Aboard the "Ocean Rider"

By Linda Rider

Exhaustion, evil words over the mate's loading the entire contents of the house onto the boat, and a whole list of transgressions by you name were all forgotten as we cast off mooring lines and started on another cruise to the wilds of Alaska. The start of the trip, however, was less than auspicious. Our daughter and grandson picked us up and helped us pull back to the fuel dock at Cornet Bay, where we permanently moor our boat, Ocean Rider in Deception Pass Marina. The when the starboard engine key was turned, there was a "click" and no "v-room."

The captain went below with his trusty adjusting tool, otherwise know as a hammer to beat on the solenoid. Nothing. We pulled back to our mooring spot to let W-D 40 soak in and prayed a little. Finally after about an hour the sea gods took pity on us and the engine sprang to life. Hallelujah! The captain had spent months going over every system meticulously. Of course, everything worked perfectly yesterday. We have found that the only time everything works is when you're tied to the dock at home. All bets are off when you cast off mooring lines.

Since we were delayed by several hours, we were underway with just enough water under us to glide out of the marina. We passed under Deception Pass Bridge. There was a two to three foot swell in Rosario Strait. The autopilot was able to hold a course, a new ability after its compass was adjusted. The water flattened out after we entered Lopez Pass. It was definitely the opening for commercial crabbers as we dodged hundreds of pot buoys.

We followed our usual course around Upright Head, past Flat Point and up San Juan Channel. We changed course for the north side of Stuart Island at Speiden Island. This time I plotted a course north of Moresby Island after we crossed the Canadian border in Haro Strait. We did not have to go into Bedwell Harbor or Sidney to clear customs, since we had called from the marina and had our clearance number via CanPass.

Very few boats were out as we cruised in Satellite Channel. We followed the shore of Saltspring Island. There was still a lot of current in Sansum Narrows. We contacted Maple Bay Marina and received a slip assignment. Our first stop was a quick trip to the fuel dock to top off with fuel. The captain sweet talked the gals into giving us the best slip next to the fuel dock. This is one of our favorite places in the area with helpful dock staff and reasonable prices. Another criteria for mooring or anchoring is a quality dog walk. Slick, our fox terrier, enjoyed the dog walk complete with designated water bowl on the lawn, while the captain and crew enjoyed dinner aboard and reading. The day ended pleasantly. What an improvement to the beginning!

Thursday, June 22, 2000

After calculating slack at Dodds Narrows we had the luxury of a leisurely dog walk, coffee, and a trip to the marine store to see if there was anything we couldn't live without. Maple Bay looked its best. The gardens had new blooming bedding plants, and everything had been freshly painted for the summer season. We tidied up and eased out of our slip at 1050.

Other than dodging deadheads and buoys the trip to Dodd Narrows was uneventful. We had to idle past an odd-looking, slow sailboat since there were still two to three knots of current in the narrows and the sailboat was barely making headway. We listened to the updated weather and decided to stick our noses out in Georgia Strait instead of stopping in Nanaimo. One of B.C.'s new super ferries cut across our bow leaving a wake to rival Queen of the North and this was when it was idling into the harbor!

Whisky Golf was active today, so we had to head for Winchelsea and Ballenas Islands to skirt the end of the torpedo testing area. The low swell was encouraging us onward. It flattened out even more as we passed Lasquetti Island and set a course for the southern tip of Texada Island, Here it was early afternoon as we ducked behind Texada and flat calm. The weather was too nice to waste. Georgia Strait and even Malaspina Strait are stretches of water to respect. We continued up Malaspina Strait, bypassing the pleasure of Pender Harbour, our second alternate stopping place. With a heavy sigh, the mate decided there was to be no dinner ashore in Garden Bay. We have learned to take advantage of good weather and perfect conditions and keep going on these passages.

It was a long cruise up Texada, 27 nautical miles to be almost exact. The smooth water continued as we passed Powell River. We took the faster route outside the Copeland Islands, so we didn't rock the boats anchored in the marine park. A huge log raft with tugs made us swing wide around Sarah Point. We entered Desolation Sound. We turned into Malaspina Inlet, idling past all the aquiculture and around the numerous rocks. Grace Harbour was relatively deserted, only six boats. At 1920 we were anchored. We relaxed in our secure harbor. The bottom is excellent and there is swinging room for a small armada. We had traveled a respectable 101.2 nautical miles.

