In Seattle this weekend

Sailed from Pender Island in BC to Roche Harbor to check in with US Customs and enjoyed a nice lunch on the wharf. No crowds this time of year. After lunch we caught the ebb tide out of the the San Juans and encountered a pod of Killer Whales which was a great send off from the San Juans.

The Strait of Juan de Fuca offered welcoming sunny skies. calm seas and winds with just enough punch to sail to lay a course to Port Townsend. To cap off the day we caught sunset on the Straits and Kathy thinks she saw the green flash. I'm not so sure as I was busy taking pictures of the sunset, but maybe one will yield 'flash'. Arriving in Port Townsend in near darkness we anchored off the old ferry terminal for the night.

Tomorrow, we plan to catch the flood tide and ride the current toward Seattle.

Lots to do to prepare for our two week jaunt in China, but we hope to catch up with some friends this weekend before we take off on the 8th. The boat will likely be either at Shilshole or Elliot bay. Give us a call at 425-954-7245

La Nina

Learn more about La Nina and why we should expect a cooler than normal temperatures and more precipitation than normal through Spring 2011 in the Pacific Northwest.

http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/fxus05.html

Vancouver, BC Chinese Consulate... Work

September 29, 2010
Day 1855
Position: 49°16'N 123°07' W
Location: False Creek, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Miles sailed year to date: 6823 nautical miles
Miles since day 1 in August 2005: 33,345 nautical miles

A quick stop in Vancouver to visit the Chinese consulate to obtain travel visas for our upcoming visit to China. No we are not sailing there, yet.

We'll be flying to Shanghai, China on October 8th and returning on October 20th. The 2010 world expo is underway in Shanghai so I should have plenty to do while Kathy is training with her new company PharmaLegacy which is based in Shanghai. Kathy has taken a job as Director of Business Development for the Western United States.

So again our dynamic plans have shifted on the winds of our imaginations and we'll be tacking toward the shores of Seattle to settle down and work. However, we are not dropping 'land anchors' and will continue to live-aboard LightSpeed. I'll be pursuing work options that run a gamete of options to be explored after our trip to China.

Approach to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Kathy is beginning to REALLY appreciate the sunny days in the Pacific Northwest as they mark a sharp contract to rainy, foggy and dreary days.

British Columbia Fall Cruise

September 10, 2010
25 nautical miles (nm)
Edmonds, Washington (WA) to Port Townsend, WA

September 11, 2010
38 nm
Port Townsend, WA to to Friday Harbor, WA

September 12, 2010
11nm
Friday Harbor, WA to Roche Harbor, WA

September 13, 2010
10nm
Roche Harbor, WA to Bedwell Harbor, Pender Island, British Columbia (BC). Clear BC Customs.
41nm
Bedwell Harbor, BC to Nanaimo, BC

September 14, 2010
25nm
Nanaimo, BC to to Smugglers Cove, BC

September 15, 2010
29nm
Smugglers Cove to Vancouver Bay, Jervis Inlet, BC

September 16, 2010
26nm
Vancouver Bay to Princess Louisa Inlet.

September 17, 2010
Hike to Trappers Cabin.

September 18, 2010
51nm
Princess Louisa Inlet to Pender Harbour, BC

September 19, 2010
23nm
Pender Harbour, BC to Vanada, Texada Island, BC

September 20, 2010
22nm
Vanada, Texada Island, BC to Westview (fuel) to Copeland Islands.

September 21, 2010
37nm
Copeland Islands to Kanish Bay

September 22, 2010
Explore Kanish Bay

September 23, 2010
56nm
Kanish Bayt to Waddington Harbor, Bute Inlet

September 24, 2010
Run Southgate River, Bute Inlet

September 25, 2010
60nm
Bute inlet to Teakerne Inlet

September 26, 2010
16nm
Teakerne Inlet to Copeland Islands

Septmeber 27, 2010
5nm
Copeland Islands to Savary Island

September 28, 2010
80nm
Savary Island to Westview (fuel) to Vancouver, BC

Trip 554 nautical miles

Crabs at Savary Island

Sorting out a pot full of crabs.

