Aug 2-4
Hi All,
Weather: After raining, foggy et al with occasional sun the first 6 days of Adam and Cindi’s visit, the bright blue sky days finally broke out in Cameron Cove…..and it is warm to hot….shorts, t-shirts and flip flops baby:)))) Sunrise is now 6am and sunset is 9:30pm. We have gone from 18 hours of sunlight to 15.5 hours in a little over a month….whoa!!!
We left Cameron Cove around 9amintending to fish in Whale Channel next to Gill Island on our way to Home Bay on Princess Royal Island….about 12nm away…. but Mr Weather said nope, you have fished enough…..10-15G20 on the nose and against the tide….got a bit choppy. As we were debating if it was doable or not, we saw whales….ODG….so we made it a whale-of-a-day:))) Saw 12 whales in Whale Channel….9 Humpbacks and 3 Minkes…..a group of 4 put on quite a show….one breached right in front of the boat…of course, too sudden and quick for any pictures, but that sight will always be imprinted in my memory….such grace, almost parallel and completely out of the water….saw his white underbelly about 200 yards away…..magnificent!!!!
When we reached Home Bay we felt it was too exposed to the NW winds and might get quite rolly…so, we went on to Bishop Hot Springs. Now we had been warned this place is quite popular/crowded, very hard to anchor and don’t trust the mooring buoys…ok, well, we will give it a go….as we enter Bishop inlet…Kathy yells whale off the port bow…ODG…a Humpback fin slapping….breeching and fin slapping in one day….LIG!!!! We get to the Hot Springs about 3pm…..33nm….hmmm, we circle the cove and can’t find anything anchorable…but, there are 3 buoys right where we want to anchor….so, we mosey over….wow, they look brand new, 1/2″ chain….that just might do….so Adam and Kathy get a line on and we back down hard….90,000 pounds at 1000 rpm and the buoy holds….ok, good enough!!! AND, we are the only people there….WTH….ok, no one say anything to jinx it….shhhhhhhh:))))) And, as we are having passage beers more whales out in the bay.
We all pile into the dinghy and go to the small dock for the hot springs…..and, a private helicopter comes and it seems tries to land on the small dock….we are about 200-300 yards away in the dinghy….the rotor wash is whipping the trees everywhere….the helo gets to within 4-6 feet of the dock, hovers, then lifts off….goes to where the hot springs are and hovers there….WTH…..then lifts off and hovers over the anchorage for a few mins….we just kept going to the dock, tied up and watched to see what he was going to do…eventually it just flew off over us…yikes!!!
The hot springs are wonderful….2 tubs built with cement and big rocks with a hut built over one…..one pretty hot and one just perfect…..champagne and beers and a good hot soak….it felt heavenly!!! Many people have left mementos so the next day we took an old salmon flasher and put all our names on it and hung it on the shed….sweet as!!! We did find one kayaker camping and then early evening a small boat came in and tied up to the dock….but the anchorage was all to ourselves!! We capped the day with Kathy’s outrageous Dungeness crab, mushroom risotto….ODG….of course, some nice red wine as well:)))
Aug 3: We sadly left Bishop for Eagle Bay a little late….too much jocularity the night before….saw a few whales along the way. We did stop at another hot springs, Weewanie, this one was the preferred hot springs by many people….but again, no where to anchor except as a day anchorage and the one buoy was very old and crusted with barnacles….since we had just done the Bishop Hot Springs we gave it a pass and headed for Eagle Bay. But, as we rounded the corner into Eagle Bay off Devastation Channel we see a huge logging operation….a big lodge on a barge, large trucks and logging equipment on the hills…..and lots of cleared land….yuck….so we just stopped and looked in the guide books for alternative anchorages….well, anything decent was 2-3 hours away. Maybe all this logging activity is hidden from the anchorage so we went into the bay another mile or so….and, yep, no logging in sight and no noise….ok, this is doable. The anchorage is DDG and has an awesome
view looking down Devastation Channel to some large Coastal Mountains….some still with snow on top!! We did set one crab pot, then took Kathy and Cindi on a dinghy sightseeing excursion to the 2 small streams and along the shoreline. Then Adam and I went salmon fishing in the dinghy….no joy but enjoyed the sunshine and a few beers. That night we had Kathy’s yummy fried halibut chips, fries and cole slaw. There was also one other boat in the anchorage and a few guys in a fishing hut on the beach….not much critter watching:))))
Aug 4: This was Adam and Cindi’s last day so we decided to fish by Jesse Falls….a beautiful wide waterfall….we did indeed catch 2 nice size Coho’s….and Adam did a great job of releasing the salmon unharmed….the freezer is absolutely jammed full:)))) We had called MK marina near Kitimat before we left Prince Rupert and were told they were renovating their big boat dock and had no room. We had picked an anchorage about 5nm away from the marina but as we got there we found another huge logging operation. This one had a huge logging carrier and a large log boom full of fresh logs….not going to work for us. Well, we called the marina and Jordan said come on in and we will find you something. Ok….we first tied up to the fuel dock as he wanted to show us where to go….went ahead and took 273 gallons of diesel ($4.60/gal…ouch) and dinghy gas!!! We eventuality made it to the new docks….still under construction but good enough….no water or power. How do we go to tow
n….about 15 mins aways…well, you go out to the road and hitch a ride….no taxis available….yikes. And, Cindi found out that the bus service the next day to Terrace was not running….it was a holiday called BC Day….eventually the marina found a woman to take them…it’s about a half hour away….now that was very friendly! We didn’t make it to town but all enjoyed the rest of the afternoon catching up on emails and news on sucky internet….the news was absolutely depressing:((((
For closing ceremonies we had steak Oscar, bakers and a wedge…..Costco prime steaks and fresh Dungeness crabs….the one from Bishop and 2 from Eagle…..and of course, more good red wine…..Yummers!!!!
The Plan: Adam and Cindi left the morning of Aug 5th. We got a few fishing supplies at the marina store and headed for Kitsaway, about 24nm for some R&R!!! We are now starting to work our way south to be in the Seattle area in about 6 weeks. We will retrace some of our favorite places in BC and the Broughtons along the way!!
Critter Stats:
Dungeness Crab: 82 total; 1 in Cameron Cove, 2 in Eagle Bay
Prawns: 95: 81 Spotted, 14 Coon Stripe;
Whales: 222 total; 198 Humpbacks; 11 Orcas; 13 Minke: 12 whales in Whale Channel, 9 Humpy’s and 3 Minke; 3 Humpy’s in Bishop Inlet, 2 Humpy’s going to Kitimat
Salmon: 12: 3 King, 9 Cohos: 2 Cohos outside Jesse Falls
Halibut: 1; 48-lbs off Lowe Inlet entrance
Bears: 68 total: 57 Browns, 11 Black;
Wolves: 5
Otters: 980; None so far in British Columbia
Mountain Goats: 42 total
Dall’s Sheep: 3
Moose: 3
Alaskan Husky sled dogs: 60
Stellar Sea Lions: 900;
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!!
Position: 53 05’15.61 N, 128 26’03.77 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 19-08-07 12:05:00 -0700
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=53.08767,-128.4344&q=53.08767,-128.4344&z=16
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