We have a big day ahead of us this morning. We’ll be heading to Shearwater to do our provisioning and fueling, and getting rid of our trash. When we leave Shearwater we won’t be in civilization again until Prince Rupert, some time after the first of August. So, we were up at 0600 hrs, hoping to be first in line for the fresh produce that arrived this morning.

When we got to the dock in Shearwater, we were told that the grocery store wouldn’t open until 1300 hrs, because they were still unloading freight. Oh, well. Al went to check out the marine hardware store, while I worked on my photos, and before we knew it, it was time to head back to the grocery store.

The produce was very disappointing. They didn’t even have bananas! They did have fresh dairy items and eggs, and I managed to find a good pineapple, mangoes, apples, plums, honeydews, blue berries, zucchini, carrots, fresh asparagus, green beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, yams, potatoes, onions and mushrooms, so we won’t starve.

As soon as we were fueled up, we headed for Discovery Cove, in Troup Narrows, just a short run from Shearwater. The wind had come up a bit, but we managed to get into protected waters before it got nasty. Al fixed us a delicious ribeye steak dinner that was to die for.

Hard as it was to leave, if we wanted to be in time for the arrival of fresh produce at Shearwater, we had to head for Kakushdish, So, I did our laundry, Al filled the water tank with sweet Ocean Falls water, and we were underway for Kakushdish at first light.

There were no boats in the anchorage when we arrived. After the hustle and bustle of Ocean Falls, the quietude was music to our ears.

We’re having a heatwave, with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s everyday. I have no choice but to get up as early as possible, so that I can get my paddling in before the sun has a chance to heat things up. I have to dress for the water temperature, which is in the 50’s. So, by the time I get a couple of hours in, I am soaked from the inside out. But, the early morning light is lovely.

I’ve always wanted to be able to see what was behind the point where we usually anchor in Kakushdish, where the Sandhill Cranes always seem to hide. So, that was the first place headed. I was not disappointed. There, like he was waiting for me, was a beautiful specimen. I was sure he would take flight right away, but he tolerated me long enough for me to get these shots.

And then, he showed me his back side and headed for the seclusion of the tall grass.

The red throated loons and mergansers were very wary this year.

One day, I was so jazzed I paddled all the way out to the entrance to Kakushdish. I was gone almost 3 hours. Al was about to come looking for me. The scenery was extraordinary.

I thought these comfy looking rocks looked just like theater seats.



When I got to the river I’ve always wanted to explore, I came across another Sand Hill Crane.

I started paddling back to the boat one day, after finding nothing to shoot but a crow.

It was a bit disappointing. I was hoping for something a little more interesting, when an immature eagle flew overhead and landed in a nearby tree. I was only able to get one shot before he took flight again, but it was a dandy.

On our last evening we were gifted with this lovely sunset.

“What’s new at Ocean Falls?”, I asked Normally Normal Norman Brown, the Ocean Falls Port Authority roustabout. “Well, we had a heck of a wind storm. Wind blew over 75 mph. Lifted the corner of the roof off The Shack. It blew the covered lookout bench right over the cliff. Then, there was the landslide that came roaring down the mountain — boulders as big as cars came tumbling down, clear across the road and into the water. (This was just 30 yards from the marina!) They had to bring in big earth moving equipment to clear the road. There was rumbling for 5 minutes before you could see the huge boulders and trees headed for the water.” Never a dull moment in Ocean Falls.

Almost every day was warm and sunny for us. Unfortunately, I spent a lot of those days working on my blog. I could not believe how much improved the WiFi is this year. When I asked Herb, the Harbourmaster, if they’d made any changes to the WiFi, he said, “Yeah, we threw money at it.” Well, the “money” amounted to $25 a month more for about a 500% improvement. Money well spent, I’d say.

I also learned that Pacific Coastal Airline no longer offers scheduled passenger service to Ocean Falls. The only thing they fly in is the mail and charter passengers.

And, the big passenger ferry that used to call at Ocean Falls twice a week has been replaced with a small ferry 6 days a week.

I spent my early mornings paddling along the shoreline between the dam and Martin Valley, looking for photo ops.

 

 

 

I was studying the bright colors on some rocks, when I realized I was looking at the run-off from the long-ago remains of a pickup truck peeking through the trees.

Halibut fishing was outstanding. The fish cleaning station on the dock was a busy place.

Unfortunately, Al wasn’t interested in halibut fishing. What he was interested in was crabbing. I took these shots from my kayak one morning when Al was picking up his trap.

This seal followed the trap up and was hoping Al would toss him the fish he’d used for bait. He was persistent, getting within about 5 feet of my kayak. Seals can be pretty intimidating when they’re after food.

