Alaska Trip Day 78

8/30/11

Prince Rupert, BC

Miles Travelled:  45

Our crossing of Dixon Entrance was as glass smooth as it was when we crossed it on the way north in June.  Whew!  No more sea sickness and our early morning departure worked pretty well too.  We were worried that since the boys weren’t used to being on the boat any more that they would wake up when we started the engine and weighed anchor at 5am, and they didn’t!  Of course they did wake up at 6am which is about an hour too early and we had some unhappy campers, but that was soon taken care of with milk and breakfast.

The crossing was uneventful and sunglasses were even required!  We had another day of getting back into the swing of things, and naps could have been better, but all in all it was good.  Until we got the Prince Rupert.

After we checked in with customs (easy, done over the phone with no problems), we radioed to the Prince Rupert Yacht Club to see if they had moorage.  We were told we could have slip 23 and to radio when we got close.  No problem.  We called when we got close but didn't get any response (they use handheld VHF radios which don't have as much range as a radio with an actual antenna and we expected that was the problem...later we discovered that our cockpit radio was on the fritz).  So pulled into the marina and couldn’t see any slip numbers, the guy who had been speaking to us on the radio popped up on the dock we were paralleling and said he had been trying to talk to us on the radio and that we needed to come in to the other dock.  We went back out into the opening outside of the yacht club to get back into the other area of the marina.  We reestablished radio communication and he directed us to come into the “marine,” we told him we were working on it and were in the process of turning in.  Then he asked us if we could back in instead of come bow in...when we were already heading in.  We called back for clarification and couldn’t get him.  The wind was starting to pick up, and boats don’t back up like cars, so we chose to go in bow in and we would readjust later if needed.  We headed into the marina and Tor called for clarification on where the slip would be, if it would be on the right or the left.  The guy said “go into the marine {sic} and you will see me, I’m making this very easy for you” in a snotty tone.  Again, we asked if it would be on the right or left and we got the same response.  This same exchange happened at least 3 more times and by the time we got into the “marine” we could finally see him.  Yare is a full keel sailboat and is about 26,000 pounds.  She is tricky to maneuver in tight quarters, like a marina, and we need to have as much information as possible so that we can make a plan.  The PRYC is a TIGHT marina and not knowing where we were going was difficult, fortunately the slip next to our assigned slip was empty, so Tor could pull in, back up and readjust to get into our slip.  We got there without any damage to people or property, but it was clear that the slip wasn’t big enough…turns out it was a 35’ slip for our 38’ boat which is why at the last minute he wanted us to back in.  Then he pulled our bow line tight enough that he caused our bowsprit to hit the piling (not bad, just HIGHLY irritating), and at the same time he is yelling at us for “making things too complicated.”  By asking if the slip was on the right or left????  He was pissed that we didn’t come in stern first, and when we tried to explain why we didn’t, or why we needed to know if it was on the right or left, or that we would turn around, because we understood we couldn’t be hanging out into the fairway that far…he was uncommunicative and lashed out at us because things went badly.  He said “I’ve been doing this all summer and there hasn’t had a boat that couldn’t handle those instructions yet.”  Gah!!!  I was pissed and Tor, Mr. Calm, was trying to communicate with him while our boat is in the slip at an angle taking up two spots.  He finally stormed off and told us we were on our own and that the boat needed to be turned around or “we could go anchor somewhere else.”  Jerk.

Even though we could have turned around and made the slip work, I was NOT going to give that place any of my money.  I did want to find his boss and tell them about what a jerk their employee was, but in the end I just wanted the hell out of there.

Meanwhile, the boys were down below and calm and happy.  They were kind of fussy when I went on deck to help with docking, and when I closed up their enclosure I gave them a few books and told them I needed to help Papa on deck.  They were interested in the books and through all of that they were absolutely calm and happy.  It was exactly what we needed, and we are just so proud of them.

We ended up pulling into the Rushbrooke marina which is run by the Port of Prince Rupert and found a spot.  It was farther from town and a Laundromat, which is why we went to PRYC in the first place, but as we walked towards town with the boys strapped on us in the carriers, carrying our buckets of laundry we happened upon a bus stop with two people waiting for the bus.  They assured us the bus would be there soon and would take us downtown.  Excellent!  We found the Laundromat and to kill time while it was washing, we did the most Canadian of Canadian things (if TV is to be believed) and got a doughnut and coffee at Tim Horton’s.

We took the bus back to the marina and though it took a different and scenic route on the way home, we eventually made it back to the boat.  After a long day we are all tired and hopefully will sleep well. 

Tomorrow we are getting out of Prince Rupert!