Cathryn & Daragh on Chantey: July 2019

Salmon Glacier, Stewart BC

After being buffeted about by the Williwahs, strong mountain winds, in the anchorage, we braced ourselves for the raucous crossing of the Dixon Entrance passage back to the mainland. Nothing but a slight chop awaited us, and the ever-present fog bank off the coast. A long journey up the Portland Canal deposited us in the village of Stewartt BC. where old friends of Daragh’s, Doug and Marlene, spend their summers. They greeted us at the dock and we spent a couple of days enjoying a real Northern BC experience including seeing Doug’s Ultimate Man Cave with all the essential boy toys. They drove us 3000 feet up to the summit of the breathtaking Salmon Glacier where we checked out the sight of the old Grand Duke Gold Mine where Doug supplied his mechanical expertise for many years. The afternoon closed with a campfire and weinnie roast at the top of the canyon and beers later at the Hyder town bar where folks come to get ‘Hyderized’. But time and tide wait for no man, so we set our sights on our next passage, crossing the Hecate Strait to the Haida Gwaii Islands.

Doug, Marlene and Daragh

Weinnie roasting Stewart Style

the ultimate man cave

On top o' the world

Sitka, Alaska

Sitka vistas

Coolest couple Steve and Vicky

Russian Cathedral

Peril Strait to Sitka

Thanks to Steve and Vicky on Tango we managed to pump Freon into our refrigerator and now we won’t be living on Spam for the remainder of the trip! From here we crossed the rock-laden, appropriately named, Peril Strait. As we neared the West Coast a wall of fog rose up to meet us, making the narrows and the pass quite treacherous. Fish boats loomed out of the fog ahead of us at every turn. As they say up here, “ In Alaska we don’t tan, we rust!” At the far side we entered an expansive, picturesque bay with a snow-capped volcano in the background, Sitka Harbour. Hundreds of fishermen were readying themselves for the season opening. Oddly, everyone wears gum boots year round, locally referred to as ‘Alaskan sneakers’. The town appears quite prosperous with a thriving tourist industry due to its’ beautiful setting enshrined by towering mountains, and its’ unique Russian history.

Old Sitka main street

The Haida Nation, and the newcomers

HRH George and staffer

A few days later we set course for Goddard Hot Springs only to find the auto pilot had disconnected. A few hairy hours of bobbing around in the rollers later, Daragh managed to reconnect the tiller arm and we were off again.

Goddard Hot Springs

The hot springs proved to be a delightful spot. Clean spring water gushed from a tap into a man-made pool in two little wooden huts with views of the ocean. After a good steamy soak we were ready to move on.

Puffin Bay

Sitka to Hydaburg: Close Encounters of the Canine Kind!

It has been a trying few days after being eaten alive by black flies at Tenakee Springs and Appleton Cove, and enduring heavy fog off outer Prince of Wales Island. But the real terror was waiting for us in beautiful Warren Bay. We sailed in under clear skies to a perfect crescent of white sand. Whales were frolicking in the waves as we dropped anchor. The problems began when we attempted to dinghy ashore and were almost flipped over by the incredibly large breakers on shore! I settled with Georgie in the sand while Daragh braved the breakers alone to try to get the dinghy to a better location at the far end of the beach, where we could get off again later in the day. As I sat on the beach it dawned on me that we were not alone. To my horror a pack of six young wolves appeared watching me tentatively from the creek bed fifty meters away. I knew if George spied the pack he would go mad with barking and things could go very badly for us both.So I slowly put us both back in our life jackets for protection and very quietly started moving down the beach to the water’s edge, bear spray in hand, my heart pounding in my chest! After what seemed like an eternity we reached the dinghy. I called out to Daragh, “ Wolves, a pack of wolves!” To which he replied, “don’t worry I’ll get your gloves later!”.

Warren Bay's sandy beach

Scene of the wolves den!!

Fog! A complete white-out of mist surrounded Chantey as we crept out of the bay at daybreak. Visibility was only fifty feet and was socked in for the duration of the day. So our eyes were glued to the radar the entire trip.

Visibility zero!

At the tiny hamlet of Craig we were one of the few pleasure craft in the fleet of fish boats preparing for the Seiners opening day. After provisioning we followed a sign to Shelter Cove Resort. We were pleasantly surprised to meet our hosts Dave and his wife who run a beautiful five-star fishing lodge and restaurant here and stayed for dinner.