Sea & Ski - Making Waves & Tracks

June 10, 2018

Day 9: Shearwater/Kakushdish Bay to Hartley Bay

Longest day yet: 103 miles and 11 hours of cruising. Highlights: surrealistic fog, spectacular waterfalls, an idyllic Boat-in-front-of-Lighthouse picture, and another Glen-And-The-Whale Story. All true.

FOG! Awoke to dense fog, but by 6 am it was beginning to lift. Very fitting that the very same spot the night before that yielded amazing rainbows and sunsets now gave us a most eerie send-off from this special secluded bay.

It is said there are two kinds of boaters: those with dogs and those without. Having Moxie forces me off the boat early and late in order for her to do her business. And as one who loves nature photography, this is a good match for me, as those are the best hours for dramatic lighting to shoot, as the pictures below show. Of course, for more sane people, those hours (i.e., 5 am as when these shots were taken) are when most would prefer to stay snug in their beds rather than brave the cold, the damp, and the mosquitoes!

Glen takes Journey out of the fog of Kakushdish Bay toward open water.

A few hours and another world later, Glen runs Journey past a scenic lighthouse in bright sunlight...

Ollie and Pam in Beyond getting a close-up view of the local tide pools of Princess Royal Channel:

The Northern B.C. Coast has new and interesting views around every corner:

Another Glen-and-a-Whale Story:
This is not the best image of this whale, merely the best picture I could get. The best image did not get captured by camera: following Glen in "Journey" when suddenly a HUGE Humpback Whale leaps out of the water unexpectedly, immediately next to the tug. The whale, and its subsequent splash, reached higher than the top of the Ranger Tug. It looked like Glen could have reached out his port window to pet it! It happened too fast to get a picture, and the tail shot below was what we were left with as the Humpback dove down into the 800' depths. Glen was nearly speechless (and that's saying something!).

The further North we travel, the more snow we see closer to sea level. But we are amazed at how few other boats we see. We've been running long 8 to 10 hour days at the helm, and you can count on one hand how many other boats we come across.

We lost track of counting waterfalls, they were seemingly everywhere as melting snowpack searched for routes to cascade down the steep mountains to feed the waters of the Inside Passage.

We stopped for fuel at Hartley Bay, which is a First Nation Native American community. All of the buildings and homes in this small, remote town are raised on stilts, and connected by raised wooden "roads" that accommodate 4WD ATV's and golf carts.

At the fuel dock at Hartley Bay: you can see how Seaquel's roof-top space is fully utilized, with: kayak (port side); SUP board (starboard); Rocket Box storage aft (on new hard top); and solar panel.

Day 9, but our first night on a dock without anchoring. Due to late arrival on a Sunday night, we were graciously invited to stay on the docks for free, even with electricity.