Aussies' Adventures Along The Northwest Inside Passage

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Part 5: Dent Island To Blind Channel Resort

By David & Irene Axup

Editor's Note: Northwest Boat Travel Club members and designers of the NBT Club burgee, David & Irene Axup, of Melbourne, Australia, have spent over two years carefully planning for "an adventure of a lifetime". Several articles were published in our club magazine, describing their preparations. Now they are here - on our lovely waters, sailing northwestward on their adventure of the next four months. We asked them to share their cruise with our members and with us.

The trip is absolutely unbelievable and we are having the time of our lives.

8th AUGUST - Wednesday

0800 Wake to a thick blanket of fog - visibility is less than 200 metres based on the fact that we cannot see the end of the fuelling dock.

Shower [and shave] on shore - stand under the water until the money runs out - bliss.

0900 Graham MacDonald is here with a replacement voltage regulator and after a brewed coffee he and David start trying to find the problem with the electrical system. Leads are checked and connections tightened or cleaned and a great deal of hilarity abounds as Graham is a great story teller.

Eventually the alternator is removed as there is a fault in that - not a bad one but we want to fix it now. The new voltage regulator is attached and further checks conducted. The system is still not performing as it should and so the search continues.

A connection to the block to ground the system is finally found to be the problem in getting a proper circuit and after it is moved to another bolt on the block "voila" the system works. We can now set off with confidence that we are not going to have electrical problems in some remote spot.

1500 Graham and David disappear to the workshop to settle the account and for David to acquire a pump to drain the gear box for the scheduled change of fluid at the end of 15 hours on the new parts. Irene heads to the supermarket for much needed supplies as we do not expect the next port of call for perishables between one and two weeks from here.

There has been a problem with the beam across the cabin entering from the main cabin in to the forward cabin and David has the lumps out of his skull to prove it. Clark also managed to head butt it from time to time. A solution was discussed and a decision made to get a small piece of bright native art to put on the beam to attract one's attention and so a visit is made to Just Art to plunder Ron's store of Kwaikutl goodies. The solution a small carved and painted Orca to glue on the beam.

E-mails are sent from the Craft Shop and a very late lunch taken at the Coffee Shop next door.

Tomorrow we are out of here. The tide starts to flood along Johnstone Strait at about 1100 hours and we are going to make use of it.

9th AUGUST - Thursday

0815 Provided we do not need to be up earlier we do not need an alarm clock as we seem to wake within a 15 minute time span of 0800 to 0815. The fog is thick again but we get ready to go anyway.

1050 Move to fuel dock and top up the diesel, fuel for the ducky, gas [propane] for the stove and also water and then away across to the other side of the bay to wait on the fog lifting.

1152 Anchor up and head towards where Haddington Island should be. Visibility is not great but adequate at the moment. A course has been laid on the electronic chart and the radar is on. Just to annoy us the fog gets thicker and thicker and somewhere out in front of us is the ferry from Port McNeill to Alert Bay and so we turn back to the anchorage to wait the fog lifting further - or settle in for the day which ever is appropriate.

1222 Someone lifted the curtain - first the top of Haddington appears and within 5 minutes we can see past Gordon Bluff on Cormorant Island and so we give it another go. Our destination of choice is Boat Bay opposite Robinsons Bight.

There is absolutely no wind and so we are on the motor with the tide under our tail.

Just a tad west of Cormorant Island we look back towards the west to see a bloody great cruise ship coming our way and to top it off the ferry is also heading down towards Alert Bay. It is going to get tight in the narrows between Alert Rock and the South West point of Cormorant Island.

A race for the narrows is on and discretion being the better part of valour [or stupidity] we hug the starboard side of the channel to pass close to the Alert Rock buoy. The ferry cuts across the stern of the cruise ship [Infinity] and then up its port side to overtake it and win the race to Alert Bay.

Gordon Bluff is abeam of us before the ship eases past us with people all over its decks in the sunshine. We swing hard to port to breast its wake and then resume our course down Johnstone Strait.

Off Telegraph Cove we spot a pod of Dalls Porpoises who head straight for the boat and pass under and around us and play in the bow wave for several minutes. It is the first "up close" encounter with these creatures other than an in passing sighting.

Cruise ship day - we are near Weynton Passage when the Holland-America Line ship Ryndam passes us also heading along Johnstone Strait to the east. Not so much wake from her and no need to alter course.

