July 10 – July 11
The forecast was calling for foul weather. We were only planning to get to some hot springs 14 miles south, and only 8 miles would be in open seas. One could do anything for 8 miles, right? We convinced ourselves that the hot springs would be the perfect place to wait out the incoming storm, and the rough conditions would be worth it.
Another sailor called out to us as we were backing out.
Another sailor called out to us as we were backing out.
“You heading south? You sure? It’s supposed to get nasty out there later today!”
“Yeah, but we’re just heading to Goddard Hot Springs down the coast. We should get there long before it gets bad.”
“Hmmm..."
Silly neighbor.
No. Silly us.
Silly neighbor.
No. Silly us.
We didn’t reach the hot springs. What we did reach were stacked seas and short chop. While it was possible to sail, it wasn’t comfortable—or fast. We would ride each crest up, building the smallest amount of speed and then SLAM—we’d fall to the trough and our progress would stop. Our sails struggled to maintain any consistent upwind angle over the waves. After about five frustrating miles, we turned around.
We anchored within Sitka’s breakwater and stayed there for two more nights. The heavy rains pummeled Novi outside but inside, we stayed cozy. We read, cleaned the boat, and played games. Without the distraction of internet, sailing, or shore excursions, we could snuggle into the warmth of our cabin and relax.
July 12 – July 19
We pulled up anchor early and headed out. Now behind schedule, we skipped the hot springs and prepped for an overnight. Prepping for an overnight means taking napping shifts during the day and having snacks and warm food on the ready.
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| Protected Sitka Harbor, post-storm |
We decided to use the shifts Nancy Erley and Carol Hasse recommended for crews of two called 3-4-5: 3-hour shifts during the day, 4-hour shifts near night shifts, and 5-hour shifts overnight. The 3-hour mid-day shifts would be flexible and allow us some time together. It worked out to this schedule:
Dave:
0300-0800: on-shift (5 hours)
0800-1200: sleep (4 hours)
1200-1500: on-shift/flexible (3 hours)
1500-1800: flexible (3 hours)
1800-2200: on-shift (4 hours)
2200-0300: sleep (5 hours)
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Denise:
0300-0800: sleep (5 hours)
0800-1200: on-shift (4 hours)
1200-1500: flexible (3 hours)
1500-1800: on-shift/flexible (3 hours)
1800-2200: sleep (4 hours)
2200-0300: on-shift (5 hours)
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With 15-20 knots of northerly winds, we could go on a broad reach—an ideal wind angle for long-distance sailing. The swell had not yet turned from the west though, so it was rolly. Regardless, we found we could sleep during our off-shifts.
We sailed on one long southbound gybe from Sitka Harbor, passed the southern cape of Baranof Island, and gybed to a southeast track south of Coronation Island. Our parents will be happy to know we sailed conservatively and tethered in at all times. Novi handled everything like a champ.
Long passages make me nervous. Previous experiences have taught me that I don’t handle overnights well. I’ve even hallucinated before. Granted, we were in much, much worse conditions at the time and I was dangerously dehydrated. The logical part of me knows I have nothing to worry about; we have a seaworthy boat and stay vigilant; regardless, the nervousness is still there.
Fortunately, this overnight was a pleasant confident booster. On the evening of July 13th, we made our way to the inner harbor at Bob’s Bay on the northwest side of Dall’s Island. With beautiful Spanish, Haida, and Russian names surrounding this area, the name “Bob’s Bay” stood out.
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| Land Ho! |
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| Calm, protected Bob's Bay |
The next morning, we timed Tlevak Narrows and headed south down Eureka Channel to Nichols Bay on the southern point of Prince of Wales Island. We dropped the hook in the middle anchorage in 11 fathoms and found it windy but secure. We spun countless times, but our Mantus anchor seemed to handle it with ease.
The wind died the next two days so we couldn’t sail. Instead. we stayed in Nichols Bay, scrubbed the keel clean from our kayak with a long brush, and route planned the rest of the trip.
