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British Columbia Coast

I am joining my two cruising buddies, Bill, on Mystery Girl, and Mike, on Little Joe, and will cruise the coast of British Columbia. Plan to spend two months on the water. En savoir plus

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🇨🇦 Area A (Ocean Falls/Outer Coast), Canada
British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Goose Cove, Rivers Inlet
Hier, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
“You have to be either nucking futs or very very adventurous”. And “Get a bigger boat”. Two comments I got between yesterday and today in response to my Facebook posts the last two days. My reply to the first is, yes. Lol. To the second, you can’t trailer a bigger boat easily and even the larger trawlers are staying off Queen Charlotte Strait and waiting to round Cape Caution for calmer winds.
The three of us left our anchorage in Miles Inlet just a little after 6am this morning. I was running a tad faster, so got to today’s destination about an hour ahead of Mike and Bill. (We’re all still running around 5 kts.) A few days ago when I checked the forecast for the Strait and Cape Caution, it was looking like this weekend would be the best days to go around the Cape. Winds were forecast less than 15 kts out of the NW. Advice found in various publications say winds forecast less than 15 kts, and a local weather sea buoy showing winds less than 15, along with waves less than 1 meter (3’) and with a period of 9 seconds or greater, provides for a comfortable ride. Unfortunately the winds didn’t read the forecast and have continued to blow 15 kts and greater. (The forecast still remained better for today, than the rest of the week. Sunday is now showing high winds out of the SE. Perhaps that will make the run a little easier, with tailwinds…) The sea buoy this morning was reporting waves of about 5’ and a 7 second period. And that is pretty much what we saw after leaving Miles Inlet. Still, it wasn’t terrible with the wave spacing, it was more of a swell. But there was some 1-2’ chop mixed in with that. As we neared Cape Caution, the waves became steeper and with a little shorter spacing. Mike and I were running about a mile and a half off shore, while Bill was running more like a quarter mile off shore. It sounds like we all got pretty much the same ride. It did seem to calm down some when I turned the corner past Cape Caution, but maybe just because of my new angle on the waves. Sometimes it seemed to smooth out a little bit, but then got rougher again. I did find relief behind Table Island for a short distance, but then back into the waves. Pretty much like this until turning into River’s Inlet for Goose Cove, where we are anchored for the night. Interesting to me, is the power with the water and waves. Not just seeing the waves splash up on the rock shores, but when passing islets or rock shoals, even those just beneath the surface, seeing the spray spout up from the waves pounding against them. The area we are in this evening, Rivers Inlet, is a historic area of past salmon fishing, with numerous canneries that are no longer in operation. Here in Goose Bay, we are anchored right across from one of those canneries.En savoir plus
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VoyageurColby, we anchored there last year and rocked out on dungeness crab. Only place we got dungeness....
22 hRépondreTraduire
VoyageurGood to hear. Nothing after a few hours this afternoon, but maybe by tomorrow morning. i think I'm doing it wrong. Nothing since the first day when i got four. I did get one more, but a female so I had to release her...
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I would go into the cannery to get some salmon heads and backbones and guts. Put into portions for your Crab pot and put in the freezer. Chicken is ok bait, but Crab like oily fish like salmon or clams. [Patrick Walker]
19 hRépondreTraduire
VoyageurI put a fresh piece of boneless skinless chicken in the bait bag and pulled the trap up this morning with seven large Dungys! Had to release four females, but the other three were still good sized! One of the crabs even brought a dead fish head in with it! lol. So I’m set there! The cannery in Goose Bay is private. I don’t think any of them in the area are in operation any more.
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Miles Inlet, Queen Charlotte Strait
22 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
This morning Mike and Bill were pulling out of the anchorage at 5am, as my alarm was going off. Lol. That was the plan, as Mike wanted to catch the outgoing current as long as they could. I left about 45 minutes later, and caught up with them, shortly after they turned into Queen Charlotte Strait. Earlier is also better, as the winds start to pick up late morning. The route took us back through Kenneth Passage, then Grappler Sound into Wells Passage, and on out to the Charlotte Strait. The Strait wasn’t too bad at first, with 1-2’ of chop with around 10kts of wind out of the WNW. We stayed within a quarter mile of shore most the time, and ducked behind islands when we could, to find smooth water. Just after passing through Browning Island, we came across a large fish farm. Stretched out a couple hundred yards. Even had its own satellite dish on the shore. We’ve seen some other commercial operations with the netting over them, but this one had a very high net. I googled it and learned that the net is to keep the Salmon from jumping out, and predatory birds from diving in to pick off the fish. However, Canada is outlawing the netting after 2029. Other than that, and seeing a lot of floating wood and logs on the shore, it was just a very scenic day. Coming out past Robertson Island, the chop became more like 2-3’ swells. However, by Shelter Bay it was getting rough again, and the winds were picking up. I’d estimate up to 15kts, and eventually closer to 20-25kts. The last five miles today were the roughest with 2-3’ chop in 3-4’ swells. We pulled into Miles Inlet and anchored at the end in some small coves, at 2pm. We plan to leave early tomorrow to go around Cape Caution.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Burly Cove, Broughtons
21 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
Rats. Was uploading tonight's blog, and forgot to save it.... Ok, let's try this again. This morning Bill and Mike headed to shore to go hike some of the trails. Stopford Cove is in the Cypress Harbour Recreation area. While they hiked, I kayaked around the cove. I spotted what appeared to be an old dock from a logging operation long ago. After Mike and Bill finished their hike, we all headed back to our boats to pull anchor. Departed past a fish farm that didn't appear to be operating, out into the Sutlej Channel. Before we got far, Bill spotted a big black bear on the shore. I turned in closer to shore to get a better view and photo. Before the bear, Bill also spotted a couple deer on the shore drinking water. Turned into Dunsany Passage to take us to Turnbull Cove. At Watson Point, I spotted what looked like an old log bridge of sorts, on the shore. Just before turning into Turnbull Cove, I went across the passage there to check out Roaring Hole Rapids. They were running pretty good with an ebb tide. No, I did not go into them! I took a photo, and then on the way out of Turnbull, I took another photo of them just barely into a flood tide. You'll see the difference. The stop at Turnbull was so Bill and Mike could hike another trail, up to a lake. I stayed on C-Traveler to work on a property appraisal appeal. Accurate Assessor has really been a frustration this year! After Bill and Mike finished hiking here, we headed out through Kenneth Passage, around Claypole Point, to our anchorage for tonight, at Burly Bay near Blair islet.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Stopford Bay, Broughtons
