Final Night in Prince Rupert

Sunday July 16th, 2023

This is our last night in Prince Rupert. We are off to Baker Inlet tomorrow as we continue the long journey home. We discovered a couple of interesting scenes on the dock. First up the following:

The public Cow Bay Breakwater Float is a favorite for the locals who like to walk the dock, throw out a line, or take photos. When we came in yesterday we noticed that numerous folks were snapping photos of the canoe/catamaran shown above: Hokulea. I talked to some of the crew this morning and I found out that the boat Hokulea’, is involved in a 43,000 nautical miles, 47-month voyage of the Pacific Ocean by using traditional Polynesian voyaging canoes. Hōkūle‘, with 400 rotating crew members from 36 countries will visit nearly 100 indigenous territories, and 345 ports.

We just missed a celebration here yesterday in Prince Rupert when the crew and patrons put on a celebration and feast, allowing folks to get on the boat to learn about the history of the boat as well as Polynesian society and culture. The crew arrived in Prince Rupert from Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the coast of British Columbia, Canada (Formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). Kudos to the crew who made this voyage. You can learn more about this history and mission by visiting Hokulea.com

Visiting Haida Gwaii by boat is not for the faint of heart. One has to cruise far off the mainland and you can encounter fierce and treacherous wind and waves. The scariest “boat story” we heard this summer came from a fellow Nordic Tugger who attempted to take his 32 foot boat to Haida Gwaii. Unfortunately he read the weather predictions wrong and came into 6 to 8 foot waves and pounding wind 30 miles off shore. The seas were coming over the top of his boat and unfortunately his dingy, which was tilted and hinged on the back end of his boat, began to fill up with water. He figured that despite the dingy’s bilge pump running at full speed it very quickly had filled up with over 1,000 pounds of sea water. Soon one of the swim step clamps broke loose, then one of the two cables holding the dingy severed, leaving the dingy dangling on the back whilst the captain tried to maintain his boat into the wind and waves. Then the second swim step clamp broke loose and the dingy was tilting in the wind held on by a single cable. The captain had to make the hard call and take out a hack saw and cut the remaining cable and watch his brand new 11 foot, center drive dingy, with a 25 hp engine float to the bottom of the ocean. He watched $25,000 sink before his eyes. Fortunately, he was able to turn his boat around, no small feat in those sea conditions, and limp back to ShearWater (from whence he came) minus one very expensive dingy. However, he and his crew member lived to tell the tale.

The next interesting addition on the dock today was the arrival of Popeye, a 115 foot mega yacht.

It was purchased from the previous owner who named it “One More Toy” for a purported 18 million dollars, then renamed the vessel Popeye. Maybe we will get invited on the boat for drinks tonight—or maybe not.

Off To Baker Inlet on our “little boat” tomorrow. But as we like to say, “There is ALWAYS a bigger boat”.