Tenacious Sailors

Tenacious Sailors 2024

May 22: Boat Prep Begins, A Georgia Strait Spanking, Humpback Pas de Deux, and a Bear Family

Posted at Khutze Inlet, June 22, 2024 (Thanks, Elon!)

Little brown bats at home aboard s/v Tenacious

We arrive at our home dock on a brisk, sunny afternoon to find Tenacious bobbing happily in her slip, looking a bit grubby outside but ready for another Alaska summer. We’re not especially happy to find a colony of little brown bats squatting snugly among the folds of our mainsail, under the warm, dark protection of the canvas sail cover. Evidence of their habitation is scattered liberally over the cabin top below. I hose off the worst of it, but it takes me a few days of loin girding before I can make myself interrupt their peaceful daytime slumber. It’s Patrick who eventually peels back the canvas to reveal a constellation of sleepy bats, nestled in the sail’s many folds and gripped to the cover, too.

I feel like I just pulled the comforter off the bed of a bunch of teenagers who don’t want to wake up and go to school. Some of the bats pretend it’s not happening and deny reality, eyes stubbornly closed and tiny claws gripping their “mattress.” Others, eyes slitted against the harsh light of day, move their heads muzzily from side to side, squeaking and grumbling about rude people interrupting their sleep. We leave them to warm up and awaken at their own pace.

A few minutes later we’re at the center of a mini bat storm as they flutter up and circle us before dashing off to find a new home. Cleaning up after them is at least as unpleasant as you might imagine, but I truly love these little bats. They are precious for their part in nature.

Just before they leave, I gently pet a sleepy bat’s back. Its fine, dark fur is the softest thing I’ve ever touched.

June 6-7: Georgia Strait and Happy Whales

It's Friday, June 6. We've planned our departure to take advantage of the tidal currents that will whisk us down the Fraser River and give us a boost into the Strait of Georgia, a huge body of water between southern Vancouver Island and mainland Canada. All is smooth and easy in the early morning hours, until we approach the Fraser’s mouth. Then everything goes straight to hell. The wind builds. The waves build. The waves build more and are getting closer together. The forecast called for 2-4’ moderate seas. We’re experiencing six- and seven-footers with rogue waves that fly over the cockpit, and 35+-knot winds--right on the bow, thankfully-- but also not in the forecast. Suddenly, I can hear "Sailing, sailing over the bounding main". This main is definitely bounding.

As Tenacious climbs each wave and plunges down into the trough beyond, we rock forward and back to stay balanced in our seats. I wish I had stirrups and a saddle horn. It's as if Tenacious has become the meanest bronco in the boat rodeo.

All kidding aside, we know the Georgia Strait is dangerously unpredictable, and Tenacious is a blue-water cruiser, more that tough enough to take these conditions in stride. That said, it's not particularly pleasant for either the two-footed passengers, or the four-footed ones. Jake and Simon, the intrepid Kitty Boyzz, put on brave faces and ride out the criss-cross waves in our laps or snuggled close to us in the cockpit.

By late afternoon, as we continue farther north, the seas begin to settle and we find a protected anchorage to spend a quiet night, sans drama. We remember an old sailors' superstition about never beginning a sailing journey on a Friday. I think we'll keep that in mind in the future. tomorrow is another day ,,.

Gifts From the Sea

And a glorious day it is! Much kinder than yesterday. It feels like a kind of reward when we come across a pair of humpback whales, joyfully breaching over and over.

Their playful exuberance more than makes up for yesterday's misery. We're so grateful.

June 21: Bears in the Grass

Some foul weather is on its way, a low pressure system that will bring high winds and rain for a couple of days, so we seek a protected anchorage to tuck into and ride out whatever comes our way. One of our favorite stops on this coast is Khutze Inlet with it's spectacular waterfall and huge river delta that's home to lots of wildlife: harbor seals, many water birds, and especially grizzly bears. The roar of the falls, tumbling and falling thousands of feet, brings us out on deck throughout the day and lulls us to sleep at night.

With our fingers crossed for a bear sighting or two, we anchor in front of the spectacular waterfall and start glassing the shoreline. In the late afternoon sunshine, I spot two different bears, grazing in the distance on opposite sides of the delta. It's too late to see if we can get closer, so we plan a dinghy cruise up the Khutze River for the next day.

The best chance to find the bears is to travel far up into the delta is on a rising tide, so that the water

gets deeper as you travel farther in, and you'll have plenty of water to get back out again. From Tenacious's deck I start bear-spotting. Finally, along the southern shore, I see a cinnamon-colored coat ambling along. A little dark spot follows behind!. We launch the dinghy and slowly pick our way through the shallow mudflats that form a wide, barren skirt in front of the delta. We near the animals and shut down our motor to let the incoming tide carry us a bit closer, then drop the anchor to hold us still. I thought I'd seen a sow and a cub, but there are three little fur-balls trailing this mama! She lifts her snout as she catches our scent, giving us a good looking over to see if we're any danger to her babies. We're quiet and still as she gives us the once over. We know we've passed the test when she turns back to scrabbling for shetllfish and snatching mouthfuls of the rich grass. It's hilarious to see her cubs imitating her -- very seriously sitting down to figure out how to grab a few blades in their mouths and then trying to bite them off and chew them down. But these little ones got game. Every so often one of them leaves Mom's orbit and strikes out on its own. We're just close enough to hear their distress cries when they realize they can't see the Mothership. She always turns back to encourage them, and they return to her again and again.