Heavy rain continued on Tuesday as we made our way to Shearwater, our next stop. We saw a fishing lodge brought in on a barge, signaling approaching salmon season. We took a small water taxi across the channel to explore the coastal village of Bella Bella for a few hours, our rain gear keeping us comfortable in the steady downpour. This is Heiltsuk territory, and there are many totem poles and signs of respect for First Nations heritage.

Wednesday brought sunshine, and we were up early to make a long, eight and a half hour passage up the Finlayson Channel to Khutze Inlet. Being on the water that long can be exhausting, with monitoring systems and watching for debris taking so much focus. Bob does most of the driving, though we do take turns at the helm to prevent fatigue. Logs and whole trees can pop up out of nowhere, so we are always on the lookout. The payoff for intense focus is whale sightings and we’ve seen humpbacks along the way over the past two days.

We departed our Khutze anchorage this morning at 7 with fog in the channel, but it cleared up and we are enroute to an anchorage in Lowe Inlet. We hope to reach Prince Rupert on Friday, where we’ll refuel and wait out rough weather before crossing Dixon Entrance into Alaska.