June 26 - Hartley Bay

The boardwalks at Hartley Bay awaiting new homes to be added

Harbour at Hartley Bay featuring Bojangles at the two day a week ferry dock

Well, will wonders never cease, my relatively lean but much appreciated prawn haul

I took off in the dinghy this morning at first light and motored back to find my prawn trap. Not only did I locate it but in it were 8 huge prawns. Not a haul to keep the commercial industry afloat but much appreciated at dinner with our steaks, boiled with a little lemon.

We left Bottleneck Inlet and started up Princess Royal Sound past Princess Royal Island known to be the main habitat for our BC "spirit bears" the white Kermode bear. It was pretty socked in and surprise surprise, it was raining so we didn't spot any bears. Did I tell you it rains a bit up here?

As we headed toward Bishop Hot Springs for an afternoon dip we began to experience a noticeable drop in our house battery power. I started our generator but this did not help. These same house batteries had been giving us a few isolated problems on the trip so far but nothing serious until this point. Not wanting to tempt the Gods we decided to head for the the shelter of Hartley Bay and a secure dock to try and troubleshoot the problem.

Hartley Bay is the native village actually on the mainland where the native residents launched their boats to save the ferry passengers when the Queen of the North became directionally challenged and hit nearby Gill Island at 18 knots in the middle of the night. We wandered around the community which is constructed entirely on broad well built boardwalks. It is a really progressive community with all the amenities and a really friendly attitude toward visitors allowing us to stay free at their docks overnight.

I figured out my battery problem and with the help of a fellow boater from Alberta managed to drag the offending battery out of the parallel system and have been well served since by the remaining battery which appears sound. We will replace the dead battery in Prince Rupert once I figure out how to get a 165 pound 8D battery out of my engine room and get the new one back down into it. More to come on that later but nice to have full house battery power again.

We are heading for Baker Inlet just south of Prince Rupert today and plan to go into PR tomorrow a day ahead of plan.