Our isolated, private bay we anchored in last night had another boat in it when we woke up this morning. I’m surprised they found their way in at night, but I am glad they were quiet. Actually, we could barely see them this morning because the fog was so thick. Visibility was less than a quarter mile, in fact, we could not even see across the bay and down the entry passage. There was nothing to do but wait. Even with the GPS and radar, I’d rather not be out there under those conditions if I didn’t have to be.
We had a leisurely second cup of coffee and puttered around doing a few maintenance chores before the fog started lifting, and we were underway by around 8 AM.
Our route took us back through Shearwater and Bella Bella, but we didn’t stop this time. We kept on going through Lama Passage and down Fisher, then Fitz Hugh Channels. The weather was wonderful - bright blue sky, sunshine and, for here, warm in the low 60s. We also got an unplanned boost from the ebbing current all day (although we never figured out how the tide could ebb all day without reversing). The tide and current tables for this area are not always totally precise, but it was nice to get an extra knot or two for the day.
With the extra speed, we decided to make Pruth bay for the night. There is a research institute here (we don’t know what they research, we’ll find out tomorrow) that allows you to dock your dinghy and take a nice hike over to the beaches on the West Coast of Hecate Island. They also provide free internet to anyone anchored out in the bay (a major draw in these parts). The internet is really nice, since we will be able to access the weather forecast for the next few days and plan our return around Cape Caution. This, as you may recall, requires voyaging out into the Pacific Ocean, which tends to be pretty rough around here. We had a short taste of that today when we opted to get to Pruth Bay by way of Hakai Passage - another unprotected area on the West Coast of Canada. It was such a beautiful day, and had been so calm and smooth, we felt adventurous, and took Hakai. It wasn’t all that bad, about a 1-2 foot wave on the nose, and some beam seas when we turned into the channel leading to the bay, but the wind was very strong at 15-20 knots. We hadn’t really battened everything down for a rough passage, so Elaine had to chase a few things around the cabin to secure them.
The plan is to see the Research Center and do some hiking tomorrow, then stage ourselves tomorrow afternoon for an assault on Cape Caution. We’ll probably anchor down in Fury Cove, and if the weather forecast is accurate, head out around Cape Caution very early (like around 5 AM) on Wednesday. Conditions look good, not perfect, but good for the morning with very light winds until early afternoon. The only drawback is that the wave forecast is for 1-2 feet at 6 second intervals coming from the west. This means a beam sea with lots of rocking side to side. If necessary, we can “tack” into the seas and hit them at a 45 degree angle for a distance, then reverse course 90 degrees and go with the waves. It’s not nearly as efficient, but may be worth the trouble for comfort’s sake…
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