When we awoke, the surface of Philip Inlet was as flat and reflective as a mirror. The trees surrounding the inlet were reflected in the water. It was breath takingly beautiful.
When we departed at 7:00, the tidal level had dropped several feet from when we had entered the previous evening. As I attempted to thread through a narrow spot near the entrance, Mary pointed out kelp and said to stay clear. Mary knew that kelp often grows on rocks. I did not know that, and assumed she was worried about getting the kelp wrapped around the propeller. I avoided the kelp, but just barely, and the boat hit a hard rocky ledge. The boat shuttered and came to an immediate stop. I attempted to back the boat off of the ledge, but it was firmly stuck and would not move. Our only choice was to await the already rising tide to lift the boat off the ledge. After about 30 or 45 minutes, the rising tide lifted the boat and it began to move. I successfully backed off of the ledge. Since the channel was narrow, I decided to partially retrace my steps, by passing through the narrow channel, to turn the boat around in the more open portion of the inlet we had just left. I almost immediately hit another portion of the ledge, the boat came to an abrupt grinding halt, and I did yet more damage to the boat. Eventually, the rising tide lifted the boat enough to release us from the ledge. Chastened, and very upset with myself for making a serious mistake which had damaged the boat, I eventually exited Philip Inlet with no further incident. I was worried that I had severely damaged the boat and put the whole trip in jeopardy.
We made a quick passage to Shearwater BC. Aided by the favorable tidal current, our speed often exceeded 7 knots and occasionally reached 8 knots. We were passed by the Alaska Ferry which provides service between Bellingham WA and Skagway AK, and many points in between. We moved to the port (left) side of the channel to give the ferry a wide berth.
When we arrived at Shearwater, our first stop was at the fuel dock to take on diesel and filtered drinking water. We were next greeted by Jeff, the harbor master at Shearwater, and his assistant Richard. Jeff assigned us a spot along the long visitor dock and Jeff and Richard helped us tie up. Jeff is a very experienced sailor. He has been sailing for 38 years. He bought a bare hull and completed the interior and exterior himself. This is an immense undertaking and Jeff spent 4 or 5 years completing the boat. Jeff now splits his time between Shearwater in the summer and Mexico in the winter.
I was very worried about the damage I had done when departing Philip Inlet. Mary went to the marine store at Shearwater, and obtained the names of two divers who might be able to dive on the boat and access the damage. The first diver was unable to help, but the second diver graciously offered to come at 9:00 PM to check the boat.
We went ashore and had nice dinners at the restaurant at Shearwater.
At 9:00 PM, Keith and Swazeek Tipper arrived in their aluminum skiff, exactly as promised. Keith is Canadian and Swazeek is from France. They met while working at Haida Gwaii. Keith dove on the boat and used his GoPro underwater camera to take video of the damage. Swazeek and I monitored Keith's bubbles while he was diving and taking video. When Keith finished, Keith and Swazeek joined us in Barlavento's cabin to review the video. The video revealed that we had gouged the fiberglass in the bow and had gouged and scrapped the lead keel. Of these, the gouge in the bow was the more worrying. Fiberglass is not waterproof unless it is covered with gel coat or some other waterproof surface covering. Once the underlying fiberglass structure is exposed to water, the water can gradually wick inside the fiberglass and eventually weaken its structure. The video reduced our anxiety to a degree. The damage was more limited than we feared and the boat was in no imminent danger. We decided that it would be safest to haul Barlavento out of the water and inspect the damage directly.
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