May 23-24, 2023- PORT MCNEILL
So I have a confession, I have been spelling Port McNeill with one “L” and realized possibly due to my 50-year-old eyes, it has 2 LLs. Shameful. I am always correcting people about the 2 LLs in my name and now feel horrified I have been spelling this town wrong now for days. Seriously, Jenny O’Neill with 2LLs how could you?
We arrived at Port McNeill, which is a town on the Northern end of Vancouver Island and home to the largest burl, around late morning on 5/23 after departure from Port Harvey. We left on a bit of a flood but would current would be changed to an ebbing tide soon thereafter. It was 20nm which was a motor sail and the sea state was calm as well as the wind. We decided to abort Port Hardy because it was going to be another 4-5 hours and the flood would start and winds would pick up. We could get fuel, food, do laundry, all the necessary chores before crossing Queen Charlotte Strait and so Port Hardy was not a necessary stop.
On the way, I called the North Bay Island Marina to find out they were completely booked and possibly the next day as well. Boats had waited out the weather like us and still no concrete plans of moving on I guess. There is a municipal marina but you cannot reserve a spot and it is 1st come 1st serve. They use a lot of side ties which we don’t mind as it makes docking a little less concerning as there is no other vessel to the other side. We prefer a port tie as Soulstice walks to port. We radioed the marine on 66A the hailing channel and luckily they had some space. We saw 2 other sailboats heading in and a motorboat.
We wanted to top up on fuel but we were anxious if went to the fuel dock we might lose a spot on one of these other boats. We did not know their intentions to anchor or take a marine slip/side tie. We decided to just take a spot on the dock and we could figure out getting fuel tomorrow. We docked behind a HUGE catamaran that completely dwarfed our boat and I laughed every time we would walk from shore because it was so huge that you could not even tell if Soulstice was on the dock.
I noticed so far that most of the Canadian docks, do not use cleats. They have all wooden docks with a raised bar and your dock lines are to be tied around these. We initially did clove hitches but we noted they all did a different tie-up. You initially pull the line under the wood slat and make a small bite. Then you pass the line through and then make another bite and do 2 small half hitches. It is secure and makes it easy to release. Our dock lines are fairly long so our way created a bit of hassle pulling the line through and over and over several times. Just a small thing to learn but cool to appreciate a different tie-up.
The morning we arrived we were able to check in which was a very mellow process actually compared to Mexico. They do not care about seeing your passports or Coast Guard documentation. They ask a few questions, take your address and coast guard registration number but that is the jist of it. The marina for a municipal marina is quite nice. They have FREE HOT showers and Wifi by the office. These things are often taken for granted by most, but as a cruiser, not so much. I do like changing it up and reminding myself about these luxuries most people often don’t even acknowledge that are available in their lives. It reminds you to stay humble and be appreciative. It is like when I see people leave the faucet on when brushing their teeth… What the heck?
Additionally, as I mentioned on the tracker note that “Hollywood showers” were in order:) That means a nice long hot shower without overusing water but also not limiting yourself to a 3-minute shower. The marina shower facilities were very clean and nice and no shortage of hot water. We can shower on Soulstice but if the weather is tolerable I just put a bikini on and do a swim step shower. No mess to clean up inside the boat and I get hot water for approximately 48 hours after using the engine and it IS hot! I do have to squat down because the hose if not very long but hey…. I feel clean and refreshed. The endpoint is the same! But if we have the opportunity to use someone else’s fresh water and can have a shower facility, count us in.
Also, we found out the grocery store, liquor store, post office, laundry, chandlery, a few restaurants, and other cute shops were literally all within a short walking distance, 2-3 blocks max. And I can confirm after walking to each one this is TRUE. Port McNeill is really a great stop to accomplish the necessary chores when cruising and also is truly a friendly town. Everyone you meet is so helpful and nice. Just like Mexico but North - Ha! Although, we do remember being in Mexico over the winter and every Canadian we met was from Vancouver Island. I put in another blog post way back when, that I thought there was probably only one person on the island to keep the lights on but otherwise during winter, Vancouver Island is barren.
We also met lots of cool peeps on the docks. All are retired and have long histories on the water. One couple, CiCi and Gunther, Austrians, on a 32 Nordic Tug they bought sight unseen while visiting family over in Europe invited us on board to see the inside of their tug. I see lots of Tugs and Grand Banks and they do like nice cruising rides for this area. I was tickled to be able to see inside. Both husband and wife were commercial fisher people from Juneau AK and have tremendous experience being in the waters of AK and Northern BC. They lived in Gig Harbor in the past and were moving the boat from Gig Harbor where the purchase occurred back to Juneau.
The wild thing CiCi shared is that her grandmother owned land in Glacier Bay, where we are going, before it became a National Park and she is allowed to be there, fish there, anytime she wants for the rest of her life. Another couple, Carol and Jack, on their Grand Banks, across the dock have cruised AK and BC for years. She told me she was always scared to go to Ford's Terror just because of the name but she eventually did and was so pleased they didn’t scare away from the complicated anchorage and could enjoy the unmatchable beauty of the place. She told me to check her blog and it would be a wealth of information regarding anchorages for our passage. For Stephen and myself, it was very cool to see these adventurous folks in their early 70’s still getting after it and we hope to have a similar future of living life to its fullest. These folks inspire us and so many more with their zest for life.
