Petersburg to Prince Rupert

Petersburg to Prince Rupert

Glo - Petersburg Harbormaster

We arrived in Petersburg on the 14th and stayed six nights while we sorted out electrical problems.  We have had more problems this year than in the past. They have all been electrical in nature which are often the most difficult to sort out.  But we think they have all been resolved now.  Individually, none of them were particularly serious but taken together they took on that appearance.

We left P'burg on the 20th and decided we would spend few days on only battery power to test things out.  So, we headed to Wrangell and stayed on the "Summer Dock" (no power) next to the Stikline Inn and the cruise ship dock.  We spent a few hours in their bar using the free wifi, had dinner there (outstanding bacon/cheeseburger) and returned to the boat.  About 21:00 one of the JV harbormasters knocked our window.  He apologized but he had just been informed by his boss that a cruise ship will be docking at 07:00 and our spot is needed for jet boats waiting to load passengers for eco-trips up the Stikine.  So, we had to be out of there before then or move to the city dock that night.  We opted for the early AM departure.  Sure enough, as we pulled away at about 06:45 we could see the cruise ship approaching from the west.

Petersburg Harbor

The conditions were perfect for our trip down Zimovia Strait and to nearby Canoe Passage, a good prawning spot.  We drop our prawn trap in 300' and a crab pot in front of a stream then anchored behind a little island for two days.  There I made a change which enabled the solar panels to be detected property by the battery monitor.  By departure time we were confident that our electrical system was working properly and that we would not need to buy $1500 worth of batteries in Ketchikan.  We found that the crab pot had a broken entry door allowing all the crabs to escape but we got 85 nice sized prawns and an octopus that got his share too.


By mid afternoon Wednesday we were tied up in Bar Harbor, the northern boat basin in K'kan, three slips away from "Contender" who had just returned from a few days fishing a little farther south.  Thursday was a very nice day then the weather turned awful.  It blew and rained HARD for five days.  We have to go to Prince Rupert to clear Canadian Customs and its about 11 hrs straight so we prefer to stop in either Kah Shakes Cove or Foggy Bay over night.  Both are on the Alaska side of the boarder, just north of Dixon Entrance.  Once we cross the boarder we can not legally touch shore or bottom until we clear customs in PR.  For days, they were forecasting light winds for Thurs-Sat in Dixon Entrance (open to the Pacific) so we planned to depart Wednesday AM, anchor in Kah Shakes (Foggy Bay will be full of commercial gill net boats since there is an opening this week) then continue to PR on Thursday for our 43rd anniversary dinner at the Cow Bay Cafe in PR.  But, Tuesday AM the forecasts took a 180 turn for the worse.  Now, Wed looks possible but Thurs-Sat do not.  So, the current plan is for an early departure Wed AM and go straight to PR.  Stay tuned.

Ketchikan Harbor

Wednesday, July 30 - We departed K'kan at 05:00 heading for Prince Rupert bypassing Foggy Bay, our normal stopping point.  It was a delightful passage over flat water and under blue skies.  We saw "Contender" on the AIS (Automatic Information System - an electronic device aboard boats that broadcasts their position, heading, speed, etc)  so we hailed them on the radio.  Larry said they had over nighted in the night in Kah Shakes Cove where it blew like stink all night.  We were glad we had stayed in K'kan. 

Our only difficulty was all the gill netters fishing off Tree Point.  We have seen this before so we were not surprised.  Gill netters lay out long nets with an orange float at either end, neither actually attached to the boat.  The boat then stands guard near one float and drifts with the net.  Our task is to identify which floats are associated with which boat and to pick a path among them.  The top of the net has small white floats along it making a kind of dotted line between the orange floats but they are difficult to see until you are close, especially when peering into the sun as we were.  But there were about twenty or so boats/nets fishing relatively close to one another.  (Because that's where the fish are.)  But, with careful attention and by talking with the skippers when necessary we made our way through.

Green Island Light House -Canada Near US Border

By 14:00 we entered Venn Passage, the intricate water way leading into Prince Rupert Harbor from the north.  We contacted Canadian customs and were issued a clearance number with minimal fuss.  The only available moorage here is the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club. It is less impressive than it wounds.  It is small with tight maneuvering.  We were assigned a port side tie which is difficult for a single propeller boat such as "Intrepid" especially given a little breeze.  But, with much fuss we were eventually secure to the dock.  All in all, it was an eleven hour trip after adjusting for the time zone change.  That's about an hour less than we had guessed it would be.

Thursday morning  we went to the Cowpachino coffee shop.  We are in Cow Bay so named because it where they used to barge in cows at one time.  Anyway, cows are the theme.  We then schlepped up the hill to the Safeway and the liquor store.  Back at the boat we took advantage of the nice day to take more pictures if the boat for the Intrepid-For-Sale blog site http://intrepid-for-sale.blogspot.com/.  Tonight we will go to the Cow Bay Cafe for our 43rd anniversary dinner.

Dinner was excellent.  Tomorrow we will depart early to take advantage of favorable currents in Greenville Channel for the 10 hr trip to Lowe Inlet where we hope to watch the bears fish at Verney Falls.  We should be at Shearwater on Monday.