Sailing the Straits

We had a really comfortable night and slept pretty good. After breakfast we went back outside. We have our winter coats with us, but it’s not real cold just windy. We are in the Queen Charlotte Strait and it’s fairly calm. We’re traveling through many channels and wind our way between islands. Some of the channels are very narrow and we’re never far from a shore line. It’s beautiful as we have mountains on one side that roll right down into the water.

We are sitting in the Observation Lounge and working on the blog entries. The lounge is a large room with comfy chairs and all glass windows across the front of the ship. The people on the boat with us are very interesting. Many of them are going to Ketchikan and Juneau to work for the summer. One man was delivering horses for the tour buggys in Ketchikan. Another woman was a teacher and she and her husband just decided to come to Alaska to work for the summer. It was really interesting talking to them.

About 10am we entered Smith Sound and the ocean. Up until this point we saw land and islands on both sides and a few white caps. Once we entered the sound we had pretty good wave action!

After a couple hours we were in calmer waters and it’s gorgeous, “blue” water, sun, and majestic mountains with snow. As we sailed up the coast of British Columbia we came to the communities of Bella Bella and Old Bella Bella. This is the only community we’ll see before we get to Ketchikan. The community’s strategic location on the Inside Passage makes it the prime transportation hub for the Central Coast of BC. There are approximately 1450 residents in Bella Bella, 90% of which are Heiltsuk, 5% are other First Nations, and 5% non-First Nations. The community demographic indicates that Bella Bella has more than 50% of its population under the age of 25. The Bella Bella Lighthouse is the only Canadian lighthouse on the Inside Passage. From the coast line off Bella Bella we saw some Sea Lions splashing in the water. It’s hard to describe the travel through the narrows.

The scenery is phenomenal - one side is sunny and the other dark and showery, then in another minute it changes completely. Snow covered mountains play hide and seek as we meander through the narrow passage. As we come out of Hecate Strait and into the Dixon Entrance the water gets rough again. We sat in the Observation Deck and cafeteria enjoying the views. There are lots of little inlets between the islands that we would love to go explore.

Tomorrow we arrive in Ketchikan about 7AM, but the Purser says we are running late. They’ll knock on our cabin door to let us know we have ½ hour to shore. We are looking forward to getting to Ketchikan, but the first leg of our trip has been great.

Pictures: Mountain View, Tug pulling salt through the strait, Old Bella Bella, Approach to bella Lighthouse, Bella Lighthouse, Thru Hecate Strait, Dix Entrance