Halfway home, the boat is all cleaned and reprovisioned; we’re  waiting for Jim and Alicia’s plane to arrive from Seattle. Yesterday we left from Glendale Cove, in Knight Inlet, after an exciting visit with some Grizzly Bears. Becky and I had arrived the evening before and promptly put the dingy in the water. There is a bear observation lodge there; we talked with a guide that told us that there were 30 bears in the area. Unfortunately, it was high tide and the grass that draws the bears in was all covered in water. We didn’t see any bears but were able to run up the river with the dingy, that normally would have been too shallow.

Glendale Cove is pretty exposed  but we slept well and awoke to sun, thankfully. We hopped back in the dingy to see if we could find some bears. Straight away we saw a mother with a yearling. We were less than 50 yards away as they grazed  by us seemingly unaffected; used to people, which is a good thing. Good because Becky and I decided to head back up the river and were soon forced to turn around  because of the falling tide. We were forced  to row because when we turned back from the 300 yard trip into the streams mouth, the tide had fallen sharply enough that I couldn’t run the motor. I pulled the motor up and started to row. No sooner than I had, a mother bear and two cubs show up 25 yards away. Beautiful, but I couldn’t row fast enough to get away from them. I actually thought that they were going to cross the stream in front of us. Becky was saying alright close enough, I was telling her to take a picture and trying to get us into deeper water, all the time the bears kept walking closer. Finally I was able to start the motor, hoping that it would scare them off. It was very exciting I was shaking. When we got out of the river we saw another mother and three cubs. Enough of a bear fix, time to make some miles and reprovision for our guest. We’ll stay a couple more days in The Broughtons and then start South. Summer has finally arrived here; we’re loving it.

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Friday August 13^th;

AUG 13 By Becky – We made it through all rapids safely and spent a quiet night in Beaver Inlet.  We were the only ones in the bay and while it felt isolated it was also very peaceful.  Up early and on to our next stop in Harvey Port.  Harvey is an up and coming port where each year they are planning to add  additional amenities and facilities to make it a destination.  It is a cute but rustic building on a float at this time.  Their main generator was down and they didn’t have much water since it is fed from a small pond that was low.  We had a good hike and ate fish and chips while visiting with other boaters.

The trip to Port Harvey was a bit rough since there were gale warnings in Johnstone Strait that we decided to attempt.  We were able to avoid most of it by using Sunderland Channel where the tide was in our favor and the wind was coming straight at us which is not so bad.  We did ok even though we heard several boats on the radio that decided to turn back. There was a bit of bouncing and spray where we had to leave Sunderland and travel for a bit in Johnstone. I ‘filmed’ a small clip with my camera and will try to load on this blog. We had made it through the worst of it before I thought to film so it looks a bit tame.  The wind was still pretty cold when we first arrived at Port Harvey but then the sun started to come out and everyone was saying it was the first sun they had seen in over a month.  We woke to a clear calm day that was cold enough that we had to fire up the heater for the first time.  Paul tried out his new folding crab nets by putting them off the side of the boat.  We ended up with two keepers that we made into excellent crab cakes on the way to our next destination of Lagoon Cove.

Lagoon Cove on East Cracroft Island is a short distance from Port Harvey so we arrived around 1:00 pm to an amazing warm, sunny afternoon in a calm cove.  Every marina that we had stopped in for the last several stops didn’t have laundry facilities for one reason or another so we finally decided to take advantage of the sun and did some hand washing and hung a line off the stern of the boat.  We then had a great potluck with the other boaters hosted by Bill and Jean Barber who supplied all the fresh shrimp we could eat and very entertaining stories.  We were invited to play dominos with some very fun and nice people we met on a boat called the Spirit of Balto that took the owners 10 year to build since they did all the work.  They have a lot of custom woodcarving and full size appliances so it has a sort of feel of a condo.

We are being treated to another amazing sunny, calm day and enjoying every minute of it. We decide each day where we will head next and I am loving the spur of the moment adventure that takes us to new experiences each day.  Christy and Jim from the boat Noeta (who played dominos also) have been at the last two ports the same evenings we were and have kindly taken me under their wing.  They are great people that I will miss when we move on.

