On to the gang at Hunter Bay

Day 103 – August 21

It rained most of the night. What’s with this summer weather? Maybe we should turn back north across the border. The weather started to clear by mid morning and about the sun is out but it’s not at all hot today.

Reflections and Mirage are both going to be in Hunter Bay with us tonight.

By 2pm we were all anchored in Hunter Bay with Reflections in the middle. Kasey jumped ship and came over to Magic before the boats were fully tied up. He saw us coming and got excited.

Ha Ha, both Sophie and Kasey know who their buddies are. I think they like Magic cookies. Linda is now calling Kasey ‘the tramp’.

Nat and Linda put two crab pots down - pot #1 – 0, pot #2 – 8 (5 or 6 keepers). Humm, Tom they are doing better than we are. Go figure! His second pull for the day was also fruitful but I didn’t get the counts.

That’s okay we are still going to have ‘fresh frozen’ salmon, and fresh French bread for dinner tonight; with cream puffs for dessert.

One thing about this trip, we have eaten well, or too well most of the time.

Garrison Bay to West Sound, Orcas Island

Day 102 – August 20

I was up early as usual. At 7:00 am it was both sunny and raining. Interesting weather, I hope the sun wins the morning battle for the kind of day we’ll have.

About 10 am the crew was ready to go for a dinghy ride around the bay. Glen played tour guide and I stayed back to try to get some work done for the blog and home front stuff on the computer. I haven’t been able to connect to the internet since Campbell River about a week ago so I’m out of sync.

We spent the day touring through the islands. We stopped in Deer Harbor for lunch, and or course Ice cream.

We anchored in West Sound of Orcas Island. The sun never fully won the battle today. There were intermittent showers during the day and evening.

Roche Harbor and Garrison Bay

Day 101 – August 19 Roche Harbor and Garrison Bay

Everyone got up and starting to move by about 8:30 am. Mirage was headed to Sydney to visit friends while Reflections and Magic were crossing the border. Reflections headed for Friday Harbor, and we headed for Roche Harbor. It was bitter sweet to be heading back into the lower 48; we are truly heading toward the end of this adventure.

Nat and Linda chatting with us in the early morning; coffee in hand.

We are picking up mom and dad Dodge (Keith and Suzi) and long time family friend Marian Larsen in Roche. Mom and Dad sold their boat about 10 years ago so it will be fun for them to be back on the water. Marian and her family boated with the Dodges for many years.

As we entered Roche we past Denese and Terry Day sitting in the harbor, and Steve and Kim Oberto, Maximo were in on the dock and caught our lines. We’d last seen the Oberto’s in Sitka. We cleared customs and then moved to another slip to tie up for an hour or so. We needed to fill the water tanks and go to the store to get a few US approved fruits and vegetables. On the way up the dock we found Jim Stutz and Linda and had a quick visit and then up the dock to the store and to find our new crew. We found the crew sitting on the tables near the flags anxiously awaiting our arrival. We did our shopping and of course we got ice cream cones before heading back down to Magic. Once aboard we headed out of the harbor.

We anchored in Garrison Bay for the night. We knew we were back in the USA as it started raining. The wind kicked up and it was basically a nasty evening and night outside. We stayed inside, visited and watched vacation photos all evening. Bedtime was a bit loud for those in the bow as the wind blew us around and the anchor chain was snapping back and forth on the bow.

On to Winter Cove --- Nope, Change of Plans --- On to Todd Inlet

Day 100 – August 18

Wow, this is day 100 of our Adventure.

Oh Nat, Linda, if you're looking for me I'm over here. :)

When I woke up this morning there were 8 boats; 7 sailboats plus Magic anchored in the bay. It’s interesting that this side appears to be the sailboat side. Come to think of it there were very few sailboats on the harbor side. The wind has picked up this morning, flags are flapping, our gauge has been reading 10 and with gusts to 12. There are whitecaps over by the point, but we are sitting in water with only ½ in ripples.

Today is the day to finish up all that forbidden fruit etc… before crossing back into the states. Hum, better take inventory on the refrigerator and liquor cabinet. We might have to have a party tonight. Our thought is to go to Winter Cove for tonight and cross over tomorrow morning.

Change of plans. Linda and Nat Collier from Reflections (you might be reading her blog which is linked to mine), just called. Reflections and Mirage; Doug and Gail Stewart from RHYC are in Todd Inlet. We are now going to skip Winter Cove and head to Todd. It will be fun to visit with them this afternoon and evening.

Linda called again just as we were entering the inlet and asked where we were. She said that Doug said that if we weren’t there within 15 minutes to delay our arrival for 1 ½ hours. They were all going to go over to Brentwood for lunch. Whew! Since we were at the entrance to the inlet we were in time. We got tied to the port side of Reflections and jumped into their dinghy and headed off for a wonderful lunch.