We have not seen a single Orca and so opposite Blackney Passage we alter course diagonally across the Strait towards Boat Bay. A quick look behind us and there is another cruise ship and the Alaska ferry also heading East. The cruise ship, which is unidentifiable due to its being on the other side of the Strait, heads on down the Strait and the Alaska Ferry sticks to the middle of the Strait and we get a good view of it.

With one eye on the chart and the other on the waters we turn into Boat Bay to find we are the only boat and the pick of anchorages is ours. We drop the anchor just West of the island and opposite the reefs and set it for the night.

It is a glorious evening with the sun shining on an almost mirror flat Strait. We are away from Marinas for a while we hope.

Late in the evening we are joined in the anchorage by Blue Fjord which obviously takes parties of tourists around going by the VHF conversation between it and the Whale Observers. A converted work boat of some sort with inflatable dinosaurs on the cabin top - curious.

For the last two weeks Comox Coast Guard has been looking for sightings on a 35 foot Endurance ketch called the KW and we wonder what the story is behind this. The Coast Guard have given no hint of the reason except to say that it is overdue on a voyage from Oak Bay near Victoria to the North Coast.

10th AUGUST - Friday

0830 The sun is shining and there is a light breeze from the North West. A layer of fog covers Johnstone Strait but is lifting.

We prepare for sea and then sit and listen to the Whale Watching channel on the VHF. Confusing - it appears that the Orcas are way east of us near St.Vincent Bight and one lot near Nodales Channel. So much for Robsons Bight.

1100 The anchor is up and we motor slowly out into Johnstone Strait and put the bow into the wind and then hoist the sails as the decision has been made to start to head south. It is cold out in the Strait and the thought of warmer waters is a lure - especially to David.

We head south with the wind under our tail and ghost "down hill" at around 3 to 4 knots keeping about a half mile off the shore of West Cracroft Island. The VHF is still on channel 77 while we try and work out if we will see the whales.

Just west of Forward Bay our day is made on the whale front when two adult and two baby Orca [one very tiny] materialize ahead of us slowly making their way west and we get a chance to watch them for about five minutes.

The wind starts to rise and our boat speed picks up and we run down the side of West Cracroft keeping well out to leave plenty of room between us and Escape Reef to port. Past the reef the course is altered to head into Port Harvey and we are fairly flying into the mouth of the Port.

Across the mouth of Havanah Channel the wind starts to drop and we run into the wind shadow of the bluff on the west side of the entrance to the Port and drop the sails. The Port looks empty and so we motor slowly along to take the pick of the anchorages. There is one power boat in the anchorage behind Mist Islets which was invisible until we drew north of it and so we head up to the anchorage at the top of the Port beyond Range Island and drop the pick in ten metres.

1605 Anchor down.

It is actually warm in here and the water proof and polar vest are off and we sit and enjoy the sun and the view with the light on the water meadow at the top of the bay. We think we may just sit here tomorrow.

As the afternoon turns into evening we are joined by four other sailing vessels who drop their anchors around the bay.

It feels good to have been under sail again after so long.

11th AUGUST - Saturday

0900 Today has been declared a "lay day" and we are going to remain in Port Harvey and clean ship - she needs it as nothing has been aired properly after the rain and damp.

The boats that shared the anchorage with us last night have gone or are going with Neva, a British flagged sailing vessel, the last to go.

Port Harvey has changed since we were in here five weeks ago. The hill slope on the west side near canoe pass has been logged and the operation moved on. A new cabin has been built in the little notch immediately north of Tide Pole Islet on the west side of the bay complete with a floating dock and an up market aluminium walkway down to it. The house is of wood, natural coloured, with a steep sloping green roof. An outhouse of generous proportions sits in the trees to its south and a garden has been established on the north side in the sun. Someone is settling in for a long stay.

The water meadow at the top North East of the bay sits in the sunshine and the multiple shades of sun lit green contrast to the darkness of the lower open parts of the tree line. It is a beautiful site and despite the logging that has taken place a pretty and secure anchorage. The wind is in the North West and gusting quite heavily at times but we sit snug on our anchor.

We haven't quite gutted the cabin but just about as we scrub out inside the lockers in the head, open the hatches in the sleeping cabin and main cabin and the dead lights in the galley. The duvet is spread across the boom to air and the mattresses turned up on their sides in the sleeping cabin. Towels adorn the safety lines and we look like a floating laundry.

