Northern British Columbia

On 6/5 we left Shearwater at 6:00 am with light northerly wind and partly sunny. Reid Passage was beautiful. We transited Oscar Passage into Finlayson and continued up through Heikish narrows. We saw some humpback whales breaching,blowing and sounding. Through the binoculars I could see the body of the whale when he breached. We also saw a sea otter out swimming. They are so cute. At 4:30 pm (10 ½ hours) we arrived at Butedale which is on Princess Royal Island. This property has been under re-development; the uplands are a construction site so it is closed to visitors. There are new floats there that were installed in 2019 and 2020. Not far from the docks is a waterfall that is fed by the lake above and behind the property.

There were a few boats already tied up to the docks in addition to four kayakers that are on an interesting journey. Two were from South Carolina, one from North Carolina and the last one was from Michigan. There were two men and two women. They had driven to Prince Rupert and put their kayaks in the water there. Their goal was to paddle to Port Hardy (at the top of Vancouver Island across from Cape Caution) and then they would take a ferry back up to Prince Rupert to get their car. They were not young people so it is an amazing journey to be out here in a kayak paddling this distance. They said they primarily stay on the outside rather than the inside passage. Even though the outside offers little protection they said the currents weren’t as strong. In the evening they put their one man tents up on the dock and said it was nice to have a flat spot to sleep on.

Butedale is looking for additional investors to help restore this area which was once a large cannery operation. We hope they are successful.

This is the Dryad Light House which we passed as we went out between Campbell Island and Saunders Island. This lighthouse marks the junction of Lama Passage and Seaforth Channel. It was originally named Turn Point but was changed in 1899 to avoid confusion with the Turn Point lighthouse in the San Juan Islands on Stuart Island.

You have to pay attention while cruising to watch out for rocks and little islands that pop up everywhere. Here we are in a little passage between Ivory Island and Cecilia Island.

It can be difficult to see exactly where a channel is until you are close to it. This is a channel marker. I don’t think I would like to be here in heavy fog or late at night.

We arrive at Butedale and tie up to the dock. Luckily we got there early enough to get a spot. We were at the end and some logs kept floating up on our stern knocking into the swim step. After getting some boats in front of us to move forward more we were able to get far enough up the dock to avoid them.

This is the waterfall near the Butedale dock. There is a lake up above.

On 6/6 we departed Butedale at 7:45 in sun and calm seas. We had two big fat Pacific Whitesided Dolphins come over and play at the bow of our boat. We always enjoy that so much. We arrived in Lowe Inlet at 1:30 (5 ¾ hrs) and anchored in front of Verney Falls where the river meets the sea, it is shallow and the current holds the boat in place. Lowe Inlet is a provincial park and is a gorgeous place to anchor.

We encounter ferries and cruise ships often in the inside passage channels. There are BC ferries as well as the Alaska ferries that go back and forth between Bellingham and Alaska. This is a cruise ship.

Verney Falls in Lowe Inlet. Don had to get as close as he could to the falls because everywhere else in the bay is really deep. It was nice to look out over the falls and hear the water rushing into the bay.

6/7 we got up really early and departed at 4:00 am. We decided Prince Rupert was our goal today. We fought a unexpected ebb current (water is flowing out for low tide) until it eventually changed to be in our favor becoming sunny and calm. At one point I was behind the wheel and Don was resting. I had to wake him up because I was concerned where the passage was. It looked like all rocks ahead but there was a hidden entrance that just hadn’t opened up yet. When we arrived and called for a slip at Cow Bay Marina they were full. Luckily Prince Rupert Rowing & Yacht Club were able to accommodate us and they were the best; friendly, extremely well organized, and close to the in town amenities.

Entering the bay you will see Prince Rupert is a bustling commercial seaport and to our surprise is a major competitor with Vancouver, Puget Sound and California because it is closer to Asia than any other west coast port. The Canadian Railroad owns tracks from Prince Rupert to Memphis Tennessee making a direct route to get goods to and from Asia to middle US cities. The port can handle the largest container ships now afloat. This the last major city on the British Columbia coast and the last stop before crossing Dixon Entrance and entering Southeast Alaska. Prince Rupert has a cruise ship terminal as well and during the summer cruise ships arrive once or twice a week.

Dixon Entrance to Ketchikan

Central British Columbia