19 mai, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F
Anchors up around 8am on this cloudy day. We were back over at the Echo Bay Marina dock about 20 minutes later. Yesterday, the harbor master let me dock for free. Today with all three of us, he said he was suppose to charge $10 for day dockage. Guess I got a good deal yesterday for being by myself… We hiked the trail that I hiked yesterday, but all the way around the bay this time. Saw a few things I missed yesterday. Chip (the marina dog), was with us again. Continuing on the hike around the bay, there is Echo Bay Marine Park. Mostly an open field with a playhouse, tree swing and outhouse. There was an old engine on the grounds. Got to see the top side of the beached boat hull I uploaded a photo of yesterday. The trail ended at Pierre’s floating cabin rentals dock ramp. Unable to go see the dock or rentals however, as the ramp was detached from the main dock. Coming back, Bill and I decided to cut across the tidal flat at the end of the bay, while Mike went back around on the trail. We left Echo Bay at 11am and headed towards the Broughton Archipelago marine park. Our route took us through Cramer Passage, Solitary Islet, and then into the Archipelago. We started with visiting Grebe Cove where there use to be a logging operation. There were still some logs and chains on the shore. After that we went down Arrow Passage and Spiller Passage, through the marine park.Alot of small islands and islets. Mike was already a ways behind us as he spent more time in Grebe Cove. Between Spiller Passage and Misty Passage, I split off from Bill, as I prefer to get to our end of day anchorage by 4:30p. I continued up Misty Passage, where I almost caught up with Mike, as he had gotten ahead of us when he turned back to the north before we did. But then he continued a different direction, putting him about a half hour back behind me. I continued on Old Passage, Indian Passage, and then rounded Broughton Island on Fife Sound, Raleigh Passage, Penphrase Passage, Sharp Pass and into Cyprus Harbour for Stopford Bay. Yes, there are a lot of different waterways in this area. Lol. Rounding the SE corner of Broughton Island, near Notice Pt, I came by what looked like a sunken float house. There have been a lot of commercial fishing boats out setting their prawn traps, and I saw one closer today, Interestingly, they don’t put a buoy on each one, but attach a long single line to the buoy, and then attach maybe a dozen prawn traps along that line. They also anchor out at night near their traps. We had one anchored in Kwatsi Bay near us the other night, and tonight we have one in another section of this harbor. There is also another boat in here with us, and I’m not sure if it’s a large trawler or a small fishing boat… The nights lately have been down in the upper 40’s and the afternoons finally reaching the low 60’s. Most the clouds today were gone by 2 or 3pm.Bill arrived here about an hour after Mike.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Echo Bay and Shoal Harbour, The Broughtons
19 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
Started our day off kayaking and Kaboating over to shore to check out the waterfall fairly close to us. (Nice white noise all night.) Short and fairly easy hike. Beautiful water fall. After that, we kayaked and Kaboated around the marina, and then back to our boats. Departed around 10am, turning into the Tribune Channel. It was another cloudy and misty day to start, but eventually (after lunch) the sun peaked out, but the winds also picked up. Mike and Bill turned into Watson Cove to do a hike, while I continued on through Hornet Passage to Echo Bay. While starting out with about a 1.5mph ebb current behind me, and some chop in the water (opposing wind against the current caused), before turning into Hornet Passage, the current turned to a flood giving me 1.5mph on the bow. But the water smoothed out… I arrived at Echo Bay and found plenty of courtesy dockage. The marina dog, a black lab named Chip, welcomed me and invited herself onto my boat. Lol. I spoke to the harbor master about the trail to the Billy Proctor museum, and he said it was well marked and that Billy Proctor passed away last year, and that the museum was locked up. He said the museum was transferred to the First Nation people, but he didn’t know what its outcome would be. Billy and his museum are well known to other cruisers that come through here. When I was here in 2018, I had the opportunity to see the museum then and talk with Billy. Before I started out on the trail, one of the employees working on the marina said Chip would probably follow me, and would run from danger. There has been a big black bear in the area, so if Chip ran in a different direction, it would be wise to follow her. Lol. (I took my bear spray with me.) Chip was actually a pretty good trail leader. She would walk ahead of me, and then stop and wait to make sure I was following. Every time she stopped to look around or put her nose in the air, I was hoping she wasn’t seeing or smelling the bear! There were several piles of bear scat along the trail, and it appeared to come from a very large bear! I did a lot of loud talking to Chip along the way! The museum was locked up, but a couple other buildings in the area, a trapper’s cabin and school house that Billy built, were unlocked and I was able to look around inside. Chip and I walked the trail back to the marina, and I treated her to a turkey stick. I sat and talked with the harbor master for a while, on his porch, and then headed out. The harbor master lives here year round. There are several floating homes along the docks. The prior owner of the marina, Pierre, sold it to the Kwaxwalawadi, but owns some rental floating homes on the other side of the Bay. Bill and Mike were still stopping to hike in some other locations along their way, and said to just go ahead an anchor in a cove around the corner from Echo Bay. It was just a mile away, called Shoal Harbour. I came in and anchored and dropped my crab trap. I checked it before supper, and did have a legal sized Red Rock crab in it, but it was her lucky day since you have to release females. I checked the trap again an hour later, and think the same gal was back in it. So maybe tomorrow morning I’ll pull it up with keepers! Bill and Mike arrived around 7p, and plan to go hike that Billy Proctor trail tomorrow.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Kwatsi Bay, Broughtons
18 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
