Main Line Power Squadron

This evening, Karen and I made a presentation to the Main Line Power Squadron on our experiences cruising the Inside Passage. We had a great time. The members are warm and welcoming and seemed to enjoy seeing cruising grounds that none of them had yet experienced. Thanks again to Commander Susan Friedrichs and the members for their hospitality and kind words. You can check out this great group of mariners here.  To view the resource information pages from last night’s presentation click here.

Muirhead Islands to England Point Cove

Up at eight...and we are greeted by overcast skies, mist and fog. The run of good weather was over, at least for the day. As is often the case, the timing of today’s travels will be dictated by the tides. The entrance to Actaeon Sound is guarded by Snake Passage and high slack tide at Snake was not until 11:30am. Of course this was no problem, given our predilection to sleep in and spend the morning lounging around. It’s our vacation after all.

The anchor came up clean to Karen’s delight (she is the anchor wench, after all). We had a great set to the anchor the day before, and that often means the anchor comes up filled with mud. But with a clean anchor aboard, we departed our peaceful anchorage for our next adventure.

Snake Passage is well charted with kelp that helps mark the dangers. At high slack it was an uneventful pass. Of course, at high slack this narrow fairway looks much wider, with all the dangers lurking below the water.

Behind Snake Pass, the Sound opens up. Its so peaceful and pretty, almost like a wide tree-lined river.

As we motored up the sound, we stopped at the entrance to Bond Lagoon and pointed our nose into the entrance to scope it out. The entrance looks as if the fairway is good but we did not have enough water under the keel to make the passage into the lagoon. We will save this lagoon for another visit.

We snooped at Creasy Bay and saw the logging camp on the Venturi Logger barge, complete with a small helicopter. Behind that is a derelict barge that looks a lot shabbier than pictured in Hamilton's Secret Coast!

Have Logging Camp Will Travel

We passed our planned anchorage at England Point Cove and continued on to explore the entrance to Tsibass Lagoon. It must have been perfect slack, as there was no strong ebb to be seen. But you can tell this entrance is very narrow and not for Arctic Star. If we had a high speed dinghy, we'd definitely have gone in to explore.

On our way back to England Point, we took a look at Gleyka Cove, which seems have an abandoned logging camp and is marked with tons of floating logs that had numerous seals hauled out on them. Predictably, Karen, the critter chaser, directed the helm to change course and go visit the local mammals. They had such soulful faces, and were in a rainbow of seal colors: grey ones, brown ones, Dalmatian colored ones and brown spotted ones.

After the Loggers Leave, the Seals Take Over

We decided to anchor in England Point Cove, a highly recommended anchorage by the Hamilton's and by us! It's a lovely one boat (to us) anchorage. There are great views out a couple of directions and the prime anchor spot is easy to pick out. We set the anchor easily in the grey and misty skies.

We later took the dinghy back to Gleyka Cove, because the Hamiltons said you can walk along the North Creek to some abandoned trucks and stuff from the old logging days. We landed North of the creek with no issue and tied the dinghy off to a tree. Tall grass obscured holes and unsure footing was the name of the day as we followed a bear path (complete with fresh scat) to the rocky creek. Taking a look at the creek and the underbrush, we knew this wasn't going to work as a fun and easy walk.

Entrance to the Creek

There Be Bear Here!!

So we retrieved the dinghy and decided to dock at the logging camp and explore the logging roads. One the way there, we almost ran over a long, just-submerged fresh water line that ran from shore to the camp. Gotta be ever vigilant! At first glance, it just seemed like a long piece of kelp.

Docked at the camp, there was a rickety ramp to shore. It had a "leaning tower of Pisa" characteristic, and Karen was very skeptical because it was so askew and steep. Bob walked it with no issues and no fear, and so Karen grumblingly followed. The house at the top of the ramp was abandoned, with just a blue hard hat sitting on a log as a reminder of days gone by. We walked around and explored the log sluice that channeled logs down towards the holding pen where the seals were hauled out.

Home Sweet Home for the Loggers that used to work at Gleyka Cove

Of course Bob had to go first to check it out. It was a lot more stable than it looks.

I Wonder How Many Hours were Spent in that Chair

Someone Put a Flag on the Islet that Marks the Entrance to England Point Cove

We took the dinghy over to see our seal friends one more time before returning to the boat for a feast of marinated grilled pork and maple glazed carrots.

Davis Bay to Muirhead Islands

A bright light awoke us. What was that? OMG, it was the sun! The morning was crystal clear and calm. We had spent a peaceful night; no wind, no waves, no current to speak of. Davis Bay is a great spot, ample of room, good holding and beautiful views in all directions.

Davis Bay Anchorage Panorama

Karen continues to insist that the drying beach to the northeast is a perfect “bear beach”. It would be except there appears to be no bear here. That did not deter Karen from posting a lookout on the stern and enjoying a quiet morning reading what must be her 19th book of this trip.

