August 31, 2008 Port Orchard

running under the Tacoma Narrows Bridges

We are home!!!
We have put exactly 400 hours on the engines and have travelled just over 3000 miles in 4 months minus 6 days and with two weeks off when we had to return home for family and business. It has all gone by way too fast. We have seen amazing stuff, been to amazing places, shared it with great friends and travel partners and are home in one piece with virtually nothing bad happening throughout the trip.

We spent the last few days in Longbranch with the Roche Harbor Yacht club in one of our famous wagon wheels. 25 boats formed the circle on Friday in relatively stiff breezes. For a while we were not sure the wheel would hold but after Glen, Dave, Nat and I put out a few extra anchors it would have held even in Dixon Entrance, well maybe not but it held together and the winds abated later that night. We had three wonderful days hanging out with old friends, that is just figuratively speaking, and having a grand old time. Three days if the longest we have spent in any one spot in the last four months by the way.



the Wagon Wheel and a jet powered Kayak

We went to the Labor Day dance at the Longbranch improvement club and had a good time listening and dancing to good old 60s and 70's music. Jim Valley of the old Paul Revere and the Raiders group showed up and played with the band for a while and it was really quite good.

Today James and JJ came down and rode back with us to Port Orchard. The water was perfect and except for a small thunder storm with a little lightening and a bit of rain we had a prefect run home.

We had to move the sailboat that was taking up our space at the dock but I found the email rom June telling me who he was and called him and he will move it out of here tomorrow. Until them we are sharing the space.

It is bittersweet to be home. Nice to have the journey safely behind us but it all went by so fast and there is so much more to see and do that were sorry it is over and we have to unpack and go back to work.

So, for now this will be the final entry into the blog for a while. We will perhaps pick it up again the next time were out but thanks for following along on our trip nd sharing it vicariously. we enjoyed keeping you entertained and hope you enjoyed the adventure as much as we enjoyed sharing it.

August 28, 5 days left

Were anchored in Gig Harbor today. Got in last night after a long rund from Port Ludlow on perfect waters. Hardly any breeze until we rounded Southworth and then we ran into 15 knot head winds and a nice chop but prior to that there was hardly a ripple on the water

We stopped at Brownsville for some fuel, they were selling it for the rediculous low price of 4.02 a gallon, wow what a deal.

The two tall ships, Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chief were there and whe we pulled out they were just leaving and were putting up full sail which is quite a sight.






further south we found more evidence of a windy night. Another sail boat driven aground after its anchor drug in the night. Not a good place to be but better than the two fishing boats in Port Ludlow.



The weather is not sounding all that great for the weekend, go figure its a holiday.
We will try to find Glen and Liz today and hook up with them for the evening.

August 27

Well, It blew fairly hard here in Port Ludlow. I have always thought of this place as windy and it lived up to its reputaion last night with a gust of 29.9 at the dock.

These two boats drug anchor with some serious consequences. Chris was happy we were not hanging on an anchor last night. For a while I thought we were going to tear the top canvas off it was rattling so hard.

August 26, Port Ludlow

We left Roche Harbor this am about 10 in perfect blue sky and calm wind conditions. The crossing of the straits went perfect on almost flat water all the way with the exception of a few lumps off Lime Kiln Point. The currents there were contrary to wind and out direction but by going further off shore we got out of the back eddie and eventually got a push south bound.

We had a free night of moorage at Port Ludlow that we won at the Mainship Rendevous last year that we thought we would use up so we are here for the night. The weather is changing again and it has started to rain and the wind is picking up.

At Roche we ran into Jim and Marcia Krell on Chinoo again. They arrived shortly after we did after running all the way from Campbell River. In talking to them about the weather it was a good thing we took shelter at Maple Bay and in Tod Inlet. They said the night we were at Maple Bay that they were in 35 knot winds on their anchor and woke up to a dragging anchor. They listened all night as numerous boats called for coast guard assistance and they heard of several boats that went on the rocks during the night. We never felt a ripple all night. Apparently it was not much better the next night when we were in Tod Inlet.

