Distance: 50 miles covered in 8.5 hours of cruising
Highlights: a day to remember: a neighboring vessel makes a critical error in judgement anchoring in a difficult fjord, and as fellow boaters we take immediate action to help avert a catastrophe. Very anxious moments, but a happy ending. Earlier, we cruised among the majestic beauty of another fjord with towering peaks, cascading waterfalls, and long canyons - much of what defines boating in these northern latitudes.
Morning sun (not fog) greets us at Butedale as we get ready to leave the rickety, uneven dock...
The dock looked splendid compared to some of the other structures that will likely be gone by next summer...
One last look at Butedale Falls...
Heading out in calm water and sunshine...
Mountain silhouettes...
Blue skies...
Views all around...
Heading toward Kynoch in the Fjordland Recreation Area of British Columbia. The large boat just ahead, Arctic Charm, will dominate our evening as it becomes imperiled and we join efforts to save this ship...
As with many of the fjords we have transited, often there are narrow passages sandwiched by very long expanses of water...
The terrain adjacent the waterways is indicative of what our sonar reads. It is not unusual to see depths plummet hundreds of feet within very short spans. These are the underwater versions of mountains and canyons that we see all around us...
Relaxing underway...
Again, our Ranger Tugs are dwarfed by the soaring canyons that dive straight down into the sea...
Some late lingering snow despite the extensive sunny weather and late summer season...
With fjords come canyons and tall peaks; which means more waterfalls...
Stunning Kynoch Waterfall...
Views of spectacular waterfalls never gets boring, even if we have seen hundreds already...
While we don't see many pleasure boats along the way this far north, the ones we do see are usually quite large...
Our flotilla is now flying the red maple leaf of the Canadian flag...
Beyond and Journey are gaining on a "cousin" boat - a Cutwater which is made by Fluid Motion - the same company that makes Ranger Tug...
More waterfalls...
The Cutwater, named Ramble On, is a LONG WAY from its home of Lilburn, Georgia! While the anchorage at Kynoch Inlet got quite busy with limited space to anchor, Ramble On turned around without staying so we never met the owner...
This colorful sailboat was captained by a most Colorful Character who would play a pivotal role in the rescue of the neighboring motoryacht later in the evening...
This large homemade tug came in, literally threw the anchor overboard without any concern for depth or distance to Journey nearby (much to Glen's chagrin), but ended up leaving as well...
Arctic Charm perhaps lived a charmed day. This picture was taken shortly after Seaquel anchored adjacent to Arctic Charm in the afternoon. We anchored in 85' depths, but when we pulled back nearly 300' of anchor rode we were in just 7' of water, with the tide still going out. We knew that was not going to work, but we puzzled over Arctic Charm anchored close by in similar depths, knowing that the big 60' cruiser drafted far more water than our Ranger Tug which draws less than 3'. We retrieved anchor and rode, and moved out a bit further to 100' depth to redeploy the anchor, resulting in around 15' depth pulling toward shore. Still, Arctic Charm remained as is, in what seemed too shallow for its 8' draft...
Pretty as a picture, and not a care in the world...
Further toward shore, the large tug was sandwiched between Beyond (forward) and Journey (aft)…
Taking Moxie to shore to explore, we found a salmon-spawning stream just immediately to shore from Arctic Charm that other boaters were exploring with their dinghies...
The narrow passage that opened up into spectacular Culpepper Lagoon. But this narrows has an exposed bar at low tide and timing to gain entrance (and exit) is tricky. Currents during tidal changes run like a swift river too! We stayed outside (as did all the other boats that anchored) as we did not want to incur the risk, or to be bound by the tides...
View past Culpepper Lagoon is stunning...
Breathtaking view to the northwest up Kynoch Inlet from where we came earlier this afternoon...
As noted previously in this blog, the majority of boaters do not leave their boats, or if they do they stay aboard their dinghy. "Shore duty" with Moxie means getting to shore, and often these are the worthwhile views attained in the best photographic hours (early and late for low sun angle)…
Looking to where boats are anchored at the head of Kynoch Inlet. The trick is that the fjord is very deep, but shoals very quickly at the head. You can see the shallows in the picture below, and the challenge is to anchor with enough rode to hold in over 100' depth but to not swing or drag too close to the shoal. The answer is not always as simple as anchoring further out, because the 80' depth quickly goes to 100', and then to 200' or 300'. And at least with our relatively small boats, we cannot anchor safely in much more than 100' depth due to capacity constraints of our anchor locker. As it is, we all upgraded our anchor rode from 250' total (50' chain + 200' 3-strand nylon line is standard for these Ranger Tugs) to much more: Seaquel relegated the standard-issue anchor and rode as a secondary "back up", and now uses as its primary 80' chain and 270' of 8-plait nylon for 350' total, or 40% more than standard. And more than once on this trip, we used every foot...
