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We
crossed Queen Charlotte Sound with an
excellent flat-water cruise. I had hoped
to hookeybob onto someone's wifi at Shearwater
and send this email, but it was just not
to be. We even tried a friend's trick and
cruised close to Bella Bella as we left. There
were lots of unsecured wireless systems
out there and we could connect with several,
but then we could not get online - regardless
of having an "excellent" signal. It's
a mystery.
Communications mysteries aside, here are some
pictures.
Dave caught me with my hat askew; I wear it that
way to shade my eyes from the sun coming
in the side window. Yes, sun. We have been very
fortunate with many days of sun for the start
of this trip. (Mike, note the "confuser" in
use.)
I
can't resist sending one more little whirlpool
picture. This one was at Seymour Narrows which
we challenged by going an hour early. This time
we were going through with the flow so
it gave us a nice boost.
The
Queen Charlotte Sound crossing was so calm
that we went
close to Cape Caution (pictured below). We were
once again able to go behind Egg Island things
were so nice.
We
were about 2 mi N of Cape Caution (5-17 - 0930) when I saw something I could not
make out at first. A kayak? No, the boat configuration
was not exactly right for a kayak. I was
puzzled because the bow person was in fact using
a kayak paddle but the shape of the vessel didn't
fit a kayak. And what is that in the middle?
Nahhhh. Can't be.
As
we got close, I could see that it was a canoe.
That is not something I have seen out in these
open waters before. But what really amazed
me was what was sitting
in the middle seat.
Could I be seeing things?
Doesn't that look like a dog?
It was a dog. A huge Alaskan husky-type
dog. What a sight.
You
can read their
story on the web at: www.canoeacrosscanada.ca,
as I later did. They are a young couple
who intend to canoe from Victoria BC to St Johns
NF over the next four years.The dog is an Alaskan
Malemute named Taq (pronounced "tack").
People ask me frequently how big a boat you need
to do the Inside Passage. THIS picture is going
in my next talk to answer that question. And
it will also cover the question of who you should
take with you as crew. In an interview of
this couple, she said that Taq can act as a mediator
when necessary. They both had a great sense of
humor. What an adventure.
I found their email address and sent
them the above picture to post on their website
if they wanted to.
One of our favorite anchorages is Green
Island Anchorage in Fitzhugh Sound. That is where
I found my first kaleidoscope images years back
that I love so much. (Land reflected in still
water at low tide.)
To my amazement and pure pleasure, I even
spotted my first "totem man" image
from years ago on our first trip up here. Native
lore says the inspiration for totem poles came
from images like this.
Rotating
the picture makes it very believeable.
Here
are a few more new images.
A beautiful beetle?
And
a bird?
Green
Island Anchorage is aptly named. Here are a few
shots of a boat that anchored right in front
of the "green."
The
boat is "Toad Hall" (a Krogen)
and is operated by a couple who have been on
the water since 1994. We arrived in Shearwater
together so I gave them these pictures.
She is planning to make a boat card with it.
The words will go right on "the green."
The picure below is perhaps my favorite
shot in this series. I am trying to teach myself
a little more about photography and am currently
experimenting with different exposures.
Photoshop is great, but my goal is to get better
original shots. Just one more way to have
fun on the water.
Of
course, Davy is getting his usual great pictures
of the flora and fauna. Here is an eagle in "The
Eagle Tree" at Shearwater. It was a gloomy
day, but since the eagle allowed him up close,
he went for the picture.
Dave
has been tweaking the (new) electrical setup
mercilessly since our departure. He jokingly
says our "Sea
Trial" this year was
finally concluded in Shearwater. That's because
he is (almost) satisfied with how things are
going. The autopilot is soooooo nice.
We love our electronic charting, but the software upgrade from a previous version
really vexed me. The upgrade process was a very negative experience that took
many hours to straighten out and I still can’t access some of the advertised
features (the new Tides and Currents database). Now we are seeing some holes
in the associated chart database update. The vector Canadian Chart # 3939 is
completely missing. That means there is no chart for the Bella Bella/Shearwater
area. This is a cruising area almost every boat goes through. If it
were not for the fact that we carry paper charts and I have always had the
entire Canadian raster chart set on our laptop, we would have been without a
chart for these waters. I also discovered that the company’s vector
Canadian Chart # 3738 has NO depths noted on it whatsoever. What else am I going
to find? Grinding teeth…
OK. Enough grousing. The sun is out
again! We are on the water, cruisin.....
Our best to all of you
Linda
& Dave
M/V Royal Sounder
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