Alaska Trip Day 16

5/31/11

Port McNeill, B.C.

Miles Travelled:  53

The boys woke up at 5:10 this morning to nurse and we jumped to action.  Tor got the engine started and the anchor weighed and then we got the boys back to bed and I crawled back in myself while Tor piloted us out of Forward Harbour.  There was a little fussing from Odin, but we all went back to sleep relatively quickly.  Poor Tor didn’t have any hot coffee or breakfast until the boys and I got up at 7:30…a rude awakening on your birthday!  But, he couldn’t have asked for better weather for his birthday!

When we poked our nose out into Johnstone Strait it was glass calm and we had a nice push from the ebb tide.  When we got to the turn off for Havannah Channel, it was still glass smooth and we were getting a nice push.  We next set our sights on Growler Cove on the West end of West Cracroft Island thinking that if the winds picked up like we expected, we’d tuck in there for the night.  We got to the end of West Cracroft and it was still beautiful and calm…so we decided to go all the way to Port McNeill.  Amazingly by sticking next to shore we were also able to ride the back eddies west even though the eastward flood started at about 11:00.  It was truly a spectacular day.  The birthday boy couldn’t have asked for anything better.  We didn’t start having a problem with the flood current until reaching Cormorant Island and our speed got down to 3.3 knots or so, but we were still making headway.  We arrived in Port McNeill around 3:15.  What a great day!

Beautiful conditions on Johnstone Strait

Mirror smooth water, glorious weather!

It was calm enough for Tor to read my Kindle underway

Yum!  Chili

Once we arrived in Port McNeill, we put the boys in carriers and hit the town.  It’s a big town with access by road, so supplies are much cheaper here.  We went into the grocery store and it was like the land of plenty!  We’ve only been gone a little over 2 weeks, but my eyes were still dazzled by the variety in the produce section!  Organic broccoli and bananas were the same price or cheaper than I pay at home.  At the grocery store we ran into Aaron and Nicole of s/v Bella Star who we know from Seattle.  It was great to catch up a bit and we look forward to seeing more of them tomorrow.

After the grocery store, Lars, Odin and I took Tor out for a birthday dinner.  It was so nice to have an ICE cold beer!  We had cheeseburgers and the boys had a grilled cheese sandwich.  What a treat.

  

Afterwards we headed back to the boat to enjoy the birthday cake I managed to bake while underway. 

Once the boys were in bed, Tor took dirty clothes and diapers to the Laundromat and I stayed back at the boat to do internet chores.  I also was able to call my Mom and Ralph to check on Helen.  It was so good to hear their voices.