PRINCE RUPERT TO KETCHIKAN WITH FRIENDS

Jim and Sue, our long-time friends from Clarkston, WA met us in Prince Rupert, a charming fishing town of 12,000 in BC. We moored at the Rowing and Yacht Club in Cow Bay, a popular place for cruisers to stay. At one time, Cow Bay was the location of a dairy.... hence the name. When the cows were dropped off from ships they had to swim to shore. There were many good restaurants and shops to visit. We also toured the Museum of Northern British Columbia that housed many artifacts from the First Nations. Before we left, a boat moored next to us gave us salmon (already cleaned and bagged) because they had so much.......

After leaving Prince Rupert we cruised into Brundige Inlet on Dundas Island, a good stopping place before crossing Dixon Entrance. It was there that Sue and I had a run-in with tiny black flies that forced us inside. Oh, did we get bit!.... and both of us had swollen bites that lasted several days. Of course, the guys were not affected..?!

CAPTAIN, CHEF.........WHAT A GUY!

In addition to catching crab, prawns, fish, etc., John spends a fair amount of his time creating delicious recipes. Jim, Sue and I sat back every night and watched Emeril (oops, I mean John) prepare scrumptious dinners.

A toast to the Chef!

This is the result of the blueberries that Jim picked along the way..............
After a smooth crossing of Dixon Entrance, we arrived in Ketchikan, where at least two or three cruise ships stop off each day for a few hours. The US Customs Agents here were the most friendly and polite we have ever dealt with.

AROUND REVILLAGIGEDO ISLAND

We spent just one night in Ketchikan and left early the next morning for Behm Canal. We trolled for salmon for a couple of hours (no luck) and stayed in Naha Bay and found space on the government dock. We were able to catch crab and prawns however. Sue and I went for a hike here and saw evidence of bears but no encounter--we made a lot of noise along the way by the way.

The next day we continued north to Klu Bay, a good and very protected anchorage which lies at the end of Shrimp Bay. Beautiful spot and we were again the only boat. More shrimp and crab!

While underway, Jim, Sue and I spent our time schucking crab for the chef to keep the creations coming.

The flybridge is THE place to be underway. Any time there is good weather, we are up there. You can navigate, anchor, use the thrusters, etc. plus the view is fantastic.

Next stop Fitzgibbon Cove. We again fished for halibut at Hose Point near Bell Island with no luck. The cove is breathtaking though and we had a view of the snow-capped mountains. We then traveled into whats called the Misty Fjord area. We have heard that it is fogged-in or rainy most of the time here but we have lucked out this whole trip, having unusually beautiful, warm and sunny weather. Here, Sue & I took the dinghy out to do a little exploring.

We took a detour enroute to Punchbowl Cove into a place called Walker Cove, which was beautiful and about 5 miles long and carved into steep mountains. There we saw a Mama Grizzly and her cub, who was feeding at the stream (the little dot in the center of the picture is the cub). Mama was in the grass nearby keeping an eye on her cub. We were able to watch with our binoculars but the camera simply doesn't do it justice. A telephoto lens is now on the list.

PUNCHBOWL COVE

We pleased to find that we were the only boat in Punchbowl Cove and were able to tie up to the mooring ball provided by the National Park. Our view was just fantastic and we looked out at a 3,000 foot granite face on the east side of the cove. Jim and Sue hiked up the trail to a nearby lake. They saw lots of bear scat along the way... but no sightings. Both John and Jim also caught red snapper here:)

Our time together this trip was up (too soon!!) and we had to head back to Ketchikan, completing the circumnavigation of Revillagigedo Island. What a fun trip with good friends. Jim and Sue took the Alaska Ferry back to Prince Rupert (after an 11 hour delay due to mechanical problems with the ferry) to retrieve their camper and are heading to Wenatchee, WA.We plan on meeting up with them in Mexico and/or the Panama Canal later this year.

We are still in Ketchikan and awaiting the arrival of my long-time friend Robin from Seattle. She will join us for 10 days for the trip north to Wrangell, Petersburg and Tracy Arm.

Until next time...