Wednesday May 5 Depart Butedale for Bishop Bay Hotsprings....Ah the Oasis!!!!
The “piece de resistance” today and for the next few days is the lure of the “Hot Springs”, accessible only by water. Bishop Bay Hot Springs, off of Ursula Channel is our first stop. The “Prawning Boat” - “Miss Mary” was resting on the dock and gladly assisted with our dock lines.

Do not believe all you read about how tough fishing is...this photo demonstrates the tough life of a seaman....

We all enjoyed a soak in the pools including the company of the father (John Oakes) and son (Jared) crew of “Miss Mary” ‘Cinco de Mayo’ today and we celebrated with spritzers and sun tanning on the deck....go figure!! Could life get much better??!!
We invite John and Jared back to the Steel Eagle for some guitar and sing-a-long on the dock!

May 6th Europa Hot Springs was our next pool stop. Gumboots and slippery rocks, wonderful views of the surrounding snow capped mountains reflecting on the clear calm, waters of Gardner Canal enhanced our dip in the delightfully warm pools.

The last of the hot springs list was the scenic Weewanie Hot Springs of Devastation Channel. Bev was so excited that she scrambled up the slippery slopes, stripped and stepped into..... a LUKE WARM pool.... she wanted to be the first one to bath so we allowed her, and she was the ONLY one who got wet in this so called, HOT SPRING!!!

May 10, 11, and 12th Prince Rupert.....docked at PRRYC in Cow Bay a unique little area of Prince Rupert. Lots of items painted black and white like a Holstein Cow!

There were many friendly unique little shops along the boardwalk. The girls head up and down the walk looking for The Mall! No “Winners” for Bev, just Fields, Zellers, and the Bargain Store. Larry and Wayne hang back at the boat to fix the anchor wash down. After three trips up and down the hill for parts we now have a brand new swanky wash down on the Steel Eagle. Bev found a Casino!!?? We decide to stay two more days and wait for a weather window to head north once again. Tuesday May 11th we have a reservation at Breakers Pub to watch the last Vancouver Canucks/Chicago Blackhawks game. Had too much fun with the locals!

Two large freighters sitting in the Bay....they were waiting to load from the Grain Terminal or the Cargo Terminal. With all their lights lit up at night Bev and Larry’s bedroom in the cockpit was like downtown Las Vegas!!!
Best of all.....we found a TIM HORTONS!

Chief “Larry Lend me a Buck” from Indus First Nations continues to entertain us with stories of the Orcas, wolves and bears! As well as little weather forecasting on the side for his little “White Prairie Dove” Bev.
May 13 and finally leaving Prince Rupert as our pockets books are now stressed once again...we motor on for Brundige Inlet on Dundas Island. Our next hurtle is the Infamous Dixon Entrance which can hold pleasure boats up for days. Brundige gives you the advantage of a jumping off point as close to the actual leap as possible.
At 11:30 the view out across Dixon Entrance..... What Calm seas??? No wind??
You won’t go more than a couple of miles before you know if you belong there.
Go For It!!!

In days of old, sailors who had been becalmed would take to whistling to encourage the wind to return. Wishing for a great sail across Dixon,

I put the crew on it...........Whistling that is...... I would have been better served by feeding them baked beans!!!

At 2:30pm we arrived safely thru the rugged inlet of Foggy Bay...and drop the anchor in yet another pristine anchorage!!

Larry pops open our bottle of chilled Champaign, and we toast to our safe arrival in ALASKA!!

Ketchikan....Here We Come!!!

Next Stop Shearwater-Bella Bella!!

Saturday May 1- At 1520 we are tied safely on the dock at Shearwater. We found the local first nations very friendly and eager to visit. The dock hand informed us that if we needed any supplies from the store, we best make our way up the dock, as it closes at 17:30 and will not be open on Sunday.

After storing our much needed supplies, we enjoy a Chinese Dinner at the local Pub!

Shearwater.....Hunting or Fishing??!! Yes indeed...they have it all!!

Wendy and her Teddy Bear??!!

Larry and his prize Salmon??!!

Sunday May 2nd : 6:30 am up to the laundromat as Steel Eagle is heading north at 8:30am,,, rain or shine!!
And the rain wins...So donned in full rain gear, we make our way to yet another pristine anchorage...Rescue Bay..

A biologist on the dock at Shearwater told us we could listen for wolves at Rescue Bay and even howl at them and they would howl back. You guessed it, at dusk we were on deck howling......Not knowing what we were saying to them............

I guess its all right talking to wolves ....... as long as that's as far as it goes!!!

Monday May 3rd-Klemtu – this native town turned out to be a jewel of a surprise. Very, very friendly.

The Klemtu Long House...Beautiful!

We were given a tour of the long house complete with a local history lesson and invited to visit the state of the art canning facility. Steve, the plant manager, gave a very informative talk and we left with a 18 lb salmon, fresh off the farm. The best we have ever eaten!
Kitasoo Seafoods-tour of the processing plant

Transfer Ship at the dock used to vacuum the salmon up to the processing plant.

Nice Catch Larry???!!!

