day 12

Day 12, June 23, 2006

Miles today: 41

Miles to go to Port Hardy: 20 miles, approx.

Docked at Port McNeil

We left early, again, getting away with a neatly executed aft spring to
get the bow turned into the current to avoid rubbing against the old
oily pilings. We were underway at 06:20 with another breakfast of
champions, instant coffee and a banana.

The sails were up for a grand total of 20 minutes.

It was an uneventful motor up to Alert Bay. We passed by Robson Bight (
THE place to see killer whales) and not a whale in sight.

We were arriving earlier than expected due to some current boost and
when we scoped out the harbour by binoculars, we realized that we had
been here when we sailed on the Mahina. We decided to continue on up to
Port McNeil.

The guide book recommends refuelling here rather than Port Hardy since
fishing boats get priority at Port Hardy and you may end up in a queue.
After fuelling we gingerly made our way into a long narrow finger to our
berth, a 44’ opening between two other boats in a dead end finger. We
managed it without hitting anyone, especially the boat behind us with a
bowsprit protruding over our aft section, and without shouting at each
other. Leaving will be more difficult especially if there is any wind at
all.

The town has that unique B.C. eclectic mix of nicely done stuff, garish
and the downright junky. Other than an art gallery with some really nice
native art, there is not much to see other than the spectacular view
across Johnstone Str. We can see Sointula from here, which would have
been another choice; as I keep saying now, “next trip”..can’t do it all
in one trip.

For some unknown reason one of the “must see” things here is the new
Laundromat, complete with CNN on TV and free wireless internet access.
We will go there shortly to upload this stuff. I’ll take advantage of
the internet access for the computer ( as opposed to being able to only
use a terminal) to upload more photo’s than normal; it is much easier
when I can connect the computer to the internet directly.

Tomorrow will be relatively short day, and rendezvous with Stewart.
We’ll need to do some boat chores/cleaning and shopping before we decide
on departure day. That will also depend on what the weather is doing.