The cleaning takes up what was left of the morning and the early afternoon and we now feel able to show our boat in polite society again without looking like Sea Gypsies.

An afternoon pottering and running over charts and tide tables to plan the next few days is well spent and we will move on in the morning. The plan is to go back to Forward Harbour in the hope of seeing that elusive bear said to be resident in Douglas Bay. After that it will be Whirlpool Rapids and Green Point Rapids again - oh dear - back to the tide tables with a vengeance.

A Kayaker appears off our starboard side and enquires if we have seen another kayaker as they have become separated after entering Port Harvey - we have no joy for him and he heads off around the east side of Range Island.

1550 The first boat to join us motors into the bay to anchor closer to the north shore - a pretty white "tug" boat [Forest Ranger II] flying a Canadian flag at her stern and a Royal Navy white ensign at her starboard yard. The aft mast has an unidentified pennant at the truck. It is red at the hoist, white field with a red maple leaf in the centre and blue with a yellow whale at the fly. Anybody know what it is? To use a phrase from David's past life "Further enquiries are pending".

1620 A small runabout, Molly Brown, comes alongside and the two occupants enquire if we have seen two kayakers who are "adrift" from their group. We tell them what we know of the kayaker seeking his companion and the direction in which he left us and they head off in that direction after informing us that there are two Australians in their group.

1725 We are below when a very distinctive "Aussie" voice hails us and emerge into the cockpit to find two kayakers sitting off our stern one of whom greets us with "G'day". We chat for 15 minutes and they head off back to their camp site.

We head off in the ducky to wander around the islands on the East side of Port Harvey and spot a harbour seal - Seals equal fish so fishing is on the agenda.

A quiet night in the anchorage as we have only one other arrival - a motor launch called Bing Bang.

12th AUGUST - Sunday

0800 Fog in Johnstone Strait. The whale watchers are talking to each other on channel 77 but without joy. We can see as far as the Strait but it looks thick outside.

1030 The anchor is up and we head down the bay towards Johnstone Strait - there is a course laid on the electronic chart and the radar is on. Visibility does not get any better the closer we get to the Strait.

We are just clear of the entrance when three large power boats up on the plane appear out of the fog on our port bow. Bloody idiots - they probably think it is smart but it is not good seamanship in limited visibility.

The radar shows Broken Islands less than 0.25 nautical miles on our port quarter but they may as well be off the coast of Australia as they are totally obscured. We turn to port and pick up our new course running parallel with the coast about 0.3 nm on the port beam. Eerie.

The radar shows the high cliffs of East Cracroft Island quite clearly and we are a comfortable distance off and travelling at about 4 knots. Blips appear on the screen ahead and astern and closing on us - like some ephemeral sprite they appear on the edge of our vision and then as quickly disappear out of our small world. The scenery is stunning - a wall of white about 300 metres clear of us and all around.

Patches of blue appear above us and then the tops of the mountains to port appear followed by those on Vancouver Island - it is still white at sea level.

Sea Breeze I appears off our starboard beam and we wave at Ken and Lynne before they disappear ahead of us.

We are about 2 nm east of Port Neville when the curtain is lifted and we motor into bright sunlight with visibility unlimited. There is a clear view into Port Neville but we keep going. Milly Island, the small island immediately outside Port Neville, has a house looking east up Johnstone Strait and alongside it is a new looking motor vehicle - what do you do with a motor vehicle on an island 0.15 nm across?

Two adult and two small Dalls porpoises appear and pass us close by. There is no sign of the whales.

Blenkinsop Bay opens up abeam and the wind is coming up and it is once again cold in the Strait and the turn into Sunderland Channel beckons - perhaps it is warmer in there.

It is - we race up Sunderland leaving Seymour and Poyntz Islands to Port. Several large motor vessels overhaul us and disappear around Althorp Point to enter Whirlpool Rapids. Our course is across Bessborough Bay, past Midgham Islets on our starboard side, and turn to Port into Forward Harbour.

Warmth. The wet weather coat comes off followed by the polar fleece. Forward Harbour is still and warm - and popular but an anchorage in Douglas Bay is available and at 1620 hours the anchor is down.

