Blitz through BC

We are almost home to Seattle. We left Ketchikan less than 3 weeks ago, and even with weather delays to get around Cape Caution and through Queen Charlotte Strait, as well as time for family and friend visits in Campbell River and Sidney BC, we are almost back in Washington. We plan to check into customs at Roche Harbor today and then we really are on the home stretch.

As rushed as this part of the trip has been, we’ve been trying to savor every last minute. We don’t like to travel at this pace through some of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world, but the trip had to shift focus. We know that we will back to BC, so it took some of the sting out of passing up beautiful anchorage after beautiful anchorage. It’s time to get home, get settled into the house and get Lars and Odin started in school. I’m not sure what the transition will bring, and we are way too close to it to have any sort of perspective, so we shall see. We are so thrilled to be getting back to family and friends in Seattle, but we are giving up a really amazing way of life for our little family, bittersweet.

As hurried as it has been, we’ve still had a wonderful time. The coast of BC south of Ketchikan is much more remote than SE Alaska. We just scratched the surface this time, but we still hit some of the highlights. We had a glorious sail down the length of Grenville channel with a current pushing us most of the way so we were doing 7 knots for hours, and shortly after that we were anchored at Bishop Bay which has hotsprings. We soaked in the tub and then met another family with 2 kids who work together on the water. They run a small tug and barge business and were doing some maintenance work on the dock at Bishop Bay. They invited us aboard the barge after they were done with work for the day, and invited Lars and Odin to climb up on their excavator and boom truck, they put the ramp from the barge into the water as a swim platform, and made a rope swing into the water from the boom on the boom truck. Besides all the fun for the kids, they were delightful people to spend time with. That’s what cruising is all about, making connections with people.

We had a weather delay since they were calling for 40 knots of wind for Queen Charlotte Sound, and we tucked into Pruth Bay on Calvert Island where the Hakai Beach Research Institute is located. Beautiful facilities for the researchers there, (and free wifi for the visiting boaters!) and after a lovely walk through the woods you find yourself on the Pacific side of the island on white sand beaches. An amazing place to wait out weather, and it also coincided with Odin coming down with a bug, so we were happy to hang out in a calm anchorage where we could easily get Lars to shore while Odin recuperated. We didn’t need the potential of seasickness on top of how lousy he was already feeling.

We waited out the weather and had a good window to make the crossing of Queen Charlotte Strait, and even though we were exposed to ocean swell, nobody got seasick! The two other times we’ve been on that patch of water in the past, the three guys have succumbed. Not this time. It’s like we finally have figured something out…just in time to be done with it for now. Figures.

A stop in Port McNeill coincided with the weekend and the festivities of the Port McNeill Orca Fest. Odin and Lars had a ball with the children’s entertainer, The Purple Pirate. Port McNeill is a great town for cruisers and a place we’ve gotten stuck in the past waiting for weather in Johnstone Strait. We were feeling like we were going to be trapped this time, and then we decided to just get up at 2:00 in the morning when the current would be favorable for us, and go for it. It was a long 75 mile day, but we got all of Johnstone Strait done. We even had the sails up for a lot of it. Things got a bit exciting when the current switched and was against the wind when we got to Kelsey Creek, but the excitement was short lived and we anchored close to Seymour Narrows that night.

Once through Seymour Narrows we stopped in Campbell River for the night where my second cousin (I think!) Nik and her family live. Nik and Kevin have 2 boys Torin and Thomas and we had a wonderful time together! We played on the dock and the boys all took turns fishing, we played at the park, and then had an amazing meal at their house. By the end Thomas, who is joy personified, had adopted me as Auntie, Tor as Uncle and Lars and Odin as cousins. We were all happy with that!

South of the Narrows it became summer. The weather became shorts weather, and hoo boy, are the boats out in force. In our anchorage at Tribune Bay on Hornby Island, we counted 37 other boats. Channel 16 on the VHF got really noisy with all the traffic, and it was clear we were in the Salish Sea during the summer! Fortunately the noisy VHF helped us make a connection with our friends Ron and Susie on S/V Tango. They are friends from our cruising club in Seattle, and we hadn’t seen them in over 5 years. Ron heard Tor on the radio and that night found us rafted up in a lovely bay in the Gulf Islands sharing dinner, a glorious sunset, and stories like 5 years hadn’t even passed.

