Wildlife – Riveted

Sunrise, Sunset, and Fishing in Yelapa

Laura Domela — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 20:15:44 +0000

Yesterday after breakfast in our casa, we walked into the village and caught the 9:30am water taxi into Puerto Vallarta. Not because we wanted to go to Puerto Vallarta…but because we needed a bit more cash. There are no ATMs in Yelapa, so if you come to visit, make sure to get enough pesos to last the entire length of your stay.

Sunrise from Casa Pericos, looking toward the village

We walked around Puerto Vallarta for an hour or so, found the hotel we’ll be staying in for two nights before we come back to Portland, got some cash, and hopped on the 11:30am water taxi back to Yelapa. We relaxed a bit in the afternoon, and Kevin took the Mavic off right from our room to get a few drone shots of our fantastic location.

The water looks SO green when the sun shines on it!

Later in the evening we wandered back into the village to have dinner at Pollo Bollo. This place is a favorite among locals and it did not disappoint. We ordered one plate of BBQ chicken, one plate of arrachera (marinated and grilled beef…can be hangar steak, flank steak…) that came with sides of arroz y frijoles y ensalada.

Sunset from our casa after dinner

We packed up our bag last night for today’s fishing excursion, and tested our alarm sounds to make sure we had the most annoying one that could be heard over the sound of the surf below. It worked!!

Sunrise in Yelapa

So early it was almost still dark!

Our charter boat (Ixa from Garcia Charters…obviously highly recommended…we’re going out with them again in the same week!)) picked us up once again on Playa Isabel and off we went to try to catch some fish! (And by fish, we mean more ceviche.)

We headed south this time, looking for red snapper, but after a few hours of trolling up and down the coast we were still empty-hooked. Luckily, it was beautiful out and we were in good company and Juan Carlos humored us and we were able to practice a LOT of Spanish while we were waiting for the fish that never materialized.

Rocky coastline

Jonas driving the boat!

We noticed a lot of bird action and splashing around a little further out than we were, so we went to check it out.

Seagills, frigates, pelicans…everyone was here!

Most of the splashing came from a ZILLION dolphins (delfínes en espanol)!

Delfínes!

Mas delfínes!

Muchos delfínes!

Kevin and Jonas were still casting lines out, and Kevin got a bite on his…whatever he had was strong! We caught a glimpse of it before it took off with a bunch of line…a Jack Crevalle (in Spanish they call this fish “Toro” — the bull). This is not a good fish to eat, but it’s a REALLY fun fish to catch. It’s a super duper fighter and makes for a great workout just getting it to the boat.

Kevin got it aboard, we took the obligatory photos, and then let it to back in to chase or be chased by dolphins.

So…no ceviche today, but we had a great time regardless. We had a wonderful boat ride down the coast, saw a ton of dolphins and even a mama and baby humpback just south of Yelapa a little way…we even saw the baby whale breach a few times…very cool! Maybe we’ll see the very same whales (las ballenas) in Alaska this summer!

Tonight we’ll probably walk into the village for dinner (because, no fish). Todo bueno.

Headin’ South

Laura Domela — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 11:44:42 +0000

We are headed to Seattle this week for the 2018 Seattle Boat Show, where our Slowboat team will be giving a handful (well, two handfuls — 10!) of seminars about subjects that include cruising the Inside Passage to Alaska, flying drones from boats, photography, and how to live on a boat in Seattle without a permanent slip. Check out the full list here if you’re interested.

We left Anacortes Monday morning just before 10am. We took the Swinomish Channel route since it was an hour before max ebb at Deception Pass and well, we’ve done that before. We had a nice easy cruise down to Langley, with winds in the 5-10kts range, and only one spot with enough chop to get the windows salty. Tuesday in the San Juans is supposed to be a little nasty (E wind 25 to 35kts becoming SE 30 to 40kts in the afternoon. Wind waves 5 to 7 ft) but Puget Sound doesn’t sound bad.

Seals here on the dock at Langley, Whidbey Island

I had the helm all day while Kevin wrote an article and did some work, and when we got settled we showered and did more work before walking up to town for dinner and groceries.

Langley at dusk.

