Saturday July 12, 2014

Saturday July 12 up early, but not underway till 8:30am after walking the dog.  Sheep Passage has many fish farms and is very busy with this business. 


Fish Farms on Sheep Passage

Past Carter Bay where Vancouver on the HMS Discovery in 1793 buried one of his crew after he died from shellfish poisoning.    We turn north to Hiekish Narrows where we really pick up speed and we talked to Faye on “Raven Sirit”.  We’ll catch up with them and “Shaman 11” at Khutze? 

We past Sarah Island and think of our friend Sara, because it’s her birthday.  It’s also cousin Jamie’s daughter Desiree’s wedding day.  Busy day! 




Swanson's Red Brick Chimney

Green Inlet looks interesting.  Has a huge salt waterfall at its head. We will check it out on the way back maybe? We leave SWANSON BAY to our starboard, it solid brick chimney still towing above the surrounding forest. We have visited the ruins on a previous trip. It to like Butedale an abandoned cannery and it employed over 500 people in late 1920.

Khutze

THE sun is at mast height when we arrive, there is a shallow entrance on one side of the Khutze inlet entrance possibly because the glaciers pushed to the entrance and left their tailings below the sparkling waters on one side.

This area is reputed to have exceptional Halibut fishing on the ledges before the fiord plunges to 600 ft. Khutze Inlet leaves you breathless, the mountains claw to the sky, ice cream tops, black shadows masking for a while the deep valleys till the sun shifts in the sky leaving them naked to the eye.

It is evident that snow avalanches have left their swift passage marks on the now raw granite face burnishing it silver grey. The speed of the snow melts fall breaks the water into spider web like streams with its direct and no nonsense descent from this height.  At the head, a marsh veils the river entrance like lovers too shy to reveal the source of their escape from the secret that they had with the mountain.




Khutze Waterfall

We arrive at the moment that several other vessels have weighed anchor and its right in the perfect spot when last time we were here. We were with the Davison’s.At the time we put the dogs ashore (Scupper and Kobi)(both sadlydeparted) at the foot of a 3000 ft. water and rock fall. Shattered rocks, humongous broken boulders, splintered trees dense green bush all strewn about at its base. We put the dogs on to the beach and backed off to let them there do their thing. It was very noisy as the rushing water had just terminated its arrival from on high to shoulders of the boulders at beach level. We have selected this beach as it is not possible for a grizzly’s  to get to this destination without swimming  and why would they as there is little to eat here  and there is lots of good bear goodies up the valley.

It’s a no brainer. WRONG, AS SOON AS WE PUSH BACK WITH THE DOGS ON BOARD…………….. Up pops mom griz’s head behind where the boys have left a small nature deposit and right beside her two cubs immerge. She is none plus about the visitors, lifts her nose to get a whiff, senses no danger, rolls on her side and serves breakfast to the little ones. WOW not even clicking of are cameras close aboard interrupt the gift that Mother Nature has allowed the privilege of viewing this superb  sweet  moment .

THIS TIME IS VERY DIFFERENT, we have many new visitors not just many, many big horseflies and they are veracious.  There are so many that for a moment I thought that they were going helicopter Chevy to (the beach and finish her off). We lift the hook (to find a location with less horseflies and move down to a small creek with a alluvial fan look for a not to deep spot of 150 ft., or less and shore tie off with the line returning to OA. 

The challenge in all these little bays look so secure and out of the shadow off danger, but this is not the case.  At tide change for a short time they become a swirl of back eddies and swift current will set in. The bow anchor chain grumbles and the stern line sings like a violin string and the whole shooting match heads for the reef that you have carefully planned and positioned your propellers to avoid contact with. A few anxious moments and the commotion wanes. 

Some of you are thinking why are you always looking to shoreline to the beach? Most Inlets are very deep in fact there is some that you can lay along a sheer cliff and still have 500 ft. of water under your keel. If you extend (in our case) all are chain out (375 ft.) it would weigh with anchor about 1ooo lbs or more. This is hard on the winch and you could experience a system failure. Out would come the hack saw, tie the chain of with rope and buoy and come back to claim it some future date.(MAYBE)  YOU DO NOT WANT SYSTEMS TO FAIL  AT ANY TIME, BUT WHEN NORTH IT GENERALLY A LONG COSTLY REPAIR AND WILL MOST DEFINLITLY PUT A DENT IN YOUR BOATING PLEASURE AND YOUR POCKET BOOK..



Momma Black Bear with her Cubs

“Shaman 11” arrives along “Raven Spirit” and anchor on the tide flats hanging on between going aground at low water or slipping off the edge with the anchor into 350 ft. of water (this will happen in the middle of a windy raining night when you’re in REM sleep).

We do a gunk of the whole of Khutze looking for waterfalls and bears.  It’s not until we get back to “Oceanaire” that we encounter just 30’ away on the beach behind us a black bear with her cubs.  Chevy is the first to see them and growls to let us know.

Later after the sun has gone down and horseflies depart we join our friends for happy hour and catching up on all the gossip.