Day 12
19 July 2013 | Port Hardy to Bull Harbour
Laurie / Sunny w clouds but Warm
Day 12 – July 16, 2013 Tuesday
I was awoken today at 5:30 a.m. by the sound of the engine starting up. I guess it must be time to get up! Moe had the coffee made and was checking lines. I had just enough time to get myself together and get a cup of coffee. We were off the dock and on our way at 6:45.
Yesterday we spoke with a couple of other boaters who are also traveling this way and we have decided to go around the top together. I mentioned them in yesterday’s post. Talagoa and crew were awaiting parts so would not be leaving in the morning. Witte Raaf was still tied up at the dock when we went by.
As the tide was in, the trip out through the narrow channel was much easier than the trip in. There were many small fishing boats that were also leaving. We were #6 in the line of seven. As we motored out of Hardy Bay at least four or five more passed us. Good luck, Fishermen! The morning has brought with it much fog so our visibility is limited to maybe one mile. Moe hailed Witte Raaf as we rounded Duval Island. They were just casting off the dock themselves so were right behind us.
Our trip up Goletas Channel was uneventful in the fog. Not being able to see much and yawning my face off, Moe suggested I nap, so that’s exactly what I did. When I woke up the scenery had not changed. Goletas Channel is pretty narrow being just over a mile at the widest and one mile at the narrowest. As we travelled further west we could feel more and more of the oceans swell. It was quite a gentle roll as we were travelling in the same direction of the current but it is a much bigger roll than I have felt before in Reborn. Not scary though! The only wildlife we saw was a porpoise on the far side of the channel. He was cruising his way east. We were able to see Witte Raaf behind us but never did catch up to us. Highly unusual!
We expected our trip to Bull Harbour to take about 4.5 hours and arrived pretty much on time. On the east side of the narrow entrance to the harbour the cliffs are very steep, being pretty much just straight up. We noticed a lot of caves on that side. The other side was just wooded. There is an island right in the middle of the channel which we went around. As we came to the north side of the island the inner bay opened up and we could see that we were the only ones here. I was actually quite surprised. I was expecting it to be a busy little bay. The day had brightened up considerably and the fog was gone. It’s quite a beautiful, quiet bay. There are some houses on the north end of the bay, but there is no sign of life. We can hear a generator humming away to the east of us.
Our anchor was set and we shut down the motor at 10:43. We also took note of our position as this is the further north that we will be travelling. We are currently at 50 55.037 N and 127 56.239 W. I made us some brunch and we waited for our travelling companions to come in. I don’t really know what time they arrived as I didn’t take note, but when they had anchored we rowed over and greeted them.
Upon our return we both took advantage of the peacefulness of our anchorage and read and napped. Just before napping we saw that another sailboat had anchored in the bay too. When we got up, about 2:00, the fog had returned. It was quite light fog at first so the sun was able to shine through a bit. It was a very pretty picture to look at the two boats behind us with the sun still glinting off the boat as it was enveloped in the fog. By 3:00 the fog had settled in and looked like it might stay.
The fog did finally clear by about 4:30-5:00. There were now six boats in the harbour including us. I hauled out my daily homework and stressed myself out for awhile making sure that we were on the right course and leaving at the right time. Soon after, Moe’s tummy was starting to complain so I made us some dinner. Nahwitti Bar and the open Pacific Ocean has stolen my appetite so dinner wasn’t quite as appealing to me as to Moe.
After dinner we decided to get off the boat and go for a walk over to the other side of the island and check out Roller Bay. This island was once a Coast Guard station but has long since been closed down. All the houses and buildings that they used are still standing and in various states of repair. Both Dreamspeaker and the Sailing Directions said that Roller Bay was not to be missed so we hopped into James and set out for the dock.
Along the way we stopped to chat with one of the other boats here, a 50’ ketch called ‘Porpoise’. They too will be rounding Cape Scott on their way down the West Coast. They plan to take the inside passage through Nahwitti Reef and make their way through the reef close to shore. We bid them good night, then went to the dock and tied up James. As we were walking down the road to Roller Bay we met another couple of men who were walking back. They said it was quite nice. We asked them if they were planning on rounding Cape Scott and they said yes. They, too, will be taking the inner route. They have a large, shallow draft power boat.
Our journey along the road was short, I’m sure it took only about 15 minutes to walk to the abandoned community and the bay. The steep sided bay is quite large with medium size very polished round or oval stones ground down by the surf. We could see all the way to Japan! We thought that this bay must take quite a beating in a strong westerly wind. We didn’t stay too long before heading back to our dinghy, stopping to speak to Jan and Johanna on Witte Raaf. We’re all in agreement that 8:00 is the time to leave so we expect quite the flotilla departing tomorrow morning.
The evening is sunny but it is a bit cool. Of course we are far north so that should not be a surprise. We don’t have too much on the agenda for the evening, just relaxing and enjoying our beautiful, calm and peaceful bay.