SV Darwind

After a good deep sleep, we got up and discovered that it was a good thing the wind was blowing from the north all night. This was because when we turned on the depth sounder we were in 10 feet of water and sung out away from the drying flats. And it wasn’t even low tide. We must have been very lucky to have gotten through the night without even a bump, much less going high and dry at low tide. Needless to say, we got underway and away from the shallows pretty quick and were headed out on our short ho to Ketchikan by 7:30am, just late enough that customs should be open and awake. (It’s always better to talk to a hay agent rather than a grumpy one who just stayed got up) As we entered Tongass narrows and approached Ketchikan, I called customs again and did my first border check-in. everything went extremely smoothly, the guy I was talking too was really enthusiastic and not nearly so stiff-collar and impassive as I imagined. I had everything ready and the process was going very well...

Today was the border and Dixon entrance crossing day, and dad and I set out from the secure picturesque anchorage at Humpback bay at 4:00am. As usual the reason for the early departure was in part due to currents, but this time we were also worried about the forecast, which warned of 25 knot northwest winds by late afternoon, so we wanted to be tucked in somewhere well before that. When we set out and sailed past the massive superstructure and industry of Prince Rupert’s commercial docks, there was almost no wind, but in order to same a little bit of fuel, we raised the main, and for the first time in weeks, the genoa, which we poled out with the boathook. Mostly they just flopped around, but what little wind that there was was from astern, so even just the added windage helped take some strain off the engine, even if they were not actually adding any speed. We crossed the US Canada border into Alaska at 12:02 pm Canada time, after which I pulled down the red and whi...

After enjoying Wally’s hospitality at Hartley Bay, we left early the next morning at 5:00am to catch the current setting through Grenville channel. This narrow, straight channel running northwest for over 35 nautical miles has an interesting current that turns out to be a lifesaver for low powered boats passing through, and that is that instead of flowing either north or south wit the flood, which would make it impossible for any small boat to get through before the current changed, the channel floods from both ends, so if you can time it right, the flooding tide will carry you halfway up, where the ebb will then carry you out the rest of the way. Today we were motoring the pretty much the whole way, right up to the end where we left Grenville channel. That I not to say however that the day was without incident, for at one point in around 11:00, while dad and I were both in the cockpit, we heard an ominous splash, and as soon as we whirled around, I saw disaster waiting to happen. ...

After sending the night surprisingly well in the deep, calm waters of Kutze Inlet, dad and I woke up at the usual early morning time and were under way by 5:25am, after eating a hearty breakfast of eggs and bacon. At least today it was only raining a little, with light intermittent drizzle as opposed to yesterday’s downpour, but nonetheless it took a huge effort of will to put all those layers of still-damp rain gear and head leave the warm confines of the cabin. Outside, we were once more impressed by the sheer mountainsides dropping into the water on either side, an effect that was heighted by the fact that we could actually see all the way to the top, unlike yesterday when the cliffs had ended in thick clouds seemingly just above the masthead. For a few hours of the morning we had this last reminder of staggering natural forces and beauty, then we left Graham reach and the channel widened out as the mountains either side became less steep and lost much of their majesty. During ...

Today, similarly to yesterday began with a motor in the flat calm of the early morning to a fuel/water/grocery stop at the little first nations town of Klemtu. This was a sleepy little town whose only economy is fishing and selling fuel to passing boats. Since the town dock was full, we sailed around outside the little bay to the fish pier/fuel dock where we tied up behind exactly the same two boats that are shown in a picture in the Waggoner’s cruising guide. Since we had some time to kill before the currents in Graham reach of Princess Royal channel, we walked into town and back, but didn’t stop at the big house across from the harbor. After our walk I returned to the boat to update my blog, while dad went looking for the grocery store, only to find it about 500 feet away on the pier! We ate lunch at the only restaurant in town, when we both had some big, greasy burgers before finally heading out into the rain once more. It was right about 11:00 when the tor...

Today we left the shelter of Kiltik cove and headed out into a transformed world. Where yesterday there had been driving whitecaps and steep chop, today the water was polished like a mirror, without even the slightest hint of a ripple to denote any kind of wind, we motored on with Ray steering, and the two of us intermittently relaxing in the sun or crouching under the shelter of the dodger as short bursts of rain, still with no wind, passed over.             The weather was generally fair throughout the morning, until we were about three miles from our midday fueling stop at Bella Bella. As we came around a bend in the channel and could see the tiny town center ahead, a heavy raincloud came down on us, forcing all the books, cushions, and sheets that were lying outside drying out to be hastily thrown below, and Foul weather gear to be re-applied layer by layer.        ...

Today was one of the best days in terms of both mileage made good, and in sailing. We left the Walker islands at 5:00am in order to catch the currents and wind just right, and as a result spent the first few minutes motoring, but as the sun rose the wind started to pick up, but from the east, exactly opposite of the west-southwest winds forecasted only that morning. Thus, it was warily that dad and I raised the #2 jib and full main, and killed the engine as we started to run off the wind at around 4 knots. By this time the engine was raised up and secured, and was not to touch the water for another 11 hours.             As we left Queen Charlotte strait and entered the sound, open to the Pacific Ocean, to the west, we started to feel a large ground swell running opposite of the east wind, which made for some interesting motion to say the least. Also as we entered the open water, the wind gradually picked up u...