrete for a buoy, an engine block.....AND a refrigerator. $100 later, a diver had unwrapped his chain. The aforementioned
items were all wrapped together with their own chain. Hmmmm.....second thoughts about anchoring here! Spoke with the man and he lost another anchor a
couple of days ago, on a sunken wreck, not too far from where we are currently anchored. Anchors aweigh! Pictures below are from kayaking inside and
outside of Marks Bay, on the Georgia Strait side of Newcastle Island.
The latitude and longitude for Octopus Islands Marine Provincial Park is (50.273104, -125.232124), our stop after Squirrel Cove.
The latitude and longitude for Squirrel Cove is (50.140826, -124.920044) This is our next stop north and is approximately a 70 mile run from Nanaimo,
if we can head straight across Georgia Strait, which includes the military section called Whiskey Gulf (if it is not active).
The latitude and longitude for Marks Bay is (49.178786, -123.929386)
The wind has been blowing and we have been swinging on anchor in Marks Bay. Did not leave yesterday and up at 4 this morning, looking around, and doesn't look very promising for crossing today.
Wi-fi has been working well in picking up open signals, but yesterday's wide swinging on the hook kept making it drop the signal. It is slow this morning, but am up kind of early. :)
Okay, we are here in Marks Bay! Our 25th anniversary, as well. Below are some pictures of happenings from Prevost Harbor to Marks Bay.
It was interesting, when we pulled into Bedwell Harbor to tie up to the Customs docks, one of them had obviously broke loose and was now
tied up to the dock we normally pulled in and tied up to. Cleared customs with no problem, via a phone call at head of the dock.
The latitude and longitude for Dodd Narrows(49.135255, -123.817506)
which we need to go through at slack waters tomorrow, prior to arriving in Nanaimo.
The latitude and longitude for Bedwell Harbor(48.746894, -123.227634)
Left La Conner at 6:15 this morning. Skies are overcast and cool. Water flat and will thread our way amongst the San Juan Islands to Prevost Harbor. More scenic route, somewhat shorter, and a lot more fun than going up around the top of all of the San Juans.
We expect to meet Garry Marr in Prevost Harbor, (on Stuart Island) today and will drop a hook for the night. Up early and an hour run over to Bedwell to check in to customs and the off to Nanaimo to fuel up. Will then drop a hook over in Marks Bay. Hope to have wi-fi access to update website. :)
Weather and wind permitting, the following morning we will be up at 'O dark 30' to cross Georgia Straits.
This is a good website for locating places using the lat/long coordinates that we have provided:
http://www.gorissen.info/Pierre/maps/googleMapLocationv3.php
The latitude and longitude for Prevost Harbor(48.678607, -123.196392) which is in the northwest corner of the San Juan Islands.
The latitude and longitude for La Conner(47.8094936, -122.387738)
Left Edmonds early, 7:00 am with the water like glass and currents going our way. Arrived at fuel dock, in La Conner at 12:25 pm and current was slack. Very unusual to catch a time at the fuel dock without the
current going strongly in one direction...or the other. Refueled and secure on the inside of the guest dock by 1 pm. We had to walk up town to pick up a special order of potato salad. Well worth the walk! Off
tomorrow for Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island prior to embarking into Canadian waters the following morning. Will take a much needed R & R time for the rest of today.
Breakfast at Lena's with Paul Gahr, Bill and Marsha, and Trav and Barb. It was a wonderful start to our summer and we enjoyed catching up and planning ahead.
We will start the journey this year with our good friend Garry Marr. He continues to pilot his 43 Bayliner single-handed.
As in the past, Wi-Fi can be difficult in the Broughton Archipelago so we have to be very creative at times to stay in contact, plus upload as we travel. Wish us luck. :)
This boating season will be much shorter due to Rebecca's school year starting August 8th.
We plan to travel to Canada, visiting the Broughton Archipelago.
