BACKTRACKING TO PORT HARDY

It was a very windy night. I guess that could be expected when you are anchored between a couple of small islands in the middle of Queen Charlotte Strait. Typically, the wind dies down around midnight or so and stays pretty quiet until late morning. That’s not what happened last night - it was windy, with the waves slapping the side of the hull all night.

I got up to check things out around 11:30 and was surprised to still see blue sky on the western horizon. I guess we are pretty far north. We had planned on getting up around 4 AM to get an early start (without wind) around Cape Caution. The weather forecast at 4 AM, however, was not at all promising. Essentially, gale warnings for the next three days. We went back to bed.

Knowing that rounding Cape Caution is now out of the picture for several days, we backtracked a bit and went over to Port Hardy on the north end of Vancouver Island. It wasn’t far, only a couple of hours, and most of it was downwind (more comfortable) although, getting out of the middle of the strait, we saw some pretty lumpy seas for a while.

We did have some company for part of the morning - a pod of dolphins swam along with us, jumping in front of the boat, swimming alongside then darting across the bow. It was fun to watch - they are amazingly agile. Unfortunately, they have sensors which detect when I pick up my camera, and they disappear until I put it down again.

Port Hardy is an OK little town, seems to exist primarily for the fishing crowd. Has the basics - espresso shop, local museum, hardware store, grocery store, etc. We walked through town picking up a few things (Elaine bought yarn at the hardware store). Basically it was a “lay low” day waiting out the wind.

It is not until Thursday that there is a forecasted lessening of the wind. I think we’ve had enough of Port Hardy, so we’re going to try for Port McNeill tomorrow. Even though the wind and seas are going to be a bit uncomfortable, we will be going downwind again, with following seas, so a few hours should be tolerable. We have heard that Port McNeill has a bit more to offer than Port Henry, and I’m sure the marina will be more comfortable and protected.

The current plan is to position ourselves on the north side of Queen Charlotte Strait Thursday, then try again to round Cape Caution on Friday. The forecasts are in our favor, if they are accurate…