Lots of fog here, it was not too bad at first, we saw the huge bulk of a whale, no tail showing in the dive sequence, so maybe a fin whale, (he was big!!), or a minke whale. We were planning to go to Mcmicken beach, recommended by our friends, but the closer we came , the more fog appeared, then the wind started up, i thought that would be a good thing, might  blow the fog away, but no way, it became very thick, the coast looked treacherous, rocks everywhere, it was a chore to find the entrance to Mcmicken, then we sat in the middle of bullkelp, which means, more rock, enough of that, we made a total turnaround and headed out into the open , deeper water, Martha had told us about Weinburg Inlet, which was easier to enter, so we headed there. I didnt realize how nervous i had been, how tense, once we were anchored , in a very quiet spot, i felt like a puddle, and had to sit quiet for a while. We stayed here for just one night, the dinghy was giving lots of trouble, getting worse every day, we decided to go to Patterson inlet, on Pitt Island, a nice place, good anchoring, for one night. Next morning we were on our way again, we really needed to get to Prince Rupert, the failing dinghy was becoming a big problem, we couldnt go exploring, had to pump it up every day, couldnt (still) not find any leaks, so away we went to Captain Cove, through Petrel channel. There was a humpback in Petrel Channel, i didnt think they would come in here, its not that wide, but the surroundings are wild, absolutely beautiful. In Captain Cove, SV Ectasea was anchored, we saw no one on board, so we hoped to chat with them the next morning. After seeing Rusty and Jo and Sam, we headed out towards Prince Rupert, Ogden channel to Arthur passage, the tide was in our favour , we made good speed. Saw another Humpback whale, all by himself, he seemed to be rubbing on the rocks. ( probably feels good to get rid off the barnacles). Everyone had warned us of trouble going towards P.R. but we has no problems at all. Motored by the loading docks for coal and grain, very large freighters waiting outside, the train runs here too, and slowly Prince Rupert came into view, with, further up the very tall mast of a sailboat anchored, i know that mast, belonging to SV Maddogvoyager!!!!  We had not seen our friends for over 4 years, well, they are doing well, and seem to still work on the computer all the time.   After greeting we headed off to get fuel, it is not always easy here, as there is only one fueldock here, and all the fishing boats seem to have priority. We lucked out, and bought our fuel right away, the last time we bought fuel was in Dawsons Landing, so we did well, with still half a tank left. Then, into the marina, tricky here to do, as the tide runs very strong. We ended up only one night here as they needed the slip for another boat, we anchored near the guys, across from the town and tied things down well as a storm was approaching.  A bit of a bumpy night but no problems.  Back in the marina the next day,and now,we are still here, waiting for the dinghy to arrive, from Vancouver. We both like the town, plus the weather has been great, its a well known fact that P.R. has rain for 364 days of the year, but its been sunny and bright , very nice!!! We like the waterfront area, and the coffee shop nearby, “Cowpuccino’s, we sit outside in front, watching life go by.

We motored back through Laredo inlet,past Alston Cove, into Laredo Passage ,with Aristazabal  Island (what a name heh??), on the left, Princess Royal island on the right. We were at a big piece of open water here, where the water comes in from Laredo Sound,and the open ocean, and the beaches are chock full with logs and driftwood, all a beautiful silver color, but as you look closer, you see the bright blue, yellow, red and green of many fenders, washed ashore. It was a beautiful, bright, windy day, ( no, not for sailing,wind on the nose), and after chatting with a tugboat captain, we all of a sudden were surrounded by we figure a dozen Pacific White Sided Dolphins.  They jumped and dove under the bow, looked right up at me, some seemed to be racing, 3 in a row, they stayed with us for a mile and a half, what a sight, these fellows are amazing acrobats. The more i talked to them, the more they seemed to interact, trying to splash me, as they jumped right below me, ( i was hanging as far as i could over the bowsprit).  It ended up being a long tiring day, but the dolphins made it so worth while. Chapple inlet is beautiful, a creek runs into the anchorage, surrounded by grassy fields, i thought for sure i would see a bear here, but the fish arent running yet. I sat in my kayak, well into the running creek,still lots of water coming off the mountains, and just sat there, looking and listening, old cedars and  hemlocks lining the shores, yellow Indian paintbrush in the grass, the rocks are all orange and black, which makes the total scene look as if its out of a book. The red throated Loons were calling nearby, and an Eagle flew over, very close over my head, heading into the woods for the night.

We have done well, not running out of too many things.  Vegies are the biggest problem, but as you know, i grow my own micro greens, and i have learned to love the mighty cabbage!!!!   I buy 4 of them at a time, leave them out in the open, so air can go around them, just peel off the outer leaf, and you have a brandnew cabbage!!!   Also yams are great, potatoes i keep in a cloth bag, in the hallway, they stay perfect there. Then i cook with lots of garlic, and onions, which i keep  hanging in the cabin, in a net. I mainly buy fresh  cream(for Bert’s coffee), eggs , and meat ,and vegies, when we come to a store. The prices are not too bad, although we needed a jug of vinegar, 4 litres, and the price was  22 dollars, aah, can do without it a bit longer!!!!! Organics are very hard to find, and most of the time they have been lying there a while, sprouting and turning a funny greenblueish color !!

We have mostly been making our own water, the watermaker makes 6 gallons per hour, and its best to use it while the engine is running. Well, we motor almost all of the time, i think we sailed twice , in the last month.  So, we make about 18 gallons on a trip, it keeps the tanks full, and we can have showers every day.   The last time we filled in a marina was in Ocean Falls, mainly because its wonderful water there, and it gave me the oppertunity to wash out the tanks, which is a good idea to do.  Everything is working well, thank goodness, only the dinghy is a big problem, but we have to wait till we are in Prince Rupert to get another one.  One very sad thing is  that we ran out of Twentyman coffee, no other coffee will even come close to being this good, maybe David should sell it all along the coast…….??????