I opened my curtains today to see a Blue Heron sitting outside my window on the dock rail. Bill and Mike pulled their anchors around 6am, and I was ready to go when they came past the Port Neville dock at 7am. We had a bit of tidal current behind us, adding about 1 mph to our speed. Johnstone Strait was relatively calm, with a breeze of about 9mph. Another cloudy day with some sunshine. Our route today took us off the Johnstone Strait onto the Havanna Channel and then Chatham Channel. Quite a few nice homes along Chatham Channel. Passed what appeared to be a post office for the area, on Minstrel Island. We detoured into Lagoon Cove marina around 11am. We all took on fuel and water, and then looked around the marina a little bit. Fuel at Lagoon Cove, when all the conversions from liters to gallons and the exchange rate were factored in, came out to about $7.42/gal. Most expensive gas for us so far. But fuel in this area has to be barged in, adding to the cost. Potable water is also a bit scarce and while most the marinas here in the island have water available, many suggest boiling it. Thankfully, Lagoon has filtered water that they use some kind of UV system to also make it potable. A Waggoner Flotilla of 10 boats, staying at the marina the next two nights, came in at noon as we were pulling out. Back out on Chatham Channel, through the Clapp Passage onto the Tribune Channel. Currents fluctuate depending upon where we are. Unfortunately, the area we are in does not have a lot of tide tables that give us tidal current information. We had a 1-2mph hour push for a bit, then current ahead of us. Guess it all depends on how the ocean water finds its way in among the numerous channels. I thought we were planning to stay in Kwatsi Bay, but Bill said we’d stop in Watson Cove. I pulled into Kwatsi Bay along the way to check it out. There use to be a marina there. I found it, in disrepair and abandoned. There was also an old dock near the marina that I believe was part of a fish farm at one time. There was a fishing boat in the bay setting his prawn traps. Bill and Mike were checking out another bay or cove near by, so I continued on to Watson Cove. Found it wasn’t ideal for anchoring, as it was rather deep, and not much room for swinging with the amount of anchor rode that we’d have to put out. Bill and Mike were in Kwatsi at this time, so I called them on the radio about Watson, and that Kwatsi would be a better anchorage. I returned to Kwatsi. However, while it was a much larger bay, it also was rather deep. We’d be anchoring in 80-100 ft, rather than are usual 20-30. We ended up tying off to the old dock since we didn’t see any stay off or no trespassing signs. Just have to be very careful walking on it as some (many) of the boards are rotten.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Port Neville
17 mai, Canada ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F
Another somewhat sunny day, but again, lots of wind! All three of us were out of our anchorage between 6 and 6:15am. We left early so we could make use of the ebb current. But not early enough to go through Greene Point Rapids at slack. We left Cordero Islands with about a 5-6mph push out of a narrow passage between two islands. The rapids were less than a mile away, and also running at around 5-6 mph. No problem going through with our boats, as it was also a fairly wide spot. But with a lot of boils, whirlpools and eddies. We were now in Chancellor Channel. We kept a nice tail current of around 4 mph for some time. At least until passing where Loughborough Inlet came in, then we seemed to lose most that tail current. But picked up a 1+foot chop taking away our somewhat smooth ride. The winds starting to howl again weren’t helping. We turned into Wllbore Channel, which was a little smoother and gave us a tail current of about 3-4mph. We passed through Whirlpool Rapids, which just as the name says, causes a lot of whirlpools. Again, not much of a problem for our boats. Into the Sunderland Channel, where we started picking up some chop again. Along this channel, on Hardwicke Island, was another one of the large commercial fish farms. This time I went close by to check it out. The company is Marine Harvest, (google it), and they have a number of facilities we have gone by while cruising. They are a large producer of Atlantic Salmon. (Yes, but this is the Pacific…) Finally, we turned into Johnstone Strait, which true to its nature, was pretty choppy. But we only had a short distance to go before turning into the Port Newville bay. The government dock here is free. All three of us stopped here, checked out the historic store and walked around the area some. Mike was interested in seeing a cut log that showed signs of being cut with a chain saw. Almost perfectly sawed with some lumber from it nearby. The store has a signboard in front of it with family history. While it’s still owned privately, the public is welcome to walk around, peering into the windows to see what the inside probably looked like back in its day. Also found an old bulldozer and Fordson tractor hidden in bushes that have grown around them. FWIW, I looked up Fordson, and learned this: Fordson was a historic brand of mass-produced tractors and trucks manufactured by Henry Ford & Son and the Ford Motor Company. Introduced in 1917, the brand revolutionized agriculture by making tractors widely affordable, and its legacy continues today in both historic tractor preservation and modern, adaptive spaces.
Eventually Mike and Bill departed the dock to go farther up the bay to anchor for the night. I chose to stay at the dock. Later this afternoon, I watched two cruise ships go by on Johnstone Strait. The Disney Wonder and Norwegian Jade. I looked up their schedules, and they are returning from Alaska headed to Vancouver. Also watched a tug with a barge in tow go by in the other direction. There is a small tidal lagoon behind the store. When the tide is out, it is dry.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Handfield Bay and Cordero Islands
16 mai, Canada ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F
Woke up to a mostly sunny day, partly cloudy. Didn’t have to depart until 9am, timing Upper and Lower rapids. They really were not marked well on our chartplotters, and they didn’t look like the usual narrow rapids. But in fact, we were in Upper Rapids pretty much as soon as we turned out into the main channel and turned the corner. (Less than a mile from our anchorage). And they were running! Lol. The current was rather strong, even at only about 3 mph or so. Still would have been worse if we left any earlier. The whirlpools and eddies worked the autopilots pretty hard at our slower speeds. Our route took us on the Okisollo Channel, Discovery Passage, Nodales Channel, and into Thurson Bay Marine Park, where we stopped and anchored in Handfield Bay. The bay was very small, with room for only three or four boats. I had lunch, while Bill and Mike went for a short hike. I left before they did, to continue to our anchorage this evening in the Cordero Islands. After leaving Handfield, the route was back on the Nodales Channel to Cordero Channel. The winds were howling out of the west again today, and made for a bit of a bumpy ride on Discovery Passage. Sights provided some weird and old stuff, along with the great scenery of the mountains, water and forests. Just outside of Hanfield Bay was some kind of square dock system, perhaps part of a fish farm? Speaking of fish farms, we passed one that was on both sides of Okisollo Channel, and looked to be quite a large operation. We see a lot of them along the shores, but I’m not sure if many of them are actually in operation now. They consist of some buildings, a number of floats and I imagine some nets under the floats. While leaving Thurson Bay Marina Park, saw some kind of round piping with upright poles. (See photo). The Cordero Lodge is no longer in operation and the dock with the buildings is pretty much submerged. There does look to be a newer home on the shore there. Then where we are anchored now, there is an old floating dock in the middle of the bay, with a house on shore that has caved in. And on the other side, a large Styrofoam float. Bill got here about half an h our after I did, and Mike about an hour later as he went on to stop at the Blind Channel Resort for some fuel and groceries.En savoir plus
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VoyageurWhat a great trip. Keep having un!
