June 14- 19, 2010

Whale breaching

Eagles

Whale flippers sticking out of the water

Humpback whale back

And another "hump" back

Waiting for the weather, June 14th - 16th

Yes, we are going up the Inside Passage to Alaska which is protected by a series of islands that shelters the boater from the full force of the Pacific. BUT there are two stretches of water that we have to traverse that get the full force of the Pacific and listening to the continuous marine weather forecast tells us when the average cruiser, like us, should go.

The first challenge is to make it around Cape Caution - aptly named - and the next is Dixon Entrance which takes us across the American border to Alaska. In 2006 when we did this same trip we must have had very calm weather at the start and finish of the trip as I don’t remember any problems at all - especially no big seas - but this time!!! But I am getting ahead of myself. The key is to listen to the ocean buoy report for West Sea Otter - if the combined seas are 2 metres or less, it is OK to go. Well for three days the report said 3-4 metres so we stopped and anchored along the way to wait for better weather. We stayed one night in Deserters Cove and watched a gang of 20 river otters - (not the cute fuzzy ones that lay on their back in the ocean with a clam held on their chest - these look more like very big rats) - run up and down the bank, jump into the water and then take off on the land again. All single file. Very amusing but then when you are stuck on a boat with only your husband to talk to, you will begin to appreciate anything that is going on outside the boat! (Just kidding John!)

We decided to leave the next day despite the forecasts and make a try to get around Cape Caution but it was too rough so we ended up in Miles Inlet, ten miles south of the Cape, in an anchorage shaped like a “T” and all by ourselves. We amused ourselves by watching the eagles and ospreys fish, watching the tide and wind go up and down, and reading, reading, reading - for 3 days and two nights!

Cape Caution - June 17th

Finally, West Sea Otter was reporting combined seas of 2.4 metres, the winds were forecast for NW 10-15 knots and we only had 20 miles to go to get all the way around the Cape and into the next sound. So what the heck, let’s give it a try. Well that was the bumpiest ride I have ever had. John estimated the seas at +8 feet which I guess we should have expected if we had done the math, (2.4 metres!) but as is the case with the Pacific, there is always that westerly swell, sometimes low but this time pretty high, that unfortunately for where we wanted to go, was hitting us on the beam (side) of the boat which made everything very uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that some of our stuff wasn’t stowed as well as it should have been - no disasters but a lot of pots and pans and tools rattling in lockers and cupboards which made not only for a bumpy but noisy crossing.

I have a new appreciation for several things after finally making it around Cape Caution.

1. My husband is a good mariner and this adventure is possible only because of him.
2. A Cape is not an easy thing to get around.
3. The weather and sea state reports in this part of the world seems to be pretty accurate - so pay heed!

We made it. Found a secure anchorage and slept like logs for 10 hours!

A whale of a story! - June 18th

This has been an amazing day! Whales galore - almost wherever we looked. We first saw spouts in the distance, humpback whales feeding in a bay - but it wasn’t worth going over to investigate. Then we saw some closer and actually stopped to take a look. And then the pièce-de-résistance! A huge male whale flung himself up out of the water, stood on his tail and flopped on his back - not only once but 5 times! He then proceeded to roll over and over lifting his huge flippers in the air and waving them like flags. Now we knew he was a male whale because of a very large appendage that was visible when he breached. We’re are pretty sure he just had his way with a pretty young thing and was showing his delight with his exploits.

We are now tied up to a dock of an old derelict fish cannery that is being taken care of by 3 ex-hippy loggers who are living here and making it their home. The derelict buildings are all open and available for inspection though it is a bit dangerous to walk the wooden docks as many of the support structures are missing. John is going crazy about some of the machinery that is just sitting here rotting away. I imagine in a few years, this cannery like so many others in British Columbia will fall into the sea

Tonight I am waiting for the whales to come into this bay and for a grizzly to show up on the shore!

Eagles - Saturday, June 19th

Well no grizzly but the whale show was absolutely amazing! One of them definitely had a cold and sounded like a fog horn every time he blew. What a show.

The big treat today was sailing through a “flock” of about 10 eagles who were feeding on the fish etc. in the tide line. Usually you see eagles on their own or in groups of two so this was a rare spectacle. Hard to believe they were almost extinct a few years back. Even though they are the US's national bird, I don’t think I ever seen one until my first trip to Alaska in `92. Oh and we saw a deer swimming the channel in front of us - I guess even for animals, sometimes the shortest route is across the water.

Coming up - Bear Hunting!

This will likely be the last Internet access we have until we get to Ketchikan, Alaska in about two weeks. We have two goals for the next two weeks.

1. See a Kermode Bear - this is a cream coloured grizzly that the First Nation people call the spirit bear.
2. Cross Dixon Entrance safely and without too much bounce and roll and rattling pans.