08/12/2011

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08/12/2011

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don/Nice and sunny
08/12/2011, Hurricane Anchorage.

Dave and I were up early at 6 am to depart for salmon fishing at the entrance to Hurricane Anchorage, what looked to be an outstanding spot for migrating salmon. Dave and I went in Rubber Ducky and Jordan, Brian, and Josh went in Deception's dinghy. We cruised slowly out to the entrance and trolled south, along the shore, looking for birds and herring. The other boat had a nice silver on but lost it. We picked one up as well and landed it. Every time we went by a spot where herring were dimpling the water we had hits. Dave and I kept 4 nice ones, 2 silvers and 2 pinks and let another go. One of the silvers went 10-12 pounds and jumped a number of times. It was a frantic hour of action. Finally, at 8:15, we had to return back to the boat since we had planned a 10 am departure and there were fish to clean. Once he saw all the fish we brought back, Brian Sr. on Deception declared a salmon fest potluck aboard his boat that night in Fury Cove. We cleaned fish and got underway. Dave and I were dubbed the Salmonators by everyone else.

We departed and went immediately through Spitfire Passage, the most narrow passage we have ever encountered. We had about 4 feet on each side of the boat. Everyone sucked in their breaths and we squeezed through. Then we had about a 5-hour cruise to Fury Cove, our destination.

We arrived and rafted alongside Deception. Dave and Mark, the new owner of Fine Press Publications, went out fishing and caught more salmon but released them since we already had a ton. Barb and Debbie went ashore with Emo and explored the middens, the large white beaches made of clam shells discarded by the indigenous people over thousands of years.

The salmon fest was delicious. Carol cooked hers two different ways and we cooked ours a third, on planks that our daughter Katie had given us for Christmas. Thanks, Katie!!!! The planks were soaked in water first. They gave off smoke and flavored the salmon. It was incredibly tasty! Everyone loved our smoked salmon. They were the hit of the dinner. We need to do that again.

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08/11/2011

A pod of dolphins followed us for an hour, playing in the pressure wave of the bow of our boat.

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Don/Nice and sunny
08/11/2011

We left Haida Gwaii at 5:30 am to cross Hecate Strait today. We pulled anchor in the dark and had a huge pile of kelp that got mixed up in our bridle. It took us a while to sort it out. Finally, we were off! The winds were about 15 knots at the beginning with 4-5 foot swells. We braced for a tough crossing since winds typically build during he day in these waters. We were lucky, though. They gradually eased and the seas smoothed out a bit. Debbie, Dave, and I each took 2-hour shifts at the helm. It was going to be a long trip, about 14-15 hours and 110 miles. We saw a number of unusual (for us) sea birds: a black-footed albatross, a tufted puffin, a sooty shearwater, rhinoceros auklets, common murres, northern fulmars, a parasitic jaeger, and a few others. Then, out of nowhere a pod of Pacific White-sided Dolphins appeared. There must have been 20 or so. They wanted to surf the pressure wave, under the water, that runs in front of our boat. Pacific White Sided Dolphins are a species that loves to play and do stupid things. They love to surf your pressure wave for a few minutes but quickly change their attention to other things. This group, though, stayed with us for an hour. We sped up to 10 knots and they seemed to enjoy that. When we slowed to 6 knots, they started using their energy to jump clear of the water. It was an exceptional treat to spend such a long time with these mammals. Great fun!

We finally arrived in Hurricane Anchorage, our destination. It was another gentle journey across Hecate Strait. We have been very lucky. We rafted up with Deception and made plans to go fishing in the early am, the next day, with Jordan, his dad Brian, and brother Josh. We packed the boat for a silent departure.

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08/10/2011

The Ling Cod we caught, grilled up nicely.

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08/10/2011

The fog settled in at night in a beautiful manner. Our blog photographers captured it perfectly.

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Don/Nice and sunny
08/10/2011, Ross Island, Gwaii Haanis

This was a scheduled Lay Day and Dave and I were going to take full advantage of it to do some fishing over towards Skaang Gwaii. We were a bit concerned about the fuel supply for Rubber Ducky. We were down to just under a full tank, after emptying our spare gas container into the dinghy. As a result, we cruised to the fishing grounds at only about 6 mph to save gas. It worked. We returned, after a day of fishing with ¾ of a tank of fuel left. Unfortunately, though, we did not nail any salmon. We did catch a nice ling cod, though. We also saw Mr. Humpback who was fishing in the same area for herring. We grilled the cod for dinner and it was delicious. That night, we tightened down the boat for the crossing, back to the mainland of BC, of Hecate Strait. It could be rough tomorrow.

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08/09/2011

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08/09/2011

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