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Octopus Islands, Desolation Sound
15 mai, Canada ⋅ 🌧 46 °F
Woke up this morning to rain, and then it rained most the day, with just a couple peaks of sunshine. No hiking for Bill or Mike today, so we all departed the anchorage just a bit before 7am. We wanted to get to Hole in the Wall rapids around 9:45a to go through at slack. Before the rapids, I saw a family of Bald Eagles on the shore. Photo didn’t turn out to good, but I’ll upload it anyway. Not far beyond the rapids was our anchorage for today, at the Octopus Islands. Nice anchorage with a lot of little islands and shoals. Our route brought us out of Von Donot Inlet into Drew Passage, Calm Channel, Hole in the Wall, the Okisollo Channel, and then into the Octopus Islands. It continued to mostly rain, but we still took our Kaboats and kayak over to the south end of Octopus Island to visit an art shed. Ended up being a shed full of drift wood and other items that boaters have left with their boat and personal names on. I’ve seen one like this before in the Gulf Islands at Conover Cove.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Von Donot Inlet, Desolation Sound
14 mai, Canada ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
It was a nice sunny morning, but turned to clouds and rain around noon. I had a leisurely morning getting up, as Bill and Mike were doing their hiking thing again. I did take my kayak over to check out the lagoon rapids, as they were running pretty good with the outgoing tide! Bill and Mike planned on leaving later in the afternoon, so I left the anchorage around 10. Going counter-clockwise around Cortes Island, north on the Lewis Channel, past Joyce Point where there was a fish farm, and turned east into the Teakerne Arm to check out Cassel Falls. Wind was starting to blow chop in from the west, as the rains were arriving. One other sailboat also came in the Teakerne Arm behind me to see the falls, and then passed me on the way out. (He was running 8mph, while I was only doing 5). Back on the Lewis Channel with some current behind me. I’ve always found ocean currents interesting where the water separates as the tides change. I uploaded a photo showing where you can see a line between smooth water and some choppy water. I lost about 1 mph, but then picked it up again, before losing it. This was just before turning south into Drew Passage. While still in Lewis Channel, I watched a fishing boat retrieve and set his pawn traps. Also saw a truck and some log slides along shore, I assume for a nearby logging operation. Turned into the Von Donot Inlet, which is a fairly narrow channel, until where it opens up into a nice bay at the end for anchoring. Bill and Mike will be here shortly, getting in about 3.5 hours after me.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Refuge Cove and Squirrel Cove
13 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Bill and Mike hiked two more trails this morning in Roscoe Bay while I departed for Refuge Cove. Refuge Cove was pretty much a ghost town. I did talk to one guy that was checking for any water leaks at the restaurant, in preparation for season opening. He said most places won’t be open until June 1st. The store is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 3, mostly to sell fuel at their pumps. Any food that is in the store is left over from last season. Nothing more there for me to see, and it was only 10:30, so I headed over to Squirrel Cove. Got one of the last spots on the government dock and walked over to the general store. They actually had a pretty decent selection of the basics. Also a small hardware store downstairs. After shopping for a few groceries, I moved into the cove there behind Protection Island. A relatively large cove, but with good protection from the weather. Worked on some files on my PC, then peddled my kayak around a bit. There is a small inlet to a lagoon behind where I’m anchored. It’ll be interesting to watch the reversing currents through it. Bill and Mike eventually finished up their hikes and then motored over to Refuge Cove. Store was open and Mike said they didn’t have much, but he did find some jelly to buy. They arrived here in the same cove I’m in a little while ago.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Starlink
12 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
One other frustration I left out in that last upload was the lost VHF Handheld radio. (Resolved by purchasing a new one back in Powell River.) LOL. Actually, I can laugh about the stuff now that is resolved. The scenery and nature around really does calm my stressors. I wanted to say a bit about Starlink. I really did not want to purchase the product, mostly for political reasons. But like some others, I have become very dependent upon the internet. Especially with travel into places that cell coverage still does not exist. And being gone from home for two to three months in areas that don't have complete cell coverage. Several issues still require attachment to the rest of the world. The examples for me would be the city property assessment and the tax returns, along with paying bills that I don't want to set up on autopay. Before purchasing Starlink I had posted some questions on a couple Facebook groups wondering if 100GB would be enough and how it would work along the British Columbia Coast. Several said 100GB/month would not be enough. Well, they are so far wrong. I find I am averaging only 1 or 2 GB a day when I use it. I'm also finding that cell coverage does exist more often than I thought it would. But as expected, in many of our anchorages it does not exist. This is when Starlink is worth it's cost. I'm not streaming or spending much time on social media, although I still am able to upload my blogs, check email, etc. It's also nice for checking weather and knowing if I can crab or fish in the area's I am cruising through. (There is also a requirement to keep a cache log for the BC government, and I can access that through a phone app.) I don't mean for this to be an advertisement or endorsement for Starlink. Just that if anyone else is thinking about getting it, and wondering if the cheaper 100gb plan will suffice, my answer is yes. I also found that the Starlink Mini worked sitting on my forward shelf under the roof, and I ended up getting a mount to hold it underneath my V-Berth hatch, which is perfect, as it is out of the way, and I can still use the hatch. I use the power cord and AC-adapter that came with it, and power it with the boat's inverter I installed earlier. It uses about 3 amps while working. (That's the amperage used off the 12vt batteries that the inverter runs off of.)En savoir plus
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Colby, Ken and I are going to be cruising in BC later this summer. You mentioned a BC cache log you are required to keep for the BC government. That you can do this thru a phone app. Could you elaborate on this a bit further. Thank you. Harriet Stump [Harriet Stump]
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VoyageurThis is for recording fishing. The app is FishingBC
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Thank you. Harriet [Harriet Stump]
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Roscoe Bay
12 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
Bill and Mike left Laura Cove this morning at 6am, while I slept in until 7:30. The concern was getting over a drying bar going into Roscoe Bay. We use the tide tables for nearby Prideaux Haven and then follow various recommendations written by others or found in several cruising guides. The problem is, sometimes all the data can be confusing. Reading everything made it sound like the bar was dry more than flooded. Bill said they had 10+ feet of water when they crossed it around 6:45a this morning. I came across at 9:30a, with a low tide of 7.35 showing on the tide charts. And I ended up having 7.5’ of water when I crossed. Knowing this, we now know that as long as we have tide of at least 4’, we should be able to cross in our shallow draft boats. The next lowest tide is at 2’, and that’s not until Thursday, so we should have no problem leaving at anytime tomorrow. Once anchored in here, Bill and Mike took off on the Mt. Llanover hike. A long and strenuous climb to an elevation of 2,200 ft. See my photo upload describing this trail. I think they took about 8 hours to do the hike up and back. The hike was a little more strenuous than I wanted to attempt. I’m still recovering from our hike up to the Trapper’s Cabin at Chatterbox Falls. Lol! I don’t know where Mike and Bill get their energy, and they are older than me. They are like the Energizer Bunny that just keeps going! I ended up only getting six hours sleep last night, so first thing I did once I got anchored, was take a 90 minute nap! After that, I had lunch, and then headed out for a kayak ride around the bay with a few short hikes added in. The first one a quarter mile to Black Lake. Nice flat trail finally! The next one was up to a rock outcropping, elevation on my Inreach showing 80’, with a nice view of the Bay. Another preferable hike! Bill and Mike came back from their hike and looked pretty exhausted. This Bay is very protected and another beautiful anchorage.