While walking the dog I ran into Gail Stewart, they were also at Roche, docked over on the guest dock after spending a couple nights at the outstation. Never did find Doug.

Weather and wind permitting we will head south tomorrow and maybe grab the illegal anchor bouy out in front of Steves house at Horsehead Bay. Yes Liz they have one of those over the top houses you mentioned in your blog and no you don't want to know what it costs.

And yes, I know it is a four day weekend and I don't have to go back to work till Tuesday but I am still going back with a bad attitude and Tuesday is only a week away.

August 25 Roche Harbor

Were back home in Washington!

We left Maple Bay on Sunday Morning in heavy rain and with strong winds forcaste. the winds never materialized and we had a flat sea all the way to Tod Inlet where we anchored for the night.
We decided to go tour Buchart Gardens late in the afternoon and evening since they are open till 11pm and the trails and gardens are all lit up and the rain eased up in the evening so we were able to spend about 3 hours wandering around the grounds and had a great time. It is the first time either of us have ever been there and it was well worth the time albeit a bit pricy to get in. The days of sneaking in the back way are gone with security fences and a credit card swipe at the gate and remote control cameras and speakers. You never have contact with an actual person but they get your money anyway before you get in.

We left Tod Inlet about 10 this morning in bright sun and perfect conditions and got to Roche and Customs about 1:30. customs was a breeze, about 15 minutes and we were through. the Roche Harbor Outstation was open so we slid in there for the night and will mosey south across the straits tomorrow, wind permitting.

Were winding down and getting close to the end of this amazing experience and have had virtually no problems throughout the trip that amounted to anything serious. count our blessings and keep our fingers crossed till were home and the trip is complete.

Not looking forward to going back to work but alas not much choice. Gotta pay for this little endeavor now and restock the bank account for the next time. Yes there will be a next time.

August 23, Our 34th anniversay

Our next boat, in our dreams

34 years ago today we were married. After four months together on the boat we may make it another couple of years. I think we still like each other and have not tried to throw each other overboard more than a couple of times.

We left Nanaimo this morning about 10 and ran Dodd Narrows just after flood began with about a 2 knott current. No problems



Dodd Narrows

We sitting in Maple Bay at the Maple Bay Yacht Club Reciprocal dock. Nice place and I am a bit surprised we found an opening here at all. But we got here fairly early and there was plenty of space. Its full up now however.

James, we are seeing a bunch of 26 tollys up here. We have actually seen a couple f McGregors as well but far more 26 tollys are in service in the Gulf Islands and Alaska for that matter.



26 foot tollys are popular boats

Steve we found a new boat for you and you would not have to change the name.



The bees have finally arrived. We have had virtually no bugs and no bees throughout this trip but today we have bees flying around. Chris bought two of these paper fake wasp nests that are supposed to scare away bees. I think they are nesting in them now.

Were supposed to get more wind tonight, winds up to 35 mph forcast for after midnight so we decided on a dock rather than a new untested anchor that I picked up in Nanaimo.

I picked up a 40 lb bruce since Glens seemed to do all right the whole time we were in alaska and then Iread all the anchor tests and found out that the Bruce Anchor faired worse than all others combined for holding power. It sets everytime but drags an very low forces. so when I get back I guess I will contact the manufacture of my other anchor and see if the will send me a new one or go check out second wave to see if they have a CQR for cheap. That is what I had on the old boat and it seemed to do quite well and faired better in all the tests than the Bruce except it did not have as high a percentage of sets as did the Bruce. Too many variables to be sure what to use but for sure heavier is better.

Schedule is Todd Inlet and Buchart Gardens weather permitting Sunday or Monday.
Friday Harbor and customs on Tuesday
Wednesday cross Straits of Juan De Fuca to Port Townsend area
Thrusday run down to Quartermaster or all the way to Cutts Island
Friday Longbranch for the club cruise.
Sat and Sun at Longbranch
Sunday home
Monday Back to work if I remember what it is, where it is and what I do?
It will take about two weeks to unload the boat and clean it after living on it for four months.