The forecast called for higher winds on July 17th, so we headed out then. Our next big destination was the islands of Haida Gwaii, only 50 nautical miles south of us just across the Canadian border. However without a customs clearing dock in Haida Gwaii, we had to sail 78 miles southeast to Prince Rupert first.
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| Calm Eureka Channel |
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| Eureka Channel |
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| Eureka Channel |
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| Eureka Channel |
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| Nichols Bay |
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| Also Nichols Bay |
The forecast called for higher winds on July 17th, so we headed out then. Our next big destination was the islands of Haida Gwaii, only 50 nautical miles south of us just across the Canadian border. However without a customs clearing dock in Haida Gwaii, we had to sail 78 miles southeast to Prince Rupert first.
The Environment Canada forecast was mistaken (as it often is), and there was no wind in Dixon Entrance. Had we known, we would have left two days earlier when the forecast actually called for no winds. We motored for 12 of the 15 hours of the transit, the longest motor of our trip.
We arrived at the customs dock at 11:45pm and anchored in nearby Russell Arm by midnight. Thank goodness for quick Canadian customs procedures; in fact, we're pretty sure we woke the border agent up. Fortunately, we anchored in Russell Arm on our northbound trek, so we felt confident entering in the dark.
To make good use of our time in Prince Rupert, we stayed on Cow Bay Marina’s breakwater for two nights. This allowed us to provision, clean the boat once again, change the engine oils, prep for our Haida Gwaii trip, do weeks' worth of laundry, and finish some boat projects. One project was fixing our galley faucet that, in a fit of randomness, decided to spray upwards at our ceiling (hence the cleaning) instead of downward toward the sink. Luckily, the it was an easy fix: just an out-of-place washer; but it took several errands to get it all set.
Cow Bay Marina has one washer and dryer, so I waited in line a few hours to use them. Once it was my turn, I did three large loads. After returning to the boat, I emptied all the clothes out on the bed and promptly spilled my coffee all over them. So I collected the clothes and stood back in line.
Regardless, it was nice to be in Prince Rupert again among so many cruising boats. A motorboater returning from Haida Gwaii gave us suggestions, and Dave helped a sailor from Dutch Harbor route plan down the coast to Seattle. Bo, who just finished Race to Alaska (R2AK) in 4th place on his trimaran, Ptarmigan, spoke with us for a while about the R2AK, an experience on Dave’s bucket list.
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| Coming into Prince Rupert at night is such a different experience than arriving here in the day on our transit north |
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| Moody skies in Prince Rupert |
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| Happier skies in Prince Rupert |
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| Leaving Prince Rupert in the daylight. |
July 20 – July 23
It’s a long sail from Prince Rupert to Skidegate Inlet on Haida Gwaii, so we sailed south first to Larsen Harbour on the northern point of Banks Island. From there, we would only need to sail about 68 miles (as the dolphin swims) across Hecate Strait the next day.
Hecate Strait is no joke. With opposing tide, seas can stack quickly. On the morning of our transit, we found 15-25 knots of wind from the northwest, so we sailed at a close reach over 9-foot swells. Fortunately, the current was also coming from the northwest, so it was a relatively fast and comfortable passage. In Dogfish Bank, in the wind shadow of Rose Spit, the winds slowed to about 12 knots from the beam, and we flooded in flat seas. Not bad at all!
A shallow sandbank prevents deep drafted boats from entering Skidegate Inlet straight from the east, so we aimed north of the entrance several miles and tacked back and forth through the narrow entrance between the bar and the mainland. We arrived at Bearskin Bay at about 9:30pm, only 12 and a half hours after we left Larsen Harbour.
Haida Gwaii. We made it. And as we set the hook in Bearskin Bay, my eyes misted. We’ve dreamt about Haida Gwaii and the Gwaii Haanas National Park for years, and we’re finally here. When we planned out our preliminary float plan back in December, we applied for our Gwaii Haanas cruising permit first. Everything else revolved around us getting here.
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| Dogfish Bank and Haida Gwaii Islands in the distance! |
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| Tacking through the sandbar. We were lucky for the calm weather. |
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| Anchored in Bearskin Harbour and dreaming of all the things to come... |
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