Itinerary - June 23 to mid-August

I've had a few requests that I post an itinerary to this blog as well as the ship log , so folks that don't subscribe to the later can still know where we plan to visit. This is a good time to get that done as Mom's visit and requirements that DrC be in Seattle for a few weeks have actually set some boundaries on our plans for the next six weeks.

June 23 to 26 Desolation Sound We arrived in Desolation Sound a few days ago, and the weather celebrated by introducing us to a big yellow orb in the sky, heretofore unseen by the crew of Don Quixote. Sometime during the next few days, we need to get a bit more fresh food and water, though honestly if we had to we could go another two weeks. I thought there wouldn't be any place to get provisions up here and set up the boat for three weeks when we touched down in Pender Harbor last week.

June 27 - July 6 More Desolation Sound We pick up my mother in Mink I Cove on June 27. She's with us for just over a week. We'll travel in Desolation area. We plan to take her up to Pendrall Sound as well as visit Prideaux Haven, Refuge Cove, etc. All the highlights. She flies out of Campbell River on the 7th.*

July 7 to July 10 Johnstone Strait I've worked through a VERY specific itinerary which will take us through this very rough section from Campbell River to Port McNeil during the neap tide. We have set some alternative anchorages and routes as well as extra days to allow for bad weather. However, we'd like to do this by heading straight up Discovery Passage, then taking the inside route over to Sunderland Channel. After that, we'll try to suck it up and push down Johnstone Strait for the rest of the journey. Fingers crossed we'll be late enough in the year to make this possible. If it gets ugly in Johnstone, we'll pop back up into the inside passage at Port Harvey. I'd rather not, if we can avoid it. Planning this leg is a lot about timing the tide and weather. Fortunately, the entire week is a permanent ebb in our favor. Now, if the winds just cooperate... If nothing else, the week should make for some interesting reading in the ship log.

July 12 to 26 - Port McNeil DrC is going to bus back to Campbell River and then fly to Seattle. He works for two weeks before returning to us. We'll be anchored in Port McNeil harbor for at least the first week. I'm going to see if we can make it the whole two weeks without going into the dock. We'll just use the dinghy. I hope to get some client work during this "down time." We also have a lot of maintenance and provisioning tasks that need to be accomplished in order to prepare us for the "outside."

July 26 - mid-August West Vancouver Island The hardest part of our first voyage will be Cape Scott as we round the north western tip of Vancouver I. After that, we just need to listen to the weather and sail downwind on the good days... duck into harbors and inlets the icky days. This is going to be a long slog with few services, but the scenery is supposed to be spectacular. We'll also get our first taste of "ocean." Except for Cape Scott, DrC and I are not particularly worried about the journey. Our only qualm is that we still haven't managed to get the SSB up and running. Hopefully, the last bits we need will come back from Seattle with DrC and we'll get then set up before we head out. A reassurance to the salty sailors out there (e.g. Behan and my FIL), we will NOT come back via the west side if we do not get the SSB running. If we're still having trouble and there's nothing we can do in Port McNeil, we'll come back via the inside passage. No ocean without SSB is a pretty basic and solid rule. Port McNeil is supposed to be a fairly good sized city with many services for boats, however, so I suspect that even if we're not able to do this ourselves, we'll be able to get help in town.

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Obviously, we face quite a few sections with few services and no Internet. I've been working hard these past weeks to get a lot of articles prepped and in the queue. My apologies if some of these do not feel timely or immediate when they go to press. While it would be more interesting to hear about Don Quixote riding the rapids of Wellbore and Seymour Narrows, I can't see any way to tell you about it while it's happening. Hopefully, I'll still be able to drop a line to my twitter feed, though, so folks will know we're still alive and kicking.

* Patricia of R-Tyme, I believe you said you lived in Campbell River?