SMILES in Prince Rupert!

Wednesday, May 26 ...

I think we all were looking forward to spending an evening at dock in Prince Rupert. For Sharon and I it meant not only a chance to walk on dry land, but also dinner at a restaurant and a break from the galley.

Travelling here from Coghlan Anchorage was a beautiful 75-mile cruise. We decided to take Grenville Channel, which is a 45-mile passage with steep mountains on each side leading northwestward to Arthur Passage, which opens into Chatham Sound leading to Prince Rupert.

We arrived in Prince Rupert around 4 p.m. and felt like we were seeing the “big city.” After docking at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club (see photo, not your typical yacht club), Roland, Sharon and I immediately turned on our computers to take advantage of the WiFi … which is s-l-o-w, and transmitting a very weak signal; and Jim rinsed down the boat.

We then took a short walk into town and had dinner at SMILES SEAFOOD, a cute little restaurant overlooking the marina, where Marcel waited on us with fish and chips for all. As we were leaving the docks, a Nordhavn 55 by the name of Segue docked behind us …. Looked like a brand new boat.

Port Rupert is the largest city in northern B.C. …. Population 13,000. The town is filled with a few restaurants and a charming selection of stores catering to boaters and cruise ship passengers that come in once a week. There’s also a Safeway grocery store and liquor store, which we plan to hit in the morning before leaving the docks.

While here I also set up my iPad, but can’t get a connection to download any applications or iBooks. Anticipation!!!! Maybe in Ketchikan!