Category: Past Trips

May 08, 2011

07:40 and we are away. High overcast, light winds and smooth seas greeted us as we set course up Fitz Hugh Sound. Taking it as we go no destination set for today, we will see where we end up. So calm we stopped just south

of Shearwater to do some fishing off the big boat. A few small cod that we released, we will have to wait for this evening. We decide to stop at Shearwater for a stretch and to see what is going on. Store is closed on Sunday and place is pretty deserted so we decide to press on. It can be a bit lumpy in Seaforth Channel but today proves to be the exception and we make the passage is calm waters. Into the narrow Reid Pass we elect to stop in Oliver Marine Park. Alone at anchor we watch the eagles teaching their young to fish and the sea lions chasing the herring in the bay. A fantastic sunset and another magic day fades to dark.

May 07, 2011

It’s a go!! Good reports from West Sea Otter weather buoy, and Egg Island light house so its off across the sound and Cape Caution. I love it when the forecast is right, low west swell and light south east behind us. Tides helping too as we motored into the open water with only a slight roll on the ship. Tides and swell held and we were soon past Cape Caution and heading up Fitz Hugh Sound. Abeam Rivers Inlet and the rest is all down hill. Nicest north bound crossing we could have hoped for. Tonight’s new anchorage is at the mouth of Fish Egg Inlet just north of Rivers Inlet. Narrow entrance but well protected it was the perfect spot to toast our smooth crossing and watch the sunset from the top deck.

May 06, 2011

0720 Farewell to Farewell Harbour. With a light south east at our back we entered Queen Charlotte Straight and set course for Allison Harbour on the mainland side. A deep well protected anchorage it would put us in position to wait for our chance to cross the open water. A group of 7 kayaks crossed behind us heading from Port McNeil to somewhere on the mainland side around Shelter Bay. They looked quite small out there, like a bunch of baby geese all following their mother guide. A good day with tides in our favour again and we dropped the hook in Allison Harbour at 13:10. Alone at first we were eventually joined by two sailboats and one trawler for the evening. We set the crab pots and were rewarded with 7 nice Dungeness for dinner, Alright!! Weather looks like it might work for the morning so time to make everything is secure and wait for the morning forecast.

May 05, 2011

On our way north!!! 05:30 am and we are off the dock in Campbell River. Trying to catch the ebb tide for its help down Johnstone Strait. Slack at Seymour Narrows, the home of the deadly Ripple Rock is at 0640 so timing is everything as tides can reach up to 12 knots in the Narrows. Not good for a boat that only does 8 knts. The tides rule your days as we plan our next few days to get their help through the narrow passages ahead. Good push all day and we made much better distance that anticipated. Trying something different this year we vowed to stop at a different anchorage every night over past years. Day one took us almost to the end of Johnstone St and into Farewell Harbour behind Hanson Island. Off in the skiff we fished the point and scored some nice rock cod for the next day’s lunch. Only one other sailboat in the anchorage we spent a quiet night. Always keeping one eye on the weather we looked ahead to our crossing of Cape Caution and the out day on the open Pacific. Looks like a weather window in a couple of days so we will position for that.

May 02, 2011

Enjoying a lazy morning after visiting we shoved off at 11 am for Campbell River. South East 20 knts greeted us as we rounded Cape Lazo. A good ride on the following sea as we slid by Cape Mudge and into Discovery Harbour. A few last details to complete in the next few days before our departure for the north coast, including our annual inspection by Transport Canada. Deb is finishing up the provisioning and I will try and get the last touches of paint on the boat. We also got a chance to have dinner with out good Friends Heidi and Henry as well as Steve and Denise. Both couples were part of our early boating lives when we dashed around in our 25 ft Campion and tied up with the big yachts at Dent Island.

May 01, 2011

Sunny again as we slipped out of Nanaimo harbour and pointed the bow towards Comox. We always look forward to returning to the Comox Harbour for a visit with our friends and my son Mike and his gal Cassidy. A beautiful day on the Straights as we cruised by Parksville, into Baynes Sound and into the Comox Harbour. Tying up on the Commercial side we were met by Stowaway Bev, Ally and Leah from the Fern Road Yacht Club. Unfortunately Bev’s husband John had already left to fight fires in Alaska as a pilot for Con Air and we will have to see him in the fall. Mike my son and his partner Cassidy joined us later returning from their gold panning day on the Oyster River. A great visit with all. Great to visit, sad to leave, looking forward to returning, Life is Good.