Karen Splits Her Time Between Reading and Watching the "Bear Beach"

We took it easy this morning as we attempted to chill down from our mechanical adventures and transition to vacation mood. Therefore, it was not until one o’clock when we lifted the anchor for a short cruise to the other end of Drury Inlet and the Muirhead Islands.

The last time we visited the Muirhead Islands we stern tied on the south side. This time, we planned to anchor in the one-boat anchorage in the bay on the north side. We had explored this anchorage last time in the dinghy and liked it because we could anchor without a stern tie and have the place to ourselves.

A Beautiful Cruise Over to the Muirhead Islands

Shortly after we anchored, a Nauticat sailboat anchored in the south bay where we had been last year, so we were happy we chose the northern spot. After dropping anchor and enjoying the vistas on all sides, we launched the dinghy and explored the western end of Drury. The logging operation at the Western end appears to be shutting down with most of the equipment gone expect for the M/V Sir James Douglass, an old Coast Guard boat that was used as a base of operations. We later learned that a new logging camp was starting up in adjacent Actaeon Sound.

Karen Takes the Bow Watch for the Dinghy Expedition

As we were heading back from checking out the logging "leftovers", we ran into Tom from the Nauticat. He was out in his dinghy trying to find a spot where his cell phone would work. He and his wife Sharon, who remained on the Nauticat, have an invalid mother at home and he was trying to check in to confirm that all was OK. I offered to lend him our satellite phone so he could make contact. He was very grateful and said he would row over later to Arctic Star to take advantage of our offer. 

We continued our explorations by checking out the lower end of Actress Passage, the entrance to Actaeon Sound. We wanted to preview because tomorrow our plan is to transit Actress Passage and enter the sound for "off the grid" exploring and secure an overnight anchorage. It all looked straightforward, though we didn't go as far north as Snake Pass in the dinghy. We were confident the next day would be fun and well within our skill set.

Not long after we had the dinghy stowed, Tom appeared on our stern in his dinghy. We invited him aboard and gave him the satellite phone and a short briefing on its operation. Good news: all was well at home. We offered Tom a beer and settled into some boat talk (I have been a fan of the Nauticat ever since I saw one at the Annapolis Boat Show twenty years ago) and exchanged information about good anchorages. He lives in Qualicum and also sails in Mexico, so he had wonderful stories to tell.

Bob's special meatloaf and roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary were on the menu. We had another lovely clear night and a good night's sleep.

Many folks pass by anchoring in the Muirheads and continue on to large Sutherland Bay. We love the Muirheads, it's a kayaker's dream (and great for exploring by dinghy, too) and has very remote feeling. Give it a try if you haven't done so yet!

Arctic Star Enjoys a Peaceful Anchorage in the Muirhead Islands

Port McNeill to Davis Bay

We were up early -- and more sun!! We had time to kill before the Lugger parts would arrive in Port Hardy, so we explored Beaver Harbour and Storey Beach by car. The anchorage, written up by Dreamspeaker and Hamilton & Hamilton, definitely looked good and a nice alternative to Port Hardy. We also visited Hardy Buoys, a provider of smoked fish. We bought candy smoked Salmon bellies, which we later found were the most amazingly delicious smoked salmon ever.  We also did a little more provisioning at our favorite grocery store in the area, Overwaitea.

Somehow this Paint Scheme Does Not Add to the Nautical Flair of This Boat

An Interesting Solution to Securing a Line to the Dock

The parts were in on time and we called Graham, arranging to meet at the boat as soon as possible. The new breaker from Lugger also didn't quite fit, but Graham made it work and left us the one that arrived by bus as a spare.

Port McNeill

We cast off of the docks at Port McNeil at 3:47pm. According to Karen the EXACT time we cast off last year! “Déjà vu all over again”, to quote the renowned New York Yankee’s philosopher, Yogi Bera.

Our crossing of Queen Charlotte Strait was the antithesis of our experience a few days ago heading back to Port McNeill. Light winds, calm seas, and one of the clearest skies we have ever seen in the Pacific Northwest.

Under Way at Last!

Beautiful Day on the Strait

Deciding to bag any shot at the Nakwakto, we headed for another favorite, Drury Inlet. We used our Nobeltec navigation system to time our arrival at Welde Rock and the Stuart Narrows. Based on our predicted arrival at the narrows, I fine tuned our speed across the ground (SOG) in order to arrive at slack, in this case high slack.

Once inside Drury Inlet, the biggest problem we faced was the sun. We were traveling due west into a setting sun. This made the watch for logs (of which there were many) a challenge. I would adjust our course so that I would keep the sun and the reflection of the sun on the water hidden behind one of the vertical posts of the forward windows.

The good news is that as we turned east to go into Davis Bay, the sun was at our back, making it easy to navigate the somewhat narrow entrance. We favored the North side of the channel, as all who have written about this anchorage advise. Once inside, the bay opens up and you can drop in anchor in the middle of the bay with lots of room to swing.

We were totally alone, and loved this anchorage just as much as we did last year. It's lovely and peaceful. The night was as calm as the day and the skies crystal clear. About an hour after sunset we turned off all our lights, waited for our eyes to acclimate and then moved to the bow to be awestruck by the night sky.

