North to Alaska: Cruising South from Alaska--Final Blog Posting

After writing our last blog post on July 20^th, our computer got dropped, the screen broke, and we could no longer use it. We are now home in Bellingham, our computer is fixed, and I will try to sum up the last five weeks of our trip in a few short paragraphs.

Rod's Baronof Island Bear (Photo by John Caples)

Southeast Alaska is not a small geographical area, but we did have an experience to show how small the world is! Neighbors and boating friends, Pat and Doug Sterrett had given us a list of 4 couples to “look for” as we traveled in Alaska. When we pulled into Thorne Bay on the east side of Prince of Wales Island, we saw a boat from Eagle River, Alaska—one of the towns on our list from Pat and Doug. It turned out to be the right boat! We were boating alone at that point and had fun getting to know this couple. They even had attended a couple of our yacht club functions in Bellingham!

Tour Boat in Ketchikan

We stopped in Ketchikan to do shopping and laundry. We finally experienced the heavy rain that Ketchikan is so well-known for. Glad we were tied up to a dock. Our next stay was in Foggy Bay (no fog). This was the jump-off point for crossing Dixon Entrance and dealing with ocean swells. We traveled close behind a couple in a sailboat from Anacortes, WA, whom we had just met the day before. It was great to have radio contact with them as we made our way across this big body of water. The plan was to meet John and Roxie in Prince Rupert. They got there about ten minutes before us. It was great to see them again!

B.C. Ferry in Grenville Channel

As we made our way down the B.C. Inside Passage, we stayed at some of the same places and some new ones. One new place was Ocean Falls. Nice docks, but the town was in ruins after a pulp mill closed several years ago. A big dam there was quite a sight and provides power for some of the more thriving nearby communities. Ocean Falls receives 180 inches yearly rainfall—more than Ketchikan—and some of that total came down (hard!) during our entire stay there.

Loaded Barge in Grenville Channel

Another new place for us was Pruth Bay on Calvert Island which used to be the site of a high-class fishing lodge. (Kevin Costner came often.) Now it is an environmental camp and they welcome visitors on their grounds. We did a short hike out to a beautiful ocean beach.

Kelp on Calvert Island Beach

The next day, we spent my birthday in Fury Cove ready to go around Cape Caution and cross Queen Charlotte Sound (ocean!) the next morning. Roxie fixed a wonderful dinner for us with homemade apple pie to celebrate. She gave me a giant mussel shell filled with beautiful dogwinkle shells that she had gathered and cleaned along the way. Very special!

Shell Beach at Fury Cove

Our crossing of Queen Charlotte on August 1^st was probably as good as it could be. The ocean swells were about 4’ at their worst, but there was no wind. We did have about an hour of heavy fog near the end of the crossing. Thank goodness for radar and our fog horn!

Sunrise--Queen Charlotte Sound

Red-throated Loon in Northern B.C.

We had great weather for the rest of our trip. Another new spot for us was the Octopus Islands, a B.C. marine park. There are rapids at either end so had to plan to hit slack tides in and out. This was a wonderful group of pretty islets with yachts scattered among them. We kayaked to a cabin on one of the islets that is filled with momentos that boaters leave behind. We also took a wonderful lunch hike to a pretty lake. John even went swimming.

Newton Lake in the Octopus Islands

Fog Humps in Johnstone Strait

The next stops were Rebecca Spit on Quadra Island, Pender Harbor on the B.C. mainland, and Nanaimo after a very calm crossing of the Strait of Georgia. We enjoyed some stops in the Canadian Gulf Islands, used our NEXUS cards to check into American customs near Stuart Island and spent our last couple of nights in the San Juans—all in beautiful weather.

Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo

Seal at Wallace Island, B.C.

Our final two nights were at Spencer Spit Marine Park on Lopez Island where we joined our yacht club for a rendezvous. So great to see some familiar faces! John and Roxie left us there and went off to pick up friends for some cruising before heading home to Olympia.