June 25 - Bottleneck Inlet, Roderick Island

A picturesque waterfall on Sarah Island off Finlayson Channel

Our first Orca sighting of the trip in Finlayson Channel

Nance on her way to help with the epic prawn hunt

After breaking the bank to fill up with diesel in Shearwater we left for Finlayson Channel, a beautiful fiord like passage heading north toward Princes Royal Island. No sooner had we passed Jorkins Point at the entrance to Finlayson Channel we were surrounded by a pod of Orcas, the first we had seen so far this trip. They dove and surfaced just off our port bow and finally one dove right under our boat and out the starboard side to catch up with the rest of the gang. We also saw two Orca calves playing together not far from the boat.

It is always a challenge to try a take a decent picture of the Orcas since they are so neat to watch you can't really take your eyes off them and then they are down again. We posted one picture but it really didn't do justice to the actual sighting.

We anchored for the night in Bottleneck Inlet on Roderick island, a really safe anchorage down a long narrow channel. We had just got settled when I spotted a grizzly on the beach thankfully a long way away. It was our first bear sighting and pretty impressive. It looked almost like a buffalo grazing on the grass at the head of the inlet.

We then set off to drop the prawn trap for the first time. We had put crab pots down many times but the prawn trap was new to us so Gord decided on a spot based on his read of prawning 101 in the recent copy of Pacific Yachting. We then headed over to Sarah Island on the opposite side of the channel to see two beautiful waterfalls. We could motor the dinghy right up to the base to see the rushing water.
We finally adjourned to the boat and were both struck by how remote this area actually is. It is raining and mist hangs over the sides of the inlet like the moors of Scotland. Just before going to bed we heard the eerie howl of a wolf. Just the thing to hear before turning in.