Greetings from Ohana Kai!
Another week has sped past and each day was filled with a new adventure. It has been fun to look at the map each day and to some degree say, “Where shall we go today?”. Here is the quick run down on the locations, and miles we have covered.
Date Location Mileage
6/25 Fri Millbrooke Cove – Shearwater Marina 63
6/26 Sat Shearwater Marina – Rescue Cove 34
6/27 Sun Rescue Cove – Khutze Inlet 45
6/28 Mon Khutze Inlet – Bishop Bay Hot Springs 40
6/29 Tue Bishop Bay – Lowe Inlet 40
6/30 Wed Lowe Inlet – Prince Rupert 58
7/1 Thu Happy Canada Day EH! 0
7/2 Fri Prince Rupert – Khutzeymateen Bear Sanctuary 49 miles
7/3 Sat Khutzeymateen – Foggy Bay 58

Each day takes us approx. 5 - 8 hours motor to get to our next location. On a few occasions we are able to put up a sail for about an hour and get a little help, but usually the winds are not blowing strong enough nor traveling the right direction.
Highlights: Shearwater Marina, we find a great playground at a local school for the boys to play. We shower and shine and enjoy a nice pizza at the only restaurant in town. Its population of 90 is a very friendly bunch and doesn’t hesitate to pull up a chair at your table to chat. I suppose everyone else has already heard all the stories.

Rescue Cove – a nice little place to anchor. We drop the dinghy and go explore. Find lots of clams, all types. Nonnie and I don’t hesitate to easily dig up a bucket full. Back in the cove we are joined by a few familiar boats that are all traveling the same path as us, and a helicopter. YES, a HELICOPTER flies in and lands on this tiny spit of an island. Bruce scares the daylights out of us when he convinces us it is fish and game coming to haul Nonnie and I away for our pilfered bivalves. We guiltily slink them back over board. Truth be told we think he was lost. Probably good thing we didn’t eat them as we were in waters where the clams could be contaminated with neurotoxins that can leave you paralyzed. Oh well.

Khutze Inlet – One of the most beautiful locations yet, at the end of the inlet are tall cascading waterfalls. There was also a nice creek leading off into the meadows and forests. We tried to take the dinghy up it but could not get too far with the strong current. We did take a nice hike up to the lower edge of the waterfalls, and luckily for us Nonnie stayed behind was able to wade out and catch the dinghy before if floated away with high tide.

Bishop Bay Hot Springs – If Khutze was one of the most beautiful, then Bishop Bay was definitely one of the most fun as its name suggests because of the glorious hot springs. They are naturally occurring but have a little cinder block house of sorts built over it and they are hot. We spent a couple of hours in there until we couldn’t stand our wrinkled selves anymore. We also met this nice couple who spent most all their life on the water in boats that he (Winston) had built. Including a circumnavigation of the world over 7 years.

Lowe Inlet – We saw our first gray whales spouting as we went toward Lowe inlet. There we found a wide but shallow waterfall, and were able to hike back into a second set of overspills. Tricky trail but very peaceful.

Prince Rupert – We arrive in Cow Bay, where everything is painted like a cow, just in time to celebrate July 1, CANADA DAY, EH ! We have all become immediately proficient at our best canadian accent “Don’t you know, Eh”. A giant cruise ships also docks and between the two events they put on their best show, a watered down version of our 4th of July. The kids enjoy a bouncy room and some cotton candy, the rain begins and we make haste for the boat. We get some groceries, showers and laundry done.
Khutzeymateen Bear Sanctuary – We pass through a long carved out valley and once we reach the end have a tough time setting an anchor in some high winds and super deep or super shallow waters. All in the hopes of seeing Bruce’s grizzlies. He is not disappointed, and for the duration of the evening we get to watch a mother and her two cubs, albeit far off in the distance. Better than too close we decide.

Foggy Bay – We are officially in Alaska now and lose the Canadian accent. We anchor in a quiet cove, see a couple of deer and some ocean life while enjoying a long kayak.
Ketchikan – Definitely the most touristy town yet with lots of character!!!. It can hold up to 6 cruise ships in the harbor at one time, but only two fit at the dock so the rest just anchor out. We literally dock the boat, step off the pier and onto Main Street just in time to witness a sweet down home 4th of July parade. Happy 4th to all!
I best end here as this letter is getting lengthy. We miss you much and can’t wait to fill in all the other parts of these stories. (i.e. when the waiter runs back into the kitchen yelling “Oh my gosh, what did you give her!”)

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