The sun and the good camaraderie  at the marinas in The Broughtons have slowed us down a bit; in a good way…. Took the anchor windlass apart yesterday for a cleaning and a lube, trying to get in working easier. Cleaned up the boat a little and took a walk. This has been the first sunny day for the folks of The Broughtons, so they are in good spirits. Awaiting the arrival of our friends from Florida and Becky is trying to stay longer, trying to figure that out and seeing if the floatplane company can drop them off in another location. The good news is that Becky’s  friends at work have been following the blog and can see that she is having a good time and are allowing her to stay a extra week; I’m a happy man. OK out of the marina and off to find a nice secure anchorage and put the kayaks in the water. Or off to Glendale Cove to watch some bears…… Not bad choices…

August 10, 2010 By Becky – We woke to a great morning and are heading north from Cortez Island.  We are inside a lot of islands and the water is calm.  The mountains (some snowcapped) rise on either side of us and it is beautiful!  We have had amazing weather and tend to have sunny afternoons for happy hour on the deck each day.

Paul is determine  to teach me to be a sailor and I think I am doing OK other than the few times he has to take a deep breath and show me again.  I have a bit of a hard time with the anchor since I can’t kneel on the knee that would make it easier to deploy since that is my artificial knee.  I also struggle with enough strength to manhandle the chain when needed so Paul has to come to the rescue occasionally.  We have seen eagles, seals and porpoises but are not yet far enough North for whales.

Boaters tend to be very social folk and Paul’s boat draws a lot of attention.  I am learning the answers to the most common questions so can fool some people into thinking I know what I am talking about. At Chatterbox Falls we ended up having an open house since everyone wanted to check out his boat.  The women tend to envy the room and layout.  The men discuss the engine and other things I don’t have a clue about.  I just know that it is a very comfortable boat and I am loving every moment of the trip.  It is fun seeing the other boats also and I am continually amazed at how BIG some of the boats are.

We stopped in Lund yesterday and had lunch.  It is a cute little marina with a bit of a resort feel but also a bit of an old fishing village.  Then we meandered our way around some small islands to Gorge Bay on Cortez Island.  We are heading to Bute Inlet today that is glacier fed and so we expect it to be much colder and to have more awesome views.  The water temp has already started to change color and has dropped 10 degrees even though we are just heading in to the Inlet.

August 11, 2010: Stargazer saves the day.

Yesterday  began at 0315 when Becky woke me by saying, “The boats are awfully close”.  She was right, the lowering tide had changed everyone’s scope in the harbor, and for some reason, the Ellie K seems to dance differently on an anchor than other boats. Knowing that the tide was going out, I decided  to take in some chain. Well this brought me right into the two Bayliners rafted together. Pushing off from them and starting the engine, got us a cordial good morning from our neighbors. So finding my glasses, getting the Radar turned on, we reset the anchor in pitch darkness. But the stars were beautiful and worth getting up for in there own right. We were on Cortez Island, in Gorge Harbor. It was a breathless night, with plenty of room so we managed to find a spot soon, but it took us a while to warm back up, our feet were freezing.

We were up shortly after anyway to start our day, and our tour of Bute Inlet. I had looked at it a few times on the chart, but it has to be its own destination because it is out of the way and there is nothing at the end of it. It is a wide, deep Fiord with high Mountains on each side and we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day. The end of the Inlet is open and exposed so we decided  to head back out. Wagoneers decribes  a place called ‘The Nook’to anchor, a little west of Orford Bay, we set the way point for the Lat- Long that they gave and watched  the lowering sun cast shadows on the mountains. I could see a crack in the mountains on the heading that we set, but decided  to check Orford Bay when we passed. The afternoon wind was blowing right into the bay so we sailed on, the quarter of a mile to the crack in the wall. I was glad that I had bought the Wagoneers guide. It is a fantastic little hole, room for a few boats with a log tied across the back of the cove for running a stern tie, and a waterfall. We let out all of our 200 ft of chain a bit more of the 5/8 nylon rode, in 150’ of water, tied rolling hitch to it, pulled the stern around, listened to the waterfall as the sunset and enjoyed steak and Pepper Jack quesadillas.  We look out across Bute Inlet, three miles to rocky ridge named Cosmos Heights, wonderful. Coffee and Banana Nut muffins in the oven, waiting for the slack of Arran Rapids, then Dent Rapids three miles later. Hoping to hit Green Point Rapids later in the afternoon and stop in Beaver Inlet in Loughborugh Inlet tonight.

