We're Cruising

Rhapsody returned to the water five months and a few days after haulout at the shipyard. Sporting a freshly painted exterior, new teak and holly floors, new carpeting and a handful of upgrades, she looks classy once again. There are SO many great shipyard photos to share, but not today. For now, let the adventures begin.

Port Angeles to Nanaimo

Conditions report - clear blue sky with zero wind and calm seas. How’s that for a perfect start to our daylong run north? Today’s journey followed a preplanned course through familiar territory: Depart Port Angeles, transit the easterly end of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca crossing the border into British Columbia, Canada and run up the east side of Vancouver Island. Heavy wind warnings had been posted for days, but the trip was pleasantly routine until we approached Dodd Narrows, the restricted passage where heavy current tends to limit traffic to periods of slack water.

A sturdy tugboat towing a string of several rafts of bundled logs headed today's lineup of northbound vessels waiting to navigate the narrows on the 4:00 pm slack. A dozen pleasure boats loitered with us at the southerly end of Dodd, while unseen others stacked up on the north end, all waiting for the big tug to pull its long tow through and clear the channel. A smaller tug assisted, guiding the rear of the log raft around the dog-leg bend in the narrows, but things did not go as planned. Oh no! The tow dragged, came apart, and several log bundles floated loose, scattering across the channel. Those two tugs powered back and forth like sheep dogs trying to herd an unruly flock. 

Boats at both ends of Dodd paused, then cautiously maneuvered around and through the mess, aware of the need to run through the passage or wait six hours for the next slack current. We dodged the two busy tugs, three drifting log bundles and a few other boats without incident. Later on a Coast Guard radio broadcast announced nine bundles loose in Dodd Narrows as a new hazard to navigation. Nine?! That must have been some log roundup!

Nanaimo is a happening place in the summer. Friday and Saturday nights featured live music on the esplanade, amplified throughout the harbor. On Saturday morning the Dragon Boat Races drew crowds of supporters and impromptu spectators to the city’s waterfront park. Throughout most days and well into the evenings a small ferry chugs back and forth across Newcastle Channel, delivering people to the Dinghy Dock Pub for burgers and a brew. Dockside chatter reports the best harbor entertainment comes from watching visiting boaters maneuver into their assigned slips in gusting 20-25 knot winds. No comment. 

Leaving Ketchikan

June 16

Tatoosh Island, in Behm Canal

As we cruised slowly along Tongass Narrows at the prescribed no-wake speed, we were startled to see two orange Coast Guard RIBs roar by at top speed. The speed was surprising enough, but in each boat a Coastie manned a large pedestal-mounted 50-caliber machine gun. The radio crackled with transmissions informing the captain of the cruise ship Zuiderdam that his ship would be met by USCG Security Escorts and accompanied to its assigned berth. What?!! should we be worried? It turned out to be a drill.

Click on the photo to get a better look at Homeland Security in action.

Tatoosh Island anchorage was peaceful and deserted when we anchored, but we had entertainment throughout the day. A kayak touring company operates out of the bay, zipping back and forth to Ketchikan in several large RIBs to transport boatloads of cruise ship tourists, all eager for a wilderness adventure. 

The best part of the day was a brief fishing trip, 45 minutes from start to finish. RL caught a really nice salmon - and I did a super job of netting it, of course. Now that’s my kind of fishing trip, short and effective. Iron Skillet Salmon (link) for dinner and a big batch of lox (link) in progress. 

Finally, We're Cruising

The green line with arrows shows our route up Discovery Channel as we begin the trip.

June 4

Discovery Harbor Marina to Farewell Harbor

0650 departure.

Bleakney Pass was active with a 5-knot current running against us as we entered. Whirlpools formed all over the place, but the Capt quickly moved us to the far shore to minimize any twisting and turning. We focused on suddenly turbulent water ahead. It wasn’t a whirlpool, so what caused all of the splashing?  A sea lion surfaced with a salmon flopping in its mouth. Two seagulls circled around his head and harassed him with no effect. Suddenly an eagle swooped down and grabbed a piece of the fish. The sea lion lunged upward after the eagle, thrusting the upper third of his body into the air before crashing back into the water. But the eagle pulled up sharply, soaring away as he used his beak to tear into that strip of fish held in his talons. Where did the birds come from so quickly? All of the action took place within seconds, not minutes, as this drama unfolded.

Several cruise ships traveled through Bleakney Pass at slack current, without the excitement of any whirlpools. I wonder if current impacts a huge ship in the turns through a tight passage. Here’s a view of the Celebrity Century seen from our inside anchorage in Farewell Harbor.

Foggy Bay, AK

Day 5: 103 nm

In the early spring Grenville Channel hills typically wear coats of snow, trailing down almost to the shoreline. We humans would be sporting layers of long underwear, fleecy sweatshirts and probably raingear. By mid-spring multitudes of waterfalls usually carry the torrents of snowmelt waters down to the channel. But today it’s summer, I wore short sleeves and our passage was warmer, greener and well, somehow dull. Note: dull can be good when it reflects a total lack of interesting logs, drift, kelp balls, etc. along the route.

With today's positive current push and really flat water, we motored on up the Grenville and past Prince Rupert. Then we bypassed the anchorages south of Dixon Entrance, choosing to put in another long day and have that big-water crossing behind us. Once across Dixon it was too late to safely travel on to Ketchikan, so we anchored in Foggy Bay. Tomorrow we’ll officially be in Alaska. It’s time to set the clocks back, and slow down the travel for the next few months.

Passing vessels added some interest and color to the overcast, gray-day run up the Grenville Channel and across Dixon Entrance.