“...It's just a jump to the left. And then a step to the right...Let’s do the Time Warp again...”. This part of “Time Warp” rock and roll song played over and over again in my mind, as I motored up Johnstone Strait this morning.
Up early again today. Anchor was up and we were moving out to make
some more northing. It was 4:54 am as we cleared the point that protected our
Hand Field Bay anchorage.
You might ask, “Why were we
up so early?” I might answer by saying, “It’s
astounding,Time is fleeting,,, it’s already max flood…so let’s do the time warp
today”.
Being a sailboat racer, I
know how much being in the right spot makes all the difference in the world,
current push-wise that is; Therefore I steered to port, then veered to starboard
trying to keep the boat in the best eddies going our way. We may not be doing “Warp” speed but we are getting
over 3.5 knots of current with us sometimes.
It is amazing how much a few
degrees one way or the other will make a difference is speed over ground. I think of the tidal current like a flowing river.
If you steered to close to one side you get in a back eddy and slow down, whereas
if you stern the other way your boat speed increases. Therefore I jumped to the left, or right
depending on the contour of the shoreline and current eddies.
The further up the straits
we go, the less current with us we have.
It is 8:39 am at the moment, and before too long the tide will change
and the current will be against us.
Guess I’ll have to make a decision soon. The options are to continue on
against the current, or stop and wait out the incoming tide, before moving
further north.
Heather say “You are always
in a big hurry.” She is probably right. But I also like to take advantage of my
situation, like traveling with the current or wind. Since the tide is will soon be against us, I’ve
decided to pull into Port Neville, which is only 5.3 nautical miles away.
We pull in and tie up to dock,
at Port Neville. It is only 9:55 am. We
are the only ones here,
After a short nap, and a hot
shower It is time to go exploring. I put the big outboard on the dinghy and
then off we go.
First, we go back further
into the harbor at Port Neville. It goes
in a long way back. If ever the dock is
full, I think the bay would be a nice place to hang on anchor. Lots of swinging room.
We also tried to find a
beach out in Johnstone Strait to explore.
The problem was the beaches were a little too rocky to land, especially
with the wind-blown chop breaking on the beach.
Once back at that the government
dock, in Port Neville, we explored the uplands.
The place was homesteaded by the Hanson family. Many generations lived here, but now the
family only visits. Lots of history
here. It really amazes me how this small
little outpost, in amongst the wilds of Johnstone Strait, sustained the Hanson
family for over 100 years. Hats off to
the Hanson family.
Just before dinner another boat
pulled in. A sailboat at that. They are
heading to Haida Gwaii.
Our stop here was well worth
it and very rewarding history wise. If you are ever are up this way, the docks
at Port Neville make a nice, historical stop over. Tomorrow we will most likely move on.
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