August 22, 2008

Sunset before the storm at Lund

Nanaimo BC.
We left Lund Wednesday morning during a short lull in the winds. We stayed two nights, Monday and Tuesday, waiting for the winds to abate. It looks like we made a good decision about where to wait out the weather. After talking to some other boaters and hearing their horror stories about sitting out the storm at anchor the decision to find a dock was a sound one. The first night at Lund was not too bad but it was obvious that the winds kicked up fairly strong that afternoon and a run towards Powell River would have been fairly rough. We talked to a couple sailboats who came in from Powell river the second day they said it was a wild ride, like running through a car wash and it was even worse the day before coming up from Pender Harbor to Powell river which is when we would have been running that section if we had not stopped at Lund when we did. .
The second night, Tuesday, in Lund was a dark and stormy night just as they predicted, boy howdy! They predicted 35 plus mph winds and we certainly had that. The floating breakwater we were on was moving 30 or 40 feet back and forth during the peak winds and the canvas sounded like it was going to come apart at times. We had thunder and lightening and it rained several inches. I clocked steady 20 mph winds at the dock so I can only imagine how bad it was out where there was no protection. The floating breakwater that we were tied to is only about 100 yards inside the point of rock that protects Lund from a SE wind. We could see the rollers going by just off the breakwater and they were 3 to 4 footers easily and every boat that came in was rocking violently. Those that chanced going south bound were taking water over the top and they were only a quarter mile away from us so there was not much land protecting us from the winds. Again, I am very happy we were at a dock and not on an anchor. We spoke to some folks later who said they were anchored on Jedidiah Island, SE of Texada and they said they clocked 40 mph winds in the anchorage and their anchors dragged and had to be reset several times during the night to keep from being driven onto the rocks. The next night they were in Garden bay and the wind was so strong there that it tilted them sideways at the dock. Another couple who were in Lund the second night with us said that they were in Squirrel Cove with 70 other boats the first night and several of them drug anchor in 25 mph winds. People who were in Tenedos Bay also drug anchor all night. One guy behind us at Nanaimo apparently lost his tender during the storm and never found it.
We Left Lund Wednesday morning with the forecast for the winds to increase again around noon but figured we could make it down to Nelson Island where there were a couple of options for shelter if they did pick up
The winds were fine when we left but for the first several miles there were good 3 foot rollers off our Starboard forward quarter that made for an uncomfortable ride for about the first hour. After that we got behind Texada Island and the rollers went away and the remainder of the ride was quite nice. We tucked into Musket Island Marine Park on Hardy Island about noon just as the winds were beginning to pick up as forecast.
We tried to anchor but for some reason could not seem to get the anchor to bite. We tried 4 times and each time the anchor just skidded across the bottom with no bite whatsoever. I finally pulled it up all the way and there was no anchor. The plow portion of the anchor had sheared right off the shank and the shank was all that was left attached to the chain. Not a good thing.



All that is left of the Anchor

I quickly rigged the spare anchor and was able to get it to grab and then got us stern tied but I was a bit concerned about the direction we were facing if the winds picked up a lot and sure enough they did. The SE winds curled around the headland we were behind and put a pretty big strain on the anchor and the stern tie was tight enough to play music on. I decided that this was not the best place to be in a strong SE wind so we pulled the anchor and moved across the bay to Nelson Island and Ballet Bay which was a good move as the winds if anything were even stronger than the previous two nights. Ballet Bay is much more protected and once we got tucked in we did not even feel a breeze the rest of the night. But it rained again even harder than the night before and by morning I had about 6 inches of water in the dinghy to pump out.
Ballet Bay is nice but it is surrounded by private property which limits the available access to shore but for a storm shelter it is as good as it gets. Each time on this trip that there have been strong wind warnings we have been able to find secure shelter and usually have found a dock to tie to. Lesson learned, if there are high winds predicted, find shelter and say put. We were certainly more comfortable at a dock during the wind storm at Ketchikan and Annette Inlet and again at Lund than we would have been at anchor. The other wind storm when we were at Meyers Cove in Meyers Passage either never materialized or we were tucked away in a good spot. We going shopping for a bigger heavier anchor however since there is not always a convenient dock to tie to when the weather changes.



