Pruth Bay to Kittyhawk Group

It was a slow morning. I did not get out of bed until 8am and we did not depart until 11am. But that’s OK, we’re on vacation, and today is a short travel day. Our plan is to anchor in Lewall Inlet, only 8 miles away across Hakai Pass. And hanging out in Pruth Bay longer allowed use to use their free wi-fi to update our blog.

As we were pulling up our 200 feet of anchor rode, the chain started to foul in the hawsepipe as it entered the chain locker when we had about 15 feet or so left to pull in. Sometimes you can prevent this by paying out some chain and then bringing it back in. Not this morning. So down to the chain locker I went to un-pile the chain and re-flake it on board so there was no fouling. This requires laying prone on the forward V-berth and using gloved hands to wrestle the anchor chain. Karen remained at the helm, ensuring we did not drift anywhere undesirable. Problem fixed, we started to head out.

View of the Institute from Pruth Bay

We went slowly, only 4.7 knots to enjoy the reduced sound levels. It was a beautiful morning with high clouds, and light and variable winds. We saw our friends on Island Mist fishing in Hakai Pass when we entered. We headed across this often swelly pass with minimal swells to speak of. After passing the Breaker Group (aptly named islands), when then took the narrow southern entrance into Edward Channel. When we arrived at Lewall Inlet, it did not offer any great kayak opportunities or inspire us to stay (otherwise it was a fine anchorage with lots of protection from most winds), so we left this anchorage and made our way out Nalau Passage and set a course to the Kittyhawk Group.

The Kityhawk Group is a rag-tag bunch of little island and islets. Not many anchorages, but lots of good exploring either by dinghy or kayak. We found a spot in the northwest that should give us good protection from the forecast SE winds. The group as a whole is littered with debris on its shores, the results of the pacific storms that roll in through here. As a result, there is some floating junk that you need to dodge. There is also a fair amount of kelp, but at low tide (when we entered) the kelp “edges” help make the fair channel visible. We found a 33 foot ledge in the large bay and set the anchor there. The bottom must be very rocky, because as we spun around in the variable winds, we were treated to the growling of the anchor chain being pulled over the bottom.

Karen took her Nook and went up to the flybridge to read and enjoy the view, protected from wind by the canvas enclosure. I stayed down in the salon and worked on pictures. It was a nice afternoon, and the sun actually came out for a while, though the winds remained fairly active (as did the anchor chain noise).  Tonight’s meal was cheeseburgers on the grill with brown sugar glazed baked sweet potatoes, chased by a nice beer. By this time, the wind was calm, though we knew it was forecast to change to the SE 10-20. We watched some Satellite TV and saw the trail of destruction the tornadoes had left in Joplin, truly a disaster for those folks. The pictures were sobering.

At 9:30, we listened to a weather update that forecast lighter SE winds overnight and headed off to bed, confident our anchor was well set.