July 3 - July 8 Ketchikan, Prince Rupert, Klewnuggit Inlet, Khutze, Rescue Bay

July 3 – July 8  Ketchikan, Prince Rupert, Klewnuggit Inlet, Khutze, Rescue Bay

We left Ketchikan about 9 after getting our Anchor Windless part installed and working.  We had another wonderful crossing with very little waves or wind and got to Prince Rupert about 7:00.  We decided to stay at the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club for a few days as the forecast is for winds increasing significantly and we don’t want to fight rough water.  The first day we wandered around town, got caught up on internet and work.  We were not sure if we would stay a third night but the weather forecast convinced us it would be a good idea and it gave us the opportunity to play golf at the Prince Rupert Golf Club.  It was a beautiful course and other than the mosquitoes that decided to attack Steve we had a great time.

Golfing with mosquitoes  can be hazardous!! Steve got about 10 bites and they all did this!

 

We left Prince Rupert in the morning for our trip to Klewnuggit.  Other than the westerly swells off the ocean making our morning a bit turbulent, once we got into Grenville Channel it was another beautiful day and we had the currents with us the whole day.  Klewnuggit was a beautiful setting and we decided to try out luck at crabbing (no luck!). Our problem for the evening was once we got the dinghy back on top of the boat the controller decided to quit working in the up mode. If we can’t get it to go up we will be unable to use the dinghy for the trip.  We have a second dinghy but we gave Tom our kicker motor to use for fishing with No Debt so that leaves us with a rowing dinghy only.  Steve got out the manual and one of the troubleshooting suggestions was to bang on it lightly (they also say to replace the Low Voltage Switch) but for now the banging on it has worked. We will try to order the new part once we get back to phone/internet coverage.  If we have any more issues our plan is if we can get the dinghy into the water we will tow it home rather than not be able to use it for the rest of the trip.  That is one thing about boating – it seems there is always something to work on!

We left Klewnuggit Inlet for Khutze  – coming towards us in the Grenville channel was another Roche Harbor Yacht Club boat ( Danny Boy) with George and Julie headed to Alaska!  We had a nice chat with them and Julie told us that the crabbing in Khutze was amazing so we have hopes that dinner is Crab! Seeing another Roche Harbor boat reminded us how much we miss travelling with the Roche Armada- they are now entering Glacier Bay for more adventures and we wish our schedules would have allowed another month with them! We are looking forward to our reunion in October to share pictures!

 It is Josh’s birthday today and we passed thru the Wright Sound which gave us the chance to call and wish him a happy birthday!  He is 26 today which is hard for us to believe!  We had about 10 minutes of cell available so we called a few people ( sorry Mom you must have been at church!)

 After Wright Sound we went up the Fraser Reach then Graham Reach to Khutze .  We stayed in Khutze with the Roche Armada on the way up to Alaska and it is a beautiful spot but this time it was overrun with Horseflies – we could not leave the boat and spent the first hour killing horseflies that came in when we had the doors open while anchoring. We have decided that we must add screens to the Nelsea as one of our winter projects.  What a difference 6 weeks makes!  We did however manage to get a lot of crab – thanks for the tip Julie as we might have passed on putting out the pots since the horseflies were in attack mode.  Steve again is covered in bites and his foot has swollen up with bites on his feet from wearing sandals. I am usually the one who gets bit but for some reason they are attacking Steve this time and leaving me alone.  He seems to be reacting to the bites with huge welts that appear with each bite – We have tried bug spray but it does not appear to work with horseflies!  We anchored by the head of the bay and it was a super low tide so we woke up to about 50 seals lounging on the sand spit about 25 yards off of the boat!

Another beautiful morning as we head out for our next spot – Rescue Bay. We will travel from Graham Reach to Tolmie Channel on to Finlasyon Channel thru Jackson Passage to Rescue Bay which is on the edge of Mathieson Channel.