Ballet Bay after the storm

Thursday morning the winds had quieted down completely and we had a perfect day to motor across the Straits of Georgia to Nanaimo. We stopped briefly at Pender Harbor to pick up some diesel since we have been going about 40 hours since filling at Port McNeil. Figured I might be running a bit short and running out of fuel in the middle of the straits would not be a good idea.



Calm water in the Straits of Georgia

We were able to get a spot inside the harbor at Nanaimo and I think were going to stay a couple days and go exploring. The city has a bunch of parks with bike trails so we may actually get to use the bikes Sherm and Nancy gave us and of course Newcastle Island has all sorts of hiking trails to walk the dog on.

August 19th Still in Lund

We decided to stop at Lund due to the predicted high winds for the afternoon. We probably could have made it to Powell River before the picked up but there was no gurantee there would be room there and there are not many other options.
We woke up this am and I decided against a run down for the same reason and the winds if anything were worse this am than they were the day before.
Apparently we made a good choice. We talked to a couple folks who came up from Powell river and they said it was like being in a washing machine and it was worse the day before south of Powell River. So we could have made it but it would have been 40 miles of rough ride and I see no reason to do that right now.

It looks like the weather will get worse before it gets better. Looked at the satellite photo of the weather system and it looks like a lot of clouds out there and one tight low pressure system. Winds up to 35 or 40 predicted or tonight. OH boy.

We are safe in harbor so not to worry. If we get a chance to run south we will but most likely we will be here one more day and shoot for Thursday or even friday when the winds will shift to NW and be behind us. Still forcasting 25 plus MPH winds however for the rest of the week.
10 to 20 MPH winds we can do, 25 to 35 is not so much fun.

just photos

Our boats at Teakerne arm from above the falls.



Falls at Teakerne Arm



Chris took this photo and I swear I am in the photo but you have to look close



The Alaska Crew at the Lake, Teakerne Arm



Dinghy rides from squirrel cove to Refuge cove



Playing in the reversing rapids into Squirrel cove lagoon

August 18, Lund

Foggy morning leaving Lagoon cove



Intimidating Johnstone Straits, like glass and a little fog.

We stopped at Lund to wait out the winds that were predicted sometime this am. We probably could have made it all the way down but it is about 2 pm here now and the wind has been kicking up the last couple of hours. So probably a good idea to stay here. We will get the laundry done, fill up with water and do some grocery shopping while were here. LUnd is the northern most point on Hwy 101. You cannot drive any further than this. We have been here many times with our kayaks as this is the starting point for many of our kayak trips into desolation sound.

The place is changing, there is a big new bakery restaurant, a big new modern home that was not here last time we were up and there appears to be several new large homes just north of lund across from the copeland Islands. someone has money to invest apparently.

I have not been putting in any photos now that we are relying on the air card and roaming charges force me to limit my time on line. But I am using the Lund hotel computer so i will throw a bunch of photos on this time to catch yall up with what we have been up to and the terrible conditions we have been dealing with up here.

August 17th Sunday at Prudeaux Haven

We cruised down from Pendrell Sound to Prudeaux Haven, probably the most popular spot in Desolation Sound for boaters. It is nice but the water is not as warm or as clean as in Pendrell Sound. We spent the day kayaking, dropped the shrimp pot, x our fingers and hope we do better.