I did manage to get in one walk to Link Lake. The wildflowers were in full bloom.

The blackberries were full of blooms also.

And, the bees were imbibing in their nectar.

The butterflies were getting their share also.

We had a little bit of excitement one day when the Police Boat tied up at the dock. One of the policeman was carrying a couple of rifles. I thought they might be here to take care of a troublesome bear, but that was not the case. And, we never did find out what their business was. An unsolved mystery, but great photo op.

For the first time ever, we had a hummingbird come to our feeder in Ocean Falls. Hooray!

Al had me up at 0430 hrs this morning, hoping to get to Ocean Falls before the wind comes up. I have to admit that it was worth it, because we had perfect traveling conditions, making it an easy 3-hour run.

There was plenty of room at the Ocean Falls dock, so we tied up on the end, closest to the WiFi antenna. I have a lot of postings to upload for my blog, and this is my last chance before we get to Prince Rupert.

The Ocean Falls Mermaid greeted us as we arrived.

The Orca Chief that services the Ocean Falls Hatchery had followed us all the way.

 

Early morning light seems best for most photographs……unfortunately. And, lower low tide is around 0600 hrs today. Which means, I’m going to have to drag myself out of my nice warm bed at the crack of dawn, if I want any decent photos. So, I threw back the covers and got with the program.  I hope you enjoy these shots.

     

 

When Al picked up his prawn trap today he had 147 shrimp, which made delicious shrimp cocktails. And, he had 4 nice Dungeness crabs in his crab trap. We won’t go hungry.

We got up at a reasonable hour this morning, since we only had 6.7 miles to go to make Codville Lagoon, our next destination. However, we didn’t dilly dally either, since we wanted to get there before the wind came up, unlike our trip up from Kwakume. So, by 0800 hrs, we were underway, with flat seas and good visibility, and in less than an hour we were pulling into Codville. We could see one boat, anchored at the north end of the outer anchorage. We anchored in our usual spot at the south end of the outer anchorage.

One thing that dismayed us a bit were all the commercial prawn traps. They were everywhere! The crew on Miss Molly, who we had seen in Kisameet, showed up shortly after we arrived, and spent most of the day working the traps. All the traps they pulled near our boat were completely empty. At the end of the day, they picked up everything and left. I guess they figure they finally got every last prawn in Codville Lagoon.

An eagle in a nearby tree was watching the whole operation.

Larry, Bernadette, and their water spaniel, Chester, came by the boat this afternoon for a short visit. They’re anchored in the north anchorage.   As we chatted, Chester, had his neck stretched waaaaay out over the water, looking intently at something. He appeared to be in a trance.  Bernadette explained that Chester, like his mother, is a fisher dog . If he spots a fish, he’ll go right in after it.  I’d never heard of dogs fishing before. Who knew? But, then again, I know that wolves fish for salmon, so I guess it isn’t all that strange after all.  Larry and Bernadette are headed for Shearwater tomorrow, and then to Rivers Inlet to pick up their three-year old grandchild, who will spend a couple of weeks cruising with them. They had just pulled their prawn trap. They didn’t get any prawns, but did get enough shrimp for a couple of tasty cocktails.  We really enjoyed the little bit of time we spent with Larry and Bernadette swapping sea stories and sharing information.  Al picked up a very valuable tip from Larry on how to easily dispatch a crab by stabbing it just ahead of the little tab that distinguishes between a male or female crab. That way you don’t have to deal with it trying to pinch you with those vicious claws.   Hope to run into Larry and Bernadette again sometime.  They come up here every year,also, so there’s a good chance our paths will cross again.

This morning the sea was like glass — perfect for kayaking. I paddled around all the little islets in the anchorage, and down to the south entrance to the bay. I looked at my watch and found I’d only been paddling for an hour. With plenty of time to spare and the sea so benign, I was lured out into Fitz Hugh Sound. I paddled and paddled, hugging the shoreline, looking for the north entrance to the anchorage. The current was running pretty strong against me, so it was pretty slow going. I came to point after point, but no opening. I didn’t think I’d paddled that far south before heading out into Fitz Hugh.  But, I had been paddling with the current on the way south. Now, I was bucking it. It makes a big difference. On I went, my glasses fogging from my heavy breathing. Then, I saw the yellow fishing boundary triangle at the north entrance to the bay. I’d made it, finally. I headed in and soon caught sight of Jubilación. She never looked better.

                                           

A commercial prawner, named Miss Molly, came in to anchor for the night. I noticed he set a crab trap nearby. I guess he wants crab for dinner.