I mentioned the other day of the serenity and recharge I get from the scenery I am in. But there are also a few stressors and frustrations that have bothered me. First, I had some battery issues with the house batteries not holding a full charge overnight. Several solutions have presented. First, the temps are not as cold at night as I thought they might be, so I’m not running the heater until early in the morning, just to take the chill off. Also, I am now keeping the battery switch in both, so my starter battery is also paralleled with my two house batteries. All three are AGM’s, but the starter is only a group 24, while the two house batteries are each a group 31. Then I have the city property appraisal appeal to deal with, but the Board of Review doesn’t meet until May 28th. Not something I will be able to attend, so I hope they can just do it with my emailed response! Then there was the hole in my Hobie, but I was able to fix that with its patch kit. The latest is a State letter correcting our tax returns, because I forgot to include my pension when I filed them in March. Not like me at all, but too much going on and hurrying to get them done. So today I worked on amending the returns. I used Turbo Tax, like I’ve done for many years, but last year decided to try HR Block’s software, and so didn’t have that previous info to edit. The amended returns cannot be electronically filed, so that means coordinating with Rosanne to print the new returns out and mail in. It does also bother me a bit that I’m here enjoying and taking in all this scenery, while not at home to help with household chores. (But that is a choice Rosanne and I made, and Rosanne was ok with.) There is also the thing of not being a morning person but rather a night owl, while two of my favorite cruising buddies are both early morning guys! I think they’d prefer leaving everyday between 6 and 7am, while I prefer more like 7:30-8am. Really not a big deal, as I do tend to run a hair faster than they do, so tend to catch up. And when not, we still end up at the same place eventually. And, no crabs again today…
Still, this has been a great trip so far, and I know will continue to be. I turn to my religious faith to get through the stress and frustrations, and allow the nature around me to calm all going on in my mind.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Melanie Cove and Laura Cove
11 mai, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F
Last couple of days seem like a blur and I’m losing track of where we’ve been. Lol. It’s all beautiful. Still have not caught any more crabs, but yesterday another boater gave Mike a nice bag of prawns that we boiled/steamed this evening for supper. We stopped at Melanie Cove today to do some hiking. We go through Prideaux Haven to enter Melanie Cove, and saw more boats anchored in there than we've probably seen on the entire trip, not including marinas. But Prideaux Haven is a popular spot! After anchoring, we headed over to the trailhead. I only went as far as the Lake lookout on the first hike, while Mike and Bill continued for a couple more hours. Since I was still waiting for the patch glue to fully dry on my Hobie kayak, I caught a ride over to the trail head with Mike. While at the Lake lookout, we could see a canoe or kayak down on the lake shore. Bill and Mike ended up hiking down to it. After getting back to our boats, I inflated my kayak and put it back in the water checking for leaks. All seems good again. We were going to go on another hike, that went over to Laura Cove, but there was a sign at the trail head saying the trail was closed. So we left Melanie Cove and headed over to Laura Cove. Bill was having a hard time getting his anchor to set when we got to Laura Cove, but I was able to set mine, so after stern tying, Bill rafted on me so we could cook the prawns later and share a meal. Once set up, we went over to a trail head here for a hike that was suppose to go by an old settlement and then on to Melanie Cove. We kind of expected a closed sign on it, but there was not one. We ended up coming out at Melanie Cove at the same sign that said the trail was closed! And we never did see the old settlement, but none of the buildings exist anymore anyway.
We enjoyed the prawns this evening, and Mike and Bill discussed going into Roscoe Cove tomorrow. To enter the inner basin, you go across a drying bar, so you have to go in with more than a low tide, so they were figuring out times to go in and then back out the next day.En savoir plus
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VoyageurGreat views today
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Tenedos Bay, Desolation Sound
9 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
Checked my crab pot before coming in for the evening last night, and just had one undersized Red Rock crab, so released him to grow bigger. Up this morning in time to catch the sunrise. I pulled up my anchor about 15 minutes after Bill and Mike, who departed at 7am. We only had 14 miles to go today, as we were pretty much around the corner from today’s anchorage in Tenodos Bay. The last three days we have been in Desolation Sound. Quite a beautiful area. We just motor at about 5mph taking in the scenery and enjoying any critters we see along the way. Bald Eagles are seen frequently, and today we saw one big Sea Lion sunning himself on the shore. I ended up anchoring about a mile away from Mike and Bill, on the other side of an islet. The cove I’m in was at the trail head for the Bold Head hike, a fairly steep trail that ascended 309 feet in just over ½ mile. One place towards the top of the trail had a rope to help climb a short rock wall. I had lunch before heading over in my kayak to the trail, while Mike and Bill came over in their Kaboats soon after anchoring to hike. I met them at the top of the trail and after checking out the scenery, we hiked down together. They had another hike they wanted to do to a flag pole. Another hill top climb with a beautiful view. I chose to do some kayaking as one hike a day is enough for me. Lol. Unfortunately, somewhere between landing the kayak at the Bold Head trailhead, and a rock islet near where I’m anchored, I managed to poke a hole in my Hobie, likely on one of the sharp mussels that are all over the shore when at low tide. This was a slow leak that didn’t manifest itself until I had gone a short ways past Mystery Girl and Little Joe, when I noticed my seat was getting lower and I saw that the kayak was bending a little more in the middle. I wasn’t sure I could get back to Mystery Girl or Little Joe, so just pulled in quickly to shore. This is when I became quite glad I purchased a new handheld radio while in Powell River!!! Actually, Mike, who was still hiking on the hill top and saw me, called me on the radio, I think to get some pictures, when I told him what was going on and asked if when they got done hiking if they could come “rescue” me. After they finished their hike and got back to their Kaboats, Bill came over and towed my Hobie, while Mike gave me a ride. Back at C-Traveler, the Hobie had lost a lot of its air, and I got its patch kit out and got to work on it. Keeping my fingers crossed that it holds air tomorrow! Mike and Bill took one more hike over to Unwin Lake, where they were going to take a dip. Too cold for me! Pulled the crab pot up tonight, with nothing in it….En savoir plus
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Voyageur Nice picture
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Theodosia Inlet
9 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Bill and Mike were already out hiking at 7am, while I slept in until 8. Yeah, I’m not the morning person in the bunch! I got up, had breakfast, and pulled up my empty crab pot… eventually got my kayak set up to ride over and hike the trail that Mike and Bill hiked yesterday. The guys were just getting back and Mike wanted to hit that trail again, so he joined me. Fairly easy hike to Black Lake, less than a mile one way. The trail passed an old Caterpillar Dozer that was covered in moss and missing a lot of parts. Some of those parts were scattered about the area. Also along the way there was a small stream that somebody built and placed a tiny paddlewheel. Black lake offered a scenic view. On the way back I stopped at the campsites at the trail head. There were a couple of nice pads to set tents on. Bill was pulling out as I checked out the campsites, and Mike went back to his boat to work on setting up an antenna for his AIS transceiver that I had given him some time ago. He pulled anchor shortly before I did. We only traveled 5 miles today, around the corner to Theodosia Inlet. We passed several fish farms, none that looked active. We are across the bay from a logging operation, but doesn’t look like anything is happening right now. No equipment, other than some surrounding log booms to hold in logs, the log slide from shore, and half a dozen private pickup trucks. I did see a work boat come in and dock, and Bill said he saw the driver get in one of the pickups and leave. We think there might be a forest road over to Lund, but not sure. Bill and Mike explored on their Kaboats and took a hike from the logging dock. I kayaked around the little hook cove we are in, and then around the point to the last home or fish camp we passed.En savoir plus
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Grace Harbour Desolation Sound
8 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
