Greetings:
Once again we are heading to Alaska. We never tire of the beauty of our travels. This year I plan to let the pictures speak more than my words.
We left Washington State the first part of May, transiting to British Columbia to clear customs in the city of Sidney. Most of you have heard of or know where Victoria, B.C. is located. Sidney is about 30-40 miles north of there. It is a very nice community. We then transited north thru the Canadian Golf Islands. The last 80 miles is open water in the area of Strait of Georgia. This can be a nasty body of water with any wind, but we were blessed with great weather. At the north end is the City of Campbell River. This is basically the last city of any size where all services are available. There we did some last minute grocery shopping. We also bought diesel fuel. Price was $1.30 per liter which translates to almost $5.00 per gallon. They US dollar is quite strong compared to last few years, so with the currency translation, there was close to a 10% discount.
The next stretch of water is called Johnstone Strait. This runs in a northwest to southeast direction towards the tip of Vancouver Island. The current runs both directions depending on the tide. Luck had it that we worked against the current. This reduces our speed and using higher engine RPM we burn more diesel. Our boat usually burns about 5 gallons an hour going 8 knots, about 1.3 miles per gallon. In the marine world this is about average. Heading up Johnstone we were going 7 knots burning 7-8 gallons per hour or somewhat less than 1 mile per gallon. We carry 600 gallons of diesel.
After anchoring for a night we had a very easy crossing around Cape Caution an open ocean crossing of about 2-3 hours. It is relatively simple as long as you wait for the right weather. We had good weather. At this point we are now in northern British Columbia and other than a few "First Nation" (Indian) communities and Shearwater fishing resort, this is very wild and remote territory. It is easy cruising because the channels are narrow and usually calm. Lots of waterfalls coming down from the lakes high on the mountains on either side of the channels. There is lots of tree log debris so you have to keep a very close watch so you don't hit these, as it would ruin your day to bend propellers by getting logs in them.
At the north end of the channels is the crossing called Dixon Entrance, the last open ocean passage. We travel north across this crossing into Alaska. To the west this entrance is open to the Pacific ocean. Watching and being careful of weather is extremely important on this crossing, as waves and wind generally hitting the boat on the side is not fun and if large enough can be dangerous! Just south of the crossing is the city of Prince Rupert.
Rupert as it is commonly called is a decent size city with lots of supplies and services. But, it is also a depressed city with lots of empty storefronts. This is a major port for ocean going container ships and grain export. My guess it all goes to Asia. The port has been expanded and growing so there is hope the city will recover. It is quite depressing to walk around here. I couldn't imagine living here!
So, we arrived here Monday May 19th and as I write this it is the 22nd. The weather has been awful for crossing Dixon. But the good news is we are tied to a dock with shore power, water and safety. We may be here until Saturday. The weather is dictating our travel schedule. Fortunately we have no deadlines.
Otherwise we are doing great and enjoying being on our boat and feel blessed to be able to travel in this fashion thru very pristine territory.
Chuck and Margaret