Quick guys clean the fish ....Must head North!!!Then off to the serenity of Bottleneck Cove before dark.....drop the hook for the night at 18:00....Ah but yes...another busy day in paradise!!!Tuesday May 4th Up early once again?? Oh yes ...Time for Hair cuts!!??

HAPPY 50th Birthday to Bruce Rechner-we will toast to your special day at Happy Hour!!! Much too early too toast!!

At 1630 we dock at yet another abandoned town....Butedale...Such a beautiful site for a town....but yet is also in the state of ruins!!!

We invite the town Mayor of Butedale... Lou Simoneau on board Steel Eagle for Happy Hour.

Many years of stories were told. Amazing!!!

He also owns a boat named Steel Eagle VIII-Go Figure!!!

Larry soon befriends the town pets, Bart the guard dog, and Tiger, the mouser!...Lou then informs us we can take the hike up the mountain to see the beautiful Lake and stretch our legs!

The rain forest are covered with enormous ferns. You can only imagine the fresh aromas!!!!

Stay tuned...next blog...Hot Springs anyone?!!!

Dent Island to Ocean Falls

April 24th we depart Dent island Lodge and head for Forward Harbour. Slack at Dent: 07:56. slack at Green Point Rapids 13:27. Time for a nap at Bickley Bay! Wait a minute....Slack at Whirlpool Rapids is 13:28...I guess we take Green Point Rapids at slack and run Whirlpool at center channel...farther from shore....more room to get whirled! 15:05 we are now doing 11.2 knots. Past Forward Harbour, out Sunderland Channel and up Johnston Straight... The whole dam place is ebbing...and in a hurry!! At 18:20 we turn into Havvannah Channel, Chatham Channel is almost slack. 19:40 safely anchored in Cutter Cove. A long day! My advise is to stay the hell off Johnston Straight as much as possible, we once spent 2 hours in Race Passage and gained only 1 mile, at slack...according to the tide tables!

Sunday April 25th...a stop at Lagoon cove for propane, shopping and a visit with Pat and Bob. Off to Echo Bay as a big blow is in the forecast. While waiting for the blow to pass, we spent 2 days on the dock with Pierre (Owner) and his staff Mary and Walt. A vigorous 15 minute hike brought us to Billy Proctors Museum located on Gilford Island. Billy built a museum on his property to display many years of kindred treasure. He then took the time to enlighten us with a few of his amazing stories from his years of beach coming and duties of Coast Guarding.

Simply, a warm and amazing man.

Echo Bay Marina

Shortly after arriving at Echo Bay, MV Invictus and Explorer IV arrived on the dock and informed us that they also were heading north,so we decided to tag along.

Tuesday April 27th...a nice calm morning, so we motor sailed up to Blunden Harbour and dropped the hook for the night. Dave and Meta invite us over to the MV Invictus for a drink and a tour of their 72 foot Nordhaven. Beautiful Boat!

Wednesday April 28th...up at 4:30 am, got to head north!
Oh! Oh! Sump pump not working...not to worry...Wendy is under the galley floor hatch to get it fixed.

Steel Eagle takes us around the infamous Cape Caution to Pruth Bay.

Calm Seas!!!

A 20 minute walk across the isthmus and we were at one of the most beautiful beaches on the coast.

The next morning, Larry is fishing the spectacular Hakai Passage


While the rest of us hang on for dear life in the swells. No luck fishing!
We once asked a local fisherman how we could improve our catch...he
advised us to lie!!!...Ya...I think I just realized the secret to fishing on Big V and Mabel Lake...Right Jan, Eydie and Kirby??!!

Reel in the lines as we decide to make a side trip to Namu Harbour, this ghost town used to be home to some 3500 people in 1912 and now there are 3. Pete, Renié and Teresa are caretakers now and gave us a very warm welcome. Teresa was more than happy to take us on a tour of the abandoned town. Interesting, but sad. Once a thriving part of the fishing industry and more lately a popular stopping place for cruisers- it is now somewhere in between and rapidly becoming neither.

After our two hour tour, Teresa picked us a meal of fresh purple broccoli grown in her garden. As she checks out her rain guage....Too Cool!!!

We were more than happy to trade her for some of Bevs garden potatoes and some of our Alberta Beef steaks for their supper.

We Departed Namu with mixed emotions regarding its future.

Proceeded on to drop the hook in pristine Codville Lagoon (Whats the difference between a bay and a lagoon...?? That was the question of the morning.)

Quick trip up Fisher Channel and tied up to the dock at Ocean Falls Marina just minutes before the sky opened up... so much for our 40 minute walk up to Martin Valley and the only local store!

So reading, charting and naps were in order waiting out the rain. So we waited....and we waited...

Ocean Falls is mostly a ghost town since the closing of the mill in 1980, in 1986, bulldozers came to level it but local residents backed them down. We did not get to meet Nearly Normal Norman Brown...but did enjoy the view of the dam. Now a large fish hatchery is in place but it only employs a few locals.

The next day we left...still pouring rain, and headed back toward the ocean and sunnier skies, forgoing a visit to Alexander Mackenzie Rock and Eucott Hot Springs.