A Magnificent Cruise

I spent the night of June 23 in Prince Rupert. The highway dead ends there...the only way out of town without retracing your steps is to fly or sail. So, I took the BC Ferry down to Port Hardy. This is a 15 hour trip. This time of year, it's all in daylight...it leaves Prince Rupert at 730 AM and arrives in Port Hardy at 1030 PM, when dusk is just getting deep. I reflected that the length of the cruise is just about the same as the flight between San Francisco and Sydney. But, as you'll see, the ferry ride is MUCH more scenic. Also, there's the matter of being able to roam around the ship...you can get all the exercise you want. Plus, three good meals...they even have a lunchtime barbeque on the Sun Deck. And, I reserved a cozy stateroom, so I was able to effect horizontal slotation on my bunk, take two siestas, and I had my own private bathroom. All good. It was a very comfortable cruise. Here we are, leaving Prince Rupert. The Old Sloat appreciated hitching a ride on a ship rather than having to exercise his flippers for over 200 miles. It would have been a long swim south!

This ferry runs year round, though more often in summer than in other seasons. I imagine it can be a rough trip during winter, when there's only six hours of daylight instead of eighteen, and the massive storms roll in off the Gulf of Alaska. Most of the route is sheltered in the inside passage, but I reckon it still gets pretty windy and choppy, and there are a couple of short stretches where the ferry is exposed to the open ocean to the west. But on this day, June 24, wind and waves were not a factor. There were only light breezes, and just a very small swell when we hit the ocean parts of the voyage.