Sea-Doo to Alaska

On Friday, June 29th, my dad left from Horseshoe Bay to head out on a SEADOO to Alaska. He will be calling every 3 days or so, and then I will update where he's at and how it's going. This is the only picture I have of the seadoo and it was taken last August. Since then, he has added a wind sheild and attached many other apparatus' to it such as; gas tanks, storage bins, GPS, an oar, flare guns etc. He is going out on his own and has been planning the adventure for about 6 months now.

For those of you that are worried, he does have a satellite phone (that costs $3.00 a minute, therefore he says he will only talk to me for one minute:)) and a dry suit.

The plan is to try to get to Alaska but his greatest dream has always been to explore the Queen Charlotte Islands. Below is a map, showing the coast of BC and how far he has to go. He has set aside one month to do this trip and he knows that we would be more proud of him for making a wise decision and return if it gets too wild, than to actually reach Alaska. As you can see by the map below, his greatest concern is reaching the Queen Charlotte Islands as they are many miles offshore (oh boy, he told me once how far, but I forget) which makes it difficult due to unpredictable weather. I will now update days 1 and 2 on the next post!

Today I got a call and email from my dad which was unexpected. He is supposed to call on Sundays and Wednesdays. Last night he stayed at his friend Doug's cabin (I'm not sure of the location but I believe it is on the sunshine coast? If you know, please let me know) and today, he seadooed for 8 hours straight and made it to PORT HARDY!!! Wow!!! He said that it rained most of the time and it was very wet. He tried to leave his dry suit zipper down a bit for bathroom breaks etc. but said that was a HUGE mistake as he ended up getting soaking wet. Another slight issue is that he forgot one glove. He had a burger for dinner (I don't think he ate anything else all day....grrrr...although he assured me he was drinking water) and then found a hotel to stay in. His plan is to head to Namu and then Shearwater in the next couple days, which is near Bella Bella. The highlight for him so far (besides a burger for dinner and finding a hotel to stay in) has been seeing so many beautiful lighthouses. It's been hard for him to get any pictures as its been drizzling and dreary all day.

Here is a photo of Port Hardy (northern tip of Vancouver Island where the awesome Cape Scott Trail is). The map below shows where he plans to head to tomorrow although I think he will just put up a tent on the coast rather than staying at the resort. Namu is half way between Port Hardy and Bella Bella, it is an old cannery site, and apparently the oldest human habitation site of about 10,000 years ago. It is a heritage site for First Nations and industrial historic site. From what I've read, Namu once had 600 residents but the cannery closed down 10 years ago and now only has 6 full time residents.

Another map is below showing the ferry route which will be very similar to his. The ferry does this trip in 8 1/2 hours so I assume it will be quite similar, although he will probably do it in 2 days. Please stay tuned for further info as his adventure should be updated on Wednesday afternoon when he hopes to be in Prince Rupert. Please remember my dad in your prayers. Prayers for safety, wisdom, and memories to last a lifetime! His email said that if he has to, he will send the machine and himself home on a ferry (if conditions are ridiculous). I guess they both took a bit of a pounding today. His plan is to slow down a bit and really enjoy the next part as he has seen the Vancouver Island portion, which he has just completed, several times already. He says he misses us but is enjoying God's g

reat work.

Today, day 4, dad has made it to Prince Rupert. This town is apparently the City of Rainbows...must mean they get a lot of rain! He says that the waves and rain are still terrible and his back is starting to pay the price for all that bouncing around. So far, he has been on the Seadoo for 23 hours. He's loving the GPS (although the plug in portion broke so he's now using batteries) as it is `like a friend telling him what to do'. He is going much faster than we anticipated so we'll see if he starts to slow down a little, maybe when the weather improves?! Last night he stayed at the St. John's fishing lodge and there he met up with several people that he knows from church down here. This floating lodge actually changes locations throughout the summer (from Camano Sound to Milbamke Sound) as indicated on the map. This allows guests to be in the best location for fishing!