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Langley waterfront at dusk

We had an early dinner at one of our favorites spots in Langley — Prima Bistro (where we took no food photos, but we shared some kusshi oysters and charcuterie for starters, then ordered two entrees to share: the cassoulet and the pan roasted chicken with polenta, braised endive, and rosemary-gorgonzola pan jus). Everything was delicious, and we took more than half the cassoulet back to Airship for another meal.

The Star Store mercantile next door is open until 8pm so we grabbed some fresh produce and eggs and called it an early night!

We left Langley this morning before 9am. The weather was gray and rainy but we never saw more than about 10kts of wind.

We did, however, pass a big submarine as it headed north:

Pretty cool to see at such close range!

Pack Creek Bears on Admiralty Island

Laura Domela — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 19:31:05 +0000

The Pack Creek bear viewing area on Admiralty Island is permit-only between June 1 and September 10, and is located up near the top of Seymour Canal. The island is home to an estimated 1,500 brown bears — more than all the Lower 48 states combined. From Juneau via float plane, it’s probably only half an hour, but by (Slow)boat from Juneau, it’s about 74 nautical miles and takes two days. A permit will set you back $50 per person, and there are only 12 per day offered for those not on a private tour. We applied before we left Juneau, and managed to secure the last three spots open for Tuesday, July 18th.

Airship and Safe Harbour met and anchored in Windfall Harbor on Monday evening. In the morning, we dinghied up to the clothesline dinghy system on the gravel spit, about 3 miles from our anchorage.

Established in 1935, the Pack Creek area has been managed jointly since 1985 by the Forest Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. We were met by Michelle on the beach, who explained the particulars to us and then gave us directions for walking to the viewing area, where we were to meet Melissa. Michelle instructed us to stay close together and not to dawdle or stop to take photos until we arrived at the designated viewing area.

However, when we were about halfway up the beach, a sow and two cubs emerged from the woods.

Read the rest on Slowboat.com

The Most Humpbacks We’ve Ever Seen Bubble-net Feeding in One Group

Laura Domela — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 21:35:26 +0000

We had the most amazing day last Friday, cruising from Tenakee Springs to Hoonah. Just outside of Tenakee Inlet we found ourselves in the midst of about 20 humpback whales. This is not the most whales we’ve seen in one spot, but it’s definitely the largest group we’ve ever seen bubble-net feeding together. We counted at least 14 in the same group of cooperative feeders. It was incredible, and difficult enough to describe with pictures, let alone words. Here’s my attempt at some visual highlights (but you really need to be there, hearing the loud breaths and horn-like sounds from the spouts, and the chatter of the seagulls as they compete for the falloff).

There were so many whales, so close, that I couldn’t even fit them all in my frame.

Kevin was able to take the Mavic up and got some cool drone footage:

Flotilla to Alaska | Update from Sitka

Laura Domela — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 07:18:54 +0000

Well, the last thirty days have flown by. We could not have asked for a better group of competent, fun, interesting participants. We made some incredible new friends on this adventure, and we’re thankful to have had no mechanical issues at all. We arrived in Sitka on June 19th and have spent the past couple days sightseeing, doing chores, and eating out. This group still wants to keep hanging out together, after 30 days of togetherness. How great is that??

Tomorrow we’ll leave Sitka and all boats (minus Sam on Safe Harbour, who has a flight to catch out of Juneau in a few days) will continue on together back out Peril Strait to Appleton Cove. From there two boats will head south and two will continue on with us as we head north up toward Hoonah and Icy Strait, and then around to Juneau eventually.

If you haven’t been following but want to catch up on the flotilla’s daily posts, head over to Slowboat and see what we’ve been up to.

In the meantime, here are a few visual highlights since we last posted from Ketchikan:

Petersburg

LeConte Glacier

Le Conte Glacier seals

Le Conte Glacier

Kayaking at LeConte Glacier

Kayaking at LeConte Glacier (bottom of the photo)

The glacier ice cocktail bar, after a day at Le Conte Glacier

Heading up Chatham Strait

So many humpbacks in Frederick Sound

…including this one we had to stop for! Whoa!

