#10 - Sullivan Bay to Port Hardy

Today we quietly left for Port Hardy, BC at 6AM. There was little wind and calm seas although bigger winds were forecast for later in the morning. We arrived around 9AM, an uneventful cruise.

The interesting thing about today's cruise was that our boat position was monitored live and displayed on a Google Map at www.marinetraffic.com. On this website you can view any ship or boat in the world that carries a Automatic ID System (AIS) transponder, like we do, and is in range of an AIS receiver connected to the website.

Here's today's exact route displayed in lavender on www.marinetraffic.com.

Since our course was displayed live as we progressed across Queen Charlotte Strait, anybody viewing the website could watch our progress. It may not be as exciting as watching paint dry, but the AIS transponder helps other ships (and you) know our location, course, and speed which is updated from Wild Blue's AIS transponder every 3 minutes or so. I'll leave the transponder on over the next few evenings, and if you maneuver the marinetraffic.com Google Map over Port Hardy, BC, Canada you can see our current position, within 10 feet or so. Try it! (Hint: Port Hardy is on the Northeast edge of Vancouver Island near the top. Oh and Vancouver Island is in British Columbia, Canada. Click on a lavender diamond until you find us. You'll need to zoom in quit a bit).

By clicking on the lavender diamond, you can see more info about Wild Blue.

The last piece of land in Wells Passage before entering Queen Charlotte Strait

Port Hardy looks about the same as last year, although the Seagate Hotel now looks to be boarded up. Sorry Dick and Harriet.

This eagle has captured a fish and has a tough time protecting it from other eagles.

We may spend a few days here in Port Hardy. Alex needs to replace a pump..... a macerator pump. If you don't know what a macerator pump is, be thankful. It's a good thing. Neat pump pictures tomorrow.