British Columbia, Canada
What were we thinking! 5400 miles in 42 days, many ships, many fish caught, two lows, each night
getting colder for the last two weeks, no sun for almost three weeks, and just plain freezing our butts off!
Imagine leaving the 90 degree Galapagos islands with thin tropical blood and arriving in Canada to 55
degrees! All I can say is we have to be at least half crazy or possibly a bit more.
Upon arrival at Port Hardy (NE tip of Vancouver island, British Columbia) we found out our 10 year old
guide book was wrong. This was not an official port of entry anymore! We had to call Canadian customs
on the phone and explain our situation. They were really great and got us cleared in over the phone in
only 10 minutes! Now that is efficient and free even! Ok they made it all back in alcohol taxes at the pub
right after that, but still amazing. The "marina" was much less than expected with old docks, downwind of
a fish canning plant, and charging 3.50 for a hot shower (ok the first one was worth every penny of that).
The people are really nice in Port Hardy and try to help you out anyway they can. Just don't expect to
find much in the way of boat parts. We got some funny looks in the Hardware store asking for a heater
when the shops are trying to push sun screen and fans! Yes we saw about 15 min of sun over the next 5
days and used that heater every day. I did enjoy the eagles that would hang out in the marina. We also
spent days trying to figure out how to walk again with just about zero muscle mass left.
We jumped down to Port McNeil to get some boat parts then out to some remote anchorages to see the
wildlife. This place has amazing scenery when the sun pops out (seldom) and it can blow you away. You
can travel up 40 mile stretches of what is basically fjords with snow topped mountains all around you and
a thousand feet of water below you. The fishing is really great as well, though so far we are not having
any luck with salmon. We have seen amazing wildlife such as black bears, grizzly bears, gray whales,
minke whales, dolphins, eagles, otters, seals, etc. So far the anchorages are not crowded, but the
weather is probably responsible for that. We seldom get sun, rain is common, overcast is the norm,
being cold all the time is starting to get old, and we even had a day of dense fog. Currents can cause
problems when you get into narrow passes, there is seldom enough wind to sail, expect to motor way too
much. Still it is beautiful and worth a visit, but we can't take the cold anymore and are heading south to
find some sun!