EAST INLET (July 4)

Happy 4th of July - it was a pretty understated holiday for us - although we were wished a happy holiday on the VHF radio by someone who saw our US flag flying on the boat.

We left Butedale around 7:30 with the intention of anchoring in Lowe Inlet on the Grenville Channel. It was another overcast/foggy day with intermittent drizzle. It sure would be nice to see some sunshine again. All the locals decry the fact that this is one of the wettest Springs they have seen.

We were entertained along the way by 1) a Dall’s porpoise that played in the bow wave of our boat for awhile and 2) seeing our first humpback whale cavorting on the surface, although it was at a distance.

Once we got to Lowe Inlet we attempted to anchor in front of the waterfall cascading into the bay, but the bottom was too gravelly, and the anchor wouldn’t hold. The only good anchoring spot was already taken by other boats, but we didn’t want to anchor near them. We tried three or four more times to anchor in the bay, which is very deep, and weren’t satisfied that the anchor was sufficiently set, so we decided to keep on going to the next possible anchorage, even though it meant another 2-3 hours of cruising.

East Inlet

We ended up in East Inlet, an arm of the Klewnuggit Inlet - a Provincial Marine Park. It is definitely off the beaten track, being about 4-5 miles off of the main channel. It was, however,  worth the effort. It is very isolated, surrounded by tall granite peaks and totally protected from any possible wind. We are the only boat here, and the water is like glass. Even though it was still drizzling when we were anchoring, it has since cleared up and we are seeing blue sky for the first time in days. I’m sure it will be a very quiet night here, and we will be forced to sleep in tomorrow morning because the current in Grenville Channel would be against us until about noon. We can leave a couple of hours later and get to our destination at the same time as if we left early because the tide will shift and we will have a current pushing us along.

Nature's Totem
(look at it sideways)

We are slightly more than a day away from Prince Rupert, the Canadian jumping-off point for Alaska. We will get there on Thursday, look at the weather forecast, then decide how long we might stay. It looks like a nice place to visit, but we could always stop by there for a day or two on our way back south. Getting across Dixon Inlet, over to Alaska, is very weather dependent, so if we get the right window right away, we’ll go for it…