Friday, June 23, 2000

After consulting the current stations for the five rapids we needed to traverse, it was not necessary to leave at the crack of dawn. Since there wasn't much tide today, there was a large window of safe times to transit the rapids. We weighed anchor and cruised out at a respectable hour of 0945. Malaspina Inlet and Desolation Sound were calm, but showers overtook us as we made our way up Lewis and Calm Channels. Yucculta had 2.3 knots, and there were 3.3 knots in Gillard and Dent Rapids. We powered through with no difficulty. It was nice not to have to jockey with log rafts, large yachts, or a flood of small boats with charter fishermen in matching rain gear near Big Bay like you have to do later in the summer at slack.

Cordero Channel was calm as well. We went through Green Point Rapids with several knots of current. As we looked at the perfect conditions in Chancellor and Wellbore Channels, we decided to bypass Forward Harbour, our intended anchoring spot. Whirlpool Rapids presented no problem today, and Sunderland Channel was flat calm. We usually get an early morning start to travel the twelve miles up Johnstone. It wasn't necessary today. We turned into Johnstone Strait and were rewarded for our diligence, calm waters again.

Fog shrouded the shores, so we turned on running lights and used radar to navigate Johnstone Strait. We rounded Broken Islands and entered Havannah Channel. A log raft was being towed through Chatham Channel, so we circled near Root Point. After lining up range markers we tried out our new forward looking depth sounder in the narrow channel.. We called Lagoon Cove Marina near Minstrel Island to assure us a spot at the dock. When we arrived, the owner, Bill, helped us tie up at the fuel dock.

Since happy hour was just starting, Bill asked us if we minded waiting to fuel up. After covering 94.3 nautical miles we deserved a little recreation ashore. I quickly ran the dog up for a much appreciated run up the trail (This is another great dog walking spot!) and prepared a quick plate of cheese and crackers as my offering. We joined the crowd assembled in the dock building. Rain showers moved the festivities into the shop, too. Fresh boiled prawns caught just today tasted wonderful. Bill told us about his generator shed burning down about a week ago. All the people on the dock formed a bucket brigade and kept the other buildings from going up as well. They can't get fire insurance, so it was a costly fire. A new John Deere generator was already up and running. After happy hour we refueled and pulled over to our permanent spot. After 1030 as we were reading, Bill shut down Lagoon Cove Power and Light for the evening. This is definitely one of our favorite spots, well run, and full of character.

Saturday, June 24, 2000

We slept in and did our boat chores. The captain lowered the dinghy and put on our new outboard. We decided not to put out prawn traps since we wanted to leave fairly early the next morning. It had been too rainy to do it last night. Besides, the Lagoon Cove staff would provide more boiled prawns at the evening potluck. So we went gunk holing in the dinghy to break in the outboard. We explored the Blowhole and Cutter Cove and went back to the back part of Lagoon Cove to crab. There were quite a few pots out. We got mostly small ones that we threw back but had two large enough to keep. I prepared a broccoli cashew salad and we pot lucked on the dock. Everyone had outdone themselves in preparing tasty dishes. It was a beautiful day and a lovely evening. This is vacationing at its best.

Sunday, June 25, 2000

We departed under clear skies into the calm waters near Lagoon Cove. We proceeded down Knight Inlet. I plotted a course following the shore of Jumble Island and then to the aide on Wedge Island. This would be a good course in limited visibility. Calm waters in Blackfish Sound and Queen Charlotte Strait lured us on. We picked up speed to take advantage of these wonderful conditions. That's one advantage of having a faster boat.

We passed our first alternate anchorage at Blunden Harbour. Near Jeannette Islands the fog descended lowering visibility to one-eighth of a mile or less. Luckily I had all the courses preplotted. We never saw the turning points at Wentworth Rock, Harris Island, McEwan Rock, or Bremner Islet. The fog was too thick. Between clear radar targets, and plotting fixes on the chart from the GPS, it wasn't as nerve wracking as it could have been. We still rely on paper charts and the old fashioned piloting with dividers and parallel rules. One of these years we may invest in electronic charts, but I know that it will be in a place just like this in zero-zero visibility that it will quit for some unknown reason.

Our original destination for the night was Allison Harbour, but we never pass up a chance to cross Queen Charlotte when conditions are this favorable. Ocean swells increased near Slingsby Channel and smoothed out again near Egg Island. The fog lifted suddenly to expose Cape Caution. Five green dots on the radar screen turned into five boats heading north, all converging about a mile off Egg Island. Our fingers crossed, we eyed the almost smooth waters of Queen Charlotte stretching west to Japan. The dog was able to nap rather than hyperventilate in terror!

