As we were pulling the anchor this morning, a pretty Red Throated Loon popped up close enough for me to get a very long shot.

 

 

Today, we have to get across Rivers Inlet, but we hope we’ve figured out an easy way to accomplish this.  We got an early start, and headed straight across Smith Inlet.  The inlet is narrower at Fly Basin, so before we knew it, we were off Millbrook Cove.  The wind is still only blowing about 5 to 10 knots, so we continued on, through the little passage behind Shield Island.  Then, we were out into the ugly beam seas of Queen Charlotte Sound, which were still running over 2.5 meters.  But now we only had about an hour of the uglies, because as soon as we got around Paddle Rocks, we could bear off and head up Rivers Inlet, with the seas behind us.  Piece of cake.

When we entered Klaquaek Channel, which is called “The Lake”, the seas were smooth as glass.  We headed for Big Frypan, on Penrose Island, another anchorage we haven’t visited for over 25 years.  As we entered Big Frypan, it started raining, but we didn’t care.  We’re passed Cape Caution and looking forward to lots of smooth water cruising for the next few months.

 

 

 

 

Our time at Fly Basin was very peaceful, quiet and relaxing.  Al set out a crab trap a couple of times, but all he caught was a small female crab covered with barnacles, which of course he threw back.  Other people have caught crabs here, so I guess we just haven’t found the right spot, or the commercial crabbers have cleaned them out.

I paddled the shoreline each morning, looking for photo ops.  There are lots of old moss- covered tortured cedars that look like they’ve been barely hanging on here for centuries.

 

The first day, I paddled and paddled, thinking all I was going to get was exercise.  Finally, I found this robin hopping along the shore looking for a meal.

 

 

I thanked him for his photo and continued on my way.

The shoreline is dotted with several pretty little coves.

 

And, I found this very small creek.

 

 

The second day, I set out along the opposite shore.  Once again, I wasn’t finding any wildlife.  This bright orange fungus caught my eye.

 

While I was photographing the fungus, in my peripheral vision, I caught some movement of what I thought was a duck.  To my surprise, when I zoomed in on it, I discovered that it was a mink swimming for shore.  Unfortunately, he was moving right along, swimming for all he was worth, and I was having to shoot right into the sun, so the shot isn’t great.

 

 

 

 

This beautiful little white wildflower caught my eye.

 

 

And, there were hostas and skunk cabbage.

 

I spotted what I thought was an unusually colored rock.  It turned out to be the remains of a stump.  It almost looked petrified. 

What I thought must be its roots turned out to be the remains of tube worms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All winter long, Al has been formulating The New Plan for Getting Around Cape Caution Without Trauma.

          First Leg — Leave Port McNeill, headed for Blunden Harbour.  If the weather is        calm enough to head north, set your course for Miles Inlet.  If the weather, when you reach Miles Inlet is calm enough, set your course for rounding Cape Caution.

          Second leg — Once around Caution, head up Smith Inlet, with the seas behind you, and anchor in Fly Basin.    

          Third leg — Head across Smith Inlet from Fly Basin, where the water is relatively smooth and the distance across the inlet is shorter, and either anchor in Millbrook Cove, or, if the wind is light, continue on through the small passage at Shield Island which is very protected, and out and around Paddle Rocks,  heading up Rivers Inlet with the swell behind you.  When the swell flattens out a bit, angle across Rivers Inlet to Klaquaek Channel, and anchor in Big Frypan, on Penrose Island.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.  Here is what actually happened…

Al was up at 0400 hrs, listening to the weather report for the Central Coast, McGinnis Island to Pine Island, and buoy report for West Sea Otter.  The forecast was for 15 to 25 knot winds, becoming light in the afternoon, and the buoy report for West Sea Otter was swells running 2.3 meters high, at 7 second intervals…  not good for going around Cape Caution today.  But, since the wind was calm at Port McNeill at the moment, we decided to head for Blunden Harbour and wait for better weather for rounding Cape Caution.  I said, “Maybe, if the wind stays calm, we could adjust our course and try to make Miles Inlet,” which is about 16 miles south of Cape Caution.  “Just put the course in for Blunden,” Al said. 

So, we set out at 0530 hrs, thinking we’d only get as far as Blunden Harbour.  As we rounded Malcolm Island, the sun was just coming up, turning everything golden.  I was surprised to see how much snow was still on the mountains.

 

 

 

 

About an hour out, Al said, “It’s looking like we might be able to make Miles after all.  Put in a course for Miles.” 

We kept checking the buoy reports, and they kept saying the swells were 2.3 meters high.  The swell interval was 8 seconds, however, which was headed in the right direction.  The wind where we were was still only blowing about 5 knots, and the seas weren’t bad.  About 3 miles south of Miles Inlet, Al said, “I think we might be able to make it around Caution.  Set a new course that will keep us a mile off Caution”. 

