Ahclakerho Islands to Geetla Basin

I hate to start every blog post with a weather report, but it is so spectacular today that it cannot go without reporting. Clear skies and calm winds, a real treat for this time of the year.

What a beautiful morning, you just know it is going to be a good day

We are off for Geetla Basin, which means we need to head back down Smith Sound and round up into Rivers Inlet, while avoiding any ebb issues. We think we have the timing right, so we’re not concerned, and the wind is benign. This time, on the way out, Karen saw the pictograph. It makes you wonder – what does it mean, that “bug”?

I love the way life clings to even the smallest opportunity. We call these bonsai islands.

Beautiful ride up the channel under the Northwest Exploration burgee

Currents in the channel reflect in the sun

The current was running almost two knots on our stern as we departed the Ahclakerho

Today is the day we try the watermaker for the first time. One tank is down a little more than half, owing to the two loads of laundry we did enroute to Fly Basin. Alaskan Dream is equipped with a Village Marine water maker that produces about 20 gallons per hour. The only downside of this installation is that there is no remote operating panel in the salon, which means you have to go into the engine room to operate the unit. And, of course, you only operate water makers when you’re underway. Not a big deal, when you consider the flexibility it gives us in planning trips to areas where water supplies are scarce. The owner did a great job of writing up the operational instructions and with a turn of a valve here, a flip of a switch there, check the flow, turn another handle and lo and behold, we’re making fresh water.

After a couple of hours, it seemed the fill rate, which one can monitor with the water tank gauges in the salon, had stopped. When I went to check the water maker, it had switched itself from normal to “dump/cleaning”, and the psi of the outflow had dropped well below the desired target. Inspecting the 5 micron filter, it was completely encased in a 1/6 inch of green slime. That was a surprise, given that we were running in large open channels and the water is so cold (46F). I changed the filter, and all was well. Tomorrow we’re moving to different waters and we make some more water in earnest and see what the filter captures as we travel.

Green slime clogs the watermaker filter

The big excitement for the day was spotting a small pod of Orca. As we were entering the mouth of Rivers Inlet, Karen spotted the fin of a female. As we continued to scan the area for more activity, the larger fin of a male appeared and later another small fin. They were traveling in a straight line in the opposite direction with a sense of purpose. We watched as they departed Rivers Inlet while we began making our way up. Our destination was Geetla Basin. But on the way up, we took a short detour to check out Duncanby (a high end fishing resort that was not yet open), and we enjoyed winding our way along the small islets. We also saw the Cannery under renovation at the end of Goose Bay, but did not go down to tie up and go ashore.

Just off the open and sometimes challenging Rivers Inlet, you’ll find Geetla Basin. A quick turn in though a narrow entry and then some rocks, and you’re rewarded with a wonderful small anchorage that can handle two or three boats with ease. It was very well protected and offers good holding…and we were again alone, with the exception of a frolicking seal. This anchorage is recommended by the Hamiltons in The Secret Coast, and it’s a great spot.

Immediately after securing Alaskan Dream, we launched the dinghy to explore the east/west oriented lagoon that is at the end of Magee channel. According the Hamilton’s Cruising the Secret Coast, you can take the dinghy in there on higher tides. They were right as always and we explored, looking to the float house that they reported at the west end. It was not there, but we did find that it looked possible to go through the cut at the west end into Darby Channel. Certainly only something to be attempted in a dinghy or Kayak, but at this high a tide, it was doable.

The dinghy is a great way to do a quick overview, before launching the kayaks

We swung by the entrance to Geetla Inlet, where the kayaking was supposed to be good. The tide had to be above 10’ at Bella Bella to allow entry. Saw that the dinghy path was blocked by a downed tree, so we went back to the boat to get the kayaks and wait for the tide to rise a bit.  The challenge here is that about one third of a mile up the narrow inlet channel is a section about a quarter mile long that dries.. To complicate matters further, one must manage the currents flowing in and out of the two large lagoons to avoid fighting the current on entry and exit. We left about 5:19, knowing high tide at Bella Bella was at 6:08. Our plan was to ride the current in, and then ride the current out.

We did ride the current in.  The base current was about 1.5 knots in the wider entry section, which made for a great ride. However, in the narrow, shallow, rocky sections, the current would pick up a couple of knots and some small rapids made us pay attention as we navigated between rocks and fallen trees.

We paddled into the first large lagoon and came upon twenty five or so sea gulls making the most ungodly racket. The only thing we could think of is that it was mating season, because no one was fishing.

Bob backlit in “Gull Lagoon”

I decided that it was time to head back, because it was about 6:15 and the current should be changing soon to run out the inlet. Well, Karen and I fought our way up-inlet for a while and finally had to take shelter in a spot out of the current behind a fallen tree to wait for the current to slow and then reverse. We clearly did not use the correct current info! We had to wait, with me holding onto a rock and Karen holding on to my kayak, for an hour for the adverse current to slow and then stop. Karen was so impatient, she wanted to go anyway, but I convinced her to wait, and it was a good decision. We cast off at 7:21 and had a lovely paddle back to the boat, without having to fight any current. We were happy to get back to the boat, that’s for sure!

