March 9, 2011 Mamalillacula to Walker Bay Cove
In the morning we watched the winds kick up a big ugly chop as they howled down the entrance to Knight Inlet. Things were blowing up to 50 knots in the Queen Charlotte Strait, with 7-foot rough seas reported. EH! We got the wood stove going and sat by the bright bed of coals all through the morning, and waited. By noon things were quieted down, so we slipped out into the Strait on the last of the ebb tide. Magically, the sun broke out and cast dozens of rainbows on us the rest of the day! “Privateer” sailed like a smooth freight train through the chop, under jib alone. We clipped along at a steady 7 knots down the entire Queen Charlotte Strait. I even decided to forego a stop at Port Hardy for oil and fuel, as we have hardly used any since we left and there’s another week of good south-easterlies in the forecast! Anyone who says you’ll end up motoring most of the Inside Passage has apparently not made the trip during the favorable March-April winds! And it’s a good thing, too, because during the dog-days of summer with its cluttered anchorages and calm winds, “Privateer” will be sailing a mellow cruise or hiding out in some paradise while the other vessels motor the whole way to Alaska! For now, we have the entire Inside Passage to ourselves. All the anchorages are empty, and every day we have a brisk wind at our backs! Amen. We reached Walker Cove just as the lat light faded from the cedar trees lining the “inner sanctuary,” where we threw down the hook and got a roaring fire going. Preparations are now being made for tomorrow’s crossing of Queen Charlotte Sound, past Cape Caution.
