Pictures to follow! Check back soon.


June 9, 2015

Life at the speed of Domino............

After a breakneck pace getting the boat  launched and provisioned and trying to catch up with our flotilla mates, we've slowed down a bit and have settled into a rhythm; there are a few nagging items in the boat that don't seem to have a permanent location yet but hopefully they will soon, or perhaps never, and we'll move them from here to there depending upon whether we want to be there or here. Domino is the slowest of our fleet of five boats and leaves earliest and arrives last. We followed them for several hours and thoroughly enjoyed life at 6 knots; drinking coffee and doing minor house chores while underway. Like any voyage or vacation, it takes awhile to settle in, but once settled, life is nice!

We cleared Canadian Customs on an island in the San Juans with a simple phone call; no extra liquor penalty! First stop, Ganges British Columbia where we met our flotilla mates. We are traveling with four other boats including our host boat with a master mariner and a guide and three more boats with one couple each. All are good company and happy hours on the docks are fun. Ganges is the first of a chain of stops that so far defy description. Think wild west on a float. People are friendly and accommodating. We had moved every day with only one anchor out until today which is a weather day waiting for less wind to round Cape Caution, an open ocean crossing.

One learns quickly here that heading and course over ground are two entirely different directions. The tides and currents are extreme and not to be toyed with. Great to have a guide to plan for us and teach us how to get back south on our own.

Our stops so far have been: Ganges, Silva Bay, Pender Harbour, Prideaux Haven, Blind Channel, Port Harvey, Pierre's Echo Bay and Port McNeill.

Hope you all are as well and happy as we are.

Dale and Sandy

June 20, 2015

Made it to Ketchikan!

This was a bit of a whirlwind trip so far leaving little time to review and send pictures. The pace will change now that the flotilla has reached it's goal and we are all safely in Alaska. We will definitely slow down to enjoy the scenery. (And plan what to do next and how to get back.)

A pod of dolphin played with our wake leaving Shearwater BC (we reversed course to see them again) and we watch eagles in numerous places. We witnessed a humpback whale feeding in a sound outside of an anchorage called Foggy Bay and saw a black bear there too. We've also seen far too many floating logs although they are supposed to be more rare in AK as there is less logging than in BC.

The rounding of Dixon Entrance was flat calm; I've only heard of Catalina or Cabo trips in flat calm and truly relish the easy ride. We did have a rough ride around Cape Caution. Think Yacht Shot going 6 knots only. We've been in a hot tub and a hot springs at the end of a bay. We can't imagine what is in store.

Love to all; hope you are all well.

Dale and Sandy

July 6, 2015

Alaska as we see it………………

We left Ketchikan heading North and anchored in a bay called Meyers Chuck. The postmistress bakes cinnamon buns for morning delivery to the anchored boats if you call her the night before ($3 each). She is 74 and has lived there 54 years. Yes, the buns were great! The town has about 15 year round residents in 9 houses. No incorporation means no codes and building is done with what one has on hand. With no roads, paths lead to each of the houses, addressed with a lot #. As with the other anchorages we've used, there is great protection from most winds but tides run 18 - 20'.

Wrangell AK (population 2300, zip 99929) was an intermediate destination that turned into an extended stay due to it's small town charm and promised 4th of July celebration. We originally planned to take our boat to Petersburg, but Wrangell called out to us. From Wrangell, we took two shallow draft jet boat tours to the Anan Bear Observatory and the Le Conte Glacier. We inadvertently got within arm's length of a black bear and watched for several hours as black and brown bears fished, played, tousled and just hung out. We watched a bear chase off an eagle eating salmon and saw another bear catch his own salmon and eat it with an eagle standing by waiting for leftovers. The bears we saw are "regulars" who return year after year and have personality traits known to the guides. (One black female bear doesn't like other bears and chases them on occasion, but she does like people meaning is not frightened by them.)

Wrangell delivered on the best of small town America celebrating 4th of July. Friday's events included kayak relay races in a swimming pool and a talent show and queen coronation. Sat. started with a parade and included a logging show complete with chainsaw, crosscut saw and axe log cutting contests a rolling pin toss and axe throwing (don't tell OSHA about any of this). There were big wheel races/relays for kids and adults, an egg toss and a roller derby held in the boat yard. Dancing on the pier and the best fireworks show north of San Diego.

