Elcho Harbour to Ocean Falls

Today we had an amendment to the float plan. I had originally planned for us to go a bit further up Dean Channel to Eucott Bay Hot Springs…but neither of us was in the mood for a soak, and it was not particularly sunny or bright today. So instead, we decided it was time to head for Ocean Falls.

As we were enjoying breakfast, Bob spotted the four Grizzlies back out on the flats again. We watched them for a long time, as we could see them better than last night. They were eating the grasses but also rolling in the creek, and the juveniles were “fake fighting” and standing up on their hind legs and cuffing each other. One tried it with the big Grizzly male, who tolerated it for a few seconds and then cuffed the youngster with meaning. The youngster desisted. Two eagles kept the bears company.

Four grizzly bears entertain us

The kids decide to try some bear wrestling

It ends in a draw

Bald eagles look much less majestic when they are scrounging on the beach

Elcho Harbour is one of the prettiest anchorages you'll find

Bob took the helm for Ocean Falls. I worked on the blog, and the waves were one foot chop in Dean Channel. Alaskan Dream took them in stride, though, and I felt no jostling as we headed back down the Channel.

Waterfall along the way

As we neared the turn for Cousins Inlet, I saw a dark hulled motor vessel ahead of us, also bound for Ocean Falls, but we were too far away to tell what type of boat it was. It was windy and gray as we passed a few cabins on the shoreline and saw the small town (80 residents?) of Martin Valley in the distance. Once we got abeam Martin Valley, we could see the Ocean Falls dam. This dam provides hydroelectric power to Martin Valley, Shearwater and Bella Bella. You can see the overland power lines emanating from Ocean Falls. We passed these along out route since we left Shearwater.

Karen makes ready the lines for our mooring at Ocean Falls

Ocean Falls, a town with a long rich history from boom to bust, and now starting to write a new chapter

Though not charted, there is a nice log breakwater protecting the Ocean Falls docks. We picked a spot on the inside of the outer dock, which turns out to be newly installed this year. The wind provided a nice assist as we tied up. And we had great 30amp power and unlimited amounts of the famous Ocean Falls water. It comes from Lake Link but it is also filters and UV treated!

We headed to “The Shack”, which is the wharfinger’s office as well as a mini club house for boaters. It is much nicer than the name implies. Inside were 2-3 computers hooked up to the internet, a book exchange, and several tables with a view outside. Alongside were recycling containers, which I immediately took advantage of. We met Neil, the wharfinger, and paid a reasonable moorage and power fee ($23.25 for 49 feet and $8 for 30amp power), and then headed off to walk to the “grocery store”. It’s about a mile walk up the paved road to Martin Valley. It is only open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3-5pm, and there is an orange “light” that flashes when the store is open for business. It was fun to look at the store, and we had a nice chat with Jimmy, and ended up purchasing eggs and tomatoes before walking back. It was still overcast and windy, but no rain. As we rounded a turn in the road, I said “Oh Sh%*! There was a very large black bear ambling down the other side of the road right at us. I have read all the “bear encounter protocols”, which flew out of my head as soon as I saw that bear. Bob, luckily, kept a level head and stopped, the said “Yo Bear” so the bear saw us and heard us. The bear turned 180 degrees, then thought better of it, and turned back around to continue his walk down the road. After all, he was on the road because it did not want to bother with trudging through the thick forrest. It took one more “Yo Bear” before the bear decided it made sense for him to leave the comfortable walking path of the road to head into the forest instead. During this encounter, I stood behind Bob. I tell myself it was to avoid looking at the bear and giving off the smell of fear, not that it was to ensure the bear had a better target!

The “store”. Notice the orange flashing light signaling “we're open”

We walked back to the docks, occasionally looking over our shoulders to ensure the bear was not trailing us. We met the folks on Zucchini, the green hulled motor vessel we had seen entering Cousins Inlet earlier today. They are from Connecticut, and keep their boat on the West Coast.  We chatted briefly. We also helped a sailboat with 2 fellows from Bella Coola tie up in all the wind. All they wanted to know was where they could see the first game of the Stanley Cup (Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston). I suggested they walk up the road to town to Slaggo’s Saloon (with a sharp eye out for the bear). Then Bob and I spent a nice, quiet and well-powered night in Ocean Falls. Dinner was Thai Peanut Chicken and Jasmine Rice. We were able to get Sat TV, and watched Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert before heading off to bed.