Northward Bound 2011

April 30th, 2011
Northward Bound! After leaving Victoria Harbour behind we motored to Genoa Bay for our annual sand, paint and fix session which has become a ritual for us. We would spend three weeks getting the Thunder Ship Shape for the coming season. A new hard top for the rear, new toilets, shower redo in the front and as much painting as the weather will permit.

Sunny and calm as we cast off from Genoa Bay, where does the time go!!

The Boat is running great and we had a busy stay in the Bay where several renos were completed on the boat. New shower in the guest quarters as well as a new electric head in the Captains quarters. Most noticeable for our guest will be the new aluminum hard top over the rear deck. This will help keep the rain off on those rare days where the sun is not out on the north coast. We had a nice transit through Dodd’s narrows and cruised into Nanaimo Harbour at 4 pm. Time for a walk around town, some sushi and off to bed in preparation for the run up Georgia Straight and on to Comox.

Victoria Harbour


The Thunder 1 and crew arrived safely in Victoria inner Harbour Oct 25th after another busy and exciting summer on BC’s beautiful coast. Thanks to all of our guests who joined us for fishing, whale watching, and just plain relaxing on board the Thunder 1. We hope all of you had a satisfying vacation and hope to see many of you in the summers to come. Although looking forward to a little down time there is still lots to do for the crew. Website updates, Sport shows, new advertising campaigns and some exciting new spring cruising packages have kept us busy. Lots of family in Victoria to catch up with as well as getting into a steady exercise routine to stretch out those summer sea legs. We are planning to spend Christmas aboard in Victoria Harbour and are offering some daytime sightseeing excursions for visitors and locals alike who are looking for a chance to get out on the water for awhile over the holidays.

Please visit our website www.thunder1.ca to view our new cruising specials.

We will post an update of the Thunder 1 in her Christmas lights soon.

Remember our motto on the Thunder 1, “Life is Good”

The Inside Passage South



With our 2010 fishing season over we prepared for our trip south back to Vancouver Island. We kept busy with year end oil and filter changes, cleaning, provisioning and farewells to our many friends in Prince Rupert who we would not see until the following season. Our last three weeks in September had seen some beautiful weather, probably the best of the year, however if you are from Prince Rupert that always makes you nervous. Sure enough arriving the same time as our guests and friends. Dwight, and Anne was forecast one of the biggest storms of the year. With a careful eye on the weather and the possibility that we might have to delay we awoke on the morning of Sept 23rd to brisk SE winds however not enough to keep us tied to the dock. Sliding out of the harbour we bade farewell to Prince Rupert and motored our way towards the south coast.

Our first night found us in Lowe inlet, a very well protected marine park in Grenville Channel. And well protected it had to be as the next mornings weather left us no choice but to remain on the hook while the weather on the outside raged. On a secure hook we read and relaxed while hurricane force winds blew on Hecate Straight.
The following morning the weather abated and we left for Bishop Bay Hot Springs. With a nice whale show en route we anchored in Bishop Bay and slid into a relaxing hot springs soak. Man that felt great.

Day four we motored down Princess Royal Reach in the Great Bear Rain forest, keeping a watchful eye on the shoreline for the Spirit Bear. With a lunch stop in Swanson Bay to collect a little beach glass we found our evening anchorage in Bottleneck inlet, picturesque. secluded and complete with some nice dungeness crab.

Day five it was off to Shearwater. The weather was still unsettled with lots of rain however the route was sheltered and we enjoyed a smooth trip with our eye on the promised sunshine for days ahead. Our stop in Shearwater resulted in an expected spectacular show by the sea lions as they chased and fed on the pilchard surrounding the dock. Great entertainment as they fed non stop for the duration of our stay.

Day six as promised the skies cleared and over smooth seas we motored towards an evening on the beach at Hakai Pass. Always a highlight of our trip we were rewarded for enduring the rain by a spectacular evening on the beach. With a nice fire, roaring surf, and hot dogs on the spit our spirits rose and our clothes dried and we looked forward to smooth sailing for the remainder of our trip.

Day seven, crossing Cape Caution. With all secure we headed for the open waters and a great forecast for our crossing. The forecast was bang on and we crossed the Cape with calm winds and a glassy swell off our quarter as we motored into Port Hardy for the night. Congratulations Anne and Dwight on your crossing of Cape Caution. You may need more practise in consuming the traditional “fog”.

The remaining three days were spectacular, sunny skies, warm temps, and smooth seas accompanied us right into our berth in Campbell River. On October 3rd we bade goodbye to our friends Dwight and Anne as they left for their home in Cochrane. Thanks again for joining us, we hope that you enjoyed the trip as much as we did!!!

