A Long Way Home II

manyboats said:

Never heard of anyone falling out/off a FB or getting hurt flailing around up there

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Man fishing overboard - YouTube

Boat porn

Always enjoy looking at all these nice boats. So what ya think of this woodie seen at Skagway last year. Owner told me she was some kind of Canadian government boat in her earlier life.

freshalaska said:

Always enjoy looking at all these nice boats. So what ya think of this woodie seen at Skagway last year. Owner told me she was some kind of Canadian government boat in her earlier life.

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Both the US and Canadian fisheries and forestry departments had a wide variety of mostly really nice wood cruiser/utility boats that were used to patrol the huge area of inland waters, conduct research projects, and so forth. They did not seem to be built to any particular common design but they all had a similar "look." A fair number of them still exist, some kept in beautiful condition by their owners. The boat in your photo is typical of these fisheries/forestry boats from both sides of the border. Here are a couple more I snagged off the web. As I say, all the ones I have seen over the years have been very good-looking boats. I don't know anything about their power or upkeep requirements. I suspect many of them have been repowered. But they are not all that big so the maintenance is probably within reach of someone who has the willingness and wherewithal to do it.

Note the "tree" boat names in all three cases. The ex-fisheries and forestry boats I've seen all retained their original names. So I suspect that all three of the boats we've illustrated are ex-forestry boats.

that fellow hat fell of the flight bridge hit his head and died, it happened here in jupiter where i live, was a charter capt with 40 yrs exp. but stuff happens?

River bars at oceans' edge are often treacherous: common between San Francisco CA to Cape Flattery WA, so I'm told.

markpierce said:

River bars at oceans' edge are often treacherous: common between San Francisco CA to Cape Flattery WA, so I'm told.

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When the Columbia River meets the incoming swells of the Pacific with a stong west wind behind them you don't want to be on the bridge of a container ship let alone in a little toy boat like the ones we have. It's why the Coast Guard has rollover boats.

dwhatty said:

Man fishing overboard - YouTube

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capt jerry said:

that fellow hat fell of the flight bridge hit his head and died, it happened here in jupiter where i live, was a charter capt with 40 yrs exp. but stuff happens?

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So what happened to cause the boat to roll like that?I'm surprised it popped back up that fast.

he got caught in a roller a little bit sideways and the chine dug in, the mate went up and got control of the boat,there was no railing on the bridge and it just threw him over,but his head hit the deck on the way down and over he went.i think it broke his neck.

capt jerry said:

he got caught in a roller a little bit sideways and the chine dug in, the mate went up and got control of the boat,there was no railing on the bridge and it just threw him over,but his head hit the deck on the way down and over he went.i think it broke his neck.

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That is just awful.My condolences to the family and friends.

Logistics report:
I arrived in Concrete WA last night after packing up the house and loading the 40' container. Took the little Toyota, went to Rupert on two ferries and drove 1000 miles down (south) to WA. Many many big Canadian PU trucks going very fast. Good thing I like to drive or I'd have to label it a bad experience. Getting old is so weird. Went to pay for a meal in Quesnel at a Denny's (I usually avoid Denny's) and the cashier said w a bit of surprise in her voice " you want to pay w cash?". I said "of course" but in an moment it was clear to me that was very unusual as the cashier went to get the mgr to unlock the cash drawer. Sometimes I wish things wouldn't change so FAST! Happened in other places too in different ways. A cashier (after I gave him $50 cash to turn on the gas pump so I could fill up kept asking me for my card. Over and over he wouldn't take the real money (maybe he didn't know what it was!) but insisted on " a card". Oh well the trip was at least some fun and a bit cheaper than the ferry. And I'm home in Concrete.
Not very eager for the container to get here as the WORK will start up again.Then what to do w 12 to 16 thousand pounds of "household goods"?
Anyway ther'e isn't many pics left on the boat trip event to share and the rest don't compare to Kynoch Inlet ect. I'll finish this up some time later. The computers are in the container but have little idea how I'm going to " get on-line".

Were you trying to pay with US money or Canadian? Near the border in places like Vancouver, the Gulf Islands, Nanaimo, etc. most places take either one. The exchange rate is almost at par right now. The Canadian dollar is worth a bit more but not enough to bother with so the merchants, marinas, grocery stores, etc. don't care what you pay them in and they give US money it's face value (no exchange rate).

But more inland in places like Quesnel it might be more of a big deal with the local bank branches so stores and restaurants may be a lot more reluctant to take US cash.

Eric

Thanks for the trip I realy enjoyed cruisin with ya.

markpierce said:

Seems it's difficult to take a photo in the PNW that isn't scenic/dramatic.

