Newcombe Harbour to Captain Cove

Even though Captain Cove was just another 12 miles up Principe/Petrel, we decided to make the move so that tomorrow’s slog to Prince Rupert would be shorter. We have decided that we don’t like long mileage days when we can avoid them, so this repositioning made sense to us. We were also excited because the Nobeltec chart made it look like there might be a channel through the mudflats to a river that we could kayak at high tide.

Another example of the local signage you find in this area

It was an uneventful trip, though again I had to dodge lots of logs and debris while at the helm. We went into the Cove, saw that the river really didn’t exist as per the chart, and so we took the very protected spot behind the islets. It was pretty, and there were eagles around to watch.

Rainy days make you look for pictures in the smallest details. Here the rain brings the surface of the fender and its stainless steel holder come alive.

Wake ripples created on an absolutely calm water surface

Dinner was Thai peanut chicken, jasmine rice and cookies! We are ready for Prince Rupert – and to get our land legs back!

Princess Diana Cove, Patterson Inlet to Newcombe Harbour

Last night we were all alone at anchor again, and we were feeling a bit disconnected from the world. We had seen that the Canadian Coast Guard Vessel “Tanu” had been anchored in Anger Anchorage, not too far north of Patterson Inlet. We were hoping that she would still be there when we went by this morning, but no joy.  We suspect she anchored there to watch the last game of the Stanley Cup, and then motored off into the distance once the Vancouver Canucks lost!

We had a fast trip up to Newcombe, and I was at the helm, enjoying some smoking fast currents and dodging lots and lots of logs and drift in the channel.

Some of the flotsam that drifts by the boat is beautiful

Newcombe is a large anchorage, with some mudflats, but nothing as spectacular as Khutze or Culpepper Lagoon. Again, we weren’t terribly inspired to do much exploring. I had chosen this route to Price Rupert in lieu of Grenville Channel (aka, the “Ditch), thinking it would be prettier or more “extreme”.  Now I wonder if I made the right decision?

These two photos show the dramatic changes in the tides and what lies just beneath the surface

The rocks and the extensive mud flats reveal themselves at low tide

Dinner was more Pizza, with more Comedy Channel laughs and a few episodes of The Good Wife. A pleasant day.

Monckton Inlet to Princess Diana Cove, Patterson Inlet

The weather was somewhat improved, so we took off for our next destination in some wind and clouds. We had a nice ride up to Princess Diana Cove, which wasn’t very far away.  I had wanted to go into Buchan Inlet, but the Douglass book was vague about it and I had found little on the internet about it from other boats. There’s a very narrow section and some tight turns that would be tricky…and we didn’t feel much like being tricky today.

Some local signage, just in case you were wondering what inlet you're entering

Patterson Inlet also has a long and pretty entrance to the North Arm, which is informally called

Princess Diana Cove.  We anchored in 50’ of water again. Saw lots of gulls and some eagles. I would say that it wasn’t particularly inspiring in terms of dinghy exploration or kayaking. Perhaps we are just feeling a bit boat bound today.

We had grilled pork and sweet potatoes for dinner and then got some laughs watching Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the Comedy Channel.

Monckton Inlet

I was up early – to find the promised rain and low clouds. I worked on updating our logbook while I waited for Bob to arise. We decided we were running ahead of our planned schedule, so we’d take a lazy day and spend it in Monckton.  We really did absolutely nothing!

We watched two movies, A Different Loyalty (with DiCaprio and Crowe), and Rumor Has It, which was kind of funny. We were lucky the owner of Alaskan Dream had a good DVD selection to keep us entertained.

Dinner was Bob’s excellent homemade pizza and some wine. It was a great day to just stay warm, look out at the rain, and relax.

Hawk Bay to Monckton Inlet

We woke to fog and low visibility. We couldn’t even really see out from the anchorage into the channel. We didn’t have that far to go today, and despite the fact that the forecast was for increasing winds, we decided to hunker down for a while and see if the weather and visibility improved any.

Somehow those lazy mornings get away from you!  We had decided we were going to leave about 2pm to catch the most favorable currents, and so we watched the movie Ronin (with Robert De Niro and Jean Reno, from 1998)to pass the time.  Just as we were leaving, the Nordhavn Feisty Lady came into the anchorage.  We gave him a call on the radio to let him know we were leaving, so that he could drop his hook close to us and get the best spot.

Visibility was somewhat improved, but as soon as we stuck our nose out of Hawk Bay we kind of realized how Squally Channel got its name. The wind and waves were on the beam, so we modified our course more towards Campania Island to get a more comfortable ride. Definitely a hand-steer passage rather than autopilot! The 49 is a solid boat, though, and between the stabilizers and the weight of the boat, the ride wasn’t uncomfortable. Visibility was up and down, and as the visibility cleared, we could see signs that a front was passing. Once we turned up into Otter Passage and then Principe Channel, the wind and waves were more on the stern, and we surfed our way up to Monckton Inlet, which is near the south tip of Pitt Island. We kept a sharp eye out for whales, but were skunked. We did see the Norwegian Pearl pass by well ahead of us.  Visibility continued to be inconsistent. Principe Channel is 4 miles wide at the south end, and Banks Island (4 miles across the Channel) was often totally obscured during our trip.

There is a long entrance into Monckton Inlet, but it also provides protection from the weather. We took the anchorage behind Roy Island, a nice flat-bottomed bay with some interesting islets to look at. We got the anchor firmly set in 50’ of water, and spent the evening all alone in the anchorage, watching the boat dance around due to the winds.  Two episodes of The Good Wife, and a great time was had by all. Forecast for tomorrow? Rain.