920km's down...many more to go. Tomorrow he will either head to Ketchikan, Alaska or dry off in Prince Rupert for a bit longer!

Just got a call from dad and he it still in Prince Rupert due to terrible rain and wind. He hitched/accepted a ride to a hostel last night and is now staying at a great bed and breakfast; Eagle Bluff Bed and Breakfast. The plan is to head to Ketchikan, Alaska tomorrow and then Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, and Skagway. He's lucky his seadoo is okay as a major tidal change got the craft stuck between the pier and the dock overnight. He spent today visting fellow P.O's in Prince Rupert and seeing a bit of the town. The plan for the Queen Charlotte's (on the way back) may be to take a ferry across instead as the waves are not cooperating. That's all for now, I should hear from him again on Thursday (so much for our planned schedule of phone calls!).

He made it. He's staying in Wrangell right now, `a quaint little town' he says. Didn't stay in Ketchikan as it was 4th of July and no room in the inn:) The waves from Ketchikan to Wrangell were the worst yet but he still decided to do it, even against the warning of the fisherman. There was no where to dock in Wrangell (due to the 4th of July) but a man let him tie up onto his yacht, he even offered to let him stay on it! There was about an hour of sunshine yesterday so hopefully there is more of that to come!

Yesterday was a better day with calmer water. He found a great B+B and warmed up in the hot tub. Below is a photo from the St. Johns Fishing Lodge (the floating lodge) from a few days back.

Dad went from Skagway to Juneau today. This was a shorter day as yesterday he was on the seadoo for 12 hours. Weather was much better and the sun was out. He tried to take a `short cut' but bottomed out on a sand bar...not so good for the jetski. He wasn't going to take this short cut but he met a couple coast guards on jetski's as well and they thought it would work all right. When he was talking to these coast guards, he was on shore refueling and his backpack with all his important stuff was on the beach. The tide came up pretty quickly and most of his stuff got pretty wet, way to look organized and safe dad! On the way, when he was passing through the Lynn Canal, he ran into tons of sea lions. He has also seen many salmon jumping and some whales too. The plan is to head to Petersburg tomorrow and maybe spend some time in Tracy Arm.

I received the following email today:

Hi!
My name is Bob *****. I live in Juneau, AK and with my wife, Marie, am a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. Today Marie and I were running a jet ski patrol north of Juneau and what do you know but just off the entrance of Tee harbor I saw a large bit of orange on Cohen Island. Large bits of orange on Cohen Island being very unusual I popped over to see what it was and discovered Jack taking a bit of a rest.

Jack and I had a nice conversation and exchanged digital photos which you will see attached. Jack asked that I send them to you so that you'd know he is alive and in fine shape. He was in Skagway yesterday and is now on the return to Vancouver. He may be staying in Juneau tonight or possibly will press on to Petersburg. Marie and I saw Jack at about 3 pm.

I really enjoyed our chat and wish Jack fair winds and following seas on the remainder of his trip back to Vancouver. What a guy, what a trip!

Cheers,

Bob & Marie *****
(I blanked out their last name in case they didn't want it on here!)

The Coast Guard

Dad with all his gear

Dad found another hot tub in another nice B&B in Petersburg. He was not able to get all the way up Tracy Arm to the glacier as he was short on fuel. He saw the beautiful `blue' icebergs which Gary and I have also seen when we were in Alaska but have no pictures to prove it:). He saw more whales and the weather was better too. He met up with the couple on the yacht that he moored to last week. He hopped aboard and had tea with them! The plan may be to head back to Wrangell tomorrow...we shall see! So far, I feel quite comfortable with his travels as he has been able to stay in `major' towns and keep in contact via telephone. Still praying for the safe travels and good weather.

Dad is in Wrangell and is heading to Anan Bay tomorrow. Anan Bay is famous for bear watching, hopefully there are no close encounters! Today his GPS battery ran low and when he went to change it (on the wavy water), the chip fell out. He pushed it back in and it bent. It is the chip that shows the BC coast in detail so he is having another one sent up to Prince Rupert and hopefully it will arrive in a few days.