Next stop an anchorage near Sidney where we had arranged to meet our friends Janneke and Wietze from s/v Anna Caroline. We met them in Hilo and again in Honolulu, and we have a real connection. In Cordova bay, we had one last night anchoring together, they made delicious pizza and they were able to make good on a promise Wietze had made King Neptune while Anna Caroline was on passage to Sitka. Wietze apparently met King Neptune while he was on night watch one night and King Neptune was asking after Lars and Odin. We hadn’t left Hanalei Bay yet, and King Neptune wanted to go on vacation and was afraid he would miss us, so he asked Wietze if he would please do King Neptune a favor, would he please knight Lars an Odin as Knights of Neptune when he saw them? Wietze was able to do so and the boys are so proud and pleased to be tasked as protectors of the ocean, the crowns are pretty cool too.

Barb and Bjarne from s/v Hoku Pa’a who we met in Mexico, live in Victoria and they drove out to Sidney for a lovely visit. We went for a daysail on Yare and anchored for lunch at Sidney Spit. When we sailed back we went for a great walk along the shore, including a stop at a beach with huge amounts of beach glass to find. Odin and Barb ran races and if she hadn’t been his forever friend after they set up the treasure hunt for the boys in Isla San Francisco, she is now.

For another delightful treat, most of my family that lives in Victoria made the trip up to Sidney to hang out for the day. What a wonderful welcome to home waters that was! The weather turned cloudy, chilly and rainy, so that was a bit of a bummer, but the warmth of the reception made up for it. We had a delightful time reconnecting with the amazing people they are. Even 5 year old Stuart visiting from Calgary was able to come, that was a hit for Odin and Lars!

Off we go to Washington today. We will be home in a few days. Wow.

Lars and Odin checking out the narrow entrance to
Baker Inlet

Sailing down Grenville Channel. We had a long and delightful
visit with Dalls Porpoise while sailing along. Wonderful!

Hotsprings haute couture at Bishop Bay

Soaking in the tub at Bishop Bay

Work on the Dock at Bishop Bay

Now that’s a fun climbing structure!

Pruth Bay beach, perfect for throwing rocks in the water

Pacific Beach from Pruth Bay

Lars assisting the Purple Pirate at Orca Fest in Port McNeill

Fun on the foredeck while motoring through a glass
calm Georgia Strait. Spiderwebs of line!

Knight Lars

Knight Odin

Reunion with Asunto

We finally caught up with s/v Asunto, our dear friends we met way back in La Paz, Mexico. We buddy boated with them in Mexico and Hawaii, and it only seemed right to do it again on the last major leg of our trips, in Alaska. After seeing the Dawes glacier in Endicott arm, we met up with Asunto in the cove at the entrance to Tracy Arm, rafted the boats together and proceeded to catch up! The kids were thrilled to see each other and so were the adults. Fynn and Bowen's grandparents were visiting, and I’m not sure they quite knew what to expect of the two families together, there was much exuberance indeed.

The next day both boats headed up Tracy Arm to see the glaciers, only we on Yare were short on crew, Lars and Odin jumped ship and made the trip on Asunto. We expected to make a kid swap when we were all the way at the glacier, but the kids all wanted to stay aboard Asunto and make ice cream…can’t say I blame them. Tor and I had a very enjoyable date day aboard Yare, and again we rafted the two boats for the night and had dinner together.

We next headed to Petersburg and Asunto followed us a day later. We really enjoyed our time in Petersburg, it’s a great town. Lars and Odin finally got the fishing poles they’ve been wanting and so many kind people on the docks offered help, lures and advice to our budding fishermen. It was great fun! They caught lots of herring and gave them to Kolby from Asunto for bait…they have a freezer, and lots of fishing gear, the herring will come in handy.

