Port McNeill

GOLETAS CHANNEL

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Awesome Day.  Thinking we might have the current in our favor, we get a late start at 11:00.  We have blue sky, a 5 knot breeze, and 250 feet of clean rode and anchor.  We motor out the long harbor of Port Alexander.  Once out in Goletas Channel which runs along the northwest side of Vancouver Island, we set sails.  The breeze steadily increases up to 20 knots.  It is a quiet sail as the water-maker is not running.  We pass by Gordon Islands on the port and Port Hardy on the starboard. 

LOOKING ACROSS QUEEN CHARLOTTE STRAIT

SAILS SET

The wind dies off and the water is like glass as we approach Broughton Strait which runs between Malcolm and Vancouver Islands.  There is a Disney cruise ship behind us.  We calculate we have about a five minute margin between the time they reach our position and we turn off this course.  We know our AIS is transmitting our identity when we are hailed by another vessel about one mile away who wants to know the conditions out in Queen Charlotte Strait.

MALCOLM ISLAND

 Brad uses the Iridium phone to get reservations in Port McNeil.  The north marina is full until Thursday, but the port authority has room.  Once inside the breakwater, we tread water waiting for a spot to open at the fuel dock.  The spot is incredibly small and to make matters worse, the wind will blow us away.  The distance is too great for me to get off and secure the mid-ship line, so I do a dismal job of throwing the lines.  This is a skill that needs refining.  Sometimes help at the dock makes it harder, but sometimes it is necessary.  We get 108 liters for $139.  While at the fuel dock, I call the port authority on VHF 66A to get our slip assignment.  They put us on B dock which is very close.  Brad backs into the spot for a starboard tie.  I think it went much better.  After plugging into the electrical, we register and pay for two nights at one dollar a foot plus electric and tax.  We top off the water tanks, clean the water-maker filters, and then gather the garbage from all the places it has been stowed to dispose of as we walk over to the pub for dinner.  This is the second month of our trip and the second time we have eaten out.  Back at the boat we walk the docks before turning in for the night.  Today’s travel time 4.5 hours, Engine hours 2.6, nautical miles 29.3.  Our GPS coordinates:  50⁰35’476 N, 127⁰05’355 W.

PORT AUTHORITY, PORT MCNEIL, VANCOUVER ISLAND

August 3-4, 2015

The end of B dock in Port McNeil is a good location.  It is far enough inside to be protected from most of the wakes and wind.  The wind is pushing us away from the dock.  We attached another bow line just in case one fails.  The sun and rain take turns making an appearance.  Over all we have enough good weather to get what we need to do done. 

IGA, PORT MCNEIL

Our first efforts are provisioning, a.k.a. grocery shopping.  With list in hand we walk to the IGA.  More than 400 loonies later we have more than we can carry.  Luckily we brought a cart.  Lunch meat is always hard to find.  In the deli you can get anything sliced.  The difficulty is in knowing how much to get.  For future reference, 100 grams makes 2-3 sandwiches.  It takes almost as much time to stow the goods back at the boat.  That’s two large tasks for the day done if you count the boat cleaning including two heads this morning, which I do.  We’re getting a fairly good internet connection at dock, so Brad checks his e-mail and then we work on getting the blog published and adding pictures.  Dinner out at the pub again, yea!  The next day we pile all the laundry on the magna cart and I tote it to the laundromat.  I do two loads at 3 loonies each and then throw them in the drier together for 18 minutes, another two loonies, then split them for 9 more minutes, two loonies more, for a total of 10 loonies.  Dinner at the steakhouse is good, quieter, and more expensive.