August 28 Kxgneal Inlet to Home

We had a 6:30 a.m. start for our final stretch home. We picked up our crab traps. In the first one, we got three keeper crabs and a sun star. In the second trap, we got a whole family of sun stars (Grandpa size.) This was a beautiful morning with little wind to sail. Throughout our trip home, we had to motor a lot as there was not enough wind. When there was some wind, we pulled out the sails and motor sailed. We fished a little over an hour around Humpback Bay where we caught a salmon on our first day down but this time we did not have any luck. The wind started to pick up and we set sail for home. For most of the way, we were on a port tack. It was very nice to be sailing after all the motoring that we had done coming home. We were happy to be home.

In some ways, we were also sad that our trip had come to an end. There were so many places we wanted to go to but had not had a chance to explore. We never had the time to really stop in one area and explore for a few days. It is hard to believe that with 58 days of travel, we ran out of time, but that means there will be more to see next time.

It was one of the best summers ever!

August 27 Bishop to Hartley Bay to Kxgneal Inlet

On August 27^th, we made our way to Hartley Bay, along Verney Passage. We saw a lot of humpback whales. At one point, we saw between 6-8 humpbacks feeding. This was the largest number we have seen in one area. Fascinating! Entering Hartley Bay was exciting especially for Mae as this was where she did her first year of teaching. After refueling, we tied up to their docks. We met a lot of people we knew from Prince Rupert. Mae and Marty have taught many people from Hartley Bay. We went up to the band office to make our NO TANKERS presentation. Then we went to Lynne and Ernie Hill’s home and caught up on a few stories.

We had to get underway quickly, as we wanted to get some distance up Grenville Channel. Marty’s idea of traveling along the eastern shore to take advantage of the back eddies helped us gain speed and distance. At first we intended to go into Lowe Inlet but we had time to go further. We got as far as Kxgneal Inlet. We dropped a couple of crab traps before we anchored ourselves. This is a very peaceful, scenic spot. We were surrounded with mountains.

The neat part about nearing the end of our voyage is creating meals with the remaining food from our provisions. We had rice and a Chinese five-spiced chicken stir fry for dinnerJ.

AUGUST 26 Bishop Bay

Dominik and Karolina left early in the morning and in their place on the docks was a large fishing boat – the crew came for a quick soak. It seems that a lot of people ignored the 30 feet or less limit for the docks. Unfortunately, this group of fishermen used the hot springs like a bathtub, using soap in the water. When we came up for our morning soak, the water was cloudy with soap scum that drifted into the outside tub. Marty and Mae spent the whole morning in the tub, as we were the only ones there.

We enjoyed watching some humpbacks in the bay. At certain times, we could hear them very close by but could not see them. Their blow sounds were really loud and clear in the bay.

The weather was warmer in the afternoon as the sun came out. More boats started to come as well. Yet again, people ignored the size limit for docking. As the tide floods into the bay, it created strong currents along with the breeze. Every boat that came in had a difficult time docking. Marty and Mae were kept busy grabbing lines and helping boaters secure to the dock. In between helping people dock, Marty read and Mae caught up with details in the boat’s logbook.

AUGUST 25 Klemtu to Bishop Bay

On August 25^th, we left Klemtu watching the skipper of Otter Bay and Peggy in discussion about the tow; (however, in the end we learned, the tow did not occur because Topola Bampo was not designed for towing. The boat would have ended up becoming a submarine.) We took advantage of the flood tide and averaged over 6 knots. We continued our hourly watches. The weather continued to improve as the number of showers diminished. There were many beautiful waterfalls.

When we arrived at Bishop Bay, we were able to tie up to the small dock. We were docked in the same spot as last year. There was another sailboat on the other side.

Marty and Mae had been looking forward to the hot springs since it was still raining. As soon as we had our boat settled, we immediately grabbed our swim gear and went to the hot tub. Halfway to the hot springs, we noticed there had been a fire which destroyed part of the walk way and a covered tent area. The walkway was roughly rebuilt with logs and cedar planks. Apparently, the fire occurred in April, due to some careless people on the platform. The hot springs hut had some winter renovations. The walls were removed and now we are able to see out into the bay.