A bear has been on the beach just as we arrived and a couple from another sailing vessel fill us in on the details as they were arriving on the beach at the same time as the bear. There is also a mother and two cubs around but they, like the whales, make no appearance.

Irene is unwell and needs to contact a doctor so a decision is made to head to Blind Channel as we are familiar with the facilities and know that a telephone is available.

Early start tomorrow so early to bed.

13th AUGUST - Monday

0500 The buzzing is the alarm clock and we awaken to darkness. Anchor lights are spread around Douglas Bay and there is the sound of a diesel engine and an anchor chain being retrieved.

A look through the deadlight reveals a Starboard side light and mast head light heading towards the exit of Forward Harbour. We won't be all that far behind.

0545 Radar on, "running lights" on, course set and the anchor is up. The bay is like a mirror and there is the promise of daylight tinging the sky to the East. Visibility is good in the pre-dawn light and we head out into Wellbore Channel and turn South East to go through Whirlpool Rapids which the tide tables tell us should be running in our favour at 2.1 knots. The passage is benign and we slip quickly down channel to Chancellor Channel.

We have rugged up for the chill which accompanies the pre-dawn light and just as well as we enter Chancellor Channel we are favoured with not only the tide but a chilling wind coming from Johnstone Strait three miles to our West. Soon that chilling place will be well behind us. What did Lieutenant Johnstone do to have his name appended to such a miserably cold but interesting piece of water?

Its effect is lost as we turn East along Chancellor Channeland the throttle is brought back to coast along with the tide and wind. No sails as Irene is not up to it.

We have the channel to ourselves until Fittleton Point where we are overhauled by another East bound vessel which gradually pulls away from us.

Another sailing vessel, also minus sails, is creeping West along the north shore of Cordero Channel apparently with the intent of turning North up Loughborough Inlet.

We watch the vessel that had passed us disappear around Green Point and assume he is going to run the rapids. The tables tell us that the current will be running in our direction at about 4.1 knots and the Guide warns against running the rapids at anything other than slack water and so we creep along with the intention of going into the little bay just North of Cordero Islands to wait for the current to slacken. Well creep isn't quite the word as with the motor idling we are moving over the ground at 5.1 knots.

A large power boat appears around Green Point having run the rapids against the tide and so we raise it on Channel 16 and enquire the state of the rapids and receive the reply that they are benign and that we should have no trouble with passing through.

The course is altered to pass close to the South shore of the channel and we fairly scoot through the calm water with only a slight indication of the whirlpools and turbulence that are reported to be the norm. Our speed over the ground is 7 knots.

Into Blind Channel leaving Edsall Islets to our Starboard and the boat speed drops to 3.5 knots as we run into the tide flooding North along Blind Channel.

0915 We are alongside at Blind Channel and again greeted by Elliot Richter, the same cheery young wharf manager, who welcomed us on our first visit here.

Irene contacts a doctor in Campbell River who is very helpful.

The same courtesy and help we received on the first visit is again manifested with a ready assistance from Phil Richter in arranging for the pick up of a prescription in Campbell River and its ferrying here by float plane on its scheduled run. What looked like a large problem yesterday has been reduced to a minor inconvenience due to the help given.

We are standing in the store when the Cinnamon buns appear - fresh from the oven - we should have bought four not two.

Blind Channel Resort is a good place to visit - the facilities are excellent, the scenery stunning and the three generations of the Richter family who run the place pleasant, helpful and competent.

This is also the first opportunity since Port McNeill to do the laundry and stand under a shower and so the opportunity is taken to do both.

Irene's prescription arrives on schedule around 1500 delivered to the boat. This should take care of that problem.

Oh - it almost passed without comment. THE SUN IS OUT AND WE ARE WEARING T SHIRTS - WARMTH AT LAST.

This visit is different from the last as the marina has a good sprinkling of masts sticking up above the cabin tops of the power boats and we spend a bit of time chatting to the other "yachties" - Cathie, from Bluesette another sail boat, says you can tell the difference even without a mast as "yachties", no matter what their nationality hang their washing from the life lines around the boat.

In Australia and New Zealand if it has a mast and sails it is a yacht - if it has no mast and sails it's a power boat.

We decide to finish the day with dinner in the restaurant and are greeted and seated by Will Richter - again the food is excellent.

The similarity between the Richters and a German family with whom we are close back home is striking - almost uncanny.

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