August 8, 2010 – Leg 6, Day 7 – Shearwater to Fury Cove

We left Shearwater on a pretty clear morning – no fog! – and cruised past the First Nations town of Bella Bella into Lama Passage, where we had to dodge a lot of logs in the water. The morning light on these wooded islands dappled them in myriad shades of green, and it was beautifully calm as we transited Fisher Channel on our way into Fitzhugh Sound. We made our way along the jagged mainland shore with occasional whale sightings. We nosed our way into Namu Harbour, another old defunct cannery community that does have caretakers who welcome visitors. Then further on cruised by the mouth of the Koeye River, a river known for its salmon runs and where a First Nations longhouse is located. This is an area which has been inhabited by the native peoples for thousands of years.

As we neared Fish Egg Inlet, we started seeing lots of whale blows – to the right, to the left, and all around us! As we hovered around watching the humpback whale show, a sailboat hailed us – it was the Spirit of Freedom with Captain Bill’s uncle and cousin aboard. They had recognized the NWE fleet (we are a pretty distinctive group up here), but still, there is something about unexpectedly running into your relatives in the wilderness….

We entered into Fury Cove, a sheltered anchorage with a beautiful white shell midden beach. This was also the most crowded anchorage we’ve been in so far, and we rafted together in two groups to reduce our footprint (boatprint) in the cove. Several shore parties explored the beach and tide pools, then it was back to the boats for an early night - for tomorrow we cross Queen Charlotte Sound.

August 7, 2010 – Leg 6, Day 6 – Bottleneck Inlet to Shearwater

The Mother Goose fleet awoke to a misty morning, and as we exited Bottleneck Inlet, we were greeted by a humpback whale – maybe the same one we saw last night. We proceeded down Finlayson Channel, scanning the shores for bears, when suddenly a pod of Orcas found us! They were all around us; it was hard to know which way to look. Navigator’s crew had great orca juju as a large male surfaced several times just off of their stern. Unlike the pod of orcas we had seen earlier, which had stayed together in a fairly tight group, these were more spread out and were probably hunting, according to naturalist Emmelina.

Continuing on after the orcas left us, we entered into Jackson Narrows, a passage that has a tight constriction at its eastern end. Captain Bill had timed our transit for high water slack and all the boats successfully navigated the narrow rocky channel which then opens out into Mathieson Channel. We cruised along rocky islets and islands and saw another humpback whale before entering into Reid Passage, a scenic passage into Seaforth Channel, but alas, we didn’t see any bears.

Once in Seaforth Channel we began seeing more boats, especially as we neared the towns of Bella Bella and Shearwater. Steve, the harbourmaster at the Shearwater marina, was expecting us, and had places on the dock for each boat (Thanks, Steve!). As soon as we were secured, we headed up the dock to the Shearwater Store and Pub (and wi-fi connections for those who had been forced to be internet-free for several days in the wilderness). It was a fun evening as we chatted with other boaters on the dock and enjoyed a festive night out.

August 6, 2010 – Leg 6, Day 5 – Hawk Bay to Bottleneck Inlet

Those of us who awoke early today were treated to the sight of a breaching humpback whale just outside the opening to our anchorage. Mystic Eagle took off early to do some more whale watching and the rest of the fleet soon followed.

We cruised through Wright Sound, an area where a number of channels converge, then along McKay Reach where some of the boats were treated to the experience of having Dall’s Porpoises ride in their bow wakes. These mammals seem to express such joy, as if bow riding is just a great game to them. As we traveled along these channels, the depth readings of over 1500 feet are indicative of the glacial action that carved out these fjords, as well as the hanging valleys and jagged rock faces of the mountains on either side of us.

As we cruised along Finlayson Channel, alongside Princess Royal and Roderick Islands, naturalist Emmelina informed us we were in the “Great Bear Rainforest”. We kept a lookout for bear sightings, especially for the rare “Spirit Bear”, a white black bear found only in this area, but the deteriorating weather apparently kept them out of sight. The rain became a steady downpour (we were in a rainforest, after all), and we peered through it at the derelict old fish cannery at Butedale. Just before entering into our anchorage in Bottleneck Inlet on Roderick Island, we sighted another Humpback whale. We set our anchors and joined by a couple of playful harbor seals, settled in to enjoy a calm and cozy rainy night.