Waiting for the current to go slack

After stowing the kayaks and the dinghy, we had an easy meal of Chili and homemade drop biscuits. One more episode of The Good Wife later, off to bed at 11pm…and it’s still sort of light out.

Ahclakerho Islands

Ahclakerho Islands

The Northwest weather has returned: cloudy, overcast, a little fog in the morning with a dampness in the light breeze. It has been declared by Karen “a lay day”. I did not get up until 9. Karen was up at 8 and I found her reading her Nook, drinking her second cup of coffee, nestled under her blanket on the settee. It was a perfect morning for her.

Breakfast scramble, lots of veggies and yummy on a sleepy morning

I did not make breakfast until 11am, after we looked at our planned schedule and decided that we would just stay here, tied to the shore and comfortable, rather than head further down the channel to Broad Basin. After a week on the go, it is good just to stop and recharge and slow down.

The stern tie masterfully set by Karen. It's a lot of work, but well worth it for all the small anchorages it opens up to you.

Karen had asked me to buy Season 1 of The Good Wife, and we watched the first two episodes which were quite good. I made some chili for future consumption and worked on the blog and pictures, while Karen continued to commune with her Nook.

Dinner was marinated and glazed pork loin with hoisin sauce and maple glazed carrots. Even Karen’s sweet tooth was satisfied by those carrots!

 Karen loves all things glazed; glazed carrots, glazed pork tenderloin

 

 Sun starting to set, no wind turns the water into a mirror. What's out your window?

The clouds are still playing with the tops of the mountains after sunset

Fly Basin to Ahclakerho Islands

Fly Basin to Ahclakerho Islands

Our neighbor last night left about a half hour before us. We weighed anchor and began our trip at 7:57am in order to arrive at the narrow Ahclakerho Channel at low slack about 10:00am. The channel looks narrow on the chart and there are some rocks that line the fairway, but we found the Nobeltec charts to be spot on and the trip was an easy passage in beautiful sun.

Beautiful sunrise at anchor

We enjoyed a calm and still night at anchor

Sticky mud and shells make for good holding

Fly Basin is well protected and we enjoyed a calm night

There is a reason power boats got the nickname “stinkpots”

You never are in doubt where the high tide stops. The trees look as if they are trimmed with a laser.

These are the views views you see cruising nowhere else

Karen had read about some pictograph in the channel across from one of the small islets. I was able to a get a photo, Karen will have to wait for the return to see it. I find it difficult, at best, to spot these ancient symbols. Often faded, they seldom look like anything you expect. Add to that, the fact that the rocks themselves are emblazoned with marks from Mother Nature, and it’s no wonder we bat about 50/50 in spotting these. I got a picture, and when we later looked at the blow up of the pictograph, it was a crazy bug with eyes and a mouth.

The anchorage in the small “V” shaped notch at the eastern end of the larger of the two Ahclakerho Islands is cozy but not cramped. Because of the shoaling at the northwest end and the marked (but not seen) rock, we did what most people do and set a stern line to the south shore. We have not done a stern tie in a couple of years; add to that a new (to us) boat with different equipment than we are used to, and it took us about an hour to do the “stern tie dance.”

We set the anchor in about 15 feet of water (rocky bottom!) on a plus 2 foot tide about 85 yards from the rocks. From there we set the anchor at the 50 foot mark on the rode and then proceeded to pay out a total of 250 foot of chain. That allowed Alaskan Dream to sit 30 yards from shore in 33 feet of water.

It was low tide ant only one foot above low water, so Karen had to climb the barnacle-encrusted and slimy, slippery rocks to find a suitable place to run our stern line. We were so close to shore that I just rowed us to and from the boat in the dinghy rather than starting the engine. Our stern line was nicely long enough to get the job done, and we were finally snug in the cove.

The bonus to this anchorage is the great Kayaking to be had. At first it only looks OK, but once you get out and start to explore the north shore line of the large island, you’ll find some special small spots and passages that are a kayaker’s delight.

Karen loves to explore what she calls “Kayak Garages”

I love all the different textures and colors you find as you look closely from the cockpit of the kayak

In addition, on the west end of the “v” anchorage you’ll find a drying pass that, at high water can be paddled up for about 150 yards. From there you turn around and get a great photo of your boat with snowcapped (it was May 20^th) mountains in the far distance.

The view from the kayaks is not to be missed

Alaskan Dream framed by the snow capped mountains

Karen and I spent about 2 hours going in and out of every little nook and cranny we could find. Occasionally we were join by the local seals who were as least as interested in us as we they.

 

The end of the little drying inlet was messy but still a fun paddle

There were also these triangular (like baby conch) shells everywhere with some sort of sea life inside. We have not seen these before but they were in abundance, along with lots of big clams and mussels.