Weather is changing. Looks like several days of big winds so not sure if we will make it south of Lund till that all changes. We could be in a worse place for the weather to go bad on us so we will just wait and see.

Probably will not be able to meet up with Sherm and Nancy now down around smugglers cove since we would have to make the full run tomorrow and that is not likely. The weather and water was simply too warm to leave up here any sooner.

We will stop in Lund tomorrow weather permitting and reprovision and fill up with water. Tuesday we may try to sneak as far as Powell River and then if there is a weather window scoot down to Pender Harbor and wait for the right wind conditions to cross the Straits to the gulf Islands.

Marine Forecast
Winds
Issued 04:00 PM PDT 17 August 2008
Tonight and MondayStrong wind warning in effect. Wind variable 10 knots becoming northwest 10 to 15 this evening then diminishing to light Monday morning. Wind becoming southeast 10 to 15 Monday afternoon then increasing to 15 to 25 Monday evening.

Extended Forecast
Issued 04:00 PM PDT 17 August 2008
Tuesday Wind southeast 15 to 25 knots increasing to 25 to 35 late in the day.
Wednesday Wind southeast 25 to 35 knots diminishing to 10 to 15.
Thursday Wind southeast 10 to 15 knots becoming northwesterly 15 to 20

August 17th Pendrell Sound

We left Teakerne Arm and went just a few miles to Squirrel cove on the 15th. Squirrel cove was very crowded, counted 64 boats in the cove with us including Impulsive, Kenny and Cindy Spiker from the club. They are not hard to miss with the two lighted palm trees on their back deck. After a day of kayaking and floating the reversible river that runs in and out of the lagoon in water that measured 75 degrees, we spent the evening on Kenny’s boat enjoying the full moon, clear sky and warm evening, of course with drink in hand.

Liz and Glen headed south to try and make it across the straits of Georgia before the next wind event and make it to a company retirement event that he is somewhat obligated to attend. We will continue south and maybe meet up with them somewhere in south sound just before labor day at Long Branch.

We were going to go to Grace Harbor but we have been there and heard that the water in Pendrell Sound is the warmest anywhere on the coast. Having never been there we went up and discovered a bit of heaven. There is nothing about this place in any of the guide books which is good because if there were it would be even more crowded than we found it. It is hard to set an anchor because the shores are all steep to, dropping to 150 plus feet within a few feet of shore. We had a really tough time setting the anchor, could not get it to set before we were right on the rocks, tried about 5 times at two different spots when we saw the Impulsive and Kenny asked us to raft up to them. They had one of the better spots near the only shallow area and so we dropped anchor next to them and backed in alongside where they were stern tied. I felt a bit better about not getting my anchor set when one of our neighbors mentioned that he has been coming her for years and more than once he has given up and left after being unable to get his anchor to set in the steep rocky bottom.
We ended up having a perfect spot, beautiful view down the sound with a 2000 foot peak rising at the head. The water here was 77 degrees and of course we spent a good part of the afternoon floating in the water before retiring to the back deck and getting to know the Spiker’s a bit better and they us. They were just made official members of the yacht club at the August Colors cruise even though they have been coming to cruises for the last two years and all along we thought they had been members longer than us.

Shrimp report, 0. Yep they won another round.

The sound we are in is a oyster preserve. The water is so warm it is where commercial operations raise oysters and the entire bay is a no wake zone so as not to disturb the operation and of course you cannot pick oysters here and it is a Rock Fish Conservation area so you cannot fish either.

Were going to Prudeaux Haven tonight, then Lund and then probably down Malispina Strait weather permitting to Pender harbor to get ready to cross the Strait of Georgia to the gulf Islands.