I did mention in my Predict Wind post we went to the new brewery in town, The Devil’s Bath, and enjoyed some dinner our 1st night here. We had some yummy IPAs and would recommend the brewery. Earlier in the day I got some laundry done and realized I had no loonies or toonies for the machine. I kept trying to put my American quarter in the machine and it was not working. I kept thinking it was jammed. So I tried another machine and the same thing… HUH?! It was like Steve Martin in the movie The Jerk, saying, “These cans are defective! “ Bahahaha and then it dawned on me, I NEEDED CANADIAN coins, duh?! It is pretty embarrassing because I know Canada often takes American money with no problem but seriously I AM in another country and they have their currency of course. Ugh for me.
Laundry was pretty painless but in Stephen’s world, the hydronic heater project was not going so well. We installed a fan that draws only a 1 amp but it had burned out?? Why? We have plenty of battery power, 660 amps with 6 AGM batteries wired in series and parallel. He made a few phone calls to include the manufacturer of the heater and perhaps is wondering if there is a voltage issue going on and if a voltage regulator may need to be installed. We say this because the previous owner said the hydronic heater was not working when we bought the boat and he didn’t know why. We put a new fan in last year and boom! It WAS working again. Problem solved! Or so we thought… Now we think the same thing happened to him but he did not realize perhaps. Anywho, some electrickery and electric gremlins to sort out but not a reason to stay for parts or deal with it emergently. We have our diesel-fed heater but only use it when in anchorage or on shore.
Because Soulstice has been in much warmer places, this has not been a huge issue but it would be extremely nice, and let me say this one more time, EXTREMELY NICE if we could figure it out to afford us some heat while sailing or motoring. Otherwise, there is a significant amount of layering going on for warmth. I stay hopeful! We are considering a Wabasto forced air heater install but that is not happening now, so suck it up buttercup I say to myself, and get out your foulie GILL jacket and call it good for now sista! Self-talk like this is super helpful :)
Today May 24th, we got up early because that is our time schedule now. I do love getting back on a natural circadian rhythm. You would be amazed at how awesome that feels for your mind and body. We hung out and read our books and drank our morning coffee, the usual, and then saw the boats piling up on the fuel dock. Holy MOLY… They open at 8 am but the lineup was at 7 am. We did go get fuel after this am rush and it was smooth. No wind and minor current - Yeah! Another chore is done. We do have a water maker but topped up on water because way faster.
The sun was out and the day was looking spectacular weather-wise. I was anxious to go for a run and enjoy some scenery outside. WHOOT WHOOT! Off I went like a horse as the gate opens. It was glorious and my headphones playing my ThumbsUP Pandora Mix. Feeling GOOD! Oh yeah! This is definitely where I get the enjoyment of being in a new place and using a run to check out the town. I found a wooded trail that ran along the coastline and even saw a big pile of bear scat to just keep me in check that regardless of whether the town is close, so is Nature! LOVE IT!
My run was great and it was also recon as Stephen and I wanted to do a walk together later and this route would be perfect. I got back to the boat feeling refreshed and shed all my anxious energy to settle into the grocery store chore. Boy, groceries are so expensive everywhere these days, but the IGA is super close and there is no competition. We did our usual style of filling up our backpacks and filling up some bags that we bring. It was not too overwhelming for the walk back to the boat. I did get some Tim Horton’s hot chocolate because I think more hot cocoa and tea will be in my future for this passage north.
We did make finally make a loaf of sourdough bread and super DELISH! Thank you, Molly Welch, again for gifting us the sourdough starter and encouraging us we too can be sourdough parents! I wonder when the next parent-teacher meeting will be.
Tomorrow we will go across Queen Charlotte Strait to Blunder Harbor. Cape Caution is the next crux after that and as Cpt. CiCi said, “Friday looks quite snotty” so I think we will be on a weather hold until Sunday to get around that point unless the forecast changes. I did have a call to call Canadian Customs today, 23 minutes plus waiting to hear a human on the line, and I extended our travel time in Canada. Because we are transiting in a marine vessel, even though technically we have a 6 mth visa, they give you an arbitrary 14-day passage time. Well, that is NOT happening ( ends 5/29 for us) and I am not sure in another 14 days that we will be in Ketchikan. It is unknown like boat travel always is and so I got us extended another 21 days. Again, we could travel overnight but why? For what? No thanks, we said ourselves. Sleeping together every night, having coffee in am, and making a plan for the day sounds way better than shifts, being exhausted, and pushing the limits.
I am excited as we did get some chicken for crab bait and some lures to attract the salmon. We heard you can jig for lingcod which I really like too, so hopefully some seafood in our bellies. Every time when I come back to Soulstice it becomes more familiar and the pace of the cruising lifestyle sets in quicker. I love meeting other cruisers especially ones who are older and have more experiences to share but also to see their continued passion in a lifestyle that can be very challenging and inconvenient in many ways. But what you consistently notice is a group of people who are not scared of adversity or change. Individually and as a collective they are extremely kind, generous, talented, social, humorous, and pursue a life that fulfills their soul. These are my kind of people and I like being nurtured in this environment.
Sourdough bread, 1st loaf! Yummy! Thank you Molly Welch again!
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