Next on our agenda is Juneau and Sitka; we'll use an Alaska Ferry to go there though because of the distances. Also, there is minimal support for recreational boaters here and any breakdown that I couldn't fix would be serious. Lots of boats here, but most are purpose built of aluminum and functional. The few cruisers that we see are trawlers.

We're having a great time, are well and we sincerely hope the same for you.

Dale and Sandy

August 21, 2015

Back in British Columbia headed south (Catching up with Dale and Sandy)

We last wrote that we had traded Yacht Shot for the Alaska State Ferry system. We traveled to Juneau (state capitol) where we saw the Mendenhall Glacier, a salmon breeding operation (yes the salmon bred there return there) and some great old "establishments". We took a fast ferry (34 knots!) from Juneau to Sitka via majestic open sounds and narrow channels too. The ferry also transported about 50 chautauqua players who provided a great parade and show the day we arrived. They also played in a cemetery as a tribute to the dead and an "offering" to the spirits there. We could spend a full blog on their stories alone. The area around Sitka included a great many beautiful islands, a bear preserve and eagle rehab.

We took our summer doc trip back to SD and returned and are now on Yacht Shot heading south from Ketchikan. We anchored in the Misty Fjords, watching the fog roll past some of the best scenery ever. We watched a very heavy downpour there followed by waterfalls everywhere in the fjord. We also watched in amazement as Domino (see first blog) cruised in, anchored and invited us to the best baked salmon dinner ever. We had no idea that they were in the area!

Our journey south from AK and on the north British Columbia coast was quick as weather opportunities allowed us to cross both Dixon Entrance and Cape Caution in relatively calm conditions. We did have time however to watch a bear watching salmon jumping as thick as can be at Verney Falls in Lowe Inlet, soak in a hot springs hot tub (in a gorgeous bay miles from the nearest town) and watch whales frolic in several of the sounds we traveled. We miss the frequent sight of eagles soaring and the chatter they make.

The Broughton's is our current cruising location with Desolation Sound next followed by Vancouver Island east coast (Nanaimo vicinity), the Gulf Islands, Victoria and the San Juan Islands.

We hope you are all well and happy and that summer fun is the word of the day for you.

Dale and Sandy

September 19, 2015

Back in the USA! Trading nature's wildlife for the human kind.

We've successfully (so far) dodged the tides, currents and wind associated with cruising south from Cape Caution, through the Broughtons, Desolation Sound, the Gulf Islands and into the San Juan Islands. That's Queen Charlotte Sound, Queen Charlotte Strait, Johnstone Strait and Strait of Georgia. These are areas where one can wait days for a weather window or brave the waves to the next port which is likely not calm inside either. Passage through the Broughtons was generally calm with steep sided mountains and relatively narrow waterways. We've overused all the descriptors so I can only say beautiful again. The marinas are quirky and fun, most with cruisers' happy hour at 5. In Lagoon Cove, the owner cooks prawns for each happy hour which is held in the old boat works. Anchoring in Melanie Cove was a two day treat; bullet proof from the wind and rocky and treelined beautiful. Refuge Cove Marina is straight out of an old west movie with it's stilted boardwalks (no paths on the ground) between a cafe, art studio and general store. (You could bring your own beer to the cafe and the general store was a combination grocery, chandlery, book and liquor store and ice cream parlor, too.)

New paragraph for this one......... Princess Louisa Inlet. Described as the cruiser's Holy Grail or Yosemite on the water (with no tourists). All the superlatives used on other locations can't describe this place. Mountains rise 7,000 feet out of crystal clear 1000 foot deep water in a 5 mile long inlet that's never more than a 1/2 mile wide. We were rained on the morning we entered which meant we saw hundreds of waterfalls, many cascading thousands of feet to the water's edge. One of the few people there was club member Pete La Dow who is bringing his Nordhavn "Scallawag" south. Talk about a small world! We also met Dick and Dottie's son Doug and daughter-in-law as they paddleboarded past our boat in Pender Harbour.

The Gulf Islands included a Saturday farmer's market where only locally produced items were allowed to be sold (Salt Spring Island, a foodies' paradise) and a pub bus ride that I don't have the words for. We've had easy passages now that we are off the Strait of Georgia (and we're very happy for that)!

We thank you who have checked in with us along the way and want you to know your encouragement means a lot! We'll be home soon and look forward to seeing you in person and hearing about your summer.

Dale and Sandy