August 11, Rebecca Spit

We spent two nights in Von Donop Inlet. It is a quiet spot, the wind did finally die down later Saturday afternoon but then we had a pretty good thunder storm blow over us. We watched the clouds light up and listened to the thunder for about half an hour and then it started to rain. The aft canvas filled up and dumped right on top of poor Sophie who was not expecting a cold shower. Next morning we woke to sunny skies. We went exploring by dinghy and snuck into the small lagoon at high water and then decided to hike the short trail to Squirrel cove on the opposite side of the island. Supposed to be a 20 minute walk but there were minimal signs and the fork we took ended up leading us right back to the lagoon we had just explored by dink. We never made it to Squirrel cove.

Dropped the shrimp pot outside of the entrance to the inlet in about 280 feet of water. I picked up an ez puller from lagoon cove after pulling 400 feet of line twice without the aid of Glen and his dinghy I decided that 50 bucks was worth it if it made things easier. It does. My float is not big enough, I sank it as I raised the pot and then it stayed submerged so I have to get a bigger float. We did get about a dozen good sized shrimp however.

We pulled anchor and took a leisurely 10 mile run up to Rebecca Spit via Evans Bay. I wanted to check out the bay for future anchorage but it is not worth returning to as all the bay is exposed to south winds and the sore is dotted with private homes.

Rebecca Spit is a popular spot. There must be 30 plus boats here and all the shallow spots are taken so we anchored in 80 feet of water on the second try.
Chris is none too sure about our anchor since it has dragged twice on this trip so she had forbidden me to leave today fearing we will drag again. I think we set pretty well but this is an exposed anchorage a Southeast or Northwest wind decides to kick up. I guess she will have to take Sophie for her walk by kayak.

For some reason the Skype no longer works. On the way north whenever we had connectivity with the air card (at great expense) we could connect with skype. But ever since we have returned to BC, when we are connected, Skype does not recognize the connection and when you try to call it gives you a message that says “skype cannot initiate a call when off line” Makes no sense, we are on line and can do internet but not Skype. This whole staying connected thing in BC is hard sort out. No single system works everywhere or all the time.

August 15, Teakerne Arm

The last couple of days have been really tough. The sun has been out, the temperature is in the 70’s and 80’s and yesterday if the thermometer can be trusted it was in the 90’s.
The water is in the 70’s so we have spent the last two day swimming. Yesterday we spent most of the day in the water. This place has a large waterfall that comes out of a lake a short distance inland. We hiked up to the lake with all the other boaters and spent a hour or so swimming in fresh water, then returned and took a shower under the falls before returning to the boat. We even got Sophie in the water a couple of times, not willingly however. The people at the lake thought we were torturing the poor animal.
This place is like Lake Washington on a summer day. There were boats of all kinds in here enjoying the warm water and scenery. There were people skiing behind jet skis, kits on tubes behind inflatable dinghy’s and lots and lots of boats that came in for just the day or to hike up to the lake. We are very definitely back in civilization now, we share our anchorage with lots of other boats and people now.

Today is going to be a repeat of yesterday, sunny and hot.
We left Octopus Islands after two nights there. They are a beautiful but crowded place but there was plenty of room with a stern tie to shore. We paddled around the area by Kayak and did some exploring. Glen and I did some fishing, just outside of the Rock Fish conservation area which means it is closed to all kinds of fishing. We both caught a couple bottom fish for fresh bait for the shrimp pot which we pulled twice and got nothing. The shrimp are even winning the fishing battle now. No shrimp or crab for the last week.

Not sure where we are headed today, probably spend a good portion here and then move down a few miles to Squirrel cove.

August 8, Von Donop Inlet

We left Cameleon harbour this morning about 1030 and hit dent and Yuculta rapids just before slack to slide through without any problems along with dozens and dozens of other boats all headed south with a few headed north.

Weather was warm yesterday and started that way today but right now it has clouded up and is blowing pretty hard inside the inlet where no winds are supposed to be able to reach. It was blowing 25 plus outside when we came in.

We will hold up here for a day or two and enjoy the place.

Now that we are south of all the hazardous passages and big water we can sit back and relax. The only challenge left is to get across the straits of Georgia and after what we have seen and done that should be a piece of cake.

