Thursday, May 10, 2012

#13 Back on the Inside Passage

It's been a fun digression, cruising a bit off the Inside Passage the last several days.  Now we need to make time to Ketchikan.  Last night the temperature at our Roscoe Inlet anchorage dropped to near freezing.  On our exit down the Inlet we see the snow line down to about 500 feet making for more incredible sights along the way.

Seeker stays anchored under freshly snow-dusted peaks.

Every view is a picture postcard.

From the bottom up: blue waters, green forest, gray cloud, white mountain.

Once outside the Inlet we turn southwest down aptly named Return Channel towards Millbanke Sound.  At busy Seaforth Channel we turn west with tugs, and other commercial and pleasure craft.  As we motor westward, the ocean swell is starting to filter into the Channel making for an unfriendly ride.  Luckily Reid Passage is close so we turn north, taking the longer route via Mathieson Channel, then  Jackson Narrows to Finlayson Channel and the main Inside Passage thoroughfare.  While in Mathieson, Pat spots a few Dall's Porpoises who hear us from about a half-mile away and know it's their duty to escort every passing craft!  They stayed with us for 2 miles, almost 20 minutes. 




At the west end of Jackson Passage is a fish farm.  There are many fish farms in BC but this is an unusual one in that boats from both directions slow down, or even stop for short periods, just in front of the farm.  That can only mean two things: a crazy salmon run, or a wi-fi access point. We accessed the "jackson" AP and retrieved our email, the news, latest marine weather, and remote desk-topped into the office computer in California..  The speed was good, maybe even enough Skype.  It's a great service for fisherman in a remote place.

Not only a fish farm, but also a speedy wi-fi "open" hot spot!

The BC text marine weather forecast once again calls for big winds tonight, so we will need to get to Bottleneck Bay, another secure weather fortress.  It means an 8-hour run but the Bay gives great piece of mind and sets the stage, given favorable weather, to gain many miles tomorrow.




Bottleneck Bay from the inside looking out.


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