This morning, Bill and Mike pulled their anchors and got underway at 6:30a. I could see no good reason to get going so early! Lol! I finished breakfast and then pulled my crab pot to find nothing in it. I was underway by 7:15. The seas were running abeam at about 2 feet or so. Rather uncomfortable, so I decided to push up the throttle and ride more on top of the waves. It wasn’t long, while passing Scotch Fir Point, that I saw a pod of Orca Whales. Cool! Of course I slowed down as they were out in front of me maybe 100 yards or so. Unfortunately, by the time I got my iPhone’s camera ready, they were already gone. I picked the speed up again, and eventually caught up with Bill and Mike. The seas were a little better, so I dropped back to our slow speed. I still stayed slightly ahead of Bill and Mike, and pulled into Westview Harbour near Powell River about 15 minutes ahead of them. We fueled there, and then Bill continued on at a slow pace, while Mike and I pulled ahead to a courtesy dock. We both wanted to go to Marine Traders to get some parts. Me a new handheld radio, and Mike an antenna cable. I checked in with the harbor master real quick and started a load of laundry in the laundry room there at the harbor office. Then Mike and I headed across the road to the Marine store. I browsed the radios while Mike bought his cable and then left for a grocery store. (Ended up being a butcher shop called the Chopping Block, with some really good looking meats, cheese and sausage!) I found a radio, then went back to the boat to drop it off and to move my laundry to the dryer. Then I headed off to the same butcher shop. I wanted to get some bread, lettuce and some condiments. Mike got back to the dock and headed out. I made my purchases, and then headed back to drop them off and finish my laundry. Passing the Pulp plant, near the actual Powell River, was an odd sight of old ships used to make a break water! Our original plans were to anchor at Copeland Islands Marine Park. However, when Bill got there he found it was pretty windy with waves blowing in, so continued to our second choice, Grace Harbour, which is in Desolation Sound. Another beautiful anchorage! I caught up with Mike a little ways before turning in here, and then we both arrived and got anchored. Bill and Mike took off on their Kaboats to hike a trail across the way, while I had supper, then pedaled my kayak around the cove. Dropped the crab pot in before kayaking, and as of now, nothing in it, yet… I want to add that the amount of peace and tranquility and recharging of my religious faith that I find with the scenery of nature here is refreshing to everything going on back in the USA. The mountains and views here are spectacular. The power of the seas, streams and waterfalls, all make this a wonderful trip. As I kayak around the shorelines I see a lot of starfish, mostly purple in color. While I haven’t captured any photos, the seals and sea lions pop up now and then to turn an eye towards us as we go by. Even when the seas are rough, there is a tranquility about it all.En savoir plus
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VoyageurGood to hear about the tranquility and serenity. You are definitely going through absolutely beautiful country. You are not missing anything on the news. What a great way to get away from it all! Jim
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Ballet Bay
7 mai, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F
After taking two Ibuprofen last night, I slept well. But today my legs felt yesterday’s hike every time I stood up! It was a misty morning and looked like we had some rain last night. Could have used more rain to wash all the salt off C-Traveler! Malibu Rapids was pretty tame with maybe a .5mph incoming (flood) current, if that much. But the tide station we use to figure slack showed a very small bump in the tide, so I didn’t expect much current. Just before we got to Patrick Point, another C-Brat friend, Gary, from the vessel Daybreak, (he and his wife, Colleen, coordinate the Friday Harbor gathering), sent me a text through my Inreach that there were some pictographs not far up ahead of us. He has been watching our progress on my Inreach. (They are called the Jervis Inlet Pictographs). Gary sent us the coordinates, and the three of us looked for and found them. This is what a Google search AI said about them: "Jervis Inlet, located on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, features significant, ancient Indigenous rock paintings (pictographs) created by the shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation. These red ochre images are found on steep cliff faces, particularly around Princess Royal Reach and Hotham Sound, often visible only by boat, and reflect cultural connections to the landscape, navigation, and history." As the day went on, the clouds and mist burned off and it became a nice sunny day. Little breeze and the water was pretty calm. This afternoon we pulled into Ballet Bay. I kayaked around the cove here, while Bill and Mike got on their Kaboats to explore. Two sailboats also pulled in the bay here for the night.En savoir plus
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Chatterbox Falls Trapper's Cabin Hike
6 mai, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
Today we spent the morning hiking up to the trapper’s cabin. I think we left the boats around 7:30am. This trail was probably the most strenuous hike I’ve ever taken. My tracker showed I hiked a distance of 7.44 miles, and a time of 6 hours and 22 minutes. I say I, as some of this hike Bill, Mike and I were not together. I was a little slower than Mike and Bill, and managed to start off going the wrong way. (The trail is not marked until just beyond the outhouses, and the sign for the outhouses doesn’t mention the trail!) I forgot that the trail started at the outhouses, and started on the path to the lower viewpoint of Chatterbox Falls. The trail is not very well marked and not maintained. I’m sure there were a couple times I ended up off the trail bushwacking. I did catch up with Bill and Mike twice, but then they hiked a little faster, so I would lose them again. I finally made it to the Trapper’s cabin, where Mike and Bill said they had been for 20 minutes or so. The cabin no longer stands, but a few of the logs are still there, and a couple of bed springs. Would be interesting to know how the heck the trapper got those springs up there! There is also a beautiful water fall next to the cabin. After taking some photos, we started back down the trail. Bill left Mike and I in the dust. And Mike and I managed to lose the trail a few times. The last time of losing it, I was sitting on a tree log resting while Mike was looking around to see if he could spot the trail again. I should mention, someone in the past marked the trail with red marking tape every so often, but I wonder how many red ribbons we saw were misplaced by water flowing down the mountain in rain or melt… While sitting there, a nice young Canadian gal happened by. I asked her if she was going up or down, and she replied down. So I asked if we could follow her as she seemed to know where the trail was. While hiking , she said she already had to do some bushwacking also! And the three of us managed to lose the trail several more times, bushwacking each time to try to get back on the trail. I’m sure Mike and I were holding her up, being the old men we were. Lol. So once we were on a solid part of the trail again, we bid our goodbyes and she hustled on her way. (Her husband was on a crew working on a dock and some mooring buoys here in Princess Louisa Inlet, so she probably had a meeting time to get back to their boat.) But it was very nice of her to stay with us for a bit. She also had a Garmin Inreach and app that had her track, and I had my tracking phone app, so we kind of knew where we had to go, but since we had both done some bushwacking going up, there was no guarantee that the track shown was always on the trail. Mike and Bill had earlier left their jackets at one of their rest stops, and Bill then left his sweatshirt a little farther up from that. We came across Bill’s sweatshirt, then I started wondering if he was ok. We figured as many times as we got off the trail, he probably did to. Then we came up to their jackets, and I really wondered how Bill was doing. He normally has his Inreach with him, and I thought maybe I’d try texting that. However, Mike informed me Bill did not bring it on the hike this time, as the battery was dead. Mike and I sat at the spot where the jackets were for a bit catching our breath, and after a while, Bill showed up. He had actually been all the way back to the boat dock, and was wondering about us. And he had lost the trail also, but just kept going down. I think he got back to the dock initially around 11:40. I ate my sandwich at 12:15 at the jacket rest stop, which was still some distance from the dock! The Canadian gal saw him and asked if he was looking for Colby and Mike….and told him we were back on the trail probably where the jackets were. So Bill came back up to get us. Mike offered to hike back up to Bill’s sweatshirt and retrieve it. After sitting a while, before Mike got back, I headed back down the trail. Mike and Bill came down a little bit after I got back. They are now out on their Kaboats. I’m too tired and stiff to pedal my kayak around, so enjoying the surrounding scenery at the boat. Sorry about the long read, but thought you’d all enjoy the tail of our hike today. You will probably like the photos also.En savoir plus
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VoyageurI was following your In Reach tracks all the & they really had me wondering how you were doing. Your great write up & photos answered all wondering. Very impressive you all made it. Shows grit & determination. I’ve spent many years hiking off trail in rough mountain country & even with my walking several miles most every day, I would have been hesitant to take on that challenge
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Glad all three of you made it down today with no mishaps. Lives have been lost doing the trappers cabin hike and probably from sliding down the waterfall while at the top where the cabin is. Those rocks are slippery. So many folks place ribbons on tree branches that it gets confusing where the trail is at times. Strenuous hike indeed as Colleen and I slid down on our rear ends at times with the return hike because of the steep terrain. Good job today Colby. Thank you for the photos. Gary [Gary (DayBreak)]
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VoyageurFortunately it was pretty dry!
