Troup Narrows to Shearwater

It’s a short cruise over to Shearwater. We have a particular plan for timing our arrival. We target getting to the dock no later than 11am  because 10am to 11am is a popular departure time for cruisers. Then we add in an hour on the fuel docks for taking on diesel. We will not need all that time as we are only taking on 250 gallons. But that timing gives us a buffer in case we must wait for access to the pumps.

We both wore wide grins as there was no one at the fuel docks when we arrived. Even better, by the time it was time to tie up on the guest dock, nearly all the cruising boats had left. Mollie and Geoff assigned us a great spot with good 50-amp power and near the potable water hose. They were also there to greet us and catch our lines. Geoff was particularly pleased that we arrived on the early side, as the 2nd Waggoner Alaska multi-boat flotilla was about an hour behind us, also headed for the Shearwater docks.

shearwater marine center an boart yard

Karen had been watching the flotilla on Marine Traffic, and we knew they would be heading for Shearwater from Ocean Falls. As Troup Narrows was much closer, we were confident our arrival time would work to get fuel and moorage before they arrived.

This flotilla was well organized, and each boat arrived nicely in sequence, with ample time between so that the prior boat could be greeted and tied up by Mollie and Geoff without rush.

Oceanflyer happy on the shearwater main dock

Our primary mission on this visit was to replace the sea water pump on the 20kW generator. As soon as we were secure, I went up to the marine store to pick up the pump which was scheduled to arrive yesterday. Pump in hand, I went up to the Boatyard office to track down Mike, the boatyard manager, and confirm that we were still on for the installation tomorrow morning.

Mike suggested that he would come to the boat at 4pm today, as tomorrow looked quite busy. So back to OceanFlyer I went, to clear access to the generator and begin the process of cooling the engine room so Mike’s working condition would be more pleasant. That’s why I had originally suggested we do the work the next day in a cool engine room. But if Mike wants to do it today, great.

Karen and I had a nice lunch at Fisherman’s Grill and wandered the docks a bit in the drizzle.

welcome to shearwater

Well, 4pm came and went and no Mike. Turns out his attention was consumed by the Shearwater/Bella Bella Water Taxi which developed a problem. That’s why we always build time into our planning, so things like that do not place undo pressure on us. Back to our originally scheduled program!

Troup Narrows Lay Day 2

Just another lazy day.

It was fun to see the Canadian Casot Gaurd vessel Cape Farewell come through the narrows. We saw them approach Troup Passage at their ususal 22 knots and then slow down as they entered Troup Narrows. A crewman was posted on the bow as lookout.

Canadain Coast Guard CApe Farewell maintains a lookout as they go through Troup Narrows

In the afternoon we explored Troup Passage south of the narrows. The calm waters made for a fun dinghy ride. Our conclusion was that we liked our anchorage in Troup Narrows better than other alternatives in the area.

troup Pasage on a very calm day

Troop Narrows Lay Day 1

A solid day of rain, as forecast. Back to boat projects, working on blog, planning, watching YouTube, watching any AIS traffic that happens by and Karen working on her painting — you get the idea.

We did watch the two sailboats that were anchored in Troup Narrows Cove “proper” depart for greener pastures. We briefly chatted about moving and decided we really liked where we were and that we were alone.

We also discussed getting our foul weather gear on and doing a dinghy exploration despite the weather. We came up short on unanimous consent!

a very moody evening sky in Troop Narrows

Tom Bay to Troup Narrows

Foggy this morning with about two miles visibility in mist and light rain. The change in weather is officially here.

foogy morning at low tide in tom bay

the “new” growth on this abandoned logging facility reminds me of green island anchorage

We timed our run through Perceval narrows to still be on the flood with about two knots of current on our bow. Nice, if a little slow of a ride.

As we approached the exit of Reid Passage, the M/V Columbia 3 called us to say they would wait for us to exist before they came into the narrow pass. The professional crew of the explorer vessel were very pleasant and made both our trips through the narrowest portion safer.

After turning up Seaforth Channel we turned our attention to the radar. With reduced visibility and the knowledge that we could expect traffic leaving Shearwater, radar was our early warning system for opposing traffic. Soon a target appeared going fast and on our course line. It was a big target, but given its speed, I was not certain who they might be. No AIS, which was a surprise for such a large target. Shortly, I saw the vessel take a distinct turn to the south and resume a course reciprocal to ours but definitely offset. OK, that’s a professional at the helm. As the vessel came into view it was a police catamaran, probably 50 feet or larger and a tri-deck. All that mass accounted for the large radar return.

Shorty thereafter, two more targets appeared going south, moving fast also, but much smaller targets than the police vessel. They turned out to be sport fishing yachts headend out to the their hunting grounds.

No other traffic was spotted today as we motored up Return Channel to our destination. This route was so spectacular a few weeks back, but with the rain an low clouds, there is not much to admire.

As we made our way through the northern entrance to Troup Narrows we came upon two sailboats right where I had placed a couple of proposed locations to drop anchor. We continued to our third spot in the NW cove in 25 feet with going holding.

It’s a nice, smallish anchorage with “views” in all directions so it does not feel small. But on a low rainy day, the mountains are obscured. We are well protected and only moved a little with the tide change.

Quigley Creek Cove to Tom Bay

5:15am and the fog has descended upon our anchorage. In fact, it’s zero/zero. Back to bed, as our scheduled departure is not until 10:30am.  It’s not a surprised that the sun is hiding. The forecast has turned to a long string of cloudy and rainy days.

Our departure time this morning is based on Meyers Narrows, the protected route that takes us “back inside”.  I picked a tide height and current that I was comfortable with (having transited this passage several times), saving us a couple of hours waiting for the exact moment of high slack.

We went throughthe narrows on a +9-foot tide and saw no less than 11 feet under the keel. The current was on our stren at 2.5 knots which presented no problem going through the well-charted narrows. Karen made a note in the logbookl that +9 foot was a great tide highet to target our passage.

Our original plan was to take Thistle Pass to Meyers Narrows, turn right at the top of Meyers Passage at Tolmie Channel near Boat Bluff Lighthouse and then head down Finlayson Channel to Jackson Pass and anchor in the one-boat hole just before the narrows. But the timing to depart at slack the next day was not favorable, so we decided to take Oscar Pass instead to our destination of Salmon Bay on Mathieson Channel, about a 5 hour run. Our decision to head south was driven by the need to arrive at Shearwater on a specific date to pick up a new sea water pump for our 20kW generator.

the unmistakable Boat Bluff Lighthouse

Karen took the helm as we approached Boat Bluff and Klemtu. Though still cloudy, the wind was up, and we changed course a bit to minimize the beam seas (and dodge logs).  Many boats were heading north, probably toward Alaska. One was Rushmore, a very large yacht we saw last year on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Oscar Pass was, happily, more sheltered due to the wind and waves being on our stern. But as we exited, we quickly saw that the wind and fetch was heading straight into Salmon Bay, our planned destination. Time for an alternative. We chose Tom Bay, despite not knowing much about it, as it was just a bit further south and was oriented for protection from the prevailing wind.

Tom Bay is attractive. There’s not much written about it, but it’s easy to enter, has nice views and there’s a great “bear beach” at the head. In fact, not long after we anchored, a black bear prowled the area for a while. Later that evening, another black bear (fatter) was eating sedge grass and even laying down in the grass, when it heard something and scampered post-haste into the woods. Shortly thereafter, another black bear came into view. That one also enjoyed the sedge and explored a bit, until it sniffed the area where the other bear had been and it ran into the woods, maybe chasing the scent. Mating season?

Tomorrow we head for Troup Narrows Cove.