06/27/2011
well, after a couple of tries we have finally made it to Rebecca Spit! We can get caught up on our blog posts and e-mails. We will try to make some water while we are here.
The run down from Octopus Islands was pretty easy, with the onlyexcitment coming from the run thru Surge Narrows. Most of the excitment with going thru the narrows is the fast moving water, and whirpools. If you time the slack between tides, they are pretty easy. today, we came around the corner, right in the narrowest part of the gap, to meet up with a boat coming at us, with the last of the tide, and screaming!! it just happened to be our friends on Rikky tikki Tavi, the Trimaran. Yes, here we were in narrows with the widest boat for miles!! We slipped thru with a wave and a hello, and finished our run to the anchorage at Rebecca spit.
Dont know if we will leave tomorrow, or spend another night here...
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06/27/2011
One night in Von Donup inlet, we had invited Clark and Nina over for dinner, and they brought a new dice game to teach us. The game is Farkle. If you have not played this game, it is a game that uses 6 dice, one of which is black, and one is red. The game is played to ten thousand points, which seems like a lot, but with some of the twists, it really isn't. The major twist is in the colored dice. You see, if you roll a black six, all of the points you have on that roll are doubled!! But if you roll a red six, everything on that roll is then minus!! this can make for some really big point swings!
We got Kevin, Ken and Julie playing here in Octopus Islands, and they are just as hooked as we are, with Jeanne winning one game, Kevin winning one game, and Julie sweeping both games on Saturday night!
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06/27/2011, Octopus island
Friday night, after a great pot luck dinner, the wind started to pick up a bit, so we turned on the weather channel (#8 here in BC on the VHF) and head a report of 15-25 knot coming from the Nw. We were anchored in a great spot.....for a SE wind, but not a NW, so the decision was made to break up the raft, and re-anchor our selves in a better location for that direction wind.
The northern most part of the Octopus islands area is a couple of smaller, more protected bays, that were quite crowed when we came in the first day. This time, we were able to get a stern tie spot in the smallest, most protected bay!! Very Cool!!
Sunday morning, Andante took off for the Squirrel Cove area, and Kia Ora headed north to continue their trip to circumnavigate Vancouver island.
We will take off on Monday morning to go to Rebecca Spit, and Heriot Bay. There we can use the Wi-Fi and take on some potable water.
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06/27/2011
Ahhh, the dreaded rapids, falls, and narrow passages are upon us. After seeing the rapids at Princess Louisa Inlet, we were wary and a bit anxious about further transits involving any of the previous listed water conditions and or obstacles. Our furthest north destination on this trip will be our passage through Hole in the Wall. This small body of water connects Calm Channel and Okisollo Channel.
We choose our transit through Hole in the Wall to coincide with a neep tide. Neep tides are the time between Full and New moons where the water flow and tides are not as drastic. Smart, huh! We consulted all of our books, charts, tables and electronic information. We departed Von Donop and headed up Sutil Channel. Once again, we arrived early. We slowed down and entered the opening to the two mile long channel. A quick look at the animated current tables in our electronics showed us we should see no more that 2 knots of current at the far end, the one that can run 12 knots! We proceeded along, gradually picking up a bit of speed.
At the western end, the actual Hole in the Wall, I have to say we were not 'fussed' at all. The GPS showed a speed of 7.5 knots, and we experienced a few tidal rips, but nothing to be concerned about.
Shoreline to shoreline it was about 100 yards across. The entrance to Rosco Bay was only 30 feet! Now the depth, or lack of, upon entering Roscoe was disconcerting, but this transit was just that, a transit. Our next 'obstacle' will be Surge Narrows on the morning flood tide, slack water. Wish us continued good transits!
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06/27/2011
After several nice days in Von Donup, we decided to continue our our trek north, to the Octopus islands area. This will mean a trip thru the famous (or infamous) "Hole In The Wall" rapids.
The morning we left found us in a pretty solid down pour, one that would not stop all day.
We cleared the hole in the wall and turned left to go in to Wiatt Bay, which is part of the Octopus Islands area. Kevin on Andante called, and invited us to raft up with him again, and Kia Ora, was doing the same. Looks like a party!! the Seattle Contingent was forming up all the way north in BC.
We all got together for a hike, from Wiatt bay to Small Inlet, which is located on the Discovery Passage side of things. It was about a 2 mile hike, and really pretty easy.
With Kevin's 4 prawn traps and my one ( Kevin loaned me some gear to make mine usable) we set the pots and waited to haul in our bounty. By the time the last pot was pulled, we had almost 70 prawns. With Kevin, Ken and myself pulling pots, it wasn't too bad. I do have to admit that I was pulling only one pot on my line while the other two lines had two pots each!! There was a prawn feast on Andante! Sticky rice, cold slaw, prawns!
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06/27/2011, Von Donup
We pulled away from Kevin, and MV Andante, getting ready to go north. We made a quick stop at the dock at the Gorges Resort, to use their Wi-Fi.
On our way out, the channel is pretty narrow, and there are some old Indian Pictographs on the steep rock walls that line the channel. They are pretty hard to find, but we got a couple of nice pictures to post here.
The run to Von Donup Inlet was not real long, 13.2 miles, and there was no real wind to speak of, so we motored the whole way. As we were passing along side Whale Passage, we heard a radio call that there were Orca's close by. Sure enough there were three of them, swimming along the passage.
We turned into the inlet, and made the 2 mile run down a narrow channel, that at one point is 9 feet deep, and about one boat wide.
We dropped the anchor in the back right hand side of the bay, and settle in for a few days. Clark and Nina off of the trimaran Rickky Tikki Tavi we in the opposite corner of the bay, and came over to say hello. They had been there for almost two weeks and were having a great time just hanging out.
The red tide has hit this area in a big way, causing the water to be a rusty brown color every where. This closes the season on clams, mussels, and oysters. It also will not allow us to make water, with our newly upgraded water maker.
Not sure where we are off to next, but plan on a few days here.
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