The Adventures of the Crew of the Good Ship Gandalf III

The Second Leg


August 16, 2004 Headed out of Campbell River bound for Kanish Bay via the infamous Seymore Rapids. We got to them on the ebb, about an hour before slack tide. We decided to go through as it did not look very confused. Some upwelling and small whirlpools but we avoided them all and set a new ground speed record for the boat - 10.5 knots (thats double our usual speed)

Arrived in Kanish Bay and decided to anchor behind the Chain Islands. Got a good set on rock, but we could hear what we thought was the anchor dragging, but the boat didn't appear to move. Decided to keep an anchor watch all night, 2 hours on; 2 hours off. A long night as the wind started to howl and it blew at about 90 degrees to the current so we swung back and forth through almost 180 degrees. Every once and while you could hear the sound of dragging which would send whoever was on watch scurrying up on deck to check our position on the GPS and relative to the shore. Our new hand held searchlight got a real workout.

We eventually twigged that what we were hearing was not the anchor dragging - it was set so well it was hard to release - but the chain sliding back and forth over the rocks.
August 17, 2004 Off and bound for Shoal Bay. As we left Kanish Bay we saw our first Dall's porpoise feeding along the edge of a kelp bed.

We arrived at the government dock at Shoal Bay to discover that the famous Pub there was out of food - but it still had cold beer served in frozen mugs. mmmmmmmm....
August 18, 2004 Off to Beaver Inlet, about 2 nautical miles up Loughbourough Channel. We had to go through the Greene Pt rapids, but after seeing the Skookumchuck and running the Seymore, they were really mild.

When we arrived in Beaver inlet the wind had picked up from the West and was gusting to about 20 knots. As we got to the back of Beaver Inlet where the favoured holding ground is, there was a 45 ft power boat already there. Just as we were trying to line up on a lesser spot, Janice saw them up anchor and start to leave. They swung over to pass us more closely and yelled that they had dragged anchor 3 times in 2 hours so were leaving. We set in the same spot, let out extra rode and were snug as a bug.
August 19, 2004 Out of Beaver inlet, down Loughbourough Channel, and over to Wellborn Channel. Went through Whirlpool rapids on the ebb without incident. Into Forward Harbour. As suggested in Waggoner, we anchored in the cove on the north side, just out of the enterance channel. There were already 5 boats there and we anchored well away.

By dinner time this number had doubled, but no one was too near us. Except the one large power boat that just had to run its generator ALL NIGHT. Come morning we were about ready to swim over and scuttle it!
August 20, 2004 Away from Forward Harbour bound for Port Neville. We have lost the good weather and it is a grey day. And the wind is still on the nose so we continue to motor.

As we go down Johnstone Straight, Janice at the helm, and she all of a sudden notices a a large log in front of us. A quick course change was executed to avoid collision, except the log changed course too. Then there were two logs. It was a pair of Dall's porpoises cutting our course enroute to lunch. We slowed and watched them for a bit but they were too busy hunting to be friendly.

We docked at Port Neville in the early afternoon and the family there gave us a tour of the old store. This is the oldest and longest running post office on the coast, and the post masters have all come from the same family. The current family is just mom & daughter, and daughter is going off to school for grade 11 & 12 - she has been home schooled her entire life. A very interesting pair - delightful.
August 21, 2004 We awoke to rain & fog. It is to be one of our longer runs - to Boat Bay, today, so decided to leave anyway. Just as we were leaving Port Neville harbour the fog closed in and we were down to about 500 ft visability. Thank goodness for chart plotters and we heartily wished we had radar!

The fog thinned and lifted slightly for the rest of the voyage to Boat Bay, only settling in just as we entered the bay. As we felt our way in, another sailboat at anchor came out of the mist. We put the hook down and went below for a drink!!! After about an hour the fog lifted abit and the other boat left. We had the bay to ourselves. The fog continued to lift somewhat, the rain stopped and the wind was calm so Richard rowed Whisper to shore to do her duty.

While he was there, Janice was watching over the strait toward Robson Bight. She suddenly noticed that the driftwood stump on the little islette 100 metres off our stern was getting taller. It was the dorsal fin of a huge male orca, hunting along the kelp. He dissappeared into the fog just off the islette where we could not see him, but could clearly hear him blowing. We were able to watch the rest of the pod - about 4 other individuals - as they hunted about half a mile off shore. NEAT.

As forcast, the wind rose conciderably after dark, but as predicted by Janice's bible (Waggoner Cruising Guide) we were protected from both wind and waves - except for the wakes of the cruise ships who seemed to pass ever hour or so in pairs.
August 22, 2004 Away Boat Cove and on to Port McNeill. Rain showers enroute, but at least the fog had gone. We even got a little sun near Alert Bay.

We are going to stay at McNeill two or three days to reprovision and rest, then on with the rest of the trip to Rivers Inlet - the weather is supposed to suck for the next week. - oh well.
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