Day 29 - Port Neville to Blind Channel

We woke to a peaceful morning, with blue skies already visible through waffled clouds. Not sure if the weather system has simply changed, but I think more likely we have returned to the climate of southern British Columbia. We felt a change at about this same latitude on our trip up to the Broughtons – mornings became chilly, and we had to wait until noon for the clouds to burn off when we were “up north”. We definitely welcome the return of the sun. And the horseflies have turned back into mosquitos, too. Still undecided as to whether they are welcome or not.

We hit a bit of a snag when we tried to get going nice and early to take advantage of the current and tide for our second leg of the Johnstone Strait. Although Cap’n Adam had made a mental note of the GPS coordinates when we dropped the prawn trap, it was not where we had left it. Perhaps the current had dragged it, perhaps it got pulled out with the tide. We spent about an hour searching and cursing, hampered by the sun which was low in the sky creating a blinding (but lovely) reflection off of the water. We really did not want to abandon it since they are not cheap, and we had just bought it before we left. As we were beginning to discuss moving on, Cap’n Eagle Eye spied the small yellow float about 200 yards off of our bow. Thrilled, we raced toward it before we lost it again, and didn’t even care that there were no prawns in it when we hauled it back up.

With the wind at our backs we hoisted the geniker again, and travelled all the way to the end of the Johnstone Strait, where it turns into Discovery Passage. From there we headed east between East and West Thurlow Islands, and found a spot to drop the anchor just outside of Blind Channel Resort. Although this is a nice resort with a well stocked store and a fancy looking restaurant, there were plenty of pre-teens on loud sugar highs running around, which culture-shocked the heck out of us. So, back into the dingy and back to the catamaran to enjoy the last rays of the sun in peace.

As the sun dipped behind the mountains, we briefly witnessed one of the most special things I’ve ever seen out here on the coast. A momma harbour seal, so small she barely looked full-grown herself, hopped her way out of the water and onto a rock a few hundred feet from us. And then behind her, a tiny baby seal also flopped just far enough out of the water to reach her, and began nursing. It felt like the whole world just stopped, and we were privy to one of the most intimate moments I’ve ever seen. After a bit of time I snapped one picture, barely having time to focus, but my movement must have scared momma because she slid back into the water. I included that picture in this blog (the last pic), although it is not very clear, the light was not great, and I had to crop the picture, you can kind of make it out. But it doesn’t do the moment justice, which I felt more in my heart than I saw with my eyes. You’re right, Shannon, I need a better camera with a much better lens. :)

Day 28 - Kwatsi Bay to Port Neville

For the first time in a while, we were out of bed at the crack of dawn. Time has brought us to the place where we need to think about our journey back home, and we want to maintain this year’s agenda of not being rushed. We want to take our time getting home so that we’re not all flustered by the time we get there.

Today’s journey took us back into the Johnstone Strait. Because the current and the winds are so strong through here, we ensured that we got to our destination before high tide at 3:00 PM. We hauled up the prawn trap just outside of Kwatsi Bay, and were pleased to see a small cache of about 10 shrimp and about 5 small tiger prawns. These tiger prawns were nothing like the lobster-sized ones we were served in Singapore, but they were tiger prawns nonetheless. We enjoyed them in a creamy pasta sauce for dinner.

We made our way through Tribune channel between Gilford Island and the coastal mainland, then crossed Knight Inlet to Chatham Channel. Once we passed through there we were back into Johnstone Strait. The winds were a-blowing, and we were able to hoist the geniker again and kill the motors for a while to coast along on nature’s power alone. This is such a satisfying feeling; to move at a decent pace while burning no fossil fuels at all.

We dropped the prawn trap again just outside of the entrance to Port Neville, then continued along looking for a place to drop the hook. The wind was quite strong at this point, and we needed to find a secure place where we wouldn’t get blown to shore. Our guide book suggested anchoring around a point of land called Robber’s Knob, but when we got there it seemed to have almost no protection at all. Robber’s Knob just wasn’t big enough to get the job done. So we turned the boat around and headed back out, and tucked ourselves into a small cove which seemed to have some decent protection from the winds and chop, despite what our guide book said. With anchor down and anchor bridle securing it in place, we hopped into the dingy to visit the old site.

Port Neville was named by Captain George Vancouver back in 1792. It was the site of the first post office on the west coast of Canada, opening in 1891. The public wharf dates back to the days of the Union Steamship. Once the hub of a bustling community, the land has always been privately owned. Today it is used primarily as a summer cottage for the family that owns it. They have kept the original store as it was (complete with stock from the shelves that is decades old), and have opened it as a museum for folks who come and visit. A full-time caretaker lives there with his cat Bungy, and they gave us a brief tour of the building. Port Neville also hosts some impromptu potluck dinners for boaters, but there were not many folks around when we visited.

Back into the dinghy, and we were pleased to see that the catamaran was exactly where we had left it.

Day 9 - Forward Bay (coastal mainland) to Lagoon Cove (Cracroft Island)

Up at the crack of dawn, we were kind of surprised to see we were one of the last boats remaining in the bay. I guess everyone had the same idea we did – head into Johnstone Strait first thing. Our “friend” who anchored a wee bit too close to us was also gone. We wouldn’t have to blow our air horn at him to “Wake Up!” and move his freaking boat so we could leave. Too bad, that actually would have been kind of fun.

The air had definitely changed overnight. The cool breeze had turned quite frigid, and thick clouds hinted that we may not see the sun today at all. Up came the anchor and off we went to see what Johnstone Strait had in store for us.

Cap’n Adam was at the helm again, through some swirly waters of Sunderland Channel north of Hardwicke Island. And into Johnstone Strait we plunged. In addition to strong currents and strong winds, this passage is also a busy shipping lane. Freighters and cruise ships pass through here regularly; it is most prudent take heed. Our plan was to tuck into Port Neville if things got too rough, which was about half way through our estimated 4 hour trip. Although the winds were cold and strong (we even donned everybody’s favourite – the survival suits!!), we were travelling with an ebb tide, and the waters were quite flat. Better to be too cautious than not cautious enough.

We cruised right by Port Neville, exited Johnstone Strait and headed counter-clockwise around East Cracroft Island. Through Havannah Channel and Chatham Channel we saw a pod of about 15 porpoises splashing and swimming and having a grand old time (it seemed to us). Through “The Blow Hole” between Minstrel Island and East Cracroft, we were now at Lagoon Cove, a protected little spot with a private marina. It was early afternoon and the sky was now blue again, the sun reminding us of his strength. Not wanting to spend money on moorage, we found a spot in a secluded bay to throw the anchor down, then dingied to the marina to check it all out. The harbinger Bill was most friendly, inviting us to explore the walking trails and facilities at our leisure.

We are now at the very edge of our destination, the Broughton Archipelago. Tomorrow we will enter it proper, and begin our 3 week exploration of this special corner of British Columbia.