When we returned from the hot springs, we met the young couple from the sailboat, Dominik and Karolina. Dominik, from Vancouver, has been sailing for a few years. He met Karolina on a trip to Poland. We invited them over for drinks after dinner. It was a great evening sharing sailing stories. One thing that Karolina really wanted was to catch some fresh fish. She really enjoyed our cheviche and admired our fishing tackle. They had not been successful in catching their own fish, as this was something new for Dominik. So, to help increase their chances of catching a fish, Mae rigged up a few options for them. They already had a spoon with a single hook but they did not have a flasher. We gave them a flasher along with a double hooked hoochie and double hooked artificial anchovy.

AUGUST 24 Shearwater to Klemtu

On August 24^th, we got underway around 9:00 a.m. It was another wet and foggy day but not as much as the previous day. Mae and Marty continued to take one hour watches. When we arrived at Klemtu, Marty spotted a familiar boat from Prince Rupert. It was Peggy Carl with SV Topola Bampo. She was making her way to Courtney. She was drying out as well. During her trip, a lot of her clothes and sleeping gear got soaked. Unfortunately, her bilge pump broke down again. When she discovered this, there was a lot of water in the bilge to hand pump out. We wish Peggy best of luck in her travels as she has a long distance to cover in her small boat.

Right away, Marty and Mae went to the Band Council Office to present another of our NO TANKERS flags. Many of the council members and elders were out of town. We gave the flag and explained our story to the only remaining councilor in the village.

That evening, we invited Peggy over to share dinner, (salmon loaf,) and caught up with news about her boat and new home. She brought her auto harp and played a few songs. During the evening, Peggy had a chance to talk to the Coast Guard on board ‘Otter Bay.” They offered to tow Peggy’s boat to Shearwater. Topola Bampo was a very old wooden sailboat with poor water drainage and a bilge pump that did not work. At the most, Topola Bampo can only go 4 knots under power.

AUGUST 23 Namu to Bella Bella to Shearwater

On August 23, we had planned a shorter trek; however, it was one of the wettest but yet rewarding ones. We left Namu after a short walk around the old fishing cannery. The caretakers had done a beautiful job of maintaining some of the outdoor landscapes.

The trip to Bella Bella was wet and foggy. On our approach to Lama Passage, we decided that it would be good to fish around the point into the passage, as Marty saw a fish jump there. Well, guess what? We caught that fish! We caught a beautiful 13 pound coho. He was well hooked because when he hit, he ripped out a lot of line.

As we made our way to Bella Bella, Mae cleaned the fish and got two very good-sized fillets. She saved the belly bits and one tail bit for ceviche… Yum! Yum! Yum!

On our way to Bella Bella, Marty spotted a humpback whale about 150 meters away. The whale was feeding. Marty was careful to steer the boat away from the whale. Mae was ready with her camera to take photos with the zoom at max. Suddenly, the whale popped up directly behind us with his mouth wide open to feed. This scared the living daylights out of us. Mae got some photos, which were a bit out of focus as this happened so quickly.

We arrived in Bella Bella in a downpour. We refueled and redocked our boat ahead of the fuel dock, so we could go visit Bella Bella’s Band office. We wanted to present one of the NO TANKERS flags. We gave them the information about the flags if they wish to get more.

We stopped into a grocery store for a few items before heading to Shearwater. We had initially decided to anchor in the bay at Shearwater but we were too wet and tired from being up late the night before. When we called into Shearwater for a dock space, the dock manager told us to go on standby so he assessed the space situation. It’s not a huge marina and the dock was getting full. After some maneuvering of a few boats, he called us with a spot. He was at the docks waiting to help us squeeze in. We were soaked. Our survival suits were saturated with rainwater.

