Prince Rupert

After numerous nights at quiet anchorages, Dan and Kaiser have made their peace with the kayak! When it seems too cumbersome to launch the dinghy (and hoist it back up onto the bridge), the 'boys' go ashore via the one-man kayak. Dan's getting his exercise! Normally, we look forward to lots of hiking, but this trip we find that all the shorelines we've seen are rocky and dense forest, so we are noticing the absence of Exercise. It's a pretty sedentary lifestyle in these small quarters. Our cruising hours typically amount to 4-6 hours per day; by the time we prepare and clean up meal-making, there's just a little time left to read something before we doze off for another sleep. Ah, retirement! We're getting quite used to it.

Our travels from Shearwater have brought us through many picturesque narrow passages, past many islets and a few desolate depleted villages. Once prominent and active with fish canneries,etc, they are now mostly deserted and ramshackle. Sad.

We anchored in the small Oliver Cove (in honour of our grandson Oliver) for one night, then onward thru Percival Narrows to Klemtu and into Khutze Inlet. We were anticipating the wonderful crab that should fill our trap left near the waterfall, and were we disappointed! awh. Nada. It was a beautiful inlet with spectacular waterfalls, raging full with recent rains, but no crab.

From there we found our way into Bishop Bay, just off Douglas Channel which goes up to Kitimat. At the head of Bishop Bay there is a Hot Springs, which has been developed into a small marine conservancy, with well built boardwalks and a sheltered hot springs pool. We made use of the pool and it was a nice soak. We met our new neighbours on the small dock, Richard and Kathy from Friday Harbor, WA, and enjoyed a visit with them. We both left the dock before 6:00 a.m. and cruised a long day up Grenville Channel, past Harley Bay and Gil Island where the BC Ferry left its mark. It is a dismal feeling to pass that way...

Grenville Channel is quite impressive, at the south end narrow with currents swirling the many drifting logs and debris -- a land mine to navigate through. Toward the north the Channel opens up broad, and becomes a pale green colour. We spent the night in another tiny cove just sheltered from the channel by a few small islets but able to see the cruise ships and container barge go by; a very pretty spot.

That was our last stop before Prince Rupert. We arrived here Sunday midday and are enjoying the PR Yacht Club docks. On Sunday the weather here was a heavy dark rain and strong winds. We were so glad to be tied up securely and look forward to several days here, catching up with our land legs, and finding a few stores. Tonight we will have supper with the Kristmansons, friends of the Greenes (Kurt's in-laws). There will be lots of talk about fishing......

It is now a sunny day and we will go for a walkabout, myself reliving my brief stint in this town, while I worked with CIBC here a very long time ago. Interesting changes since then. We will be listening to marine weather forecasts to choose the best day to proceed north through Dixon Entrance, another long stretch of open seas that we'd like to take in the calmest conditions. That is the crossing into the US waters of Alaska, hopefully Wednesday.