August 5, 2010 – Leg 6, Day 4 – Newcombe Harbour to Hawk Bay

The skies were overcast this morning but there was no fog as we departed Newcombe Harbour. We cruised down Petrel Channel, detouring through Ala Passage to check out the “Math Islands” (Sine, Cosine, Tangent and Azimuth), before entering into Principe Channel. We kept a sharp lookout for whales as we had seen them in this area last year, but no luck. That was about to change, though, as we entered Otter Reach. We hovered after sighting our first Humpback whales, but that was just the beginning … As we entered into Squally Channel, we saw whale blows and flukes in all directions – and then a breaching whale – and then another! Another whale put on a prolonged display of tail slapping, over and over again. It was truly awesome! Needless to say, we hovered and watched the show for quite awhile. Some whales came close enough to some of the boats that they could hear (and smell!) the whales’ breathe. Inside Passage reported that whale breath is very fishy stinky smelling. On the other hand, how many people get to say they’ve smelled a whale?

We reluctantly headed for our anchorage in Hawke Bay on Fin Island, as the whale show continued. Hawke Bay is a tight and slightly tricky anchorage, so we rafted Mystic Eagle and Inside Passage to Deception, and Navigator to Arctic Star, thus limiting our anchoring footprint. Once our boats were settled, though, several dinghies went out to continue the whale watching and even those of us who remained on our boats could still see whale blows and flukes just outside and framed by the opening into our little bay. What a memorable experience!

August 4, 2010 – Leg 6, Day 3 – Prince Rupert to Newcombe Harbour

After a pleasant night at anchor in Pillsbury Cove, we started the day with a fun water taxi ride from Prince Rupert Adventure Tours (water taxi and sightseeing tours) into Prince Rupert to do our provisioning. Our taxi skipper, Mike, was delightful, providing boat to dock service with good cheer and a smile (Thanks, Mike!). After our shopping was completed, Mike ferried us back to our boats; we hoisted anchors and set off – into the fog. Thanks goodness for modern radar technology! It is hard to imagine navigating without it. (We are apt to hone our radar skills on this leg as August is known colloquially as “Fogust” around here.) We also prudently made sure that we each kept a visual on the boat ahead of us.

As the fog cleared we discovered we were traveling along tree-covered rocky islands with snow-capped mountain vistas in the distance. We cruised along the sparkling waters of Petrel Channel under now clear blue skies into the lovely anchorage of Newcombe Harbour, an inlet on Pitt Island. Everyone found a good spot to drop anchor and once secured, gathered for a social hour aboard Deception, where we enjoyed good company and yummy munchies. And another day came to a peaceful end.

August 3, 2010 – Leg 6, Day 2 – Foggy Bay to Prince Rupert

Orcas! We had barely left Foggy Bay when sharp-eyed naturalist Emmelina spotted a large pod if orca whales off in the distance, but coming our way. We all slowed our boats and isled while at least ten whales came past us, ranging in all sizes from a large male with an enormous dorsal fin to several smaller ones. These are the fish-eating orcas which travel in matriarchal groups, in contrast to the more solitary transient orca which prey on marine mammals. We kept our distance, but they came close enough that we were able to see the white markings around their eyes and hear their exhalations.

Our crossing of Dixon Entrance was smooth with no chop, just a little swell. We soon saw the red and white Canadian lighthouse off of Dundas Island and knew we had left Alaska and were now in British Columbia. We threaded our way through the Moffet Islands which are very picturesque, plus it broke up the straight open crossing to make it more interesting.

We wound our way through Venn Passage into Prince Rupert, B.C.’s most northern port city, and cleared customs. Here we received the unwelcome news that despite having reservations at the marina there was no space for us. We decided to anchor in the very lovely Pillsbury Cove across the bay from Prince Rupert – good holding and well sheltered with plenty of room for all of us. Ever resourceful Emmelina arranged for a water taxi to get us up into town tomorrow for our much needed provisions!

August 2, 2010 – Mother Goose - Leg 6, Day 1 – Ketchikan to Foggy Bay

The Mother Goose fleet is off on leg 6, cruising the Inside Passage from Alaska through British Columbia, Canada to Washington. We left Ketchikan on a clear morning and cruised down the Tongass Narrows on our way to Foggy Bay. As we gradually left the urban hustle and bustle of Ketchikan behind, we began seeing more and more fishing boats. Of the five major types of fishing boats found in Alaska’s waters, we saw (and dodged) three of them – till-netters, purse seiners, and trollers. We particularly had to keep a sharp lookout around the netters and seiners, as their necks extend a fair distance from their boat and we sure didn’t want to inadvertently get too close to them.

After cruising along in calm seas, we negotiated the zig-zaggy entrance into Foggy Bay, a lovely cove. Here we successfully accomplished a five-boat raft-up (no small feat on our first day out!). First mate, Jordan, executed some awesome on shore acrobatics to set the stern ties and we all settled in for a cozy first night of the trip. Some members of the fleet went on dinghy tours of Very Inlet (avoiding the rushing rapids, although they were cool to see), and others went out fishing with some small success. It was a beautiful evening to end an exciting day.