Shearwater to Dean Channel, Elcho Harbour

We had a leisurely morning, and made our last visit to the restaurant so Bob could enjoy one more night of freedom from the galley! As we made our way back to Alaskan Dream, we stopped over to look at the new green lodge, which was the site of lots of construction (building a stone “foundation/breakwater”. The owner of Shearwater came over, introduced himself, and encouraged us to go inside the lodge and take a look. This fishing lodge is really nice, and is called Big Time Sportsfishing. It has a grand stone fireplace, large dining room, a roomy sitting area up on the second floor with leather chairs, a pool table and a bar, and then several rooms (many with views). Pretty cushy digs!

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The “fishing lodge on a barge”, settling into its new home on land

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Here you can see the complete lodge as the stone breakwater/foundation nears complication

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Shearwater, a must stop in your travels

We left Shearwater’s docks at 10am, and the sun was just starting to come out. I chose to take Gunboat Passage, the scenic route to Dean Channel. It is well marked, and not too tricky, but you need to pay attention. Bob swears he saw a humpback in the passage, but I didn’t see it, so it was an unconfirmed sighting!

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Karen checking for wildlife from the bow

I took the helm most of the way after that, and it was glorious in Fisher Channel and then Dean Channel. The low lying islands and topography gave wave to higher mountains with snowy caps, and it was a lovely ride up Dean Channel. We saw a pod of about 20 porpoises go flying by, clearly chasing fish and not interested in stopping to play with us.

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It not like this here everyday, but when it is, there is nothing to match the grandeur

As we got to the entrance of Elcho Harbour, we detoured to see Sir Alexander Mackenzie park, a site commemorating his accomplishments. Sir Alexander Mackenzie rock is marked by a 43’ cairn. On July 22, 1793, we completed his overland journey across Canada to the Pacific Ocean (or as close as he actually got, which wasn’t all the way), and he marked his accomplishment with vermillion paint on a rock. The inscription has since been carved into the stone. You have to look hard to see it, but we did! Apparently, MacKenzie ended his journey here because the waters beyond the rock were Bella Bella Indian territory and his Bella Coola Indian guides could not assure his safety.(Thanks to the Waggoner Guide for this background)

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Sir Alexander Mackenzie park

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Here is where to look to find the inscription

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A beautiful cruising day

We entered Elcho Harbour and it was absolutely gorgeous, it reminded us of Gut Bay in Alaska and also of Switzerland. The inlet extends 2 miles back off Dean Channel, and ends in a grassy bowl with streams and estuary and mudflats. Several waterfalls line the way in. We spent some time seeking the right place to drop the hook, as the anchorage is either deep (80+ feet) or super shallow due to the mudflats. The sun was shining and there was absolutely no wind. We got a good set in about 80’ of water, with great views of the head as well as the mouth of the inlet (and all the snowcapped mountains in both directions).

After getting the anchor set, we were sitting inside with windows and doors wide open when several dark eyed Juncos (small birds) started flying around and dive bombing the boat. One flew in the door, and I shrieked and hid in the bathroom while Bob sat calmly as it flew back out. Ick!

We relaxed and enjoyed the scenery up on the flybridge, and hoped this might be a good place to see bear. Sure enough, about 6:00, out come FOUR Grizzly Bears, a huge male and 2-3 juveniles. They were backlit by the sun and so gorgeous. They were in all the creek beds and spend several hours out there eating grass and rolling in it and entertaining us.

Dinner was halibut tacos, wine and 2 episodes of The Good Wife.The sunset was stunning, with alpenglow. It was quiet and peaceful and we were, once again, all alone.

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Elcho Harbour does not disappoint

Dodwell Group Inner Basin to Shearwater

Awoke to gray skies and not much wind. I could tell Bob was ready to cast off for Shearwater, where we can do lots of errands and get internet access. I think what he was really looking forward to was the fact that there was a restaurant, so we could have someone else cook for him for a change!

