Flotilla to Alaska | Update from Port Harvey BC

Laura Domela — Fri, 26 May 2017 16:22:05 +0000

Here are a few highlights from the past few days as we made our way from Silva Bay to Pender Harbour, then up to Squirrel Cove, Shoal Bay, and finally Port Harvey, where we are today.

Squirrel Bay anchorage, taken with the Mavic Pro drone.

The weather has been wonderful for the most part, and when the wind picked up we were safely tucked in at Squirrel Cove. On Wednesday, we slept in and caught the afternoon slack at Dent Rapids (after going early through Yuculta Rapids and Gillard Pass), and arrived at Shoal Bay in time for happy hour on the dock.

Yesterday we were a little concerned about the transit in Johnstone Strait because the forecast was for strong NW winds of 15-25 knots, increasing to 25-30 knots in the afternoon. But when we arrived, it was blowing about 10 knots with maybe 1-2 foot chop (with an occasional 3). The wind was right on the nose, so it was a bit of a wet ride, but no big deal.

We arrived at Port Harvey with enough time to do a little droning and a little kayaking before meeting for happy hour on the dock, followed by a delicious pizza night in George and Gail’s (almost finished) new restaurant.

This morning we’re headed over to Pierre’s at Echo Bay! Everyone is having such a great time!

Remember, we’re blogging daily and in more detail over on Slowboat, so if you want more, follow us over there while we’re leading the flotilla up to Sitka.

Port Harvey to Shoal Bay via Whirlpool and Greene Point Rapids | BC

Laura Domela — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 02:00:59 +0000

Last night after catching up with George and Gail about how their season was and the progress they’ve made on rebuilding the restaurant and store, we headed back to Airship to cook up some dinner. Tonight turned out to be tostada night! We grabbed some of the pulled pork (the stuff we made and brought from home) from the freezer, cooked up some black beans with jalapeno, garlic, and shallots, and then got all the toppings together: lettuce, shredded cheese, homemade salsa, sour cream, and some fresh lime to squeeze over the top. I’d picked up a bag of chipotle tostadas in Port McNeill last week thinking it had been ages since I’d had or made tostadas. We heated the crunchy tostadas in the oven and then built on with the toppings. They turned out great!

Port Harvey this morning:

Sabby on the dock:

George came down just after 8am with fresh cinnamon rolls. We took two to go, chatted a bit more and then headed out for Shoal Bay.

The rain started (again) just as we were leaving. We pulled the crab traps we’d set out on our way into the bay, but we only had one male keeper…the rest were females so back in they went.

We saw several sets of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins on our way through Johnstone Strait and into Sunderland Channel:

Our route today took us through Whirlpool Rapids and Greene Point Rapids. Both Whirlpool Rapids and Greene Point Rapids run to 7 knots at max ebb and flood, but can be safely traversed at any time as long as your boat has enough speed, stability, and rudder authority.

We had about 4.5 knots of current with us at Whirlpool Rapids…nothing too dramatic.

Even with what look like pretty good boils, our autopilot kept us on track with not much work.

We arrived at the Greene Point Rapids right AT max flood, and had about 6 knots of current going with u, but not much drama:

A little squirrely back toward the Cordero Islands and lodge:

We arrived in Shoal Bay and docked at the government dock (no other boats when we arrived besides the owners’ boat, but there are two more now). We walked up to the “pub” (the pub that’s never in pub mode when we’re here because it’s either too early or too late in the season) but we met Will inside…he’s from England and has been working here for most of the summer…and he said “Well guess what? It’s a pub right now!” so we had a beer and chatted with him for a half an hour or so. It’s rainy here too right now, but still so beautiful.

Tomorrow we’ll head on to the Octopus Islands. We’ve heard great things about them but never been. We’ll also go through more rapids tomorrow (the Okisollo Rapids). Unlike Whirlpool and Greene Point Rapids, you do not mess with the Okisollo Rapids at any time besides slack (which is exactly what time we’ll be there). During non-slack, there are large whirlpools, and an overfall/standing wave than can be between 5 and 8 feet tall! Eeeek.

Sounds like there’s some great kayaking and/or dinghy exploring around the Octopus Islands, but it’s not supposed to clear up until Tuesday, so maybe we’ll need to spend two days there.

Broughtons – Riveted

Flotilla to Alaska | Update from Port Harvey BC

Port Harvey to Shoal Bay via Whirlpool and Greene Point Rapids | BC