August 6^th 2010

Drama Day; not enough sleep last night, stayed up late trying to post things on the blogg. Typically, I was up before 6, just not enough rest to function; must be all the fresh air. We walked into town to get a cash advance, picked up another Basil plant and bought a fishing permit. Headed out straight away when we got back to the boat, without deciding on a destination. I knew that I had to get out of Ganges, so decided to take the back way and then start pulling out some charts. Not a good idea to be worrying more about where you aren’t instead of where you are. Two chart plotters on and still managed to almost run aground. Fortunately, I saw some water breaking ahead and backed the engine down. I still had 4 ft under the keel, no worry; Money Makers Reef was where we were, evidently I wasn’t the first to visit there. I gave God Thanks for watching over us and then sat in the helm seat. Rounded the corner of Nose Point and did a button hook north into Trincomali Channel. There was a fresh breeze blowing out of the south, pushing us north. Becky made us a Turkey and Avocado sandwich with some of the basil and we settled into a nice sunny cruise to Dodd Narrows. By this time we had looked at the charts, calendar and listened to the weather.  We realized that it might be a good day to cross because the wind was to be worse tomorrow. Pushed to Dodd Narrows,  hit the slack almost perfect, and only waited 10 minutes to cross. Cruised past Nanaimo and set a course across the Straight of Georgia, a waypoint into Welcome Pass put the seas a little off our beam. Becky turned on her wonderful wristband motion sickness relief bracelet and we braced for the 20-mile crossing. I contacted the Whiskey Gulf torpedo operating station and made sure that we could cross. Three hours of rolling and in spite of being fully loaded, we move a bit, well 10 to 15 degrees and a couple that were more. Things moved around a bit, but mainly the lady wasn’t sick. We watched  the mountains appear across the straight and were thankful for Welcome Pass, which we made by 1700. Made it into Smugglers Cove and tried to set the anchor, Becky volunteered to run the stern tie line ashore. It was surprisingly warm and the sea temp was 71. She succeeded smoothly and when she was in the shower I noticed that the anchor was dragging.  It was still windy and hitting us on the beam. Starting the engine got her out of the shower and up on the bow half-dressed,  and we attempted it again. Nothing like the scream of the bow thruster to disturb a peaceful anchorage, and get some neighbors out on deck to watch the show.  Second time stuck we had dinner but I let the stern tie go at dusk and through out the spare anchor before going to bed.

August 7^th, 2010

Onto Princess Lousia Inlet. The BC Rain is back, I‘m thankful actually, it’s nice to wash off the salt from our transit yesterday , and the mist on the mountains is a surreal  contrast. We had a nice transit, with a following sea up Jervis Inlet, but missed the tide at Malibu Rapids. So we slow belled it up to the head of the Inlet, enjoying the waterfalls and scenery, Becky and I both took turns and napped. We returned to the top of Malibu Rapids and anchored , to await the slack and go to tour the YouthLife Chriatian Camp. Becky used to go there as a teenager and hasn’t been back since. We had a nice two hour visit, and were shown around by a retire air force doctor from Piedmont Ca., Dick Deutsche. There was a great spirit at the camp and  we were able to watch the rapids slacken from there. On through the rapids around  6pm, and into the magical Princess Louisa Inlet. It is truly beautiful, awe inspiring, I can only relate it to Yosemete in dramatic beauty. Idleing up the four miles into ChatterBox Falls was so peaceful and beautiful, we took the last spot on the dock and while we were grilling our steaks had a 38 foot fishing boat raft to us, with a family of 4 onboard.

August 9^th, Lund, BC

Soaking up some sun after a great night in Hardy Island Marine Park. We had a wonderful cruise out of Princess Louisa Inlet and made a wonderful anchorage in a tight little cove by 5. We got the anchor set well and we both swam the stern tie line ashore. The water is 71 degrees,  it was sunny and warm and was great. No drama today and after a little snack we tooled around in the dingy. When we got back to the anchorage a 47 ft Skookum sailboat was anchoring so we ran there stern line ashore for them. That got an invitation for a little apre sail. Our host were Bill and Gail from Bellingham, a nice visit and a good nights sleep a grey morning has opened up to a great afternoon and a little visit into Lund for lunch and some gas for the dingy.