As we neared Cape Calvert, the afternoon winds began to roughen up the water. The predicted moderate to strong northwesterlies put in a later than usual appearance, thank goodness. As soon as we were behind Calvert Island the waters became almost glassy. The long 25 nautical mile run up to Sea Otter Inlet made us dream of napping, while the dog after nine hours on board needed a beach run. We were the only boat at anchor in the south arm. This is another secure anchorage with excellent bottom. All of our pressing needs were met. We relaxed under more clear skies and in even calmer waters. This was another long day covering 113.9 nautical miles.

Monday, June 26, 2000

Since the flood tide wasn't until late afternoon and we only planned to travel about 63 nautical miles, there was no hurry to leave our ideal anchorage. A dog run and breakfast were the order of the day before weighing our firmly set anchor. FitzHugh Sound was even smoother than yesterday. A westerly wind kicked up enough salt spray to cover the freshly cleaned forward windows when we turned into Lama Passage. We decided to check out the new fuel dock at Shearwater. We floated around behind the new log breakwater waiting for a sailboat with a fast runabout tender rafted to its side to depart. The attendant was pleasant and helpful. No graceful leap to the dock was needed. The fuel was only a penny more a liter than Lagoon Cove. We'll add this to the list of approved fuel stops.

Unlike most of the boats churning up wakes in the harbor, we considerately idled out and around Dryad Point and into Seaforth Channel. The westerlies again kicked up whitecaps and an ocean swell was more evident the closer we got to Ivory Island. The calm passage behind Ivory Island and up Reid Passage was definitely preferable to Milbanke Sound. We got our new depth finder working. (It doesn't like the other fathometer on.) This passage makes my palms sweat. We cut in close to Oliver Cove to avoid the rock in the center of the passage. Getting the correct course to find Percival Narrows was easier today after making the trip through Reid Passage twice last year. There was no standing wave like one year when the mate forgot to plan the passage on a flood tide when there are westerlies!

A late lunch in the smooth waters of Mathieson Channel was our reward for surviving the terrors of rocks and shallows. We rounded the point at the end of Jackson Narrows, being careful to avoid the reefs that extend from both islands at the entrance to Rescue Bay. Four other boats were already at anchor. It was another gorgeous evening.

I don't recognize this place without torrential downpours. It rained for 24 hours last year. Slick was grateful for the absence of wolves ashore. We have a very mouthy dog. Every dog, bear, otter, or bird is an excuse to bark. However, when a pack of wolves on the beach began to howl back and forth last year, she didn't make a sound. Even the next day she was very nervous and reluctant to leave the dinghy when she went ashore. We figured she could still speak wolf.

Tuesday, June 27, 2000

With nowhere to go and no schedule to meet, we managed to get underway before noon. As we cruised up Mathieson Channel we saw just one other boat, a Krogen that had been anchor with us in Rescue Bay. A school of porpoise were frolicking in calm waters. Yesterday in FitzHugh we saw an even bigger school and at least three Orcas.

It had been quite a few years since we traveled up Mathieson Channel. Fueling in Shearwater freed us up to use this calm water route rather than going to Klemtu for refuel. We rounded the point at Mathieson Narrows and entered Sheep Passage, which was completely glassy. There wasn't much current in Heikish Narrows or the usual collection of drift at the northern end.

We decided to make a short day of it, just 43.7 nautical miles. Two and a half miles up Graham Reach we turned into Green Inlet. No other boats were anchored in Horsefly Cove, so we idled in. The depth finder showed the steep-to-shore. We found the 60 to 70 foot section just off the stream and dropped our anchor at 1515. Then the captain lowered the dinghy and ran a line to a log on the beach to keep us from swinging around and pulling out the anchor. We learned this from experience, since the center of the cove is deep and rocky, and setting the anchor is difficult.

We rigged the sun shade and pulled out the new lawn chairs with foot rests. A cooling breeze, a cold drink, a good book, and the picture of a perfect anchorage was completed. A trawler joined us later, but hardly a ripple spoiled this tiny anchorage.

Wednesday, June 28, 2000

We planned another civilized morning with a real breakfast and time to drink enough coffee to connect neurons. The couple in the trawler came over while we were preparing breakfast. This was their first trip to Alaska. They told us about bears they had seen on the beach. We managed to get the shore tie back without any difficulty and were idling out before noon. It was another amazingly sunny day, a record for this part of the country.

