Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - Today is Bob's Birthday and we departed Butedale at 8:30 am. We were going to continue up Fraser Reach to McKay Reach into Wright Sound and cruise up the Grenville Channel. Our destination was to be East Inlet in the Klewnuggit Inlet with plans to drop our crab traps and celebrate with a fresh crab dinner. We checked the weather and they were forecasting another storm approaching with gale warnings in Hecate Strait and Douglas Channel for later in the day. Grenville Channel is straight and deep and affords protection from strong westerly winds and we felt that we would be ok. We could duck out and head to Hartley Bay if it got too rough. Along the way we observed helicopter logging where we watched tree trunks float across the top of the forest and being placed on floating barges. We crossed Wright Sound and the entrance to Douglas Channel in what were relatively mild seas and started up the Grenville Channel when got hit with south westerly gusts coming through a cut on the north end of Farrant Island that we clocked at 40-50 knots. Thankfully we quickly passed through the cut sustaining some minor damage to one of the cockpit enclosure panels. It had not been completely zipped closed and the gust came behind it and ripped it off. By some miracle, it landed up on the roof and we only lost part of the zipper and all of the snaps and bungee loops. The winds shifted and were coming from the south so we were pushed up the channel and were looking forward to the protection of East Inlet. We anchored around 2:30 pm and were still clocking gusts up to 20 knots, so there would be no crab tonight. We were glad we had upgraded to a larger anchor, it held us well during the night.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - We woke the next day to sun and light wind. We pulled up the anchor at 8:00 am and proceeded back into the Grenville Channel. East Inlet afforded good protection but we were surrounded by mountains and high rock walls and had no VHF or single side band to check the weather. We had made our plans to bail out of the channel at Baker Inlet or Kumealon Cove if it was going to be rough. We were pleasantly surprised by almost flat water and decided to make a long day of it and head to Prince Rupert and make our plans for crossing Dixon Entrance to Alaska. About half way to Prince Rupert, we heard a call on the radio "M/V Red October, this the Canadian Coast Guard, do you read this call" We were somewhat startled but responded immediately. The officer asked us for our position and if everything was all right. They had received a call from a family member as they had not heard from us and were concerned. We had no cell coverage since leaving Port McNeil last week and had elected not to bring the satellite phone (bad decision) and payphones are no where to be found. My daughters had tried to call numerous times on Mother's Day and for Bob's birthday. I had also mentioned to them before leaving, if you don't hear from us and cannot reach us call the coast guard. We responded to the Canadian Coast Guard that we were fine and had been out of cellular and radio coverage. We were about two hours from Prince Rupert and would call our family as soon as we arrived and thanked them for calling us. Lesson learned - we were way too reliant on cellular coverage and believed it to be far more extensive than it is and satellite phones should be standard equipment for this and any remote areas for staying in touch. We are looking at getting ours shipped up to us. We arrived in Prince Rupert at 4:00 pm and immediately called the family. My brother lectured me (rightfully so) on not leaving a proper float plan. I am sorry to all if we caused you any worry - thank you for caring.
Thursday, May 18, 2006 - Prince Rupert, a.k.a. Rainy Rupert is a quaint little city with a population of about 12,000 and all amenities including numerous coffee shops. They have "cellular" coverage but it is a small private system and unless your home carrier has a roaming agreement and it is included in your calling plan you cannot roam. I put a lot of minutes on the local pay phone. We are staying at the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club which is located in Cow Bay which is a marina conveniently located to shopping and marine services and right next door to the cruise ship terminal. We woke up to find ourselves staring at a Celebrity Cruise ship at the dock and another on anchored in the bay. We were tied up behind the Kasekuchen whose path we have crossed a couple of times. The owners Bob and Cheryl Klein had owned a bakery in Denver which they recently sold and were also making their first cruise to Alaska. Cheryl makes the most wonderful "boat cookies" which she generously shares with us. We are going to sit here until the weather indicates a reasonable crossing across Dixon Entrance.
