Monday 9th July Prince Rupert Island British Columbia Canada - 8 hours BST

A rare visit by Seven Seas Navigator on this extended cruise of 9 as opposed to 7 days. Named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine this deep water port was destined to become a major seaport for NW Canada. The town was founded by Charles Melville Hays, the general manager of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Charles Hays had great plans for Prince Rupert including berthing facilities for large passenger ships and the development of tourism. Charles Hays perished in the Titanic and the plans came to nothing. Prince Rupert was the Halibut fishing industry until 1980 when a long running dispute with American fisherman threatened to turn nasty the US Coastguard Service set up a base at Ketchikan to patrol these waters. 2005 marked a turning point in the fortunes of Prince Rupert with the construction of a major container shipping port which today ships grain and coal to China - Alaska is 3 days closer to China than Seattle.
A pleasant small town now working hard to encourage more cruise ships to call in. I was met on the quay by a band of cheerful residents offering advice on what to see. I chose the Northern British Columbia Museum recently constructed from Western Red Cedar, I have shingles made from this wood from British Columbia adorning my roof at Home! The museum is extremely well set out with succinct and interesting descriptions on the items displayed bringing to life some of the exquisite carving and weaving from over a thousand years of settlement by the Tsimshian and Haida tribes. Very enjoyable hour.
We set off in the afternoon for yet another whale watching excursion but after 3 hours and covering some 70 miles no whales were to be found but we did see a colony of Harbor Seals and a colony of Stellar Sea Lions. The main distinction between seals and sea lions is that the latter have articulated flippers that bend like elbows, enabling them to climb.
Despite the disappointment at finding no whales we were treated to a spectacular display of feeding Bald Eagles swooping down close to the catamaran to take pieces of pork fat thrown overboard by the crew, so not an entirely wasted foray.
We are now heading for Vancouver where I disembark for my travels on the Rocky Moutaineer Train not sure how good the Wi-Fi will be though.

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