This picture was taken very near from where Arctic Charm is anchored, upon returning from shore duty with Moxie. You can see that Seaquel, far left, is closest to Arctic Charm but slightly forward (deeper) than Arctic Charm...
Look close at the varying shades of water in the picture below. Shallow, shoal areas are noticeable as lighter shades. You can see that Arctic Charm is closest to the shoal, and is also the largest boat with the deepest draft. This will prove to be a bad combination of factors when the tide goes out...
Seaquel is anchored closest to Arctic Charm, but in about 10' deeper water (after re-anchoring) and drawing less than half the depth required by the larger vessel. It is also evident that the wind is blowing fairly strong, by the way the anchor rode is pulled back and also how the Canadian and American flags are blowing straight back too. It is critical to drop anchor strategically considering rode length and swing, but also to establish a good hold so as not to drag back in a blow. If Seaquel drags back even 20' here, she could potentially hit bottom...
The late sun on surrounding mountains is stunning...
The sailboat Nicola looks pretty as a picture in Kynoch Inlet. Note that the wind has settled, evidenced by the anchor rode on Nicola now pointing straight down rather than being stretched in the wind...
Steep-sided canyons of the fjords often indicates great depths, but belies the surprising shallows in areas that shoal quickly like the head of Kynoch Inlet...
Arctic Charm peacefully at anchor, prior to low tide...
Peggy prepares a sumptuous Sweet & Sour Chicken dish in Seaquel's galley...
We were just sitting down to a nice dinner when we heard the call for help...
Drama On The High Seas - The Rescue of Arctic Charm
Glen calls Mark on the VHF radio just as we were sitting down for dinner: "Hey, look at that boat next to you, it looks like it is listing..."
Moments later, Arctic Charm sounded its horn LONG and HARD. They needed assistance ASAP...
Four neighboring boaters joined in a rescue effort, including two from sailboats, along with Glen (Journey) and Mark (Seaquel). I already had my outboard on the dinghy, a rarity, due to the distance to shore and prevailing strong wind when I took Moxie to shore. So I immediately motored over to Arctic Charm, and was the 2nd rescuer to arrive among the four. Arctic Charm was already listing more severely than just moments before...
Our initial effort was to redeploy the ship's massive 250 lb. anchor. For comparison, Seaquel's anchor weighs about 25 lb.! The hope was to lower the anchor into Arctic Charm's large dinghy, and carry it forward enough to use it as a winch to pull the big vessel forward off the shallows...
The tide continues to recede, and with less depth the more severe the angle that Arctic Charm listed severely to her port side. The decision was made to abandon the ship of women, pets, and valuables. There were two couples aboard Arctic Charm: the two men would stay and try to save the boat with the rescue team; meanwhile the two ladies, a small dog, and valuables such as computers, etc., were transferred to a neighboring sailboat...
Women (and pets) first - evacuating Arctic Charm...
The large sailboat "Nicola" took the ladies aboard, and the owner then came back and was instrumental in the rescue effort...
Meanwhile Arctic Charm seemed to be losing the battle to the ebbing tide and the shoal under her, now listing at a frightening and precarious 30 degrees...
Re-deploying the anchor off the bow of Arctic Charm...
The unnamed, Colorful Character (bushy hair and beard, tattered old t-shirt) from the multi-colorful sailboat (lime green hull, bright orange cabin, electric blue canvas) zipped around in his kayak giving authoritative directions. Never got his name, but he said he did contract work for Canadian Fisheries and seemed to know his way around boats and these waters...
Once the anchor was deployed and winching was underway, the Colorful Character commanded the owner to "Give full speed forward and also to aft, alternating hard to starboard and hard to port". Black smoke poured from the exhaust stack as the engine strained to dislodge 100 tons off the gravel bar...
Mark dinghied to the port side to tell the 2-man crew to shut all windows on the lower deck as there was imminent risk that Arctic Charm could begin to take on water and facilitate rolling over...
Seaquel can be seen off the starboard aft corner of Arctic Charm, the closest neighboring boat on anchor. When things were stabilized Mark motored back to Seaquel to double-check depth to ensure we would not suffer a similar fate. At low tide, Seaquel was in about 8' depth (close to 5' to spare) compared to Arctic Charm riding hard on a gravel bar. Had we not re-anchored earlier, we likely would be in the same peril...
Angst and concern are evident on the owner's face, but it appears we have stabilized the vessel. Note that Arctic Charm, being a larger and heavier vessel, uses a steel cable (rather than nylon line) for most of the length of its rode. Note also how taut this cable is from the winching action of drawing the vessel off of the gravel bar toward deeper water where the anchor was holding fast...
With Arctic Charm stabilized, we turned to other tasks: 1) returning the crew and valuables to the boat; 2) mitigating a possible oil spill and threat to the local fisheries stream...
