Sept 30th . Klemtu to Shearwater - beautiful blue skies and calm water, very narrow channel at first then opened up to wide one. Went along close to one side as is our custom if conditions permit to search the shorelines for bears and any other critters. Saw a few eagles as usual. Really enjoy them. Two fish boats and another sailboat all headed same direction with us in the lead. Looked like a parade. We cut through the rocky area to save time since we had the "how to" "scoop" from a local. Barry tried the autopilot in the wide areas where logs were not a problem. It worked fine and gave us a break. Arrived at Shearwater early around 1pm. Ate out for lunch then showers. Another friend aboard Sauvage was there waiting for repairs on a shroud. Good to see him. Last saw him leaving Glacier Bay. Tom & Jen Ellison on Ocean Light II came in with 5 charter passengers. They had hiked to a viewing place and had seen the white "spirit" bear along with lots of blacks at a stream full of salmon. Talked with one passenger from Austria who came just to see the white bears. He was happy. Ate out again for dimmer and got to watch the last 2 innings of the baseball playoff game on the TV at the cafe. Enjoyed a quiet night tied far out on their dock. A floatplane landed just beside our boat as we first stepped ashore. Quite a surprise.
Oct 1 - left Shearwater dock at 7:30am - motored all day until 4pm in a total fog cover. First 4 hours I steered through the winding channels with my eyes looking continually at the GPS, radar, map on the computer, the depth sounder, and Barry on the bow. We could see only a few feet around us, and floating logs were in abundance. Barry would point which way to steer to get around them. Some are small chunks, and others are like fat telephone poles which could badly damage or sink a boat. They can be turned any direction or even partially submerged, so are hard to find. What made it easier today was the totally glassy water. For hours not even a ripple. The seagulls were often helpful by perching on the floating logs. They were easier to see. There was a call out of the white silence (except for our engine) from the coast guard calling a vessel in Frasier Channel near Fog Island. A check of the charts confirmed that it was our boat. They were calling to confirm that we saw them on radar and to continue on our present course and pass them port to port. We thought it was great. Someone knew we were out there!! We never saw them but could not help but hear the loudest fog horn we have ever heard. After anchoring, 2 other vessels joined us - one a very long and beautiful charter sailing vessel (Tom & Jen & daughter on Ocean Light II, finally alone after 5 months of carrying charters) and a fish boat. The fog started lifting over our little bay and formed what I called a fogbow over Ocean Light II. Very strange occurrance. I will have to ask someone about it. BBQ pork tonight with saut�ed onions, cabbage, celery, and the turnips from Lou at Butedale. Turned on the Pacific seafarers net for the first time since arriving in Alaska and were happy to hear that Joe on Immigrante was in Barbados and about to cross the Atlantic starting tomorrow.
Oct 2 - leave 5am. (dark) following Ocean Light II. Totally going by radar and chart program. Cannot see anything for 2 hours - 5.5 knots. Pray that we avoid all logs - seas calm and light breeze - great time to cross open water of Queen Charlotte Sound to get into the cover of Vancouver Island. When light we see a few logs along the way - fog but still good visibility. Make great time passing small islands, one with a lighthouse and very white buildings with bright red roofs. All the lighthouses in Canada seem to be spotless and painted seemingly yesterday. Called the Coast Guard to report a very large metal cylinder floating in the water - perhaps a large navigation buoy that had broken loose. Surely feels good to be behind the large island. No more open passages. Barry is very relieved. Safe at a dock tonight in Sointula amidst many fish boats. 73 miles today of really calm wind and seas in a place known for the opposite. Thank you, Lord. Probably be asleep by 7:30pm as we are exhausted. Mentally too from the intense concentration to the instruments in fog and looking for floating logs. Will spend 2 nights here, looks like a special place and we need the rest.