This was the second morning that I put the eye mask on at 0530 and grabbed another couple of hours. I guess that it looks like we won’t make it north of the Gulf Islands today. No worries, we still have ten days to get to Port McNeil. The weather is wonderful and it is hard to not slow down and enjoy it. Thinking of the first Narrows coming up, Dodd, and starting to think about tides; first refill my coffee cup. Knocking a project a day off of the list and the aft cabin is slowly not looking like a stowage locker. The boat is running good, knock on my head, and the food is wonderful. Becky is taking the direction of the Captain well and is having s good time.I broke out the sprouter yesterday and we have some seeds swelling already and will have some salad mixings soon. Managing to shave every couple of days and feeling good.

Monday, August 2^nd, 0555

Stovetop Expresso, the black hole that sucked up the nonfat milk without discoloring; warming my hands and starting my heart. The Galley lights attracted or disturbed a King Fisher whose cicada like call woke me as I prepped for the coffee; stark contrast to the cranes and drydocks of the Washington Ship Canal of Lake Union. We are tied to my friend Bob Wold’s boat, just inside the Ballard Locks in Seattle. It’s foggy, surreal like and there are a half a dozen ravens gauking around.

I guess that this is day three, Saturday was such a buzz with all the loading of the boat. We didn’t leave Shelton until almost 5pm and fought the tide to Gig Harbor for four hours. We anchored a little after 2100 and slept fast and well. We left Gig Harbor yesterday a little after 2pm, after breakfast and lunch with Dan Evangalista and Anneta on the Dawson. After breakfast, Becky and I went to a church service and then Dan took us to lunch at the Tides Inn. After we cleared Gig Harbor I gave the wheel to Becky and she steered until we got to the locks. I cleared and stowed the things that I had stuffed into the aft cabin. We had to wait for about an hour and two lock exchanges before we were able to get into the lock. That was a little stressful, with all the jockeying for position and 15 boats close together, being pushed around by the current. We got through and had my friends Micheal and Agneta and there children Christian and Megan awaiting us at Bobs dock. They have just returned from Sweden,  where Agneta was representing the USCG at the International Maritime College in Stockholm.

She is now a Commander and they have been in Seattle two weeks and haven’t gotten their furniture yet. We went out and cruised lake Washington, had dinner and view downtown Seattle. Today we hang in Seattle and have dinner on the boat with my partner Dan Callan. Tomorrow we head north. Todays agenda is to get more Ram onto my Computer, the navigation program is bogging it down.

By Becky – After a great night sleep with the boat gently rocking us, we woke to another great day.  We grabbed a quick cup of coffee and headed out for some exploring of Hope Island before the tide was right for going through Deception Pass.  A nature hike around the island proved too much of a bush scramble for me so we headed back to the beach and paddled around the island instead.  Eagles and herons kept us company as we paddled.

A short day of cruising got us to Soucia Island where we anchored in Shallow Bay.  We had a great hike to Echo and Fossil Bays and then were treated to a fantastic sunset.   Morning brought a peaceful breakfast with sun and glassy water.  Another hike and we were off again.  Ganges Harbor on Saltspring Island was the next port.  We explored the shops and enjoyed happy hour of oysters cooked on the grill.

We have been enjoying the warm summer weather but now need to push to make our way north which will probably mean cooler temperatures but more great adventures.

Heading smoothly north, up Saratoga Passage, trying to get to Deception Pass State Park for the night. I spent the morning hooking  the boat GPS to my computer, instead of using a remote antenna. One of the reasons we were in Seattle was that my friend Bob has a boat there, in Ballard and conveniently it is only 4 blocks from Lunde Marine. Where I originally bought the navigation software.  We were able to get the cables and drivers for the soft ware and instruction on how to setup the addresses on the NAVnet computer. It was like learning a foreign language, but Becky and I got it done. We left Ballard at noon and into the lockes. Coming out of the lockes a sailboat got sideways  right in front of me and rammed the breakwater. That was bad enough but when he did, his anchor deployed  and then he proceeded  to back down and stretch his anchor rode halfway across the channel. I was second out of the Locke with 4 boats behind me, I had to wave everyone around me. They couldn’t see him and there was an outflow from the Locke making things worse. I was getting some angry looks from them as they came around me. Poor man. I felt so sorry for him, it was classic, right out of Caddy Shack.