Tor helped Kolby replace Asunto’s forestay one day. A big job for sure, but they made it all look so easy. Hard to do with an 80 foot tall mast!

We checked out the swimming pool in Petersburg, and baby Bowen loved it. Lars found fins to try and took off swimming. It was fun to be swimming all together again, but it was a little weird to not worry about sunscreen after all of our previous swimming together in Mexico and Hawaii.

We left Petersburg together and made our way through Wrangell Narrows. A couple more nights together, including a night where Lars and Odin got to see Kolby land a couple of halibut and we got to glory in the most spectacular sunset. Then a sail across Clarence Strait in the company of each other. Our speeds were perfectly matched and we spent a couple of hours sailing within feet of each other just chatting and tossing snacks back and forth between the boats. It was sunny, the sailing conditions were perfect, and it will go down in our books as a truly spectacular afternoon.

We said goodbye to Asunto in Meyers Chuck. We are headed south on the fast track now, they have more time before they need to be home to Vancouver, BC. It was so hard to say goodbye, but Seattle and Vancouver are close, so we should be able to stay in good touch and sail together again.

Yare and Asunto in front of N. Sawyer Glacier
(photo courtesy of Kristine from s/v Asunto)

 Boat made ice cream for breakfast!

en route to Petersburg, Lars looking for whales

Fishing in Petersburg!

Proud Fishermen!

Filleting halibut by gorgeous sunset

We are catching them!

Sailors looking on

We spent hours sailing this close!

A study in modern vs. traditional sailing rigs

Glaciers, Bears and Hotsprings, Oh My!

After Sitka we headed through Peril Strait for a stop at Warm Springs Bay. As soon as we got into Warm Springs Bay and lucked into a spot at the dock, the weather turned icky so we stayed hunkered down for three nights. You couldn’t ask for a better place to wait out weather. Hot spring fed bath tubs, hikes, social opportunities, and best of all, two kid boats. One family commercial fishes in their 36’ troller and their four year old daughter is delightful. We really enjoyed getting to know the whole family, I love meeting other moms of young kids, and there was some serious simpatico with us, and the kids totally hit it off! Another sail boat had 2 daughters, 10 and 4 who it turns out live just a couple of miles from our house in Seattle, and the 10 year old had a pocket knife…so exciting for Lars and Odin.

Once the weather finally cleared up, we made tracks in a couple of very long days to Fords Terror. We went to Fords Terror on our last trip to Alaska five years ago, and we couldn’t miss going back. It is the most amazing place we’ve ever been. Think Yosemite on the water, sheer granite walls, thousands of feet high scoured practically smooth by glaciers, waterfalls, wildlife, and solitude. The entrance has a narrows that needs to be transited at slack water or you risk high swirly currents ready to dash your boat on the rocks, and tidal overfalls, hence the terrifying name. We enjoyed 3 nights there, and Lars and Odin seemed to be as enchanted as Tor and I were. I’m a little afraid of spoiling them with the very best at such a young age, but hopefully it will inspire in them a passion for conservation and nature.

To add icing on the already rich and delicious cake, once we left Fords Terror, we went to the end of Endicott arm to see the Dawes glacier. Spectacular and fun, fun, fun! Picking our way through ice bergs, bergy bits and growlers offers a challenge in navigation, and seeing the glacier at the end is amazing. Odin and Lars were suitably impressed, and very excited by the prospect of glacier ice in ginger ale as a celebration…once we warmed up.

Odin trying his hand at steering and taking his job
very seriously!

Lars giving steering a try too

Boat kids playing at Warm Springs Bay

Odin and Lars proudly showing off the slug house all of the
boat kids built over a couple of days.

Hot bath with a view!

Brown bear welcoming party in Fords Terror

Fords Terror sightseeing, West arm.

About 8 feet from the wall with 65 feet of water below the
keel. Lars and I insisted Tor not drive any closer, Odin
and Tor wanted to see how close we could get.

Fords Terror East arm

Piloting through bergy bits

Dawes Glacier!

