Captain’s Log: Hydaburg to Prince Rupert; We got SALMON!!!!

July 18-22

Hi All,

We left Hydaburg on Thursday the 18th around 9am as we had to time more narrows. It was pretty calm but had some nice current in the Tlevak Narrows…..up to 11 kts…..GO MYSTIC GO!!! We also passed this huge resort, Waterfall Resort, looked like a renovated old cannery but had to be at least 50 aluminum fishing boats tied to the docks. We read they are not friendly to cruisers….ugh. A local in Hydaburg told us they are pretty snobby and charge up to $1600/day….yikes!!! As we were almost to Hydaburg we went through South Pass, another narrow area, and had 11 sailboats coming at us from the opposite direction just leaving Hydaburg…go figure!!! Everyone played nice and we all passed port-to-port but did get pretty close. They were on some Rally and looked liked having a good time!!!

Waterfall Resort: https://www.waterfallresort.com/
Shelter Cove Resort (where we had an excellent dinner): https://www.waterfallresort.com/

We got in around 1:30pm and found to our surprise a very nice, small marina…it had been rebuilt about 4 years earlier…..no power but nice docks!! There were a gazillion kids all anxious to talk and have a tour….they really liked Kathy’s seashells. They played all day, swimming and jumping off the docks and were very loud:)))) We took a tour of the small native village….maybe 300 people….very nice people, all friendly and wanting to talk. We made it to the carving shed where they had just finished 2 large totem poles that were going in front of a recently finished Longhouse. The community puts on a cultural festival the following week and everyone was busy getting ready….we were a bit disappointed we missed the event by a week…drats!!! And….everyone was excited as the salmon had arrived in the local river….just a few Coho and some people were fishing already on the bridge and shoreline. They hope in a few more weeks the river will be full of Coho and everyone will be able to stock up for the winter!!

Some of the locals gave us some tips on where to fish for Kings & Coho. So, the next day Mark and I went out in his dinghy with the two downriggers. In Craig, I had tried to find the magic lure I had used in Whale Bay to catch the big King and lost on the third fish. I did find a lure, while not it exactly, it was close enough….in fact bought two…one for Mark and one for me. Mark used the magic lure and I used another lure that the guy in Craig thought was good as well. Well, no joy for me, but Mark caught 2 nice Coho on the magic lure…yippee!!!

The town was also opening a small restaurant….had a soft opening while we were there so we went to it after fishing….the place was packed….we ordered anyway and an hour+ later we got our burgers….the place was run by a few adults and a lot of teens just learning….can’t wait to come back in a few years and see how it is faring. I’m sure there are lots of yummy, local halibut and salmon recipes that they will eventually include!!!

We stayed 2 nights and left around 8am for Point Nichols, 52nm away. With the salmon coming in, we fished initially along the Sakkun narrows in front of the village where we had fished the day before…..of course, this time I was using the magic lure on one pole and a hoochie on the other. But, again no joy by the village….ugh. We then went further south to Lime Point and bam…w/in 5 minutes got a nice Coho, then a 23″ King on the hoochie (too small so had to release), then a fairly big dog shark…yuck, and then a very nice Coho….ok, 2 in the boat and still 40nm to go so we called it a day…but wow….a nice hour of CATCHING…..finally!!!!

But, as we came to Lime Point we smelled something electrical….oh no…went into the engine room and saw the big 300 amp Balmar alternator smoking….ugh, ugh, ugh!!!1 We shut down the Cummins and since it was too hot to work on it, we started the Yanmar and went fishing…priorities my good man:)))) After catching:))….we got underway with the Yanmar…..doing 4.5 kts. I went to work…initially tightened up the alternator belts and tried the Cummins at 1200 rpm….well, good news, no smoke, bad news, not making any amps….ugh, guess we know what we are doing in the anchorage….arghhhhh!!! So, we cut the belts and ran with the Cummins the last 38nm, of course, losing amp-hours as we went but ran the GEN longer that evening.