This is where dad is now (35 miles north of Ketchikan). He hopes to make it to Prince Rupert tomorrow but the waves were pretty terrible today, so, I'm supposed to get the phone call tomorrow night saying that he's safe and sound in PR. Today, he saw a Grizzly Bear in Anan Bay but he did not have a park pass so he was not allowed to hang around there. Also, he was freaked out by a whale/giant porpoise (not sure) that came out of nowhere and jumped right next to him! He had to call me on the satellite phone which costs $3.00/minute. He said he just wanted the call to last one minute but it was 2:08...guess he has to pay for 3 minutes:) Wow, that's the most expensive phone call I've ever received!

Dad is back in Prince Rupert safe and sound. I think that yesterday was a pretty scary day for him, due to the waves. These pictures were taken from Eagle Bluff B&B which he stayed at on the way up and they took some pictures of him! He's back there again. Time for some food, email, laundry and showering!

I (Louise) have been gone for 3 days but here's where he's at:
Thursday evening he was back at the B&B in Prince Rupert. He said it was his first day in 14 where he did not have to wear a dry suit. The weather there was in the 30's and he was able to dry out travelling stuff including himself. Had a lovely dinner by the water.
Spent last night, Fri, at Bishop Bay. The weather was OK he had a very good ride this morning. Called from a fuelling station Klemtu on his way to Shearwater area, he hoped, then Namu tomorrow if all is well. After that, Port Hardy and the outside of Vancouver Island if the weather is good.
He decided to leave the Charlottes for another time when he could do them justice and weather might be better. Apparently on the way to Prince Rupert, when I say he had big waves, some of them were 10 feet high! I'm thankful that he recognized that the route to the Charlotte's was not safe at this time and now, he has another adventure to do at a later date.

Dad is in Clearwater. He had camped at Bishop Bay and went to the hotsprings there. He woke up to rain...again. Met a kayaker who was taking 2 months to do his trip. He has also met up with several authors that have written about the Inside Passage. There is also a magazine or newspaper for the whole north coast/Inside Passage area called Wagener (don't know how its spelt, couldn't find it online) and dad was interviewed and had pictures taken. I'll have to get more details on that later. One place he wanted to mention was Butedale, he said it was absolutely beautiful. It's an old cannery and the only people there are a grandpa, grand daughter and her friend. Below are pictures of Butedale.

Got an email from dad via satellite dish. He's at Goose Bay where there is an old cannery with a man named Rick living there. Yesterday there were calmer waters, but still, lots of rain. Today, he plans to head to Port Hardy. He met up with two seiners that were anchored and they invited him aboard where they gave him tea and breakfast and of course chatted for a few hours. Sounds like there are many cougars and Grizzlies in the area. He's also seen more whales and porpoises in the last few days.

This is the magazine of the guy that talked to/interviewed my dad.

Dad is back on Vancouver Island. Sounds like a good day. Ran into the guy from the magazine again so he gave him an update. Tonight he's staying at God's Pocket Resort...I know, really roughing it! He was talking to me as a family was pulling their 40

foot boat out of the water. They got a log in their prop so their motor was destroyed. The plan is to head out on the west side of Vancouver Island tomorrow.

He made it from Port Hardy to Hot Springs Cove which was a very long day but he said the weather was good. He had another close encounter with a "jumping " something, maybe Orca, very close to him! He is roughing it at hot springs cove ( no comfy resort) about 1 hr north of Tofino. No rain today which was very good...lots of mosquitoes which is not so good. He will head towards Port Alberni tomorrow.

Dad spent the night in Port Alberni and last I heard he was in Victoria. He was going to stay at Victoria, Saltspring, or come home?! Apparently its pretty foggy....we will see! Then, we will have to post a bunch of his photos!

Last night, we picked dad up from Stewart Farm at Crescent Beach. He was suntanned, smelly, and happy to be home. He had spent the previous night in Port Alberni visiting with family. He went 8 hours from Port Alberni all the way to Crescent Beach. He says his dream is to compete in a seadoo race around Vancouver Island as he feels one with his machine and thinks he would do really well. Problem is, no such race exists. Welcome home dad!

