Can't See a Bloody Thing Out Here...

Today must have been Pacific Northwest Fog Day.   We couldn't see more than a few hundred yards at any time today, until after we were in Port Hardy.   Then the fog cleared; of course...

Up at 0600 so we could depart Green Island at 0645 and beat the afternoon winds out in Queen Charlotte Strait as we rounded Cape Caution.

The slightly darker gray barge that you see on the left side of this picture was only about 330 feet away (1/2 of 1/8 mile based on radar).

Once we were out of the protection of Calvert Island, the swells increased.   They were not as forecast; we had 5' swells on 4.5 sec period.  It was supposed to be 2.5'-3' swells on an 8.5 sec period.   There is a big difference in comfort between those two!   We were in no danger, just a rollier ride than anticipated.

Once we exited Queen Charlotte Strait, we turned into Christine Passage, just north of Port Hardy, the fog lifted a bit giving us about 1/2-mile visibility.

We entered Port Hardy about 1500 and tied up at the Fishermans Marina transient docks.   It's good to be done with that leg of our journey.

The dock electrical boxes receptacles are all black and burnt.   I think I will pass on shore power tonight.   Whatever is going on with their electrical service, I want no part of it!

And the fog cleared!   Yea!

We decided we would head into town to visit Port Hardy, do a bit of provisioning, and grab dinner.

There is a beautiful park along the shorefront, so, we hiked along that and exchanged greetings with everyone we passed.

In the park is a statue/carving of a carrot.   Yup, that isn't a misspelling.  See the picture.   

This commemorates the Carrot Campaign by the people to remind the Canadian government of their promise to build the highway from Victoria to Port Hardy.  That highway connects the southernmost city (Victoria) and the northernmost (Port Hardy).  Not to leave you in suspense, but the highway was completed in 1971.

After dinner at a local pub, we stopped in at the SavOn grocery store.   We bought too much.   We had to lug it back to the boat, maybe 3/4 of a mile.   We persevered.

We are tired of the big city already, so we will head out across Queen Charlotte Strait into the Broughton Islands.   Our probable anchorage is Claydon Bay.   Never been there, but it looks like a nice quiet place.

I'll leave you with a nighttime shot of Port Hardy.

Until Tomorrow.