Anchored in Cannery Cove, Pybus Bay – on Admiralty Island

Pybus Bay/Cannery Cove anchorage

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Pybus Bay/Cannery Cove anchorage

Mama brown bear on the hillside while cubs play in the snow near the waterfall (Pybus Bay)

Brown bear on shore, Red Bluff Bay, Baranof Island

Kevin fishing for trout, just above the falls at Warm Springs Bay, Baranof Island

Warm Springs Bay, Baranof Island

Rafted two deep at Warm Springs Bay, Baranof Island

Warm Springs Bay dock, from the drone

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Warm Springs Bay dock and falls

Takatz Bay anchorage

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Takatz Bay anchorage

Takatz Bay anchorage (we love this place!)

Takatz Bay, Baranof Island

Coming through Peril Strait

Deep Bay anchorage

The Safe Harbour/Airship raft, Deep Bay

Sunset at Deep Bay

The flotilla coming through Sergius Narrows on our way to Sitka

Eliason Harbor, Sitka

Thompson Harbor, Sitka

Walking home from dinner, Sitka

Sitka sun (for another minute)

Wires, with a raven on top

Here’s how far we’ve come:
Roche Harbor, WA to Sitka Alaska, flotilla total: 30 days, 1,061.6 nautical miles, 145 hours 37 minutes underway

Clever Crow

Laura Domela — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 01:54:33 +0000

This crow took advantage of the windy day in Anacortes today. As the neighboring boat’s anemometer spun around fast in the wind, the crow would lean in and let it scratch his neck and shoulder. I love the crafty crows!

We are back on Airship now after a very nice holiday at home in Portland with family. Originally we’d planned to head north to the Gulf Islands this morning with Sam on Safe Harbour, but the wind was whippin’ so we decided that tomorrow would be a nicer ride. We hope to get to Princess Louisa by New Year’s Eve, but it might be New Year’s Day. No matter. We are happy to be on the water and can celebrate anywhere.

Mitlenatch Island | BC

Laura Domela — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 02:28:53 +0000

We left our anchorage at Rebecca Spit around noon and headed for Melanie Cove in Prideaux Haven (Desolation Sound). It’s a little out of our way (and NORTH!) but hard to pass by when the weather is this great.

A little bit into our cruise, we opted to make a detour and stop at Mitlenatch Island. Mitlenatch Island Nature Provincial Park is home to the largest seabird colony in the Strait of Georgia. The island is a nature reserve and an important nesting colony for Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Black Oystercatchers and many other species of birds. Marine life around the island includes river otters and harbour seals throughout the year, and Steller’s and California sea lions from late fall through to summer. [source]

Mitlenatch is here, in the middle of the map image (the small green island). Campbell River on Vancouver Island is over on the left side. Here’s a link to the actual Google map, if you want to zoom and stuff.

Steller sea lions, harbour seals, and a cormorant on our way into the cove:

The conditions were calm so we easily snuck in and anchored in the shallow cove (in about 15 feet) and then went ashore to explore.

The “Volunteer’s Cabin” (there was no one there right now, but I believe there’s someone here most of the summer):

There are all sorts of little collections of shells and bones around the cabin, as well as a little stack of pamphlets about the BC parks and wildlife. We looked around and then headed down the trail.

On the other side of the island there was a group of harbour seals hanging out in the sun at the water’s edge. We were pretty far away (and really quiet) but I think they still figured out we were there and after a couple minutes, some of them decided to get in the water.

On our way back across we went to check out the Gull Blind:

All we saw was one lone gull and a couple cormorants, but I’m guessing during the spring and early summer there are a lot of cool nesting gulls and baby birds to watch.

We did manage to spot and snap a photo of a neat Black Oystercatcher though:

After hiking all of the trails (except the one that went to the outhouse) we headed back to Airship.

The water here is so clear!

We had some lunch and then continued on toward Melanie Cove. This was a great stop, and highly recommended on a calm day.

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.

Echo Bay to Port Harvey | BC

Laura Domela — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 02:43:11 +0000

We arrived at Echo Bay early in the day yesterday (since we got out of Booker Lagoon by 7:30am). It was rainy all day.

Dawnbreaker arrived later on (still pouring rain). Luckily, they had these fancy umbrellas onboard:

Thomas and Urban, above…doing the umbrella spinning thing for drama. Not pictured, Lars at the helm, being serious (but probably not really).