The Milky Way extended from horizon to horizon and starry constellations were too numerous to identify them all. The stars lit up our spirits in a way no other natural wonder can. A sigh of happiness - we were back on vacation!

Port McNeill

The part for the generator is not scheduled to arrive until the 3:30pm bus. So this morning’s project is to see if we can get any kind of depth reading at the lower helm station while we're waiting. It's not much fun (or prudent) to cruise the Pacific Northwest without a depth indicator in the nice and toasty warm pilothouse. As I had tried all the obvious troubleshooting steps to no avail, it was time to bring in the experts. Luckily, Stryker Marine is located in Port Hardy, only a half hour north of our location. Again, Steve Jackman came to the rescue and arranged with Stryker to have a technician come to the boat.

At the appointed time, Paul arrived. I briefed him on the steps I had taken and then opened all the access panels to the electronics so he would have a clear shot at accomplishing his diagnostics. The conclusion was that either the Raymarine depth transducer or the sounder module had gone on vacation and a field repair was not a practical option. Next is where Paul’s talents really shined.

We had an operating depth sounder on the bridge, a newly installed Furuno unit. Paul concluded that we could tap into the output side of that unit and bring a signal down to the lower helm. He did not have the needed cable to hook up to the Raymanine plotter, but he did have what it would take to bring the signal to the laptop that was running Nobeltec. On that screen we would display the depth information sent from the Furuno unit. No more jerry rigging power supply so Bob's laptop could help us navigate with good charts from the flybridge!

Paul set to work, snaking this slender frame under the flybrige helm, connecting the “white and blue” wire to a serial cable he had with him. From there we feed the cable into the open bays behind the lower helm's eyebrow panels were a number of electronic instruments live. Next, we connected a serial to a USB cord and existing the finger hole for the eyebrow hatch, dropped the USB cord direct to the laptop.

Paul Sorts out the Electronic Spaghetti

So far so good, but we need to install a number of drivers so the laptop would recognize the signal from the Furuno. As fate would have it, the laptop on board would not allow us access at the administration level, which is what you need to install a new driver. Therefore, we installed the drivers on my laptop, which is also running Nobeltec and sure enough, up came our depth on the Nobeltec screen. An added bonus: water temperature.

Paul left me to complete the install on the boat’s computer once I secured the administrator’s password from Northwest Explorations. After a few hours of detective work, Brian from Northwest called with the codes and I was able to configure Arctic Star’s laptop to display the depth and water temperature. The only way you would know there had been a change to the boat was the cable that hung from the eyebrow to the laptop. This was a small aesthetic price to pay in order to display the critical depth under the keel.

A note on Port McNeill; they are in the process on extending the south breakwater 300 feet. Scheduled to be complete in mid-October, this extension should provide additional protection from winter storms and also reduce the occasion swell that sneaks into the harbour from the ferry or other passing large vessels and storms.

The New Extension to the Breakwater at Port McNeill

We spent the afternoon waiting for Graham to arrive after we picked up the new circuit breaker at the bus station. Boy does time drag when you're stuck in port waiting for a repair. Having already spent a great deal of time in Port McNeill, we struggled to entertain ourselves knowing that our vacation was slipping away.

To pass the time, we ran a bunch of errands while griping that we were stuck in port on what was an amazingly sunny day. The best "find" was the A Frame Church Bookstore. All the books it has are for sale for just $1 (hardback or paperback), and the shelves are full. Karen was in heaven!

Karen Maintains a Lookout for Graham and the New Parts

Grahan finally did arrive in the late afternoon, circuit breaker in hand. Back down into the engine room crawled Graham, uttering a few choice words for the engine room designer who had little appreciation of what it is like to work on a boat after it is built.

The breaker was not a perfect fit when it came to the mounting studs, but given that the amperage was correct, Graham proceeded to wire it up so we could determine the exact cause of the generator's problem. Once everything was in place, I fired up the generator and turned the AC selector switch to GENERATOR. Yeah! We had power, 125 volts of AC power. We continued to add load to the generator by turning on every AC device we could think of and it handled it all without missing a beat.

The Replacement Breaker Taped in Place for Its First Test

Based on our testing, Graham proclaimed that the only problem was the circuit breaker itself and this one would work if we could not get anything else.

However, he strongly recommended we wait until Friday, when Lugger's care package was to arrive at Port Hardy via plane. Sadly reconciled to spending another unplanned night at Port McNeill we ran into Captain Dave and his crew, who invited us to go bear hunting with them at sunset, using their dinghy. It was so great to be back on the water, and the best part was that we saw two black bears foraging on the beaches not far south of Port McNeill.

Foraging at Low Tide in the Port McNeill Suburbs

We also saw a lovely Crewed Charter Yacht, Northern Song, come into Port McNeill late in the day, and spent some time chatting with Captain Mike Miles and his wife/chef, Caroline. It was almost 9pm by the time we headed to Sportsman's for pizza and beer.