When Arctic Charm was listing severely, an oil slick appeared off the port and aft areas. The Colorful Character asked: "Does anybody have an oil boom?" Of course, nobody happened to be carrying an oil boom, but that did not stop us from making one. Most boats carry oil-absorbant pads, used typically for oil that leaks into the bilge. Together with a floating poly-line, the type typically used for stern ties, we cut holes into the pads and strung them together to make an effective oil boom, which was placed between the Arctic Charm's stern and the shore to prevent an ecological disaster for this salmon-spawning stream...
Our rescue team shifted duties, now to cleaning off oil residue from Arctic Charm. We wiped the entire hull clean of oil, with the dual purpose of: 1) prevent additional oil from entering the water; 2) allow us to determine if more oil was continuing to leak. The concern had been that perhaps when severely listing, Arctic Charm may have punctured a fuel tank. As it turned out, there had been an oil drum on the deck which leaked when the vessel had listed dramatically. The wiped down hull confirmed that no more oil was spilling out. Look closely to see the make-shift oil boom now placed between Arctic Charm and our dinghy's...
Returning crew and belongings from the sailboat to Arctic Charm...
At first, the ladies weren't too certain they wanted to re-board Arctic Charm, as this had been a genuinely terrifying experience. But a few glasses of wine aboard Nicola may have helped ease tensions...
Glen measures the depth over the gravel bar that Arctic Charm was caught upon. Just 2.5', which doesn't work when the vessel draws over 8'...
The gravel bar can be clearly seen now at low tide. The true risk wasn't simply being shallow: it was that only the starboard side was resting on the bar which caused the severe listing to port that threatened to roll the vessel over...
Mark motors back to Seaquel, giving the "thumb's up" that the catastrophe was averted...
Arctic Charm's owner and First Mate reflect on what went wrong, and what might have been. The crisis was averted when Arctic Charm was able to winch forward enough to right itself off of the gravel bar. While still grounded, she was at least no longer listing or in jeopardy of rolling...
It was now 7pm, and with an incoming flood tide it would be around 10pm before another 3' of depth would help float Arctic Charm and release her from the bottom...
10pm and fading light, but with a light toot of its horn, Arctic Charm sends her appreciation to neighboring boats, and begins the journey back to Prince Rupert...
A short video of Arctic Charm triumphantly underway. They would head to Prince Rupert hoping to find a large enough haul-out facility to be able to inspect the underside of this 100-ton vessel for potential damage. Fortunately Arctic Charm has a steel hull, but there is concern for damage to the prop and other mechanical components...
All is peaceful again...
Well, one would think after nearly two months of cruising the Inside Passage we would have seen it all, but we continue to see and experience something new nearly every day...
Post-Mortem: Lessons From The Arctic Charm Crisis
It is not a mere courtesy, but a legal responsibility to come to the aid of a boater in distress. It was humbling and rewarding to be involved in a situation where fellow boaters came together to work as a team to help one another, especially in such a remote area where professional help is nowhere around. Cruising the Inside Passage and seeking out remote fjords and inlets versus staying at the relative safe confines of marina docks affords amazing experiences but also represent some unique challenges. As has been noted previously in this blog, anchoring is particularly challenging due to unique circumstances: 1) extreme anchoring depths sometimes exceeding 100'; 2) drastic tidal changes of up to 25' that create multiple challenges, including the need for greater swing room (or stern ties), strong currents, and faster-changing tides that can quickly alter the "landscape". All of this translates to the need for extreme diligence when anchoring, including ensuring a good, secure hold when deploying the anchor; sounding for depths around where the boat will swing; and reading local charts to understand potential obstacles. Without these precautions the fate of Arctic Charm could happen to any of us (or worse)…
We will sleep well tonight! Tomorrow we enjoy our last day of cruising this magnificent fjord of Kynoch Inlet, pay a visit to one of the most spectacular waterfalls of the trip, and then continue southbound toward home...
~Mark
Wow! Arctic Charm must be glad you guys were there when they needed you. When is the movie coming out?
ReplyDeleteHaha, there certainly was a lot of drama! So much for a relaxing vacation, although an adventure up the Inside Passage should never be mistaken for relaxation anyway. A journey yes, but also hard work.
ReplyDeleteArctic Charm is certainly appreciative of everyone's efforts. I connected with the owner recently, they are continuing southbound on their trip so the vessel must be fine. They ran into Mr. "Colorful Character" and were able to thank him properly, but he mentioned he would not let them take his picture. He was the key person who took charge and seemed to have a wealth of experience. And perhaps a colorful back-story I'm not aware of...
Also, ironically a vessel of this size typically fuels up only once year as it holds a couple of thousand gallons of diesel. They bring Arctic Charm to Anacortes to do this (if you compared the price of fuel in Canada compared to local you would understand why!). Since both Glen and I are local here, they would like to take us to dinner at Anthony's waterfront restaurant as a thank you. I've already sent him pictures, but it will be fun to share stories!