New friends share an anchorage at Copeland Islands.
Jon and Andreas battle 30 knot gusts of wind as they try to row the 100' back to their boat. After a valiant 5 minute battle they capitulated and we gave them a ride upwind aboard LightSpeed as we pulled out of the anchorage and they drifted back downwind to their boat.

Fog shrouds a tug and tow of logs. All three a familiar sight in British Columbia waters. This is thin fog as you can actually see something besides blips on the radar screen. Oh, and log booms like this are not good radar targets when the sea is choppy.

LightSpeed looking good.
Kathy checking out a recent ship wreck a good reminder to stay vigilant on our navigation.

Tekerne Inlet Falls

Kathy points the way toward some cool waterfalls in Teakerne Inlet.






More spot prawns, sixty five to be exact on this haul.

Teakerne Inlet

LightSpeed anchored in Teakerne Inlet
Kathy on the trail above the falls
Vista above the falls in Teakerne inlet
Kathy at the lake above the falls on Redonda Island.

LightSpeed tucked tightly in a cove

Sailing Bute Inlet, British Columbia

Kathy ready to fillet a beautiful Silver Salmon.
A couple of nice Coho Silver Salmon. We landed these without a net on small a spinner set up with only 8 pound line. What a sporting fight. I estimate the fish at 5 pounds and 14- 16 pounds.
North end of Bute inlet as the fog dissipated and the clouds parted for a glimpse of the towering and majestic mountains that encase the lonely water of Bute inlet.

Green-grey water in our wake is clouded with glacial till.


We anchored at the mouth of the 'Southgate River' at: 50°53.3456 N 124°48.0927 W in about 15 meters with good holding in silty mud. This anchorage is tucked in close to shoal areas at the river bar and equally close to a rocky bluff which affords some protection from up inlet winds and seas.


Dahl Porpoise enjoy the company of a boat in the remote waters of Bute inlet, British Columbia.





The unique 'Vee' shaped blow of of the Dahl porpoise makes it easy to spot.




Ling Cod ready for the knife.

Ling Cod caught while trolling for salmon. Apparently, our lures were a little too close to the bottom for Salmon and instead we picked up this nice Ling.
Nice rainbow. Even nicer that I can be outside without my foul weather gear on!



Bute Inlet is little explored and as expected and to our delight we never saw another person or boat. Unfortunately, anchorage at the head of the inlet affords little protection from up inlet winds. However, we experienced very little wind during our two night stay while weather reports suggested that a gale was blowing in Johnstone Strait. Our theory is that the many glaciers above the head of Bute inlet limit daytime convective action and the high summits block winds otherwise interested in flowing up or down the inlet. Who knows, maybe we enjoyed lucky timing as our anchorage was flat, calm and very enjoyable. The chilly 43 degree glacial water flowing out of the rivers created a micro climate that reminded one of winter in Seattle. Lots of condensation of the interior hulls, wool hats, long underwear, and rain gear. We very much enjoyed our forced air diesel heaters.
Waterfalls abound along Bute inlet. No surprise as plenty of rain soaked us for most of our visit.



Dave sailing his remote control sailboat in Kanish Bay, British Columbia. Our visit to Kanish Bay offered some surprises as we explored the bay in the dinghy. Fog filled the bay so thickly that our dinghy adventure required we use our hand held GPS to ensure we could find our way home. It was so thick that we had to run the dinghy at slow speed for fear of running into shore. Luckily, the slow pace afforded a rare chance to see a wild salmon swim close to the boat and eventually we found a nice beach bearing oysters and all the clams one could ever want. The clams were only about 4 inches deep in the muddy sand and we soon had plenty for a feast.
Kathy enjoys a book as we ward off the chill of thick fog and rain.
Sea Urchin that crawled into our crab trap near Campbell River, BC

Red Sea Urchin

Bute Inlet

September 23, 2010

Headed up the wilds of Bute inlet. Will be offline out of cell coverage for several days. Likely even Sailmail will not work up the inlet.