Graham Reach was calm, but there was a chop in Fraser Reach. We heard Queen of the North report her position on Channel 11, Prince Rupert Traffic. So we ducked behind Work Island to escape her prodigious wake. McKay Reach had white caps with two to three foot chop. When we got to Wright Sound there was a four foot swell, but fortunately it flattened out when we neared Grenville Channel. We were prepared for that steep sided chop and spray on the windows in Grenville, but we were pleasantly surprised when it didn't materialize.

We decided to bypass Lowe Inlet this time and continue up Grenville Channel to Klewnuggit Inlet. The feared swells were visible as Morning Reef came in sight. This is where the currents meet. White caps and a few beam rolls as we turned the corner into Klewnuggit were the worst we had to endure. As soon as we were in the lee it flattened out again. We headed for East Inlet all the way back to the Inner Basin. Two other boats were already at anchor, but there is enough room here for fifty boats.

The anchor dug in well, but in the process of anchoring the chain became fouled in the windlass. The captain decided to wait until morning to convince the windlass to let our chain go. He feared pulling up several hundred feet of chain by hand. What a nightmare that would be. It was 1920 by the time we were settled. We had traveled 75.3 nautical miles. We had a late dinner, a later night dog walk, set a crab trap, and it was time for bed.

Thursday, June 29, 2000

We planned to just go ten miles up to Baker Inlet, since we were ahead of schedule. We love to anchor at the head in complete protection. So we were not moving quickly again this morning. Sloth blood has taken over. Slick appreciated a good dog beach. With only a little persuading, the chain was released. The crab trap was empty, although we have done well crabbing here before. We made a couple of circles to recalibrate the KVH compass, and then idled out into Grenville Channel.

Grenville was remarkably calm, so we kept going when the marker for Baker Inlet appeared. We planned on stopping at the anchorage past Herbert Reef. When the afternoon chop didn't start by the time we were going to turn into Bloxam Passage, we decided to stick our nose out into Chatham Sound. It looked pretty good, so we didn't duck back into Hunt Inlet, our next alternate anchorage. By the time we got to Lucy Island there was at least a two foot chop and a following sea.

The on station report for Green Island was "rippled," but they were wrong. We had three to four foot swells by the time we had the lighthouse in sight. The boat rode quite comfortably. The swells followed us around the point by Holliday Island. We took a couple of fixes to make sure we were heading for the right opening into Brundige Inlet. We hadn't been here since our first trip to Alaska in 1986.

We had a least depth of 14 feet in the channel on a 6.5 foot tide. Rain showers and gusts of wind in the anchorage made us glad we'd stopped. At 1810 we were securely anchored after covering 79.4 nautical miles. We were the only boat in the anchorage tonight. The rain pounded on the Plexiglas hatch and the snubber groaned as the anchor chain was straightened out by more wind gusts.

Friday, June 30, 2000

I woke the captain at 0630. We listened to a rather nasty weather forecast. We had more rain showers and gust of wind in the anchorage. It looked like we'd be spending another day at anchor rather than cross Dixon Entrance. We headed back to bed inviting the dog for "nap time" so she wouldn't bug us to go ashore. Napping on the bed is second only to food in importance.

At 0930 we restarted our day and had a full breakfast. The captain had to bail the dinghy before taking the dog ashore. We had some serious showers last night and this morning. At 1030 the new weather forecast was broadcast. As we happened by Channel 16 two boats were hailing each other. The reception was loud and clear, so we figured it was awfully close by. When one boat reported excellent conditions in Dixon, it took us two minutes to decide to go out and look for ourselves.

We hurriedly checked engines, raised the dinghy and anchor, and headed out. When we had passed the Gnarled Islands and were out in Dixon, the conditions were good (not excellent), a chop and a long five foot ocean swell. However, it was comfortable and by far a satisfactory way to cross. The quartering following sea followed us up to Revillagigedo Channel. We passed one of the boats that had lured us out of Brundige Inlet. Well south of town we were able to raise the harbormaster and secure a slip in Bar Harbor. Today's trip covered 59.5 nautical miles.

Checking into customs by phone, a refueling stop, and a late, well-deserved lunch satisfied the needs of government, boat, and captain. Since all the power is privately owned, we checked the name and phone number on the slip. We were able to call the slip owner and arrange for power starting tomorrow. What more could we want?

We had successfully traveled a total of 684.1 nautical miles and arrived in Alaska in ten days. We always plan for delays and bad weather. However, we had been blessed with excellent weather and calm seas on most of the trip. This was one of our best voyages north ever.