It rained all night. But hey, that means nice freshwater wash down for Airship, so it’s okay.

We slept in this morning (after a not-that-late-but-still-kinda-late evening hanging with the Dawnbreaker crew). After dinner last night, Thomas, Lars, and Urban brought over a homemade apple pie (and a bottle of wine) and we got out the pint of vanilla bean ice cream we brought from home (and still hadn’t eaten yet! How did THAT happen?) … fun conversation, stories, dessert, wine, espresso…

It was great catching up with Pierre, as always. He’s making some expansions and improvements to the store and the restaurant, and he’s got a new, darling cabin for rent (plus suites in the lodge) so if you don’t have a boat but want to come to Echo Bay, there are options!

We wandered around a bit this morning chatting with the other boaters (there were 7 boats at Pierre’s last night…that’s a lot for this time of year!)…and then made breakfast before heading out. (Our default breakfast is…breakfast tacos. Today’s were the last of the chorizo scrambled with some eggs, sliced avocado, homemade salsa, a dash of habanero hot sauce in flour tortillas…yum!) We left around 10am and headed over to see George and Gail at Port Harvey. The rain came and went, but it was a beautiful cruise:

We went around the west side of Gilford Island through Cramer Passage and Retreat Passage to Knight Inlet (bottom of Gilford Island) and then through Chatham Channel to get to Port Harvey. We were timed to hit Chatham Channel at max flood, so the current would be going with us, but at potentially 7 knots. We read up on Chatham Channel, and nothing sounded too dangerous (no whirlpools or eddies or overfalls), and it’s a smooth-bottomed channel, so the flow is laminar which is just fast, but not turbulent. We went through with no issues at all. We had 4.5 knots of current with us at the narrowest/fastest part, but that’s it. Nothing weird or nail-biting or anything.

We dropped our crab pots just west of Range Island on our way into the dock at Port Harvey and then caught up with George and Gail here for a bit. The rebuild of the store and restaurant are coming along nicely, and should be fabulous and better-than-ever for next season!

George said they’d seen a big grizzly on shore near their house next to the apple tree for the past two days, so to keep an eye out. We did, and then there he was!

George waited while I took a few photos before he fired his rifle to scare the bear away.

Now, we’re just hanging out on Airship (one other boat here tonight, the Jacari Maru, a Puget Trawler) and about to make dinner. We aren’t sure of our plans for tomorrow yet. Maybe Shoal Bay, and then the Octopus Islands…and then maybe Heriot Bay or Rebecca Spit on Quadra Island (in the spirit of trying to also go some places we haven’t been before). I could explore like this indefinitely.

Crossing Cape Caution | BC

Laura Domela — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 01:46:39 +0000

This was our fourth crossing of Cape Caution. The first one was the only one that was a little bit uncomfortable (6 foot swells at 4-5 seconds apart). The rest have been relatively calm and uneventful. (When you have the time to wait for a good weather window, you can be picky about when you do your crossing.) This one was boring. I napped for the actual crossing of the Cape. Yawn. Sleepy. There was no land in view, barely any water in view, and only an occasional other boat on AIS (also not in view). We had radar going but mostly the screen was blank. See? Boring. (Wind was 5kts or less, swells were around 3 feet…around 8 seconds or more, and as you can see…visibility sucked. We’ll take it!)

While Kevin was napping I passed an otter chillin’…he was only about 25ft from the boat as I went by and he just floated there watching me pass. I said hello (actually I said “Hey buddy!”) and took his photo.

As we got a ways into Queen Charlotte Strait, the fog started to clear and we could see land.

Behind us, out toward the Pacific (that dot is a fishing boat):

Ahead of us, toward Port McNeill (today’s destination):

It was sunny and warm as we arrived. We got settled at the North Island Marina and then walked (T-shirts only, no jackets!) up to the IGA market to stock up on veggies and a few other things. Our plan is to head back across the strait tomorrow and hang out in the Broughtons a bit…maybe go to some places we haven’t been yet (along with a few repeat favorites).

They had giant bunches of fragrant (local) fresh basil at the market, so tonight we’re going to make some tortellini and toss it with fresh basil, grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a little olive oil and salt.