Day 6 | Flotilla to Alaska | Port Harvey to Pierre’s Echo Bay

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The Broughtons are a world-class cruising destination. Hundreds of islets and islands, snowcapped mountains, and protected water, combined with a half dozen mom-and-pop marinas, each with their own charms. We’re rushing through, providing flotilla participants a taste so they can choose where to go on the way home. Today’s route took us through the Broughtons. We navigated Chatham Channel near slack current, then headed out Knight Inlet towards Queen Charlotte … Read more

Day 5 | Flotilla to Alaska | Shoal Bay to Port Harvey, BC

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We woke up this morning to reports of blustery winds on Johnstone Strait: 16-18 knots from the northwest, right on the bow. Conditions were borderline for the go-no go decision, so we punted. We’d continue towards Port Harvey as scheduled, but if we didn’t like what we were experiencing, we’d duck out and anchor for the night. Right off the bat, we had lots of current pushing us along. Greene Point Rapids … Read more

Day 4 | Flotilla to Alaska | Squirrel Cove to Shoal Bay, BC

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We’d planned to be up early to arrive at the rapids (Yuculta, Gillard, and Dent) in time to hit Dent at the morning slack (because Dent is the most hazardous). That would have required us to leave at about 6:30 a.m. But the morning looked windier than the afternoon. And we like to sleep in if we can. It didn’t take long to convince ourselves and our group that the … Read more

Day 3 | Flotilla to Alaska | Pender Harbour to Squirrel Cove, BC

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Cruising on a boat is fundamentally a big, complex, real-life puzzle. We’re balancing weather challenges, mechanical issues, the need for shoreside supplies, time on shore vs. time at anchor or underway, and so much more. It’s important to keep a flexible schedule (which is more difficult the more boats there are) yet deliver a reasonable level of certainty to flotilla participants. Today’s weather forecast created quite the challenge. The Environment Canada … Read more

Day 2 | Flotilla to Alaska | Silva Bay to Pender Harbour, BC

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We awoke in Silva Bay this morning to coffee, pastries, and fruit provided by the folks at Silva Bay Resort and Marina. They were completely full (turning away many boaters) for the Victoria Day holiday weekend, yet still found the time to deliver fantastic service and hospitality. Thank you! The Strait of Georgia is one of the significant gates of the Inside Passage. Thankfully, we had an ideal weather forecast. Environment … Read more

Day 1 | Flotilla to Alaska | Roche Harbor to Silva Bay

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Underway at last! In the past, we’ve taken groups through the Gulf Islands in a couple of nights. This year, we’re spending just one night in the Gulf Islands. It’s not that there’s nothing to see—there are tons of neat communities, anchorages, and marinas—but there’s only so much time. Over the next month, we’ll cover about 1000 nautical miles. Everyone on this trip has already spent time in the Gulf Islands, so … Read more

Slipless in Seattle: Full-Time Cruising on Puget Sound

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Since buying Safe Harbour three and a half years ago, I’ve been fortunate to spend each summer cruising British Columbia and Alaska. As spring rolled around I’d let the marina know that May would be my last month. And each fall I returned and lived aboard through the winter, spending most of my time at the dock. This winter was different. Unlike my previous job, working on Slowboat doesn’t mean … Read more

Airship | Boat Projects and Island Hopping

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We’ve been in the San Juans for just over a week now as we work to get Airship ready to head to Alaska next month. We’ve been gathering spares and checking things off our Boat – To Do list, but we got enough done and the wind finally settled down so we headed out to Sucia Island for a night in Shallow Bay on Monday night. Aerial photo from Kevin’s Mavic: We met up … Read more