Pierless Blog - 2026-05-27, 28 - Blind Channel to Forward Harbour / Douglas Bay
May 27th - Wednesday - Departure Time 5:45 a.m.
We are working our way NW to Johnstone Strait. Johnstone is a difficult stretch of water this time of year because the prevailing winds are NW and the strait itself is oriented NW. It is also know for frequent high winds. This means when the winds are up and the current is moving NW against the prevailing winds, sea conditions can become quite dramatic... We've been avoiding of Johnstone Strait so far, but there is 12 Nm stretch which cannot be avoided. From Blind Channel we will stay north of West Thurlow Island, then cut north through Wellbore Channel to continue west above Hardwicke Island. At the end of Hardwicke, we will enter this 12 Nm section of Johnstone Strait.
Though not as bad as Johnstone, the channels we will travel are also oriented toward the prevailing winds, so it can still be challenging, though there are more places we can duck in for relief. Gale force winds are still in the forecast, so we will try to get as far as we can before the winds rise later in the day. That's the plan...
Our first hurdle is to get through Green Point Rapids about 1 Nm north of our anchorage. The rapids will be at maximum ebb at 4:45 a.m. We want the ebb current to push us in our direction, but the maximum ebb current is a bit high. We decided 6:00 a.m. should be a good compromise. Current should be a little more than 4 Kts.
Upon arrival, it seemed there was little to no current and we worried we made an error in planning. It quickly changed to a strong but very manageable current in our favor and we shot down Chancellor Channel making good time. At this point we were hailed by the commercial transport ship Aurora Explorer which was coming our way. They wanted to clarify our plan and which side they should pass on.
We spoke with the captain a couple of times on the radio and learned that while they are a commercial transport ship (landing craft type with a drop bow to allow vehicles to drive off directly), they also carry a dozen passengers in six cabins to go along as tourists! They have a chef onboard and the guests get to see lots of the remote sited that are served by the ship. It isn't cheap, but sounds like a great way for a more intimate trip through these beautiful waters.
As we progressed down the channel, the wind steadily increased until it was gusting above 25 Kts. With the wind against the current, waves started to build a bit. Not too bad, but a bit of splash and spray came our way to the cockpit. We hugged the shoreline to get relief from the wind and that helped. We needed to keep pushing forward in order to reach the next rapid area near slack, so we put on more layers of clothing and kept going!
Other than the wind, it was a fine sunny morning. Hugging the shore helped and we were able to make our turn up into Wellbore Channel around 8:30 a.m. before the current changed against us.
Sunderland Channel was the next path toward Johnstone Strait. The current would be against us until 3:00 p.m., so we ducked into Forward Harbor after traversing the Wellbore Channel rapids. We thought it would be a brief wait, but as we watched the weather and checked on forecasts, we decided late afternoon was not the time to be in Johnstone Strait, so stayed in Douglas Bay for the night.
We met another cruiser in Douglas Bay who is heading to Haida Gwaii. We plan to keep in touch as we all move north.
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