We would like to stay longer at Khutze Bay, but we still have many miles to travel so must push on. Continuing south on the Princess Royal Channel, we enjoy a beautiful day with 70 degree temperatures and bright sunshine.
Our anchorage for the next two days is Bottleneck Inlet.
We rendezvous here with our Petersburg boating friends Dick and Bridget on the Krogen Ptarmigan.
They are bringing Ptarmigan back to Alaska after having some boat work done in Seattle. We were excited to take a look at their new Starlink system. This is the satellite internet system that Elon Musk has developed. It seems to be working wonderfully and they have enjoyed internet through remote Northern British Columbia where cell service is nonexistent. It works so well that we are able to download our email aboard Idlyll Time while still 100 yards from Ptarmigan. We liked the Starlink system so much, we have now ordered one for Idyll Time. Hopefully next year we will have internet service while traveling in remote areas. If Starlink works as advertised, it is going to be a game changer for the boating community.
We had planned on spending another week in this wild and beautiful part of Northern BC exploring some of the remote and interesting anchorages but the weather forecast for the next few days looks fantastic for crossing Cape Caution. We decided to take advantage of this weather window and push on to Pruth Bay anchorage along Fitz Hugh Sound. At the head of the bay is the Hakai Research Institute. They allow boaters to come ashore and walk the trails to the beautiful beaches on the North Side.
We spend the afternoon hiking to West Beach. The power of the Pacific Ocean is evident by the number of massive driftwood logs stacked up on the shore by the strong winds and waves of previous Pacific storms. Some of these logs are over five foot in diameter.
The hike up to the overlook gives us a magnificent 360 degree view.
The primary reason we stop at Pruth Bay is to get a weather update before crossing Cape Caution. The Hakai Institute very graciously offers free Wi-Fi to visiting boaters. This is very welcomed and helpfully for planning our last open water passage. The weather forecast continues to show very good conditions the next two days.
The next morning, we continue 30 miles south to Fury Cove in preparation of crossing.
A 5 AM sunrise finds us weighing anchor and riding the ebb tied out Fitz Hugh Channel as we work our way across Cape Caution. Just as forecast, we find this 40 mile offshore run to be calm with only a 3 foot ocean swell.
By noon we have made the transit and are setting the hook in Blunden Harbor along the Queen Charlotte Strait, relieved to have this portion of the Inside Passage under our belts. Soon after anchoring, a black bear appears along the shore as he searches for clams.
We will spend a few days here before continuing south towards Sidney, B.C. Thanks for following along.