An abundance of mussels, but it's the wrong time of the year to harvest them

Dinner selection was driven by chef Bob, who wanted “comfort food” and thus made a fusilli gorgonzola with peppers, onions and kielbasa. After dinner, we decided to check out Broad Cove by dinghy as an alternate anchorage. It was about a 3 mile ride, and it was nice, but not as cozy as where we already were. The dinghy on Alaskan Dream is so nice, very stable, and with an electric start, so easy to get going. It also gets up to 14kts, which is nice for those times when kayaking doesn’t cut it!

Dinner aboard Alaskan Dream

We were the only pleasure boat in the area, but we did see a fishing boat tending his prawn pots.

Just us and Mother Nature. Adventure the way we like it.

Main Line Power Squadron

This evening, Karen and I made a presentation to the Main Line Power Squadron on our experiences cruising the Inside Passage. We had a great time. The members are warm and welcoming and seemed to enjoy seeing cruising grounds that none of them had yet experienced. Thanks again to Commander Susan Friedrichs and the members for their hospitality and kind words. You can check out this great group of mariners here.  To view the resource information pages from last night’s presentation click here.

Muirhead Islands to England Point Cove

Up at eight...and we are greeted by overcast skies, mist and fog. The run of good weather was over, at least for the day. As is often the case, the timing of today’s travels will be dictated by the tides. The entrance to Actaeon Sound is guarded by Snake Passage and high slack tide at Snake was not until 11:30am. Of course this was no problem, given our predilection to sleep in and spend the morning lounging around. It’s our vacation after all.

The anchor came up clean to Karen’s delight (she is the anchor wench, after all). We had a great set to the anchor the day before, and that often means the anchor comes up filled with mud. But with a clean anchor aboard, we departed our peaceful anchorage for our next adventure.

Snake Passage is well charted with kelp that helps mark the dangers. At high slack it was an uneventful pass. Of course, at high slack this narrow fairway looks much wider, with all the dangers lurking below the water.

Behind Snake Pass, the Sound opens up. Its so peaceful and pretty, almost like a wide tree-lined river.

As we motored up the sound, we stopped at the entrance to Bond Lagoon and pointed our nose into the entrance to scope it out. The entrance looks as if the fairway is good but we did not have enough water under the keel to make the passage into the lagoon. We will save this lagoon for another visit.

We snooped at Creasy Bay and saw the logging camp on the Venturi Logger barge, complete with a small helicopter. Behind that is a derelict barge that looks a lot shabbier than pictured in Hamilton's Secret Coast!

Have Logging Camp Will Travel

We passed our planned anchorage at England Point Cove and continued on to explore the entrance to Tsibass Lagoon. It must have been perfect slack, as there was no strong ebb to be seen. But you can tell this entrance is very narrow and not for Arctic Star. If we had a high speed dinghy, we'd definitely have gone in to explore.

On our way back to England Point, we took a look at Gleyka Cove, which seems have an abandoned logging camp and is marked with tons of floating logs that had numerous seals hauled out on them. Predictably, Karen, the critter chaser, directed the helm to change course and go visit the local mammals. They had such soulful faces, and were in a rainbow of seal colors: grey ones, brown ones, Dalmatian colored ones and brown spotted ones.

After the Loggers Leave, the Seals Take Over

We decided to anchor in England Point Cove, a highly recommended anchorage by the Hamilton's and by us! It's a lovely one boat (to us) anchorage. There are great views out a couple of directions and the prime anchor spot is easy to pick out. We set the anchor easily in the grey and misty skies.

We later took the dinghy back to Gleyka Cove, because the Hamiltons said you can walk along the North Creek to some abandoned trucks and stuff from the old logging days. We landed North of the creek with no issue and tied the dinghy off to a tree. Tall grass obscured holes and unsure footing was the name of the day as we followed a bear path (complete with fresh scat) to the rocky creek. Taking a look at the creek and the underbrush, we knew this wasn't going to work as a fun and easy walk.

Entrance to the Creek

There Be Bear Here!!

So we retrieved the dinghy and decided to dock at the logging camp and explore the logging roads. One the way there, we almost ran over a long, just-submerged fresh water line that ran from shore to the camp. Gotta be ever vigilant! At first glance, it just seemed like a long piece of kelp.

Docked at the camp, there was a rickety ramp to shore. It had a "leaning tower of Pisa" characteristic, and Karen was very skeptical because it was so askew and steep. Bob walked it with no issues and no fear, and so Karen grumblingly followed. The house at the top of the ramp was abandoned, with just a blue hard hat sitting on a log as a reminder of days gone by. We walked around and explored the log sluice that channeled logs down towards the holding pen where the seals were hauled out.

Home Sweet Home for the Loggers that used to work at Gleyka Cove

Of course Bob had to go first to check it out. It was a lot more stable than it looks.

I Wonder How Many Hours were Spent in that Chair

Someone Put a Flag on the Islet that Marks the Entrance to England Point Cove

We took the dinghy over to see our seal friends one more time before returning to the boat for a feast of marinated grilled pork and maple glazed carrots.