After breakfast in town at Fisherman’s Daughter and one more quick trip to the Hoonah Trading Post, we departed Hoonah and headed deeper into Port Frederick toward Neka Bay. The sky was a bit gray but the water was calm, and we anchored and rafted in the North Bight of Neka Bay. Commercial crabbing season opened on June 15, so Neka Bay proper was jammed with crab pots like we’ve … Read more
With just nine miles to travel today, we didn’t rush off the dock at Warm Springs Bay. After a relaxed morning—more soaking in the hot springs, warm cinnamon rolls delivered to each boat, and more computer work—we headed north to Takatz Bay around 10:30 a.m. Chatham Strait was smooth once again, with a nice current boosting our speed. On the way into Takatz Bay Salish Spirit spotted a brown bear on shore. … Read more
We left the docks at Nanaimo just before 6:00 a.m. for the long cruise north to Campbell River (about 75nm). The forecast for the Strait of Georgia was quite good, so we figured we’d skip our planned stop in Comox and have a long (but hopefully calm) day on the Strait of Georgia. The downside to the calm conditions is smoke. Visibility was about one mile most of the day. … Read more
The day we left Victoria also happened to be the day of the 2018 Victoria Dragon Boat Festival in Victoria Harbour. The dragon boats began racing at 8:00 a.m. and would continue all day until about 4:30 p.m., so getting out of Causeway Floats between a race (every 11 minutes) took a little bit of planning with harbour security. We got instructions and an escort for part of the way … Read more
Airship and Safe Harbour left Baker Inlet around 6:00 a.m. in order to transit Watts Narrows at low slack. The current was still, and the bright growth visible along the rocky passage at low tide was a colorful addition. We decided to go all the way to Khutze Inlet (about 76nm). This would make it another long day, but we’d like to be available and nearby since it’s looking like … Read more
Yesterday morning we decided to check on a permit for Anan Wildlife Observatory since we’d be passing right by today. July 5 is the very first day of the high season and the first day each year that you need a permit to visit (read: there’s a good chance to see bears). Prior to July 5 and after August 25 you don’t need a permit. As I mentioned yesterday, we were … Read more
We left Takatz Bay this morning and headed back to Ell Cove so we could give the hatchery visit another shot. Conditions were gray with fog and light rain. We saw a couple of orcas just outside Takatz, which was nice. Here’s a really bad photo of one of them: We anchored in Ell Cove, dinghied over to Hidden Falls, and wandered around the hatchery grounds a little before we … Read more
This morning we had intended to walk into the village at Angoon, then take the dinghy back to Mitchell Bay during the afternoon slack. However, when we did a bit more research on the currents, we realized that Bridge Point had a reporting station, and that slack current this morning (turning to flood) was just 15 minutes from the time we were looking it up! So, instead of walking into … Read more