After lunch we all did various things. The Stewarts and their guests took a long walk, Colliers read and napped, Glen kayaked, and I finished baking bread and working on sorting trip photos. I’ve discovered that we have taken over 9,000 photos. Thank goodness for digital cameras; the film process would have cost us a fortune. Well not as much as our fuel bill but still a lot. And yes there will be a lot of photos deleted. Just how many whale splashes (late shots), or isn’t that an interesting tree shots can one handle.

The eight of us had a group dinner on Reflections upper deck. I provided a big green salad to use up some of the forbidden foods (oranges, green onions), and sent forbidden potatoes over for Linda to roast. Of course I also baked bread and we devoured most of one loaf. Gail baked a yummy blackberry crisp for dessert from berries they’d picked in the morning. After dinner we all came back to Magic and talked about the adventure and had a slide show of sorts. Since the post trip slide show has not been started, it was more of a here’s a ton of photos let’s see what we see show. It was sure great to spend some time with these good friends on the water again.

On to Montaque

Day 99 – August 17

We got up early and took the dinghy over to the end of the cove, and went for a long walk along the shoreline trail. It started drizzling on our way back, and continued as we readied Magic for departure. Actually the rain felt good. We pulled out of Smugglers on schedule and the rain stopped.

There are high clouds and blue sky today. It doesn’t look like it will be as hot as the past two days which is okay.

We’re taking the scenic route today to see some places that we have not seen in years. First was a quick trip through Silva Bay; nice place, but very full of boats. Glen said it looked like Eagle Harbor but with a lot nicer boats. Then we went through Pirates Cove. Wow this place has changed. It is full of boats, which would be expected at high boating season. But there are now a couple floating docks and a community of houses with a large private dock or small marina. We have lots of fond memories of adventures in Pirates Cove from years gone by. It was fun going in there again. And the tide was out so it was easy to see the ‘correct’ way into the cove. (old story).

A plane, a plane. If I’d only heard Glen say it, I could have had the camera ready. I was sitting in the salon when all of a sudden a plane came flying by our port side, at boat level and between us and the rock wall shoreline which was not too far away. Yikes I saw him through the side window. I grabbed the camera and ran for the back deck but not fast enough. Glen said it was flying directly toward us at boat level just above the water and then just before it got to us, it swerved to the right and came along side us. After he went by us he tipped his wings to both sides as if he was waving goodbye. Dare devils, I tell you these float plane pilots are dare devils.

We got to Montaque Harbor and took a spin through both sides before deciding to anchor on the North side. Four sailboats plus us on that side; while the harbor side is packed. Every buoy was full; it looks like a floating city. After anchoring we went to shore to take a walk around the beach and park. The campground appeared to be pretty full too, although some people appeared to be packing up as it was the end of the weekend. It never got totally sunny today, but it was hot and somewhat muggy. Our walk finished it was time to go back to Magic. After cleaning up a bit we headed into the harbor by dinghy to go up to the Hummingbird Pub for dinner.

While on the bus to and from the Pub we saw quite a few deer along the side of the road. A few made a dash across but none close enough to earn the bus driver any points. The bus driver told us that they sell deer insurance up here as an add on to your auto policy. Sounds like the insurance agencies have found another way to make a buck (no pun intended), or to save on payouts.

Squirrel to Smugglers Cove

Day 98 – August 16, 2008

It’s going to be another beautiful and hot day. The thermometer in our Pilot House read 68 degrees at 6:30 am. We left all the doors open (screens closed) last night to try to cool things off inside a bit. It worked; the boat is quite comfortable this morning. I spent the very early hours sitting out on the back deck doing some typing this morning. The quiet of the early morning is really nice.

Glen finally got up about 9am and started futzing around in the basement. He pumped water from Magic over to Miner’s Debt so that they would not run out. Tom didn’t know how much water they had left and his gauge stops reading at ½ tank.

The guys went out and pulled the shrimp pots – Miner 3, Dodge 12 shrimp plus 3 of those little lobster looking critters. We definitely are not shrimpers. On the way back a guy anchored near us flagged the guys down and asked if they knew anything about generators, as he had a problem. They talked it over and then Glen got his mask and snorkel and went for a dip to have a look at the underside of the guy’s boat. It turned out that he had some seaweed over an intake, thus blocking the water flow. Glen cleaned it up and the guy was back in business. He was probably out of hot water in his wife’s eyes because she could now have hot water. We now have another bottle of wine for Glen’s efforts.

We split off from the Miner’s today. They are staying in Desolation Sound a bit longer and we are headed further south. We are picking up Keith and Suzi (Glen’s parents), and a long time family friend on Tuesday the 19^th in Roche Harbor. We are moving that direction with the thought of having an extra day in case the crossing looks bad. We’ve had pretty good luck with our crossings throughout the trip and want to keep it that way.

We paused just outside the harbor at Lund for a bit trying to get onto the internet and make some phone calls. The internet was a bust, but the phone worked so we made a few calls. Then headed toward Pender Harbor

We cruised along past Powell River and West View. Boy that area has changed a lot since we were here last. There are lots more houses, and what appear to be newish schools etc… It is a beautiful hot day so the beaches are lined with people playing at the waters edge.

