Hi All,

 

We've covered a lot of territory in the two weeks since we left Port Ludlow, WA.  We've travelled 200 miles as the crow flies and 300 miles over the sea floor.  We are anchored at N 50 degrees 34 minutes and W 126 degrees 27 minutes in a small cove off Baronet Passage, outside Potts Lagoon, West Craycroft Island, BC, Canada.

 

We've left Puget Sound, crossed the Straights of Juan de Fuca, traversed the Gulf Islands, the Straight of Georgia, Desolation Sound, and part of Johnstone Straight.  We are now in the beginning of the North.  Once you go through the tidal rapids past Desolation Sound, the scenery gets more spectacular and the feeling is more remote.  The only sign of civilization in this cove is three commercial crab pots and about four boats a day crossing the entrance to the cove.  We were greeted by a bald eagle when we arrived.

 

Margie is in hunter gathering mode.  Yesterday we dropped a prawn trap in the main channel on our way in and she put out two crab traps near the boat.  This morning we had 30 prawns and two Dungeness crab.  Chuck baked bread and cookies.  We had prawns and rice for lunch and will have open faced crab sandwiches on fresh bread with melted cheese for dinner. 

 

The weather reminds us of 2001, the year we went to Ketchikan.  Afterwards when we got to Seattle, people asked us if we took the boat out sailing in the winter.  Our answer was that we got our fill of winter sailing the summer we went to Alaska.

 

We will stay here for a few days, then to Port McNeill to top off the fuel tanks and pick up what may be our last fresh fruit and vegetables for months.

 

One highlight was talking with Scott Malone on SV Whisper via HAM radio right after he crossed the equator on his single handed journey from New Zealand to Washington State where his wife and boys will rejoin the crew.

 

Our most unusual experience was seeing a Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft approx 30 feet wide and 90 feet long going through a 35 foot wide channel.

 

For those of you who want more details of our journey:

 

May 15 Port Ludlow to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island where we met up with friends who have a sistership to ours.

 

May 16 Friday Harbor to Reid Harbor on Stuart Island.

 

May 17 walked from Reid Harbor to Turn Point, the lighthouse at the NW corner of the San Juan Islands.

 

May 18-20  Reid Harbor to Tsehum Harbour to clear customs.  We stayed at the Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club and visited friends.  We also restocked fresh food (border crossing restrictions) and picked up a few Canadian favorites we can't get in the states like Peak Freans biscuits (cookies in American English) and Shreddies cereal.

 

May 21 Tsehum Harbour to Ganges Harbour.

 

May 22 Ganges Saturday market and travel to Clam Bay on the NE side of Kuper Island.

 

May 23 dinghy ride through "The Cut" between Kuper and Thetis Islands

 

May 24 Clam Bay to the Nanaimo Yacht Club.  Walked along the waterfront to town for groceries and our favorite used book store run by the Nanaimo Literacy Project.

 

May 25 up the Straight of Georgia to Tribune Bay on the south end of Hornby Island near Comox.

 

May 26-28 to Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island for a few days of R&R.  We got a tantalizing preview of prawns with a catch totaling seven.  350 feet of line is a lot to pull in by hand for only 7 prawns.  Margie rowed through to the tidal lagoon, timing it just right to have the current with her in both directions.  There were a total of 3 to 5 boats per night.  In the middle of summer there can be 100.

 

May 29, governed by the tides, we left in the afternoon to pass through Hole in the Wall rapids at the 7PM slack.  It ran 11 knots earlier in the day.  For reference, our top speed is 8.5 knots or around 10 MPH.  We spent the night at Bodega Anchorage outside the Octopus Islands and Wyatt Bay.

 

May 30, again governed by the tides, we left at 6AM to pass through Okisollo Channel at slack and have current with us up Discovery Channel and Johnstone Straight.  We had enough wind to sail about half of the way.  We turned off at Havannah Channel and spent the night anchored behind the islands at Matilpi, an abandoned first nations village.

 

May 31, once again governed by the tides, we left at noon for slack at Chatham Channel narrows and came to Baronet Passage.

 

We will send this from Port McNeill.

 

Enjoy!