The anchor chain has been jamming as it entered the chain locker, so we let out another 50’ (now 200 total) and then he flaked it in as I pulled up the chain (actually, the windlass pulled up the chain, I just hit the switch). We are hoping that will minimize future jamming after we leave the marina at Shearwater. The anchor revealed that the bottom in Dodwell as mud with some grass. The holding was good.

I helmed almost all the way to Shearwater. It was low tide, and Soulsby Point at the end of Dodwell Island was definitely eye-catching, I can see how that might catch a propeller or two if someone isn’t paying attention and the tide is just a bit higher.  The water was calm, and the sky was cloudy. There was not another boat in sight or on AIS. As we entered Lama Pass and headed toward Bella Bella, the narrow part of the channel was filled with floating log debris, which had me weaving my way in and out of the detritus.  Bella Bella was a pleasant sight, a small (200 people?) native town that has a 12-bed hospital and a grocery store. We continued on past Bella Bella and headed for the docks at Shearwater.

We have never been here before, but the guidebooks indicate that the docks are nice and they have power on them…and they are usually crowded. As we approached, all three things were not exactly true. The docks looked pretty torn up, there was no power on the docks at all, and there were only a few boats there when we arrived about 10:30am. We picked a spot on the “inside” of the main dock to avoid as much swell as possible, and tied up. A nice woman from a departing sailboat gave us the access code for the internet, as it was good for another day and she was leaving. That saved us $10!

We had lots of things to accomplish in Shearwater. First, when we got on Alaskan Dream in Port McNeill, we were short two cruising guidebooks. I had called in advance to make sure they would be aboard, but there was a snafu and they were not. The remoteness of Port McNeill and Port Hardy kept us from being able to source replacements, one of which was essential as we moved north. Northwest Explorations, the wonderful charter company, had the two books shipped on Pacific Coastal Air to Bella Bella, and they were awaiting our pick up. So we took the water taxi over to Bella Bella at 11:00. The captain, Vern, was extremely friendly, and no sooner had we headed out back towards Bella Bella than out of Seaforth Channel came the large cruise ship the Disney Wonder! It was so big in the small channel; it dwarfed the channel and the water taxi. Vern delighted his passengers by detouring around the aft of the ship. Hanging off the aft was a “sculpture” of Donald Duck, who looked like he was painting the stern, suspended by a “rope”. Another Disney Duck, one of the young ones whose names I cannot remember from my days of watching cartoons, was poised above Donald, holding a pair of scissors and about to cut the line. It was so funny, we all laughed. I wonder how big those figures were? 30 feet? 40 feet?

The Disney Wonder fills our view from the water taxi

As we ran alongside the Disney Wonder, passengers on their decks waved, and we saw that on the top deck, an outdoor movie was being shown. We tried to get them to honk their horn (apparently, one of their horns plays “When you wish upon a star”), but we had no luck. Still, it was a very cool way to be introduced to Shearwater and Bella Bella.

Upon arrival at Bella Bella, Vern called us a taxi, and we rode the taxi van out to the small airport. Bob picked up the package while I chatted with the driver, who was an ardent Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He had Steelers dice hanging from the rear-view window. Go figure.

The docks at Bella Bella, the water taxi is in the distance near the ramp

Back in “town”, we went to the Band Grocery Store, which had great selection and fresh produce, and grabbed a few things before jumping back on the water taxi for Shearwater.

The band store is a great place to provision in Bella Bella

Back at the boat we offloaded our groceries and books, and headed for the restaurant for a killer burger and fries. Bob was in heaven.

While on the water taxi, we learned that in the winter, hurricane force winds had hit Shearwater and totally detached the docks, sending them out into the bay. Apparently some floating lodges ended up in the bay as well. Shearwater has the docks back together, a bit the worse for wear, but no power reestablished yet.

Shearwater is a big complex (for out here), and there is a grocery store/liquor store/post office, a nice Laundromat(maybe the best we’ve found cruising the northwest), a marine store and a Marine Works. We happily did 2 loads of laundry and a little grocery shopping, but we failed to find a replacement battery for the dinghy, so the electric start is no longer functional. You can still start it the old fashioned way (pulling the string), but it’s definitely more effort.