We took a quick tour through Garden Bay – the place was packed with boats. The shoreline is full of houses and lots of new houses are being built, several of them in the mega house category.

As we past Lund there were several bathtub boats out racing around the harbor. Evidently the annual bathtub race has not yet happened so the guys are all out practicing and testing out their engines. For those who don’t know there is an annual race of bathtub boats from ??? (I can't remember) to Nanaimo. It’s quite a hoop to watch. All of the boats must have a bathtub incorporated in the design. Years ago they were simple claw foot style bathtubs with motors and now many are quite sophisticated and high tech looking race boats, but the pilot still sits in a bathtub.

We anchored in Smugglers Cove just before dinner time. It was packed with boats, all lined up along the shoreline with stern lines to shore. On the way in a guy on about a 30 foot sailboat that was anchored sort of in the center called over and asked if we’d like to side tie. We all laughed and kept going. We cruised down through the center and into the back bay where we found our spot. Glen pulled our nose between two sailboats, and dropped our anchor. He then backed across the bay and between two smaller powerboats. I held us in position while he lowered the dinghy and tied us to shore. Glen apologized to one guy for blocking out the sun. We really hadn’t but we did feel a bit big compared to the other boats in the inner harbor. We checked the tide charts and determined that we should be out of the inner bay by 9:00am to make sure we could get around the innermost corner. We had a relaxing evening, with a beautiful sunset and called it a night.

Squirrel Cove

Day 97 – August 15

It’s another sunny morning. We pulled out of Teakerne Arm and moved over to Squirrel Cove which was a very short run. We anchored in the bay just off the inlet to the inner cove. This is the place to go run the rapids in your inner tube, kayak, body surf, etc… So we’ll have fun both playing and watching others play this afternoon.

As soon as we got ourselves anchored; Chris went kayaking, the guys did guy stuff, and I finished mixing my batch of fresh bread, as I watched the action in the bay. I thought one boat looked familiar but could not see the name on it, so thought I’ll have to check that out with the binoculars when my hands are not covered with flour. Chris came back from her kayak cruise around the bay and said that Kenny and Cindy of Impulsive were in the bay. Yep, that’s the boat that I thought I recognized.

In the early afternoon we went for a dinghy ride over to Rosco Bay dropping the shrimp pots in route. We wanted to see what was happening over there and of course get an ice cream cone. Yes there is ice cream in our freezer but sticking to an old Dodge tradition when there is a ‘town’ or dock with the opportunity we have to get an ice cream treat. I remember when the kids were little I think they thought that every dock had an ice cream store at the top. One time years ago we were in the dinghy just out for a ride and Nicole asked where we were going and Shawn said to get ice cream of course! So Glen turned and we headed to a store.

Refuge Cove was pretty full, and lots of people were in the little store getting ice cream and other groceries. They are having a water shortage so not that we cared but nobody could get water for their tanks, do any laundry, or showers and even the restrooms were closed due to the lack of water. Kenny and Tom had both hoped to put some water in their tanks before heading to their next location.

Once back we all went by kayak into the inner cove to explore. We had to paddle against the current going in, but it wasn’t running too fast. We had a nice paddle inside in the still water. There were lots of starfish and sea cucumber in there. Sophie took turns riding in different kayaks, and even tried the back hatch on mine for a while. Coming out of the inner cove was not as easy as going in. We’d stayed just long enough for the tide to change and now we got to paddle against it again. This time the tide was running stronger and well let’s just say we got a real workout. Tom and Glen went first and even they had some difficulty. I tried next and got flushed backwards a couple times. One time I got a little to sideways and started to tip, Sophie leaned at the same time and she went splash! I grabbed a rock to keep from flipping over myself. When Sophie hit the water she looked back like ‘what did you do to me?’ I just told her she was okay and to swim to shore. She did, and after getting out of the water she started walking across the rocks toward the guys voices never even thinking about looking back. I started out again only to get flushed back into the cove. The current was getting stronger by the minute. Time was not our friend at this point.

Tom and Glen walked back over and Glen helped push Chris through while Tom filmed. I was next and got myself about 1/3 of the way through before Glen got back to help push me through the toughest section. Then I paddled my way clear of the incoming current, and out into the big bay. Tom and Glen went body surfing through the rapids a couple times. Back to the boats and time for some swimming. Amazingly the water was pretty warm, about 72 we guessed. The air temperature was in the mid 90’s. Yes, it was indeed a hot day.

Oh remember that bread I was making, well with the heat it was huge when we got back to the boat. But the yeast was pretty tired by then and it started collapsing before I could get it into the oven. It still tasted good; it just looked a bit deflated. We ate dinner on the Magic’s stern. After dinner we went over to visit with Kenny and Cindy for the evening. Kenny told us that they’d just been voted into RHYC so we congratulated them on being new members. We all decided that we could spend at least a month here with weather like this. In all it was another great evening visiting with friends.

There were only about 10 other boats in the bay when we anchored, but by nightfall there were closer to 60.