It’s raining pretty hard when we leave this morning, headed for Kisameet Bay, just 16.6 miles up the coast. Larry left just ahead of us, but his cruising speed is 5 knots, so it wasn’t long before we overtook him.     The seas are not to our liking, but tolerable. However, off Warrior Cove,  the seas started getting progressively uglier, taking spray over the bow …. there go the sparkling clean windows. But, we took comfort in knowing that we only had about an hour-and-a-half left to go.   There were no good anchorages nearby, so we slogged onward toward Kisameet.

Once inside Kisameet Bay, the seas flattened right out.  There were a couple of boats already anchored by the creek, but our usual anchoring spot in the lee of one of the islets was still open. Larry finally arrived about 45 minutes behind us.

                                  

                                                                     

I got up early the first morning, anxious to go exploring in my kayak. I’d always wanted to poke around inside the two lagoons on the north and south ends of the inlet. The north lagoon wasn’t too interesting, but the south lagoon was really beautiful. There are several separate cozy little coves, rather than one open lagoon. Any one of these little coves would be a beautiful spot to anchor, if it were not for the fact that the entrance to all of them is extremely shallow.

     

While paddling in the south lagoon, I spotted this robin, scurrying all over the rocks exposed at low tide, finding various gastronomical delights. Robins don’t set still for long, so getting a decent shot was challenging to say the least. I had to maneuver my kayak into position, while dealing with a fairly strong current, get my camera out from the protection of my jacket, get the lens cap off, turn it on, and then hope the robin was still there. Very frustrating!

There were a pair of loons that hung out in the anchorage also. Unfortunately, they were very wary, never venturing too close to the boat.

The scotters were even harder to capture.

The second day, a sailboat, named Airloom, anchored nearby.

We watched as the couple set their crab trap and went out fishing. A little later in the day, the sailboat’s owner, Larry, came over and gave us three crabs, all cleaned and ready to cook! The next day, Larry and his wife, Bernadette, came by after fishing and gave us three rock fish. Now, that’s neighborly.

Larry’s dog, Chester, goes with them everywhere. I can’t imagine trying to land a fish with a very curious dog aboard. You’ve got to love him though, with a face like this.

Almost makes you want to get a dog……..almost.

I was convinced that it would be too foggy for us to leave this morning.  But, once again, I was wrong.  Although I could see a layer of fog out in the Strait, it was clear in Port McNeill. So, I reluctantly rolled out of bed at 0430 hrs, fearful of what the day might bring.

The wind was light as we headed out into the Strait. I could see the fog hugging the mainland and hoped it would stay there. Al figured we could get at least as far as Blunden Harbour. Blunden Harbour, however, is on the mainland, where the fog was hanging out. So, I suggested trying to make Miles Inlet, farther north on the mainland, where there was no fog, for now anyway. Al said we’d head for Blunden, and if the wind didn’t come up any stronger, we’d adjust our course for Miles Inlet. Thankfully, the wind just got lighter and lighter. Pretty soon, we were changing course for Miles Inlet, with the possibility of maybe making it all the way around the dreaded Cape Caution.

There was a lot of commercial traffic in the Strait this morning, and we had a tug towing a barge headed right for us.  So, Al dialed in Vessel Traffic on the VHF, checked the AIS for the tug’s vessel name, and called the tug to ask if we’d be a problem for him on our current heading. He asked our speed, and then said if we continued on our current heading and speed it shouldn’t be a problem for him to pass just behind us. I kept checking his position, sure he was going to run us down. But, he cleared us with lots of room to spare.

When we got to Shelter Cove, we listened to the weather for Egg Island. They only had 4 knots of wind at Egg. Looks like we just might be able to get all the way around Cape Caution today. So, I put in a new course for Fury Cove, north of Caution.

There was a 1.7 knot current running out of Slingsby Channel, so I was expecting a real slog getting passed Slingsby. But, miraculously, the seas weren’t bad at all. Very unusual, but we’ll take it. So, on we went, rounding Cape Caution in fine fashion, across Smith Inlet, which was ebbing, but not too nasty, and Rivers Inlet, which was borderline nasty. The wind was behind us, however, so we were making decent speed. At this point, we decided to keep on going, heading for Kwakume Inlet. Just off Fish Egg Inlet, the seas got really big and confused, like you would expect off Slingsby. Fortunately, however, they eventually smoothed out.

When we got to Kwakume, I looked across Fitz Hugh Sound and saw the fog rolling in through Hakai Passage. Today, we’d beat it.  But, it will be back to torment us another day, I’m sure.

We were safe inside Kwakume InIet, with smooth seas and sunshine. It had taken us ten hours, but we were so glad to be north of Cape Caution, and so fortunate to have made it without the usual beating. With Caution behind us, this is where the summer cruise really begins.