June 6 Salmon Bay (off Mathieson Channel Northern BC)

We left Port Hardy at 0500 this AM for the trip North past Cape Caution. Seas were initially flat but quickly got over it. Passing Cape Caution, the seas were 10' plus out of the west/northwest. Swells were at 10 to 15 seconds apart.

North of Bella Bella in Seaforth Channel we encountered following sea swells again in excess of 10 feet. It was a real challenge to maintain an efficient course, dodge logs and debris and handle the effect of the swells. We found auto pilot pretty ineffective considering the conditions. We gained valuable experience in handling the large seas.

We had begun the day out ahead with one other boat and were able to cruise at our optimum 8.6 knots consuming less than 3 gallons of diesel per hour. 5 hours into the day the rest of the flotilla caught up with us and then we had to kick it up to 10 knots which works our engine much harder(2000 rpm) and consumes 7 gallons per hour.

From Lama Passage on, we played "tag" with an extremely large cargo barge in tow behind a commercial tug. The barge was so big that it had van boxes stacked on it 8 high, 12 wide and about 40 long. The very top row was vehicles including a large Mayflower moving van...that really put it into perspective! The tug captain was very polite and cooperative on the radio sorting out where our flotilla should be to avoid the path of their transit.

It was a VERY long day (15 hours under way!) and when we pulled into Salmon Bay at 8 PM it was very sheltered and peaceful. All you could hear was the drop of each of the anchors into the water. We all enjoyed watching a black bear enjoying a tidepool smorgasboard on the shore oblivious to our arrival.

Needless to say, once our anchor alarm had been set we enjoyed a well deserved sleep.

That crazy pair,
Linda & Gary


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