Mama and her intrepid explorers

Grandparents in Sitka

Shortly after we arrived in Sitka from our long passage across the North Pacific, Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Ralph came to Sitka for a wonderful visit. I don’t think it would have been possible to have any more fun. We did all the touristy things in a town set up for tourists to visit, but we also just had time to be together and reconnect after our long separation. It was marvelous!

Five years ago when we made the trip from Seattle to Glacier Bay with Lars and Odin as one year olds, Grandma and Grandpa also came to Sitka to visit us. For blasts from the past, click here, here and here. On this visit it was wonderful to have Odin and Lars as active participants in the planning and fun. The boys even had sleepovers with Grandma and Grandpa, fun for all parties concerned!

Fully exploring the Sheldon Jackson museum with Grandma

Goofing around on Castle Hill with Grandma

Going for a walk at the Totem Park

Walking Grandma and Grandpa to the airport

This time with Mama!

Thoughts on Our Second Long Passage

Three weeks since landfall and the tough times of the passage are already starting to fade. We are thoroughly enjoying our time in Alaska and are so happy to be here. Our Dutch friends on S/V Anna Caroline shared a translation of a favorite Dutch saying of theirs when you accomplish something you are proud of, and I rather like it, we are “happy as a monkey with seven tails,” that we completed our second long passage and made it from Hawaii to Alaska.

The passage from Hanalei Bay to Sitka was a long slog. Almost 2700 miles in 25 days, 4.5 hours. As Tor put it, “two down, zero to go!” We are proud to have done it, but at this point, we don’t think we’ll make ocean crossings again. Never say never, but for now we feel that that itch has been scratched! Maybe it would be different if we didn’t live in and near some of the best cruising grounds in the world, but for now we are excited to focus on sailing the Salish Sea and the incredible Inside Passage, all mostly without ocean swell!

This passage was much better than our previous passage from Mexico to Hawaii, but it still wasn’t much fun. We made great strides in managing Tor’s seasickness and it made a huge difference for us. It seems to be that sleep deprivation will bring the sea sickness on. Most nights he was able to get about five hours of uninterrupted sleep, as well as a good nap during the day and as a result he was in pretty good shape. If conditions didn’t allow for that uninterrupted sleep and he was at a deficit, the sea sick Tor from the first passage returned.

We had several things break during the passage due to corrosion and use over the past year. The weirdest was our compass lost its oil about two days out of Sitka. The powder coating on the aluminum binnacle failed and the resulting corrosion lifted the compass seal and broke the screws holding it on, thus there was no seal holding the oil in. Fortunately we were close to Sitka, but if that had happened mid ocean it would have been tough. The other breakages were minor (our cheapo inverter died, the electrical connection for our mast head light fixture detached and required attention at the dock, and bushings on our windvane wore, leading to some misalignment), and the boat again performed flawlessly. What was different on this passage was the amount of seawater that got below, it’s never been that wet before, and with the cold damp weather as we sailed north, we had some big cleaning to do when we got to Sitka to deal with mildew.

Lars and Odin again did very well dealing with being stuck below on a 32’ boat for 25 days. The amount of Lego play was astonishing, we’ve done some Lego detoxing now that we are in Alaska, but it was a lifesaver during the passage. We read books and did watch several movies, and books on tape were great, but really it was mostly Lego most of the time. The seasickness for them was pretty intense for the first several days, but once they got their sea legs, they never looked back. Again I was too tired to do much but let them entertain themselves, but hey, my motto is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

We are thrilled to have the passage behind us and have been enjoying Alaska to the fullest with our big 6 year old crew members. It’s so great to be here without worrying about washing diapers!

Pig Pile on Papa while on Passage when it was still
warm enough to hang out in just underwear

Ten days in and it's getting colder!

Halfway celebration! Presents from S/V Asunto!

Reading with Mama, my favorite!

Proud Puzzle Performers!

You know your boat is heeled when...you need to mix
brownies on the floor so they don't go flying everywhere

Close to Sitka! We have cell service to call Grandma Cheryl!

A beautiful, sunny Sitka day perfect for airing soaked things out