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Prince Rupert to Khutze Inlet
Canadian Customs now require boaters to physically come to a customs dock to clear into the country. Before Covid with our NEXUS clearance, we could just check in by phone. Once we tie up at Cow Bay Marina in Prince Rupert, we call customs and are on hold for almost an hour!! I guess Customs is struggling just like all the other businesses with employee shortages. Once cleared into Canada, we head up the hill to resupply fruits and vegetables that we weren’t allowed to bring in to Canada from the U.S.
There is excitement on the docks as the sailing vessel Hokule’a is expected to arrive shortly. Sponsored by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, this non motorized catamaran is on a four year circumnavigation of the Pacific with a mission of educating people on the importance of the oceans and indigenous knowledge.
The Prince Rupert native elders are on the dock to welcome the Polynesian crew.
Bob’s on the Rocks is our choice for a fresh halibut sandwich for dinner.
Leaving Prince Rupert, we have favorable tides to transit the forty five mile long Grenville Channel. At the southern end, we are greeted by a group of humpback whales bubble net feeding.
We stopped a good distance away and drifted to watch the whales as they repeatedly dive and surface. After one of their dives, we were surprised that they moved so close and surfaced right beside the boat.
We could stay and watch for hours but we need to continue on. One of our favorite anchorages in northern B.C. is Khutze Inlet just off of Princess Royal Channel. This area is managed jointly by B.C. Parks and the Kitaso Xai’xais First Nation to protect this pristine environment. At certain times of the year, you must be escorted by a Watchman to enter for bear viewing. Going ashore is not permitted.
We travel several miles up the inlet to the head of the bay. It is a challenging spot to anchor as depths rise from 100 feet to almost nothing in just a short distance but it’s worth the effort to enjoy this special place. We anchor just off the 1000 foot waterfall in 100 feet. It is a majestic setting with sounds of waterfalls echoing throughout the bay.
We soon spot a young bear digging for clams off the mud flats.
There are quite a few seals swimming around the anchorage. They seem especially inquisitive of the kayak.
It is usually extremely difficult to get a good photograph of them but they seem very curious and come quite close.
We enjoy our time in Khutze and could easily spend a week here, but wanting to explore an area known as Fiordland it’s now time to move on. Thanks for following along!
