I'd been wanting to make a longer trip farther North into Western Behm Canal. Having a dog on board that needs to get to shore is a limitation on longer trips like these, but for this trip I think I came up with a solution.
I wanted to go to Klu Bay, which is about 46 miles away, and for my boat that is at least a 5-hour run. My solution was to stop at Loring on the way up, and on the way back, in order to dewater my dog, Nova. Loring is about 23 miles away, so almost exactly halfway to our destination.
Here is a map snippet that shows our track for this trip. I took the identical track on the way home.
We left Bar Harbor at about 8 AM on Friday morning 07/26/2024. In addition to my dog Nova, I also had my cat Luna aboard for this excursion. Luna hides out when we are underway and just makes her appearance once we stop.
We got to Loring at about 10:45 AM. It was unusual to see a boat already tied up there, but there was plenty of room at the dock for me to pull in. Doug from the "Challenger II" came out to grab my lines, which is always appreciated.
We were only there about 15 minutes, just long enough to dewater Nova and pull my shrimp pots down and get them baited and ready to drop.
This is my first trip since I've had the Starlink mobile satellite WiFi system fully installed on board. Pretty slick, WiFi while underway from anywhere.
In order to get to Klu Bay you have to pass through Shrimp Bay. I dropped my 2 shrimp pots in Shrimp Bay. I have done well there on shrimp in the past.
You can't see the Klu Bay mooring buoy until you are all the way into the bay and turn that last corner. These mooring buoys are "first come, first served," and you never know if they will be available when you get there. Luckily the mooring buoy was available, and I quickly got us tied off. If it wasn't open I was prepared to anchor in the bay, which is quite doable.
Not a bad place to spend the weekend.
I had the bay to myself all weekend. I thought that on Saturday another boat might come in, but nobody else came in the whole time I was there.
Here are some scenic shots of this beautiful area.
I've been here a few times before and I usually see some deer and/or bears, but on this trip my only animal sighting was this elusive seal that showed himself from time to time but never came very close.
I set my two crab pots from the raft and checked them often throughout the weekend. I replaced the hanging bait as needed, and sometimes moved them a little for better prospects. I got several small females and undersized males which cannot be kept. In the end for the weekend, I took home 9 legal sized males.
Nova, Luna and I had a good weekend in Klu Bay. Of course, I had to run Nova to shore numerous times over the time we were here. Nova got quite used to the process and would scamper into and out of the raft with ease.
On Sunday morning I pulled the crab pots one last time, took Nova to shore one last time, and then we made our exit from Klu Bay.
I pulled my shrimp pots in Shrimp Bay but was very disappointed to see not a single shrimp in the pots, just some small female crabs. A lot of work and a lot of bait for nothing, bummer.
We made our long run South in Western Behm Canal, initial destination Loring. We got to Loring at about 12:30 PM. The Challenger II was still there, and I had a nice chat with its owners.
We left Loring a little before 1 PM and got into our slip in Bar Harbor at about 3:15 PM.
We logged a whopping 92 nm for this trip.
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