There are three crossings where you are subject to ocean conditions in the Inside Passage. Cape Caution is the first when going north and was a piece of cake. Today, the crossing across Milbanke Sound was a little rough. We went the open route which saves an hour overall at the expense of being exposed for an hour longer. The forecast was for 2.5 foot seas so why not take the short cut? Well, how about 5–6-foot swells with 2-foot wind waves, instead? Yuck. Don't get tricked by PredictWind's forecast that the swell dies when there is no good reason (such as land mass). It doesn't. Last time, we took the protected route ducking in at Ivory Island like the 68 footer following us did this time. I highly recommend doing that and pay the price of a slightly longer cruise. Plus, it has nicer scenery.
There is very little traffic. This old Navy tug followed us most of the way finally passing us near our destination.
The crossing is all behind us now and we are at the second most beautiful anchorage in British Columbia. Princess Louisa gets first prize but this is a close second. We are in Khutze Inlet where a magical waterfall comes down from snowcapped peaks. The waterfall is often estimated to drop between 1,000 and 3,200 feet. Because it originates from a high-alpine lake and cascades down steep mountain faces, exact measurements vary
Melissa remembered that she could see crabs crawling around on the bottom the last time we were here. So, out goes the dinghy and crab trap. Dave caught two giant Dungeness crabs in a matter of minutes. Last time we were here, we saw a brown bear. Nothing this time, yet.
Dave is fretting a bit about the depths. While we are anchored in 50 feet of water, it gets shallow REAL quick. So, he set his anchor alarm pretty tight. Sure enough, the wind came up a little, swung us into shore and the alarm went off. It was still 35 feet where we were but Dave slept in the main salon anyway. The alarm went off again when we swung back out. OK, maybe the alarm was set a little too tight.
