11 July 2015; British Columbia, Inside Passage.

It was a bit of a grey and dull day today while we sailed through Queen Charlotte Sound. But if we had to have a grey and dull day during this cruise then today was the best day; as most guests were focused on what happened inside the ship.  By the early afternoon when we re-entered the Inside Passage again, it had cleared considerably and we could do the sightseeing as had been planned yesterday.

With slack tide at Seymour Narrows being around 10 pm. there was sufficient time in the schedule to sail with a sedate speed of about 15 knots through the various waters of the Inside Passage and make a little detour. Average speed needed was about 12 knots but we were unlucky with having the Tide/current against us all the way until slack tide Seymour Narrows. So we went for 15 knots.  Not good for the fuel consumption and thus we did not have a very happy chief engineer.

By 14.00 hrs. we passed Pine Island which marked the beginning of our bit of the Inside Passage and then the ship sailed for Alert Bay.  Coming from the West you go south of Malcolm Island, sail north of Haddington Island and then south of Cormorant Island on which South side Alert Bay is located. I like this route as everywhere there is something to see. And as I had not been here for about 3 years, I made sure that I was on the bridge.

Passing south of Sointula and north of Haddington Island.

When you approach Haddington Island in the middle of Comorant Channel, you see three things. Sointula to the North, Haddington Island straight ahead, and Fort McNeal on Vancouver Island to the South. (Thus on the sb side as we were coming from the West) Sointula is a settlement which was founded by Finnish immigrants in the 19^th. Century. They could continue the lifestyle they were used to, being logging and fishing. Sadly both the logging and the fishing are both in sharp decline and that means that the village is also in the decline. With no work at hand, the young people have to leave and that severely threatens the future of the town.  I went ashore there once, in 1985, for a medivac. It had been arranged that an ambulance would come over with the ferry to Sointula and I would meet the ferry there with the tender and the patient. I had never heard about Sointula being Finnish so I was expecting more people from Indian decent than anything else. But as not much happens in Sointula, my tender arrival was the highlight of the day, and so was I. With blue eyes and blond hair, I fitted right in, and was very quickly surrounded by a gaggle of tall blond haired, blue eyed young ladies. A ships officer in uniform was a nice change to seeing lumberjacks all the time. I was in no hurry at all to leave again. Fortunately for the patient the ambulance was on time, unfortunately for me the ambulance was not delayed.

The town of Sointula. to the left the local ferry which connects Malcolm Island with Vancouver Island.

On the other side there is Fort McNeal which is expanding. More and more people retire there, or stay there after retirement and some really nice and expensive Real Estate is now on show. Once passed, you get Haddington Island on the sb. Side. There used to be a quarry on the island which produced the stones for B.C. Provincial House. Once passed Haddington, it is time to look to the left and then Alert Bay comes in view.

Home to the tallest totem pole in the world, although they had removed a cross bit from the top, since last time. What also had been removed since last time was the mission school.  Although it presented a rather dark chapter in the local history, the last thing I had heard was that it would be changed into a Museum for the local history. But it was gone. Maybe it had become too derelict.

Totempole Park in the centre of Alert Bay.

The totem poles in down town were still there but they are getting greyer by the year and I could not see a new one having been erected. This either means no Indian Chief has died recently or they have given up the practice. I hope the former. Our friend with the trumpet was not there either; according to the pilot he had not been sighted in the last two years.  Maybe he finally found fame and is now playing somewhere more permanent.

Passing Alert Bay as seen on the Electronic Chart.

By 1700 hrs. everything was over and the ship sailed into Johnstone Strait. There was still a chance to see Orca’s but July is a little bit early in the season so I was not expecting much. Time to go back to the computer and hammer out another inspection report for my Colleague Capt. P.J van Maurik. He will now spend most of the evening on the bridge for passing Seymour Narrows. Tomorrow morning it will be 06.15 under the bridge and then line up for a 07.00 hrs. docking.

Weather for Vancouver; Overcast with a chance of showers. Perfect for me, going for my next chance to get a new overhead projector for the Bo’sun store. I will have some walking to do and then you do not want the sun burning down between the buildings.