About a mile south of Miles, the seas starting building.  There still wasn’t any wind to speak of, but we were starting to see the nasty effect of Slingsby Channel.  We were about 30 minutes before slack tide, but the seas were still ugly.  We continued on, hoping the seas would smooth out a bit at slack. 

After what seemed like an eternity, we could finally make out the light at Cape Caution.  Al had headed inside my course line, which took us closer to shore, so I was able to get this shot of Cape Caution light. 

 

 

Now we had to decide where we were going to anchor tonight.  Since the seas were pretty uncomfortable, we decided to head for Fly Basin, up Smith Inlet.  Al wanted to head inside South and North Iron Rocks, but I kept insisting that we head outside, because of the ugly swells.  As we got closer to the rocks, he finally decided to make me happy and headed just outside the rocks.  I was being bounced around pretty good when I took these shots of South Iron Rock.

 

 

 

The farther up Smith Inlet we got, the smoother the seas.  What a relief! 

We hadn’t been to Fly Basin in about 25 years, back when we had the sailboat.  It was much prettier than I remembered.  We decided to anchor in the eastern cove of Fly Basin and found a lovely, quiet spot where we dropped the hook.

Having rounded the dreaded Cape Caution, which we never thought we’d accomplish today, we celebrated with a gift bottle of Gundlach Bundschu Merlot, which I’d been saving since Christmas.  Cheated Death again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slack tide at Booker Passage is at 0630 hrs this morning, so we’re up and at ‘em at 0530 hrs.  Slack tide at Booker Passage is just a “guesstimate,” since it’s based on Alert Bay, so we’re delighted to discover that the “guesstimate” is right on and we have a lovely uneventful ride out to Cullen Harbour.  The weather gods are with us this morning.  The water is flat calm and visibility is so good we can see all the way to Port McNeill.  Perfect.

When we called on the VHF to arrange for space at the dock at North Island Marina, we were told that Steve Jackman is no longer running North Island Marina.   Steve’s younger brother, Alan,  is running the place now…bummer.  Alan said they didn’t have any space available at the moment.  Oh, no.  However, by the time we had fueled up, several boats had left and they were able to fit us in. 

As soon as we were tied up at the spot they’d found for us, I got the laundry together and headed for the laundromat.  I was in luck, I had the whole place to myself and was able to get everything washed and back to the boat in less than an hour-and-a-half.  By the time I got everything put away, Al had lunch ready.   As soon as I had the dishes washed, we headed to the IGA to do our provisioning.  I was appalled at the poor selection of produce, but was surprised to find that they had Almond Coconut Milk…Yay!

Then it was back to the boat to put everything away, wash all the veggies a water/chorine solution, and then post as much of my blog as I could.  I posted until about midnight and then decided I’d better try to get some sleep, because tomorrow was going to be another early morning call.  We’d planned on staying in Port McNeill for 2 or 3 days, but after listening to the weather forecast this evening, we’ll have to leave in the morning if we don’t want to get stuck here for a week waiting for decent weather.

We were blessed with beautiful weather every day while anchored in Booker Lagoon.  And, every day that I went paddling, I saw bears.  The spring tide is like a magnet that draws the bears to the shoreline, where they hope to find delectable crustaceans left high and dry by the extra low tide.  I’ve never seen this many bears at Booker.  But, maybe we just weren’t here at spring tide before.

It was almost dark when I spotted the first bears, a momma and her three cubs, on the beach just behind our boat.  I quickly threw on my life jacket, dry suit pants, boots, and camera, and got paddling for the beach, hoping the bears were too busy looking for goodies to notice me.  The cubs were so excited, checking out every rock, while Momma Bear got serious about rustling up dinner.  I maintained what I hoped was a safe distance, but where I could still get half-way decent photos.  Momma bears can get real mean if they think you’re going to mess with their cubs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went paddling every morning at low tide, and every morning I saw bears, but never Momma Bear and her three cubs.  They had apparently moved on.  I did, however, see these same two bears, every morning,  combing the shoreline , in what seemed to be their respective territories.  One bear was pretty “seasoned” and had the scars to show for it.  I was able to get closer to these bears, since they didn’t have cubs, at times getting to within about 20 feet when the wind blew me towards the shore.  It’s hard to concentrate on getting a good shot, while trying not to get eaten by your subject.  I got some pretty hard stares at times, which made me quickly ascertain my distance.  And, at times, I was afraid they might think I was trying to steal their delicious crabs.  As much as they seemed to relish the crabs, I don’t think they’d take too kindly to poachers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was out paddling, Al set our prawn trap.  On his first pull, he had 81 small but delicious humpback shrimp.  Al served them over spaghetti and tossed with pesto sauce.  They were sooo sweet and succulent.  The next day’s pull yielded 76 humpback shrimp and 2 large prawns.  I’ll take the shrimp every time.  The shrimp are so much sweeter.  The last pull consisted of 78 humpback shrimp and 4 prawns.  For three days we ate like kings.  I don’t think I could ever get tired of shrimp and pasta.

