Fog-us at the end of August
31 August 2013 | Berry Island, B.C.
Back-to-summer weather, briefly
We found a dense fog shrouding the harbor this morning and decided to wait for a while to see if it would lift. At 10:30 we could see out as far as Haddington Island, 2 miles distant. And we're off! But wait, by the time we got going the fog had become denser. We persevered, keeping both a visual and radar watch. We dodged the ferry, Quadra Queen as she made for the landing in Sointula. At Haddington Passage we found the bouy and light that mark the fairway between the island and the shoal ground. We are tracking some small boat traffic on the radar, but no commercial vessels in sight. We slow down to a crawl to dodge the traffic, a couple of sail boats creeping along the north shore of Cormorant Island. As we approach Donegal Head, on the east end of Malcom Island, we see two commercial targets on the AIS display and confirm their position with radar. Both are headed south in Blackfish Sound. Both are large vessels, one a tug with tow. The other is the Valkyrie, a 110 foot "pleasure vessel" moving at 10 knots. We are bound across the sound to Farewell Harbour, crossing the paths of these vessels. Legally, we would have the right-of-way. Basing our decision in the real world, we opt to parallel the courses of the commercial traffic, staying on the west side of the channel until they are well past. Sharon goes forward to listen for fog horns to confirm that the traffic is past. She hears the horn from Valkyrie, passing first. When the tug goes past she hears no sound signal, but can hear the engine, sounding like a locomotive. Finally the fog starts to lift and we see the top layer of shipping containers on the barge under tow. We dodged another bullet today! Sirena then heads east across Blackfish, astern of the tug and tow, to find the entrance to Farewell Harbour.
Farewell Harbour has a population of anchored boats so we pass on by and go down Village Channel to anchor in the nook behind Crease Island. We have anchored here in the past and feel secure from the westerly winds that are in the forecast. As we are setting the hook, a Nordic Tug 42, Salty Dawg, comes in and anchors behind us. We relax in the sun as the fog has now totally lifted. Our dinner tonight is grilled salmon steaks. Karen on M/V Snoop caught two coho salmon while in Echo Bay and graciously shared some with us. It is simply delicious! We have some leftover for lunch tomorrow.