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Princess Louisa Inlet
5 mai, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
We were up early this morning, to make sure we got to Sechelt Rapids during slack water. Bill left the anchorage first at around 6:20a, then I left at 6:30 and Mike was soon after me. Just before Sechelt Rapids, Bill spotted a floating fender and pointed it out to me. If you read my previous blog at Dale Hollow Lake, you know how I like picking up extra fenders for my boat. This one was pretty nice, just needs to be cleaned up some. I’m already using it! We had several Tugs towing a long log boom ahead of us, and also a faster barge tug with a truck. When we arrived at Sechelt Rapids, there was still around a 2mph flood current we’d be driving into. The Tugs with the logs stopped and were holding off waiting for no current. Bill and I proceeded through. Mike was still about a half mile behind us, and I believe followed the tugs through. So this time these rapids were pretty tame coming through. I took a slightly different route through the rapids than I did coming through the first time. You can see that on one of my photos. After the rapids, it was just smooth sailing up the Prince of Wales Reach and Princess Royal Reach, until we turned off for Malibu Rapids and the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet. The Malibu Rapids can run at speeds of around 9 kts when maximum tide change. I was running about 3 miles ahead of Bill and Mike by the time we neared Malibu Rapids, and since I had seen and heard several other boats enter the rapids, I continued on. The rapids were only running at around 4 mph when I arrived, so I went on through. Pretty tame even at that speed on an ebb current. And it is only for a very short distance. After I passed by the rapids and entered Princess Louisa Inlet, I stopped at the Young Life Malibu Christian youth camp. They enjoy giving visitors a tour. It is a great youth camp and brings back some memories of my youth in Methodist fellowship, and also of a time when I worked as a youth counselor at a Sky-Y camp in Arizona. My tour guide was an intern, and was actually from Mississippi. (Most staff are Canadians.) After touring the camp, as I was leaving their dock, Bill and Mike came through the Rapids, which were now starting to change direction, but with very little current. We traveled the 4.5 miles up to the long dock at Chatterbox Falls, where we docked for the night. A quick short hike up to the Falls, before returning to the boats and planning our next stop once we leave here. Coming up the Reaches, we saw a few waterfalls. After entering Princess Louisa Inlet, we saw many waterfalls. For a video entering Malibu Rapids, please see my youtube channel with this link: https://youtu.be/q2nwub0W2fEEn savoir plus
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Storm Bay
4 mai, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Nothing in the crab pot this morning. Bill and Mike went exploring in their Kaboats, starting with heading up the small Tzoonie River than feeds the larger river. Then after that they took a closer look at the logging operation we were anchored near, and talked to one of the lumberjacks. Continuing , they also found a waterfall to hike up to. I had breakfast, pulled my crab pot, and then headed down to the end of Sechelt Inlet to see what was down there. Along the way I stopped at this evening’s anchorage here in Storm Bay, at the intersection of Tzoonie River and Sechelt Inlet. I dropped my crab pot back in the water, and then continued down to Sechelt. There looked to be some beautiful homes on the western shore with some immaculate landscaping. On the other side of the water was a whole lot of condominiums bunched together. I turned around and returned to Storm Bay, and put C-Traveler up on plane for about 8 miles, then back to a slower speed the last 5 miles. Pulled the crab pot, and again, nothing… Anchored and then got the kayak down to ride around. There is a small island in the little cove we are in that has some private buildings on it. Bill and Mike then came in and got anchored. Tomorrow will be an early morning, as we have to make the Sechelt Rapids, 5 miles away, by the 8am slack water.En savoir plus
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Tzoonie River and Sechelt Rapids
3 mai, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
After breakfast this morning, I pulled my crab pot to find the same four crabs still in it. No new ones. I should have removed them last night, as they ate half the chicken I put in there as bait! But I was still excited to get crabs on my first try. One Dungeness and three Red rock. I had to throw two of the Red rock back as they were females, and you are only allowed to keep the males. Bill and Mike departed at this time (7am), but I told them I’d be cleaning and steaming the crabs, and be underway in another 30-40 minutes. I finished cleaning up, and then caught up with them in Secret Cove, the next cove on our route. After Secret, we continued on, turning into Pender Harbour to tour around there for a little while. It’s a beautiful area with some nice homes. And a few interesting boats. We were heading for Sechelt (Skookumchuck) Rapids, and considering they are the world record holder for running at 16.5 kts on a large tidal exchange, it’s highly recommended to enter these only at slack current. Slack would be right around 4pm, so we were timing our arrival there to be around 3:30p. Another suggestion as sometimes the times are not always accurate, and being there a little early you can watch and go through when the current ceases for a short time while the tides change. Coming up the Agamemnon Channel, we passed several fish farms and Earls Cove. Not far beyond Earls, we turned into the Sechelt Inlet and headed for the rapids. We were there around 3. I was about a mile a head of Bill and Mike, and while the current through the rapids was at 7mph, I watched a local boat pass me up on plane and go through the rapids. So I added power and followed his track. Now, I never felt unsafe or scared, but let’s just say it was exciting. I was making about 10-12mph over ground, with current coming 7mph at me. The channel there is narrow (thus why such a fast current), with a lot of whirlpool and swirls in the middle. Also, there was around a 2-3 foot over fall near half way through. Or more like a slight swell, caused by the water flowing around the surrounding islets and changing depths. I really wish I could have recorded a video to upload, but needless to say, I was pretty busy just handling the boat. Lol! I got through that without a scratch, and the current slowed down to maybe 3 or 4 mph, but it was a good mile before it was less that 2mph. And since the tides were changing, eventually I ended up with a tail current. Bill and Mike at the time had swung into the Egmont area to check out the fuel dock for later, and to continue waiting until closer to 4 for the slack water. They ended up coming through the rapids around 3:30 and came through with a 5mph ebb in front of them. They said it was exciting also. 