So out of the city; last night we had a great dinner and night cruise around downtown Seattle and Lake Washington. Becky cooked a great meal and we grilled some steaks. Dan Callan and his partner Kathy were onboard; it was nice to see him and a pleasure to be able to reciprocate for his generosity. Dan is my boat partner and I am hoping that he can use the boat this fall.

Cruising, Becky is cooking and she took the wheel while I mounted some hooks to secure the propane bottle for the grill. We spent two hours on the upper deck soaking up some sun, with the hand held remote control, that was nice. I’m glad that I have that working, looking forward to more of that. We had a smooth passage up Saratoga passage, on the eastern side of Whidby Island. We were late (1930) getting a mooring at Hope Island in Deception Pass State Park. But Becky managed  another great salad and fired up the BBQ with some marinaded chicken breast while I managed to keep the music on, us in the channel, and reset the heading on the radar.

Becky picked up the mooring without a hitch and after the engine was off a pair of eagles greeted us from the trees on shore.

Watched the sunset as we cleaned the salt spray off of the windows.

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Monday, August 2^nd, 0555

Stovetop Expresso, the black hole that sucked up the nonfat milk without discoloring; warming my hands and starting my heart. The Galley lights attracted or disturbed a King Fisher whose cicada like call woke me as I prepped for the coffee; stark contrast to the cranes and drydocks of the Washington Ship Canal of Lake Union. We are tied to my friend Bob Wold’s boat, just inside the Ballard Locks in Seattle. It’s foggy, surreal like and there are a half a dozen ravens gauking around.

I guess that this is day three, Saturday was such a buzz with all the loading of the boat. We didn’t leave Shelton until almost 5pm and fought the tide to Gig Harbor for four hours. We anchored a little after 2100 and slept fast and well. We left Gig Harbor yesterday a little after 2pm, after breakfast and lunch with Dan Evangalista and Anneta on the Dawson. After breakfast, Becky and I went to a church service and then Dan took us to lunch at the Tides Inn. After we cleared Gig Harbor I gave the wheel to Becky and she steered until we got to the locks. I cleared and stowed the things that I had stuffed into the aft cabin. We had to wait for about an hour and two lock exchanges before we were able to get into the lock. That was a little stressful, with all the jockeying for position and 15 boats close together, being pushed around by the current. We got through and had my friends Micheal and Agneta and there children Christian and Megan awaiting us at Bobs dock. They have just returned from Sweden,  where Agneta was representing the USCG at the International Maritime College in Stockholm.

She is now a Commander and they have been in Seattle two weeks and haven’t gotten their furniture yet. We went out and cruised lake Washington, had dinner and view downtown Seattle. Today we hang in Seattle and have dinner on the boat with my partner Dan Callan. Tomorrow we head north. Todays agenda is to get more Ram onto my Computer, the navigation program is bogging it down.

We’re getting ready for a July 31st departure. The plan is to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. Hoping that the strange summer weather, pushes the summer into September.

The Ellie K is named after my daughter and is just as beautiful. She has old world lines and for a full displacement Trawler, cuts through the water like nothing I have seen. One could say she ghosts along, she leaves so little wake. She has proven herself now with over 6000 miles under her and just over 1000 hours on the engine. There have been a couple of hiccups, but she hasn’t faltered since her launching. She is a quiet economical cruiser. Hull speed is 8 knots and she reaches that well before the engine tops out. The ideal cruising RPM is 1700 and at that she burns 1.6 gallons per hour. In 2007, I filled up in Edmonds and with a meandering trip up to Alaska, I filled again in Ketchikan with 280 gallons. Fuel capacity is 400 gallons, and water is around 150. There is a bow thruster and a 10’ rigid inflatable with a 4 horse Yamaha. There is a 22Kg Bruce anchor with 400’ of 5/8” chain and 200’ of nylon rode. Furuno Navenet guides the way, with a Robinson Auto Pilot with a hand held remote. There are paper Charts up to Alaska as well. She is set up for two couples with a small but comfortable aft cabin. At 38 ft, with a 4’3” draft, she is easily taken where other boats can’t go and is small enough to be handled easily alone.  Furthermore, I have had her 6 ft seas and find that she ships the seas well, rides it well and is a capable sea boat, and well suited for the Pacific North West.