Powell River to Desolation Sound

Decent size spot prawns caught near the Copelands Islands in 100+ meters of water using Tuna flavored cat food as bait.
A nice haul of spot prawns (about 75) after throwing back all females with eggs.
Solar Heat sailing in company of LightSpeed at 9+ knots near Powell River. Off the dock we hoisted sail to enjoy a 5-10 knot breeze. Another catamaran was in the vicinity and soon we closed courses and sailed side by side at 9+ knots for a half an hour with apparent winds of 13-14 knots at 38 degrees or less. And they say cats can't sail to weather.


Spot Prawns. Note the namesake white spots?

After making the short sail from Texada Island we stopped in Powell River to top off the fuel tanks and pick up some more fishing great. The marina was kind enough to let us tie to the dock for a few hours while we ran our errands. I picked up another prawn trap and a few more fishing lures. Still hoping to catch a nice salmon, but we are late in the season. We are contemplaitng our options and considering a trip around Vancouver island if the weather looks good. From Desolation sound it more than 300 nautical miles, but we hear the salmon fishing is still good on the outside.

Pender Harbour Jazz Festival & Texada Island

We made a stop in Pender Harbour for their annual Jazz Festival some shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables and some internet time. We also enjoyed a nice dinner ashore to listen to some live Jazz. While at Pender Harbor we managed to set and checked our prawn trap three times in a deep spot outside of Pender Harbour, but only hauled a few dozen spot prawns for the efforts. Setting the prawn trap in 300-400 feet of water requires a long haul to retrieve the trap. We are working hard to find a great location and hope to haul a full trap on one of our 'sets'.

Tonight we are on the North end of Texada Island on the dock at a island boating club dock. We hiked about a half a mile to do some laundry at a RV park and are set to go with clean clothes.

Tomorrow we head further North into Desolation Sound.

British Columbia Sailing on LightSpeed

Cool Native art survives the passage of time on these cliffs along Jervis Inlet. Check it out for yourself near position: 49°53.3219 N 123°52.3968 W Images may depict salmon, whales, persons, staffs and other objects.

More Native Art located near: 50°03.4146 N 123°50.6715 W on Jervis Inlet. Images may depict salmon, whales, persons, staffs and other objects.

Bow watch person (Kathy) takes in the scenery as we pass through Mailbu rapids at outbound from Princess Louisa Inlet.
Dave, Simon and Matt enjoy some fresh Dungeness crab on the dock at Princess Louisa Inlet.


LightSpeed approaching Chatterbox Falls, Princess Louisa Inlet, British Columbia.
Kathy and Chatterbox falls.

Club Malibu at the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet.
Entrance to Princess Louisa via the Malibu Rapids.
What ever the heck these things are called, you can be sure they have a rich full flavor that is superior to prawns or shrimp.
Critter from the deep. Not sure what this creature is called, but we caught in our Prawn trap at depths of over 120 meters (400 feet). They appear to be closely related to lobsters based on the body shape, but sport some pretty long legs and pincers.
Yellow Eye Rock Fish made for a tasty meal high in Omega 3.

Dave landing a Yellow Eye Rock Fish in Jervis Inlet. These fish can be caught in 80+ meters of water which makes fishing a bit tough.
Steep mountains jut out of the sea along Jervis Inlet.
Jervis Inlet
Mountian shrouded in lingering clouds. Vancouver Bay, Jervis Inlet, British Columbia. Despite what the guide books say this is a decent anchorage. Anchorage in 25 meters with good holding near 49°54.9944 N 123°52.2223 W Note: depths shoal very quickly and due caution is advised.