We continued on and turned north on the Tzoonie River. I arrived at the Tzoonie Delta at the end, dropped my crab pot, and got anchored. Bill and Mike came in about 30 minutes later. We are all anchored here for the evening.
A few other notes. We passed under two groups of the longest overhead power lines we’ve ever seen. Bill figures the first one was about a mile across. On the shore, under the power line towers, are large red ball signs. We figure that is to warn pilots of the overhead lines. We could see several areas of logging scars on the mountains. (Areas that have been logged.) We are next to a small logging operation here at the Delta, and passed a small tug towing a very long log boom on the Tzoonie River.En savoir plus
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VoyageurThey shut down Agamenon Channel earlier in April to work on those power lines!
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VoyageurInteresting!
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VoyageurPretty hairy rapids Colby. You were loosing about one half of your forward motion. Interesting.
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
Smugglers Cove day two
2 mai, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Very pleasant night here last night. This morning I learned that our local assessors back home did not agree to my request to lower their appraisal on our home. They raised our appraisal 4.6% from last year, while all the data I have found shows 1.6% is the market increase. I have spent a lot of time in the past getting our appraisal to an accurate number, using free market analysis and then monitoring the data of what the market is doing. The appraisers have been within reason for several years, but not this year. So I sent a request to appeal to our City Clerk to forward to the Board of Review…. Then I went for a kayak ride around the cove here. Back to the boat for lunch. While getting ready to take the kayak to shore, I noticed a weird animal or something, swimming near C-Traveler. I got on my kayak to head over to shore to go hiking, but first stopped next to the snorkler to see what he was doing. We had a nice conversation, and I learned he had ridden his motorcycle in to the marine park here, put on his wet suit and was looking at the water life. He informed me that he had seen several large crabs, so after hiking around the park, I came back and dropped my crab pot in. Soon after starting my hike, Bill and Mike arrived around 1:30p. They reported a pretty bouncy ride out on the Strait. They got anchored and set up, then off they went to explore the cove in their Kaboats. During my hike, I looked for and found a geocache. There were some descriptive signs along the trail describing some of the plant life and early life here in the cove. Smugglers Cove was once the home of the “King of the Smugglers”. It derived its name from a time when “assisting” Chinese laborers across the border into the United States was profitable. Checking my crab pot this afternoon, I see I already have some crab in it. Looking forward to seeing how many are in it in the morning. Seeing the crabs cheered me up. Getting back on my kayak after my hike, my handheld marine radio must have fallen off the kayak, as it was gone before my next stop.En savoir plus
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VoyageurCheer up Colby. You are in nature’s paradise. You have an Interesting trip , and it is fun to follow you on your major Expedition Cruise. Jim
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Smuggler Cove
30 avril, Canada ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Nice peaceful night last night on False Creek. I forgot to mention yesterday, that our anchorage out of the main Fraser River channel, in a small open cove, wasn’t so great. Waked all night long by passing ships and tugs, that rolled and rocked the boat. So last night made for great sleep! This morning, Mike wanted to go to a museum, so he and Bill spent the first half of the day in Vancouver, before heading out 20 miles for some bays just north of Cowen Island. While I very much enjoyed the Cannery museum in Steveson, I came on this adventure for nature and the scenery. So I split from Bill and Mike this morning, and came 40 miles to Smugglers Cove. Not to worry, the three of us will join up again tomorrow, so I’ll get some down time tomorrow to explore the cove and some of the trails around the marine park here. After I pulled anchor, I noticed Mike was having trouble getting his anchor up. He does not have an anchor windless, so got his workout this morning. He was able to finally get the anchor up beside the boat and saw that it had snagged a 1” diameter steel cable. Cable was probably buried in mud. He was able to get his anchor freed from the cable, and let the cable drop back down. So any fellow boaters visiting False Creek, beware of the bottom if you anchor at the very end in the corner near Science World! The ride in the Strait of Georgia was pretty rough today. First hour was pretty good leaving False Creek. The next three or four hours, in 1 ½ to 2 foot choppy seas. Then the last two hours were relatively smoother, with just some light chop (waves less than a foot.) This is a beautiful cove with several basins. I anchored in the inner basin. There are four or five other boats here. Sail boats and some larger trawlers. The inner basin is more shallow, so for tonight, I have it to myself. There are stern ties along the shore; basically chains that are anchored in rock. That’s to keep the boats from swinging, as the cove and basins are small. I ran a long line thru one of the chain links, and secured both ends back at the stern of my boat. That’ll allow me to just pull the line through when I’m ready to leave, so I won’t have to untie it first. Somewhere I read the mosquitoes here are bad. As the sun set, that was not a lie… Before leaving Vancouver, I decided to top off my fuel, even though I had only burned 18 of my 100 gallons. Although, I think I added just shy of 20 gallons, if I did my conversion from Liters correctly. Doing all the math, the end result with exchange rates, I paid $6.75/g for non-ethanol. Not as bad as I thought it would be. But I expect it’ll be more in some of the more remote locations as we go north.En savoir plus
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Voyageur So pretty
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Voyageur Look at all the pretty trees around C-Traveler
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VoyageurI do love trees, lol!
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British Columbia Coast Voyageur
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Vancouver False Creek
29 avril, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Underway by 7:30a this morning. Turned off into the North Arm of the Fraser River to head west, back out to the Strait of Georgia. Nice ebb current behind us. Rounded University Hill Noon Breakfast Point, and entered Burrard Inlet to make our way into downtown Vancouver’s False Creek. Pretty much smooth sailing all the way. The North Arm was filled with log booms along the shore. And various tugs that work them. My favorite being the “bumper tugs”. I’ve seen video of them where they just kind of bounce around rolling to push the logs into position. Before turning off the main Fraser River channel, watched a couple tugs assisting a RORO (roll on roll off car freighter) get docked. Once we were anchored at the end of False Creek, Bill and Mike got their Kaboats down and went exploring. I eventually got my peddle Hobie kayak down, and peddled around the bay here. The three of us are anchored between Science World and the Rogers Arena.En savoir plus
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Voyageur That is a nice site
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Voyageur Nice capture of all 3 boats
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Voyageur Thanks Bill
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