After we hung our gear in the head to drip (can’t say dry), we had a late lunch. Marty got the laundry going. While we were waiting for the wash to complete, we heard a voice calling out, “Hey, anyone home?” It was Paul from “EOS.” Paul and Twyla had their boat in Prince Rupert for a bit. Twyla was not there, as she was visiting with her mom. Paul was cleaning the mast and getting the boat ready to sell, as they had purchased a new boat in eastern Canada. We invited him over for a fresh salmon dinner. We caught up with news of each other and traded many photos.

AUGUST 22 Port Hardy to Namu

On August 22^nd, we made one of our longest treks of 75 nautical miles leaving Port Hardy at 5:00 a.m. During this passage, we had to cross through Queen Charlotte Strait and around Cape Caution. We lucked out again and the crossing was very good. We arrived at Namu as the sun was nestling close behind the mountains.

The sunset over Namu was a beautiful sight. We had a late and tasty chicken dinner. Right beside us was a larger boat with three people on board. One couple was excited about their upcoming wedding and the lady was also celebrating her birthday that day. We decided to meet up with them in Namu’s special under cover area, where they had an amazing metal fire pit. It was well past 9:00 p.m. when Marty got the fire going. Soon after, the group joined us with a birthday cake. It was a late night for us. We didn’t get back to our boat until 1:00 a.m. We had been up since 4:45 a.m. the day before.

Namu's Special Undercover Area

AUGUST 21 Port Neville to Port Hardy

On August 21, we left Port Neville early in the morning, as we had over 60 nautical miles to travel to Port Hardy. Marty and Mae took turns on watch as it was raining. We switched every hour. We tried a bit of fishing but had no luck. Along the way, we came across a pod of 6 to 8 killer whales. They were scattered and feeding all around the boat.

A small boat called “Strait Watch” was also there monitoring the whales. Strait Watch is a stewardship-based marine mammal monitoring and education program operating around Vancouver Island. Some of their goals are to minimize the potential disturbance of vessel traffic on marine life; increase public awareness; and promote respect for marine environment.

We finally arrived in Port Hardy around 4:00 pm, tired, wet and cold. We picked up some very important provisions: Beer and scotch. Going to town was too far for our tired bodies. Since we stocked up on food provisions back in Campbell River, we did not need much.

AUGUST 20TH Knox Bay to Port Neville

On August 20^th, we went for a walk along the beach in the morning. While we were on the beach, a whale watching tour boat made a pit stop at the docks that we were tied to. Andrew, the operator, was thoroughly supportive of our boat banner. When we told him that we made flags, he immediately piped up that he wanted one. He had us explain the story around the banners and flags to his tour. His passengers all gave the thumbs up. Andrew planned to spread the word to all the whale watching tour operators.

Our trek into Port Neville got a bit rough, but we managed. Finding a place to drop anchor was challenging, as the area had a very weedy bottom. Eventually, Marty found a great spot to drop anchor. Marty always does a circle around an area to get a feel of the depth. He found a hole. He knew that dropping the anchor into a hole would allow the anchor to get a solid hook on bottom. It sure did, as the next morning, it was not easy pulling up the anchor. (Engine power was required to pull the anchor loose.)

AUGUST 19 Campbell River to Knox Bay

On August 19^th, we left Campbell River at 5:30 a.m. to catch the ebbing tide through Seymour Narrows. As we made our way north along Discovery Passage, the wind picked up on our nose. Then the tide switched and we were going against wind and tide. Our first choice for anchorage was not good as the wind and tide were beating into the bay. The wind continued to pick up and the seas were rough. We were only traveling around 2 to 3 knots. We docked around 12:30 pm. We ended up in the next bay, Knox Bay, which was perfect as it had a small dock just our size.

The next best time to get underway to our next destination was not until early in the afternoon the next day. Knox Bay was used as a forestry sight, which was not active due to the extreme dry conditions. Marty walked the trails to check out the area and did not see a lot of wildlife.