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Since I've been underway all summer, I just found this thread, and saw Mark's photo. I was looking at it for quite a while trying to figure out where it was taken when I realized that it was looking at the exact spot I'm sitting at the moment. What threw me off was the angle at which it was taken, but now I realize it was probably taken from a cruise ship. In addition, the blue boat behind the large black one is the Scorpius, the boat I ran for several years, and which wintered over in Ketchikan a few years ago. .................Arctic Traveller

manyboats said:

Thanks CP,
As of this year there was a caretaker but he said this year's his last. Wouldn't be surprised if he said that every year though.
Pic #3: Butedale

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I've been wondering if Lou was still there. He's been telling me for years that "this" year is his last, but I've told him there is no way he could move to town, he wouldn't make it, he's too much of a hermit. He really enjoys living alone with just his dog (Bert) and his cat (kitty, but it should be Erny)
He does enjoy visitors though, and loves to come aboard to chat. The animals seem to like company too as they always come down to the dock to visit..........................Arctic Traveller

AT,
Good to see you again.
Yes I thought as much too. But he does own a house, have friends there too and he actually seemed resolved to end the care taking stuff. He also had several to many disagreements w the owner and that may put him over the edge.

Marin,
When I go to Canada I get Canadian money. They have to process all that foreign money and it's probably a genuine annoyance. And I think the interior places along the main roads probably get more foreign visitors than the coastals do except where the cruise ships go.

We are preparing to go back up to Throne Bay for 2 or 3 weeks. But now that the computer is up I'll finish the trip pics when I get back.

Arctic Traveller said:

... but now I realize it was probably taken from a cruise ship. In addition, the blue boat behind the large black one is the Scorpius, the boat I ran for several years, and which wintered over in Ketchikan a few years ago. .....

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My picture was taken from a cruise ship. During my last two Alaskan cruises (2010 and 2012) I observed that blue-hulled boat in Ketchikan. The boat was the inspiration to get my own trawler.

markpierce said:

During my last two Alaskan cruises (2010 and 2012) I observed that blue-hulled boat in Ketchikan. The boat was the inspiration to get my own trawler.

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It's a small world huh Mark? Yes, the Scorpius really does cause one to dream of far away places with her rugged North Seas, ocean crossing looks. I'm glad to hear she inspired you, if your ever in Seattle, I'll get you aboard for a look around. If I had more money,I'd buy her and take off for far away places, but even with her greatly reduced price she's out of my range, and I need to keep working for a few more years. .........Arctic Traveller

See her here:

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s9/real-passagemaker-sale-5275.html

Traveler, we are thinking of different boats; no?

I think you are, Mark. I believe in your photo the Scorpius is on the same dock as the big black boat with the orange fenders. Looks to be a mini-cruise vessel sort of thing. This is the way the boat looks today. You can have her for a mere $700,000 or so.

Marin said:

Looks to be a mini-cruise vessel sort of thing. This is the way the boat looks today. You can have her for a mere $700,000 or so.

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Aaahhh! Too much money and too much boat.

Yea Mark I liked it too.

manyboats said:

Yea Mark I liked it too.

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Thanks for the close-up photo!

Eric. I am a little late jumping in on this thread but wanted you to know how much I enjoyed the pictures and narrative of the trip. Out boating is out of Prince Rupert and mainly from Dundas Island in the north to the bottom end Banks Island in the south. It certainly is a beautiful part of the world. I especially like the south end of Porcher Island. I hope you have a chance to come see us again some day. Hopefully you didn't have any problems with those pesky Canadians in our little town of Smithers when you were passing through on your way south.

Good luck with the unpacking and settling in to your new digs.

Thanks for popp'in in Ted.
This thread is not dead. Not much to come actually but I'll get my computer hooked up any day now and finish what I started. Nothing to match Kynock Inlet but a finish none the less.

As to the area you speak of ther'e are places in Alaska I may want to go/be but given a week to cruise I'd choose this northern BC area. We may return. I was amazed at Kynoch Inlet. Re the so end of Porcher Is we stayed at the head of Billy Bay one night. Don't recall if it's in the thread. What I missed on Porcher is Oona River. I wanted to see the boat building activities reported there but the tide was all wrong when we were there.

Oona River is definitely a high tide entrance and you were wise to give it a pass if the tide wasn't right. It is a very interesting community.

markpierce said:

Traveler, we are thinking of different boats; no?

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WOWZERS!!! LOOK AT THAT DOCK RAMP!!!

Besslb said:

WOWZERS!!! LOOK AT THAT DOCK RAMP!!!

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What's wrong with it? Looks pretty typical to me.

What's the tidal range up there?

You can get tidal ranges in the 20 foot range in SE Alaska. Down here (PNW) a eight, ten, or more-foot tidal range is typical. The ramp in the photo above looks just like the ramps in our marina at low tide.

Here's the ramp at Elfin Cove: