Day 15/ August 15th – Pruth Bay to Sea Otter Inlet, Hunter Island

Determined to catch fish, Scott picked up anchor early and drove us out to outer Calvert Island. We rolled around in the swell for a while, surrounded by gulls and rhinoceros auklets and caught two nice coho. Little bit of rain. Tucked into the comforting little cove of Goldstream Harbour and listened to the waves slowly flow over the rocks for a few hours before heading over to Sea Otter Inlet. The clouds broke and we even had a little sun as we crept into the South arm. Lovely spot with a harbour seal to keep us company. Went to shore for a bit of exploring and berry picking. Put on the stove, showered and enjoyed the first salmon of the trip.

  

Day 14/ August 14th – Pruth Bay

Staying true to the more leisurely pace of this years trip, we slept in and decided to enjoy another day of sun stretching our legs on Calvert. Packed a lunch and started out across the seven gorgeous beaches with a quick stop at the lookout on the way. Strolling across one sandy beach, back into salal and stunted cedars and onto another bright beach. Stopped to examine the little blue colonies that have been washing up along the coast - they travel through the sea with a little transparent sail and have been prolific this year. Left kelp art in our wake.

Settled back into the boat and were approached by a Nordri admirer. Marty and his wife, Mary from Prince Rupert who were taking a year to sail around the coast and were drawn to Nordri’s pilot house. I’m not sure why it’s so much more amazing when you make a connection out on the coast. Turns out Marty and Mary are great friends of a friend Kim went to elementary school with as well as a bunch more people in Prince Rupert we know. We had them over for a glass of wine and sharing favourite spots. They left us with a “buck tail” which is a fly you can trail off the back of your boat at 4 knots. They had caught a 13lb spring with one the day before. 

Day 13/ August 13th – Fury Island to Pruth Bay, Calvert Island

Finnish cardamom bread French toast for brekkie – super yum. Motored North up Fitz Hugh Sound then at some point put sails up and trucked along pretty nicely for a while. Saw our first whale of the trip. Humpback but from a distance – no photos. Ran into a slew of fishing lodge boats, so dropped the lines but still no luck on the fishing front.

Drove past an interesting boat that we’ll call the “Swiss shoe” boat.  Note the carved eagle perched on his bow keeping a lookout.

Anchored just within reach of the intermittent guest wifi network at Hakai Research Centre. Grabbed a bottle of red wine and some chocolate and hiked over to West beach for the sunset.  Toasted marriage and a great honeymoon – how lucky we are.

Day 12/ August 12th – Millbrook Cove to Fury Island, Penrose Island

Scott is sick. Here are some birds.

Day 11/ August 11th – Millbrook Cove

Fog. Woke up in the thick of it. Popped our nose out to have a look. Even though the sky was blue above, you couldn’t see more than 1/8 of a mile across the water. Tucked back into Millbrook and watched the cove fill up with boats seeking refuge from the fog. Scott wasn’t feeling good. Found a rubber duck on the beach.

Day 10/ August 10th – Blunden Harbour to Millbrook Cove

Scott picked up anchor and got us off to an early start. Headed out to round Cape Caution with good visibility and glassy calm waters. This lasted a few hours and then we hit the rollers. Big ones. Or at least they felt big. Confused waves coming in and out over the shoals, rocks and islands that surround the Cape. Bad enough that each of us popped a gravol. Put up the main sail for stability which worked a little better. Had a nice downwind motorsail into sunny and sandy Dsulish Bay. Recovered with a nice dinner on the sandy beach and a swim. Water was surprisingly warm. Tucked into Millbrook Cove for a big full moon and calm evening.

Day 9/ August 9th – Rough Bay to Blunden Harbour

Intended to get out early, but got sucked back into Sointula with our curiosity of the bakery we left unexplored luring us back on the bikes. It was worth the trip. Coffee, scones, cream cheese and smoked salmon croissant and molasses bread. Hit up the coop for some last minute goods and picked up some sweet cardamom bread at the Saturday morning market. Almost got sucked into staying for the “pet parade” by the enthusiastic baker, but the glassy water and sun were calling us out on the water. During the ride back to the boat we did a photo shoot of the thoughtful and unique fences of Sointula. Gorgeous day motoring across Queen Charlotte Straight to Blunden Harbour. Passed dolphins and one sea otter. Anchored in the one spot where cell service creeps through a slot in the trees - 3 bars! Dinner and bed.