We headed south in a misty rain. Princess Royal Island is known as the habitat of the Spirit Bears, a race of blonde-colored black bears, elusive and seldom seen. The writers’ of a blog; Another Side of this Life, were lucky to see and photograph a Spirit Bear near Klemtu, a Native village further south along the channel. We encountered choppy seas and fog crossing Milbanke Sound and we were happy to spot Ivory Island Lighthouse at the entrance to the channel leading to Bella Bella and Shearwater, B.B.

You can tell the wind was brisk by the attitude of Canada’s Maple Leaf Flag.

We had a great trip down Princess Royal Channel, separating Princess Royal Island from the mainland, past the ghost town of Butedale.

An abandoned cannery town, a popular stop for cruisers on the Inside Passage.

A view along Princess Royal Channel.

We anchored in a small channel behind a sand spit and the guys went out in the dingy to catch fish that were jumping everywhere. We were joined by a sea lion and a whale after dark, we could hear them splashing and breathing in the pitch darkness. The next morning I watched a trio of bald eagles along the bank, apparently a family. The larger, mature eagle flew to the water’s edge, stuck her head completely under water and pulled a salmon carcass up onto the rocky beach. Immediately an immature eagle flew over and latched onto the fish with it’s talons. The older bird flew off while the younger bird struggled pulling the fish further up the bank until it was satisfied and finally began to feed.

The northern terminus of the Canadian portion of “The Inside Passage” is Prince Rupert. We headed south into the narrow confines of Grenville Channel, magnificent scenery that photographs just cannot capture (or my pictures just suck).

One of a myriad of waterfalls cascading out of the steep rugged mountains into the deep, cold waters of the Inside Passage.

We motored to our first Canadian port of call at Prince Rupert, B.C. We cleared customs (by phone!) but were late getting to the fuel dock. We decided to stay there for the night to be first in line for fuel in the morning!

A view of the Jupiter at the fuel dock. We left the fishing boat in Ketchikan to be barged to Seattle, and took on the dingy lifeboat.

A walk to the grocery store for supplies took us past the Pacific Mariners’ Memorial Park and the Kazu Maru, a Japanese fisherman’s boat that floated across the Pacific for 2 years before washing ashore near Prince Rupert. The full story is told eloquently here.

The Kazu Maru.

..with a drunken sailor?

A drunken sailor’s dream along Creek Street in Ketchikan!

A great painting at O’Brien’s Pub & Eatery just steps away from the Ketchikan Yacht Club docks where we spent the night. O’Brien’s is a fantastic, intimate, friendly pub and restaurant with delicious Ball’s O’Salmon! ‘Liam O’Brien himself might draw you an excellent Guinness!