We paid our moorage ($1 a foot) for the evening, and then had beers on the flybridge with Scott Kennedy, a Montana native who moors his boat in Bellingham. He was single-handing the boat up to Alaska, where he would pick up his fiancée in early June. We had a lot of fun talking, and he is a friend of Brian Pemberton’s, the owner of Northwest Explorations. Small world!

Scott's fishing machine

A few more boats arrived, including the lovely Far Out, a 71’ DeFever (used to belong to Art DeFever himself). We took their lines as they approached the docks, and learned a bit about them, including the fact that they have done 30,000 miles in that boat, including the Panama Canal and South America and the East Coast.

Far Out on the docks in Shearwater, Alaskan Dream is to the left

Classic tug converted to a fishing lodge that floats

Never ones to pass up good food, we headed up to the restaurant again for a late dinner and enjoyed it while soaking in the view over the docks. The clouds had finally lifted and it was a lovely and tranquil night. At the restaurant, we met Sarah, who lives in Rivers Inlet (Sunshine Bay) but was up in Shearwater doing the census! She was great fun, and told us a lot about life “in the wilderness” and how she moved from rural England directly to Rivers Inlet. We will try to visit her next time we head up this way.

This prawner is very optimistic given the number of pots he managed to put onboard

On our way back to the boat to call it a night, we stopped to look at the 4-passenger Robinson R-44 maroon helicopter that is based in Shearwater. It was a sobering thought to see the 4 Mustang life vests that everyone wears when in flight – makes sense, as the majority of the flights are over water!

Sunset over the stern of Far Out

Dodwell Group Inner Basin

Last night before bed, we had agreed to go kayaking into Dodwell Lagoon in the morning, on a rising (near high) tide. It was overcast and kind of gloomy when we awoke, but we decided to press on, because we’ve found that as soon as we’re in the kayaks, we have fun exploring no matter the weather.

We headed out of the inner basin, around the rocky islet and off for the lagoon. It was a good ride, with favorable current and the tide still rising. We went through the first narrows in the lagoon with no issue, but when we came to the second set, it was all whitewater. We expect that was because it was so shallow. The Hamilton’s book says that you need at least a 12’ tide to explore the whole lagoon, and we’d agree. We were on a 10’ high tide, and it was about 2’ too low to get through this second set of narrows.

Low tide reveals lots of colors and textures

The fate of the trees on the bank is certain

No worries, though, because the lagoon is large and there was a lot to look at. I wonder how many people venture into this lagoon each year? We were certainly all alone except for some birds, and we felt like we could be the only people on earth, it was so quiet and still.  We realized we haven’t seen another pleasure boat, or fishing boat, or spoken with anyone else since we left Pruth Bay 5 days ago. But that’s just fine with us!

Karen explores a small drying area

A great place to explore is when you first enter the drying area into the lagoon. On a 10 foot tide we could paddle all around this area, which for the most part is dry at low tide. It also provided us with a current free exit when we left and the tide was still rising.

The tide was too low for us to enter the second lagoon, the rapids were fast and shallow

We spent the afternoon doing some chores, I worked on the blog while Bob did engine room chores.  I also cleaned the interior, as it is about 10 days since we left Port McNeill. We pretty much took it easy. Bob called the owner, Barry, on the Sat phone to find out where the multimeter was, because we needed to trouble shoot the battery on the dinghy. That was the total of our interaction with other people for the day!

As it turned out the owner had put five new batteries on the boat before the start of the season(no small expense there), but one he did not replace was the dinghy battery. I checked out the battery and the charging circuit coming from the Honda outboard and the battery was diffidently the culprit. I’ll try to find a replacement battery in Shearwater.

Dinner was delicious grilled pork tenderloin with orange marmalade glaze and mashed sweet potatoes, which made an excellent dinner with some good Argentinian wine. One episode of The Good Wife later, it was time for bed.

I can do no wrong if I serve Karen sweet potatoes

West Spitfire Cove To Dodwell Group Inner Basin

We enjoyed a peaceful night, the winds were calm, and no swells can make it into this protected cove. We awoke to clouds, but they quickly parted, revealing blue skies and bright sun. Today’s plan is a short 8 nautical mile trip to Sans Peur Cove (off Sans Peur Passage, in the McNaughton Group), so we took our time enjoying breakfast, some housekeeping and a little planning.