And indeed that is what Kathy and I did the next day, instead of playing on our last day in Alaska…whaaaaaaaa…..more yoga time in the ER…at least it was 70*F, not the 95*F in the Anambas Islands in 2017 the last time we changed this alternator. We have now done this 3 times….Tuomotus, Anambas and now Nichols Point…..took 3 days the first time, 7 hours last time and this time, 3+ hours…yep, practice does help!! But, I wish we had help….it is getting harder and harder each time….the alternator is quite heavy and of course, you are in lots of awkward positions…so, yep, both back and knee are now on the Advil/whiskey therapy:)))

We did like the small anchorage all the way up at the head of Nichols Point….we were the only boat, had 2 black bear sightings, a few seals and otters, and a few eagles and other birds….seemed to be an old growth forest as well.

July 22: Up very early…like 5am, anchor up by 5:45amish…..crossing the notorious Dixon Entrance!! It was a glorious bright sunny day with 5-10 kts of wind and <2′ swell/chop…..sweet as!!! It was a 72nm passage, took about 10 hours as we fought a foul tidal current most of the day. I mean give us a break…ok, I get 6 hours of an ebb although when we left it should have been 4 hours of an ebb and then 6 hours of a favorable flood tide….WRONG….we got like 8 hours of 1-2kt foul current and then 2 hours of a 0.5-1.0 favorable current…..sped up Mystic to 1700 rpm’s to try to make up some of the lost time….arghhhhhhh!!!!

But we saw WHALES…..19 Humpbacks….a few up close and personal and one breeched several times…whoa. And as we passed by Celestial reef, there were 12 commercial trollers out and we could see them hauling in the fish…..so good to see after another dismal start of the salmon season.

So….we are now in CANADA, eh:))))) And we are back on West coast time so we gained an hour…ugh…but good to be in the same time zone as our sons and other friends on the West Coast!!! We are in Cow Bay marina, very nice and small, but with lots of fishing charters….saw one group bring in a 48-lb Chinook….they call a King a Chinook in Canada:))))

The Plan: We are having closing ceremonies with Mark & Roseanne on Tuesday night. They are leaving on Wednesday as they need to be home in a few weeks. It has been a fun-filled 6 weeks, from Tenakee Springs, to Sitka through the Peril Strait and Salisbury Sound, Sitka, and then the west side of Baranof and Prince of Wales…wow, wow, wow!!!

But then, we can’t be restless so we welcome Adam and Cindi from sv Bravo, whom we met in the Galapagos in 2013 as we all prepared to cross the Pacific to the Marquesas. We plan to leave on Friday, July 26 to start to head south through the Grenville Channel, cruise/fish around Gill, Campenara islands, then head up to Kitamat to drop them off. There will be lots of jocularity and hopefully more salmon, crab and prawns!!!

Critter Stats:
Dungeness Crab: 73 total; still not crabbing but will soon
Prawns: 95: 81 Spotted, 14 Coon Stripe; 27 in Necker Bay
Whales: 192 total; 173 Humpbacks; 11 Orcas; 8 Minke: 6 Humpbacks out of Kaguk; 19 Humpbacks in Dixon Entrance
Salmon: 3: 20-lb King in Whale Bay; 2 Coho at Lime Pt POW in the 5-lb range
Bears: 62 total: 57 Browns, 5 Black; 1 black in El Capitan; 2 in Kaguk; 2 in Nichols Point
Wolves: 5
Otters: 980; 20 in El Capitan anchorage; 30 out of Kaguk going to Craig; 30 Craig to Nichols Point
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!!!

Pictures: I hope to get the Wayne & Sharon gallery posted in the next few days as the internet is excellent here:
– a few pictures of the big King salmon caught in Whale Bay: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/?p=25567&preview=true

Videos:
Sea Lions in Icy Strait: https://youtu.be/xckZlZUaea8
Humpback Whales after bubblenetting: https://youtu.be/PjxoG8ypCKo