Day 79-Windy Bay to Mussel Inlet

I’m really getting lucky with this weather and today dawned just as bright and sunny as the last several.  After breakfast and dishes I pulled the anchor and headed up Mussel Inlet, one of the fjords that comprises Fiordland Recreation Area.

The scenery was spectacular.  Big mountains, waterfalls, glassy water, calm winds, and clear skies.  I couldn’t have asked for more.  On the way in I had seen a cabin along the shore with a mooring buoy.  Since anchorages are nonexistent in Mussel Inlet, I figured I’d take a look at the mooring buoy on the way back down.

When I got to the head of the inlet I shut off the engine and drifted for half an hour or so, soaking up the sun and reading outside.  Unfortunately the bugs found me, so I retreated back inside and headed for the cabin.  The mooring buoy didn’t have any markings on it and it seemed close to shore and not particularly robust.  But the weather conditions were calm and I gave the boat quite a bit of power to test the buoys strength and all seemed well.  So I tied up and explored by kayak.

Nice view from the cabin

I have no idea who owns the cabin.  There were no markings and no ‘no trespassing’ signs and it was unlocked.  Inside there were handwritten notes about how to use different features.  It’s a lot nicer than the USFS cabins in Alaska since it had running water, an actual toilet, a full size range, and solar panels with a battery bank and inverters.

After exploring I returned to the boat, read and took a nap.  When I woke up the wind had freshened and the lack of shelter at the buoy was obvious.  Still, I figured the wind would die in the evening and I’d have a comfortable night.

Although it took a while, the seas calmed down around 10pm.  Some clouds had moved in in the evening and the sunset was spectacular, but given the increased cloud cover I don’t know if the awesome weather will last.

13.2 nm today and 2,681.1 total

Day 78-Butedale to Windy Bay

Once of the nice things about the lack of schedule on this southbound trip is there’s no need to set alarms or wake up early.  I wake up when I wake up, leave when I want to, and still arrive in plenty of time.

After breakfast today I walked around Butedale a bit and got a complete tour of the place from Lou.  Then I got underway around 11 heading down to Windy Bay to be well positioned for exploring Fiordland.

With another day of wonderful weather the trip was easy.  The only hiccup was the autopilot was not holding a steady course.  I fiddled with the settings and eventually got it sorted out, but I don’t know why it suddenly stopped working as well as it had.

Scenery near Hiekish Narrows

Windy Bay

Light boat traffic again today and only one other boat in Windy Bay, a 42 Grand Banks from Seattle.  Windy Bay itself is gorgeous, with high bluffs rising from the water yet reasonable anchoring depths in one of the corners.

32.9 nm today and 2,667.9 total

Day 77-Bishop Bay to Butedale

I wasn’t in any rush to get up this morning but everyone else on the dock headed out fishing fairly early and I couldn’t sleep through the commotion of engines and casting off.  Not a big deal.  I went up for a soak in the hot springs before leaving and then headed out to Butedale.

Humpback seen between Bishop Bay and Butedale

Butedale is an interesting place.  It’s a dilapidated old cannery that once employed hundreds of people and was a hub of activity in the area.  Since the 1960’s, however, it’s been shut down and has been rotting away.  Today it’s mostly a collection of timber and metal constantly being reclaimed by nature.

Interestingly, the guy I made space for on the dock in Hartley Bay a few nights ago is in the process of buying Butedale with the hope of turning it into a modest resort and marina.  I’ve got his contact information and am looking forward to hearing about what he will do with the property.

Anyway, Lou, the caretaker, is an interesting character.  He has lived full time at Butedale for the last 11 years all by himself and has carved out an interesting existence.  For electricity, for example, he harnessed the decades old turbines that provided power to the cannery to drive a belt for an alternator.  A battery bank and inverter, in turn, provide AC power for Lou’s house.  When Lou arrived the flumes the directed water to the turbines had washed away, but he rebuilt them using wood scavenged from the site.  Pretty impressive.

Flumes to divert river water to the turbine

The river that feeds the turbine

Only two other boats were at the dock.  One was a commercial fishing boat that a gentleman had purchased in Washington and was now moving to his home in Hoonah, AK.  The other was a sailboat I had passed in Rocky Pass.  We all chatted for a while and it turned out that we were all single-handing, which certainly seems to be the exception rather than the rule.  The sailboat was even owned by a woman, which makes it the first woman I’ve seen single-handing up here.

Butedale is definitely an interesting and worthwhile stop.  The only downside was the wakes from passing boats and the bugs.  There’ve been a ton of bugs everywhere in BC, especially horseflies, and they are awful.

22.6 nm today and 2635.0 total