When Al wasn’t pulling traps or maintaining the engines, he enjoyed watching the hummers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One poor guy wound up in our cockpit, where he kept trying to fly through the Isinglass enclosure.  I tried to head him toward the exit, but he persisted in trying to fly through the Isinglass.  Finally, exhausted, he sat on the teak rail, trying to get his bearings. 

 

 

When he’d rested a bit, I opened the canvas enough for him to escape.

For some reason, there weren’t any seabirds to speak of in Booker this year.  I did manage to get a shot of this immature bald eagle, however.

 

 

 

 

 

And, I spotted this robin working the shore.

 

 

I also discovered this totem, or I think it’s a totem.  Maybe it’s just a figment of my imagination, but this “rock fellow” seemed to be resting against a rock, enjoying some beautiful yellow wildflowers.

 

 

 

 

 

I had mixed emotions about leaving Bootleg.  I do love prawns.  But, before pulling the anchor this morning,  I spotted a loon, some robins, a heron, and a couple of minks who were dashing along the shore, looking for cover from possible attacks by eagles, and hoping to find some low tide goodies.  This is their best chance of finding delicacies that won’t be available again until the next Spring Tide, which is 2 weeks from now.  If I’d been in my kayak I would have been able to get some great photos.  Oh, well, maybe I’ll see minks at Booker Lagoon.

A marine layer settled in during the night, so the sunshine is gone.  However, the seas are calm, and there isn’t any fog, so we have a pleasant trip.  Just outside Cullen Harbour, the rocks were covered with seals and sea lions. 

 

 

 

 

 

We were a bit early for slack at Booker Passage, so we anchored, waiting for the current to slow a bit.  After about 30 minutes, the current had slowed enough for us to get through the narrows without too much excitement. 

To our dismay, someone had already set a prawn trap in the lagoon.  When I spotted a sailboat in one of the nearby coves, I figured it probably belonged to the sailboat. Al wasn’t so sure and wanted to check it out to see if it belonged to a commercial prawner.  With the binoculars I was able to make out the name “Dilligar,” written on the buoy,  with a phone number below.  It was definitely a private trap.

We’d no sooner passed the buoy when I spotted the line from the buoy floating on top of the water.  Not a good sign.  You’re supposed to put a lead weight on the line to prevent it from floating where it could be picked up in a prop.  I said, “Watch out, I see the line floating.”  About that time we heard the “thunk.”  I thought, “Well the line cutters will cut it free from the props.”  But then the buoy started following us.  “So much for line cutters,” I thought.  It was obvious that we were still attached to the trap.  We also had vibration.  Al tried reversing the engines, but still the buoy followed us.  Now, I could see people from the sailboat getting into their inflatable and heading toward us.  They pulled alongside and Al put the engines in neutral while he talked to them.  Al explained that we were at least 20 feet from the buoy when we passed it, and that the polypropylene line on the buoy had been floating on the surface of the water, which it shouldn’t have been if he was properly weighted.  He then explained how to properly set a trap.  I don’t think the guy appreciated the instruction, because the next thing I heard was Al telling the guy, “It isn’t helpful to use that kind of language.”  Eventually, the fellow finished venting his anger and left. 

We headed for our usual anchoring spot in the North side of the lagoon.  We hadn’t gone far, when I noticed that the buoy wasn’t following us any more.  Apparently the line cutters cut the line all right, but the line then snagged on our rudders.  Luckily, the buoy eventually floated free, probably while Al had his little chat.

 

I got a late start this morning, so by the time I had breakfast and suited up, it was 1030 hrs.  Consequently the wind was already blowing about 15 knots by the time I launched my kayak. 

At the head of the cove an immature Bald Eagle spotted me and took flight.  I turned around hoping for another chance at getting a shot of him.  But, every time I got close enough to get a shot, he’d take flight again.  He was giving me a real workout.  Eventually, at the entrance to Grebe I was able to get a long shot of him, not a great shot, but I worked hard to get it.

 

 

I noticed that there is a lot of Salal growing in Grebe, and it has started blooming.

 

 

The remains of some huge trees that have washed up on the shore caught my eye.  This one looks like it’s been here awhile.  They must get some pretty strong winds blowing in here in the winter.

 

 

 

The wind was building again, so I had to turn around and head back for the boat, which mean’t paddling against the wind.…not fun, but a great workout. 