Fish are still winning. Tried again last night, caught two dogfish and a small halibut off the boat at anchor and watched a large salmon jump next to the boat but without a salmon tag we did not throw him any bait.

August 7,2008

We are in lagoon Cove today. We left Potts lagoon about 10 this morning after a pleasant night anchored there. We explored the inner lagoon by kayak and apparently missed at least half of it not realizing how big it was. Interesting place with ruins of an old dam of some sort and tumbled down cabins along the shore.

We got into Lagoon Cove early, good thing because after we arrived a group of half dozen Grand Banks boats arrived and we watched as th obviously inexperienced captains tried docking. It turns out all the boats are two week leased and they are part of the mother goose expeditions. Guided by one experienced boater all the rest come out for a two week period an do a section of the alaska trip. This group is on the final leg home to Bellingham.

No luck with shrimp or crab last night and after two weeks of fishing for salmon I finally realized I do not have a salmon stamp for Candada. Good thing I have not caught any salmon up here.

We will try for Blin channel tomorrow and then head down through Yuculta rapids the next day and spend the rest of the time before Glen and Liz return in Desolation. Might not have any connectivity for a while once we are in desolation.

August , Port Mcneil

Reflections



Sunset in Echo Bay

We returned to Port McNeil today and dropped off Buck and Lisa for their long drive home. We talked them into staying one more day which was not hard to do. After doing the Pig Feed at Echo Bay we went up to Kwatsi Bay about 10 miles up Tribune Channel. We had good intel that there was good shrimping to be had in the bay directly across from it. It was good intel and we did fairly well but we were augmented with a few extras by Larry and Kathy who were a bit more succesful with four pots to our one.

Kwatsi is an interesting place, tucked in among towering rock cliffs. Last November at 6 in the morning a massive avalance of trees and mud slid off the cliffs and missed the home of the marina owners by about 100 feet. Must have been a pretty exciting few minutes.


We tried out hand at fishing in the bay and fortuneately for us we did not catch anything but a large shark. There were 18 to 20 lab salmon jumping all over but they had no interest in anything we put in the water. It was a good thing cause Larry told me later that Kwatsi bay is closed to all fin fishing. Hoo Boy!\

The evening was glorious with warm sun and blue sky but shortly after the sun went behind the mountains the fog rolled in. Next morning we were greeted by heavy dew and think fog. We also watched as two large cougars came down to the shoreline and prowled the waterline for about 30 minutes. We got a few good shots of them from a distance.





As we left the bay I called the marina opeerator, Anka, and told her of the cougars thinking the other boaters there might like to see them. She reacted quickly when I told her there were two cougars working their way down the shoreline towards them. She said "Two Cougars!!!!" Yes two. We then saw her running up the dock to her house and s few moments later she called her husband on the marine VHF and said, Get home, NOW, I need you here!. His proper response, I am on my way!.

I guess they must have had problems with cougars cause they were not happy about the sighting and I doubt if they were going out to take photos of them.

We stayed in Waddington Bay last night and woke again to thick fog. The night before I sent Lisa and Buck out in the dinghy to drop the shrimp pot and they came back about 45 minutes later all excited. They had been surrounded by about a hundred porpoises swimming, jumping and following the dinghy within arms reach. They did not have a camera so the came back to get us and the camera to proove it really happened. We went back out and for about 20 minutes we sat in the dingy and watched a huge pod of them swimming, jumping clear out of the water and swimming at breakneck speed right under our boat. Buck was able to reach out and touch one as it went by. Pretty exciting stuff.

We went back and enjoyed Shrimp Cocktails, Fried halibut, Shrimp skewers and crab for dinner. A better meal could not be had in any of the finest restaurants. What a way to send Buck and Lisa off. I think they had a grand time.

We will slowly head south now, working our way down into Desolation Sound in about a week. tomorrow night maybe Lagoon Cove, then Forward Harbor and then catch the tides back through Dent and Yuculta rapids into Desolation.