Last but not Least



On our final fishing trip of the year we were joined by Paul, his 10 year old son Aiden, and Darren. Winners of the Edmonton Jouranl auction, and gracious enough to move their trip last minute to accomodate our scheduling we could not have asked for better fishing companions for our last trip. You guessed it all from Edmonton again. I am sure they are going to have a hard time explaining to their wives where they got the sunburn from, sure as heck couldn’t have been from Rupert in mid September. But indeed it was with shorts and sun glasses the order of the day. Fishing slowed a bit but these guys knew their stuff and few fish escaped the hit. All nice norhterns weighing up to 16 lbs. Not to forget the young angler who hooked up and landed a 50 lb halibut with no help from the crew. Way to go Aiden!!! Thanks again guys hope to see you again.

Indian Summer


On a late booking we were joined by Phil, Ray, Barry and Rob, once again coming all the way from Edmonton to sample a little northern Coho fishing on the north coast. With things winding down we found our anchorages deserted and we had the north to ourselves. Well almost as we were joined by some hard fighting coho reaching 16 lbs as well as some halibut and those pesky whales. The weather continued to be spectacular with summer like temps, blue skies and beautiful sunsets. Thanks again guys, hope you had a great trip, enjoy your fish on those cold Edmonton winter nights.

Good Friends, Good Stories



September brought a trip we were looking forward to all year as some of my past flying buddies had signed up for a little fishing aboard Thunder 1 and to trade a few war stories. The Aviation community was well represented with Ian from Kathay Pacfic, his Brother Ron from Air Canada, and Mike from West Jet. Accompanied by Ian and Ron’s father Peter who also has a long history in the aviation world and his friend Dave. Turns out we had lots of everything, laughs, stories, fish and not to mention just the odd game of Texas holdem. If that was enough the whales continued to entertain and the weather showed us what it can be like in September on our last day. Thanks guys for a memorable trip, hope to see you again soon, keep the blue side up!!!

September already!


Welcome back Russ, Lenny, Eddy and George. This group has been fishing together for 22 years, 7 time alumni of the Thunder 1. With the summer rush over, the anchorages were quiet but the fishing was anything but. Great fishing was enjoyed by all, with shiney hard fighty hooked nose Northerns whacking our bait with great regularity. Thanks guys for coming back to join us again, next time we promise to find Lenny that big halibut that eluded us this trip. Enjoy your fish, great job.

Whale of a Trip



Late August is always special on the north coast as it brings the Humpback whales in large numbers to feed and prepare for their journey to Maui to have their calves. Welcome aboard to our guests Richard and Carol, Vital and Colleen. We were happy to show them some nice northern Coho and the whales stole the show with one of the most spectacular bubble feeding displays we have ever seen. Although we see hundreds of whales every year we never tire of watching their graceful tail flips and bubble feeding displays. This time it was a pod of ten whales working closely together and at one point lungeing out of the water within 30 feet of the Thunder as we trolled through the Gnarled Islands. We hope our guests take home some once in a lifetime memories of the whales of Chatham Sound. Hope to see you back again soon.

A date with the Ocean Star



Trip 16 saw us in a joint charter with our friends aboard the Ocean Star. A first for this venture it proved to be a great success opening the door for Corporate groups that would like to bring along 12 guests. With 8 aboard the Star, and 4 aboard the Thunder 1 it provided a great venue with two west coast heritage vessels and the best two chefs on the north coast. Going our separate ways during the day and rafting up together in the evening the Ocean star guides and fishing skiffs handled the majority of the salmon fishing while the Thunder 1 took on the halibut role. With great calm weather we journeyed off shore a bit and wow what halibut fishing we had. 3 hours was all it took to fill the fish box with enough halibut for all. Fast and furious is all you could say about it. No monsters but lots of hard fighting flat ones ranging up to thirty lbs. We would like to thank our guests from Huckleberry Mines, and our friends aboard the Ocean Star for making it a memorable trip. Let’s do it again next year!!!

East meets West


Welcome back Vital. After working too hard to make it out last year, Vital, his brother Christian, wife Nicole and son Stephan rejoined us aboard the Thunder 1. In his previous May visit the weather was outstanding but the salmon fishing a little slow as we searched for those early springs. This year the salmon action was great as we hooked up lots of shiney silvers and some halibut to boot. Good weather again for three days and a little spray on the windows on the way home just to show us that it is the ocean and not the lake rounded out a great trip. Safe travels home to out guests as they return to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.