When I finally made it back to the boat, Al suggested moving over to Bootleg Cove, just across Retreat Passage.  Sounded good to me, since there wasn’t much to photograph in Grebe, and the wind was really whistling through the low spot at the head of the cove.   Twenty minutes later, we were enjoying the lovely, calm waters of Bootleg.  There must be crabs in Bootleg, because the anchorage was full of crab traps.  I was sorry I’d worn myself out paddling in Grebe, because there were a lot more birds to photograph in Bootleg.  Unfortunately, we won’t be staying long enough to re-launch the kayak tomorrow, since we’ve decided to head for Booker Lagoon early tomorrow morning, hoping to get some prawns before the commercial prawners clean the place out.

“Early bird gets the worm,” Al chirps, at 0500 hrs this morning.  “But the wind is supposed to drop this afternoon,” I whine.  The wind was blowing 22 knots at Fanny Island, in Johnstone Strait, when we checked the weather last night, and the wind wasn’t supposed to drop until noon.  Unfortunately, when Al checks the conditions at Fanny Island at 0500 hrs this morning, it’s only blowing 3 knots.  So, it’s another early morning run.

As much as I hate getting up for these early morning runs, I have to admit that the lovely calm water makes it worth it.  We have wall-to-wall blue skies and flat water all the way up Johnstone Strait. 

I spotted a pod of dolphins feeding near Port Neville.  They couldn’t resist playing in our wake, so I tried to get some video of them, since taking still shots is impossible.  A few of them swam along with us, playing in our bow wake.  I’m hoping that when I edit the footage there will be enough good stuff to post on youTube.

We haven’t been to Grebe Cove in about 25 years, so we decided to check it out.  The cove was completely empty, and as lovely as we remembered.  

Al had no sooner put the Hummingbird feeder up, when we had our first customer, a female Rufous.  And, it wasn’t long before here mate wanted a taste of our delicious nectar.

 

We’re up at 0500 hrs this morning, underway for Forward Harbour.  Today, we run the rapids:  Yuculta, Gillard, Dent, Green Point and Whirlpool, and timing is everything.  I calculated and recalculated slack for all 5 rapids.  And then I had Al check my calculations.  You don’t want to screw up your timing on rapids, or you’re in for a very miserable, if not fatal, trip.  We’re only 2 days before a Spring Tide, so currents are running pretty swiftly.  If our calculations are right, we should have a pretty comfortable ride.

We left an hour early, just in case the wind picked up, and it’s a good thing we did, because the wind picked up to 30 knots in some spots.  But, because we had plenty of time, we throttled back to 5 knots and had a comfortable ride. 

When we got to Kelsey Point, at the beginning of Yuculta Rapids, Al sized the situation up and decided we could go through an hour before slack.  I sat down and focused on editing photos from Squirrel Cove….better if I not see the rapids and whirlpools.  My screaming might make Al nervous.   We swirled around a bit here and there, but all in all, we made it through Yuculta, Gillard, Devil’s Hole, and Dent without too much trauma. 

Just passed Dent, I spotted a pair of Orcas feeding along the shore.  They put on quite a show, but, unfortunately, were too far away to get any decent photos.

 

 

When we got to Sandy’s Cove we anchored, waiting for slack at Whirlpool.  Since we had 4 hours to kill, we had showers and Al fixed a delicious lunch.

At 1445 hrs, Al pulled the anchor and we headed out into Green Point Rapids, which were a piece of cake, since it was almost slack tide.  The mountains in the distance are still covered with snow, so despite the sunny skies, the air is a bit chilly. 

 

 

 

Whirlpool Rapids weren’t bad…. hardly rocked the boat.  At 1645 hrs we had our anchor down in Forward Harbour.  There were only two sailboats anchored when we arrived.  A hardy fellow on one of the boats was taking advantage of the sunny weather to take a sun shower on deck.  

A very small fish farm of some sort has been anchored nearby.  It would be nice to know what they’re growing.

We enjoyed beautiful sunny weather at Squirrel, with temperatures as high as 80^o F!  We had our first Hummer of the season at our feeder.  He seemed to really like our sugar water recipe, and tanked up from first light to nightfall.

 

 

This pair of Canadian Honkers were feeding on grass growing among the moss-covered rocks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were very suspicious of me and, I’m sure, wished I would bugger off.  But, they were enjoying the grass so much, that they chose to tolerate my, just barely.  I think they felt fairly safe, since they had the high ground, but they kept their eye on me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When they realized I wasn’t moving along, they got vocal about their displeasure with my presence.  I’m sure they had a few choice honks for me.

 

 

The female really gave me an ear full.

 

 

Spring has sprung in Squirrel Cove.  I spotted these beautiful wildflowers growing along the shore.

 

Squirrel Cove is full of oysters growing on top of oysters.  Unfortunately, you can’t eat them because of paralytic shellfish poisoning.

 

 

I spotted this crow hopping along the shore, searching for low tide goodies.