Day 10-Prince Rupert

With gale warnings forecast for Dixon Entrance today, there was no reason to wake up early to get moving.  We did, however, need to get fuel and we wanted to wander around town and see what it was like.

We pulled the anchor mid morning and cruised over to the fuel dock a few miles away and took on 136.9 liters of gas at $1.149 per liter.  Cheapest gas yet, but I assume it will be even cheaper in Ketchikan.

Then we went next door and checked in at the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club, the pleasure boat moorage in the area.  It’s not too yachty, but it’s adequate for our needs.  It is quite expensive, though, at nearly $40 a night for my 22-foot boat and 30-amp power.  And even though I’m paying for 22 feet of boat, I only have about 17 feet of dock since the finger pier is dramatically shorter than the boat and quite wobbly.  Oh well.

We’re here on the final day of the annual SeaFest celebration in Prince Rupert, and one of the more interesting aspects of the festival are free tours of the Canadian Coast Guard ship Gordon Reid.  The Gordon Reid is a 160 foot ship that patrols Canada’s west coast waters and primarily performs search and rescue missions.  The crew had some good stories to tell, seeing the ship from the inside was fascinating, and it’s nice to know that the Coasties are out there if they’re ever needed.

A big windlass is required for a 2000 pound anchor

A few of the controls on the bridge

These are just three of the dozen or so control panels next to the engine room

We walked around town, but there’s not too much to see.  Some cruise ships call into port here, but none are in town now and it’s not too crowded.  Prince Rupert has all the stuff one might need, but it’s not a destination unto itself.

It looks like tomorrow morning will be our time to cross Dixon Entrance and return to the United States.  We’ll depart early in the morning and should be in Ketchikan by tomorrow afternoon.  Since Sam M’s flight doesn’t leave until Friday, we’ll do some exploring around Ketchikan for a few days, then I’ll drop Sam M. off in Ketchikan Friday morning, and start heading up to Petersburg where I’m meeting my older brother on the 20^th.

If the weather cooperates the next post will be from Alaska!