The route to Sans Peur takes us down Spitfire Channel to the west, on the “outside” for just a mile or so and around Superstition Point and Superstition Ledge. The combination of shallow waters and the ocean swells made for choppy seas and we certainly can understand why some kayakers choose to portage from Swordfish Bay toSuperstition Cove rather than deal with the currents and rip tides off Superstition Point. 

Superstition Point

We left the shore about a mile to our starboard side and with the stabilizers working, we had a good but confused ride. It honestly was the most “motion” we’ve felt on this calm-to-date trip, far more than around Cape Caution. As soon as we turned into the entrance to Cultus Sound, the seas were on our stern and everything calmed down very quickly. Karen says “Cultus” means “worthless” or “good for nothing” in Chinook jargon, but today it means sunny and beautiful. She sat for a while on the bow, just enjoying the blue skies and lack of wind.

Karen enjoying the peaceful ride in Cultus Sound

Sans Peur requires a few doglegs to make your way in, but the charts are pretty good and kelp marks the fairway well. It’s a small cove and requires a stern tie. I set the hook (short scope) from the helm while Karen watched our stern to make sure we did not drift back into any rocks. Then, without too much drama, we got the stern tie set to a dead tree and were back on the boat in short order. The more you do these stern ties, the better you get at it.

The wind was about 15 knots out of the Northwest, which hit our bow in the forward port quarter. The anchor and stern tie were work hard to hold us in place. We decided to have a light lunch of leftover mac & cheese and see how things held.

Little islets dot our stern tie spot

Great view off the stern held fast by the stern tie just to the right

Although we held well, we’re only 28 yards from the lee shore and the winds are forecast to continue at this speed or higher all night. After checking our guidebooks for an alternate anchorage in the McNaughton Group with better wind protection (and finding none),we decided to head for our next planned anchorage in the Dodwell Group, just 4.5 miles away. We brought the dinghy on board and retrieved our 300 feet of stern line. The only hiccup was the anchor chain piled up again inside the locker, requiring me to go down and flake the chain as it came onboard. Alaskan Dream has 375 feet of chain, which we love, but it is at the limit of what will go back into the locker without some help. I think once you pay out more than 150 feet, you can plan of a 50/50 chance of have to flake the rode. Next stop, I ‘m going to pay out a bunch and see if I can flake it in so that it is less likely to pile up and jam.

Back underway, we have a short trip until we anchor at the Dodwell Group in the inner basin at the northern part of the group. Here too, you make a few turns around some small islets, and then find yourself in a moderately sized cove with good protection and nice views encompassing even more islets and rocky ledges. We anchored in the northeast corner, in about 40 feet, to protect ourselves from the northwest winds that were so troublesome in Sans Peur Cove. Of course, here the winds were out of the southwest. No matter, we have lots of room to swing. However, the crazy anchor chain did jam again on the way down. Fortunately, enough was paid out that we could set the anchor before addressing the jam in the chain locker.

One breathtaking day

With the winds, we decided to hunker down til late afternoon before going exploring. About 5:30, we headed out in the dinghy to explore some of the other anchorages that the Hamiltons talk about in their guidebook.We headed first toward Soulsby Point, where there is an old, abandoned fishing camp on the 20 meter island just west of the point.

Lots of great fishing stories were told here

It is amazing how much more fun a dinghy ride is when you do not have to shout to be heard. These headsets come in handy in so many ways.

We explored Soulsby Cove, and Forbidden Basin (so named by the Hamiltons because they could not get their anchor to set there, even with a tandem anchor).All the sites are pretty, but none are better than where we are!! It was only about a 3.5 mile round trip to explore these areas.

Karen is checking the how much water we have in the shallows with our handheld depth meter

Dinner was Karen’s favorite – Curried Chicken Salad with Golden Raisins and Celery, served with hot, fresh, homemade drop biscuits. We watched a little Sat TV until the signal could’t keep up with the movement of the boat any more. An early night for all!