Dad at the boat launch in Horseshoe Bay where Fred dropped him off

At Doug's cabin on Nelson Island

Lousy weather up to Campbell river but the Starbucks coffee made it well worth it.

Most useful items on the trip: goggles and dry suit.

Loving the lighthouses...um, they kind of look the same to me, are they?

View for the first 12 days....good ole rain on the windshield alongside the trusty GPS

Shearwater

St. John's Fishing Lodge

Dad sent me 10 million pictures so I'm just adding a few of them and he can write about them later. They are in no particular order as there are too many to keep track of.

(Dad writing)
Spending time at bishop bay hot springs nice place and brought chocolate and tetra pack of wine --does it get better!! outhouse has no door

Dad's commentary for this section...try to follow:)

Further south towards rivers inlet meeting my friends on the Kynok seiner--invited me on board( they waiting for opening next day) and before i could sit down breakfast which i didnt even ask for- so hospitable--spent couple of hours chatting/sharing--they from Bella Bella their boat was sooo clean could eat off floor--captain wished me calm waters in my journey which he enjoyed hearing--but he didn't offer me a job--going through some pretty narrow passages and usually making it/ rivers inlet stayed in old goose bay cannery which is now purchased and being rebuilt by 30 van firefighters who each have a share and will eventually start some sort of adventure resort--lots of bear wolf ... and 8 fishing lodges some with satellite connections for their clients in area--another Finton power production process--somerone was thinking--very interesting/nice chicken dinner with perogies made by my new friend Rick the caretaker of the cannery and local satellite installer/heading south--old canneries closing towns and now mills shutting down taking towns with them

No bear at the Anan Bay Bear sanctuary but saw grizzly in adjoining bay--lots of rain

Dad's summary below:

"Tooth Ferry"(Waggoner Magazine authors) left 2 breakfasts on my seat--thanks! Gods pocket--went to get something and came back to my wine being chilled and a glass(narrow for white) awaiting me. Had a room but only one left one being built-i fine with that as it was dry and warm and what a view. Bear at cape scott park--lots of black bears. I threw my sunglasses into water here just trying to get rid of something that felt a little irritating on my neck, oh well didn't need them much anyway--ie not much sun in winter harbour. Hot Springs cove has a new improved boardwalk and change rooms!! but same old hot springs--ah feels so good. No picture of the following but I put the jetski into keel grass that resulterd in overheating and no power... my own fault not watching--finally got to shore in harbour @ 2 mph. Hired a kid to help me turn boat on side and took out grass--just happy no real damage. Made it to port alberni visiting mother in law and brother in law and staying with brother and sisiter in law

Gift on seat from the Waggoneer authors

Mother-in-law and brother-in-law

Pushing a wheelbarrow of stuff from the harbour up to mother-in-laws place.

As I was chatting with Scott Davis, a SeaDoo, laden with baggage, came in. “Cruising the coast on a motorcycle,” Scott Davis suggested. A little later I met the motorcyclist. He was Jack Dekens, age 53, manager of a probation office in Vancouver. He had been out only 16 days and was returning home, having turned around at Skagway, Alaska. The SeaDoo had a 130-horsepower 4-stroke engine, carried 65 liters of gasoline in the main tank and another 50 liters in a second tank strapped to the back. Top speed was 50 mph; cruise in good conditions was 30 mph. Jack slept most nights in B&Bs, hotels and hostels he hustled up along the way. One night he slept under shelter at Bishop Bay Hot Springs. He has been offered sleeping space on boats, but so far hadn’t needed it.....Now we’ve met, much too briefly, Scot, Scott and Jack. All of them are intelligent, interesting and creative people, the kind who could entertain a dinner party far into the evening.

Dad is fine tuning his thoughts (and he's got a lot of them right now!) and will post in about 2 weeks...

These pictures were sent in via email from some fellow boaters.