June 28, 2007
It was only a 25-mile passage to Dixie Cove, so we didn’t get going as early as we usually do. After collecting our trap with 18 small prawns, we went through Rolling Roadstead and around Obstruction Reef. Before heading up the coast to Mc Quarrie Islets, we turned into Clear Passage, and along the somewhat sheltered water behind the Barrier Islands. By the time we made Mc Quarrie Islets the wind had built to the point where we were surfing off good-sized swells at up to 9 knots. (5.5 is Teal’s standard speed). After we made our turn into clear passage, the swell diminished but the winds kept building as did our speed. By the time we passed Grogan Rock, a nasty looking 23-foot pinnacle that captures one’s attention, and rounded Rugged Point, it was blowing near gale with rain sheeting off the main sail like a waterfall. Timing is so critical in this part of the world. We have noted that so far on our cruise along the coast there has been a weather change after 6 to 8 hours of fair weather.
The further into Kyuquot Sound we got the calmer it became. When we entered Dixie Cove (50°03.241’ N / 127°12.283’ W) it was just as reported in the cruising guides, “completely protected and dead calm.” We anchored on a mirror-like surface in a misting rain and counted our blessings.
Later another boat, a Catalina 36, came in and anchored. Although we haven’t seen many cruising boats thus far, the numbers have been slowly increasing as the season ages. As we go north we encounter more folks circumnavigating Vancouver Island in the other direction.
June 29, 2007
Sun upon arising in spite of rain thru the night. The sky promised a fair day, but that was not to be. We headed to Fair Harbor and planted the prawn trap in 350 feet on the way in. By the time we arrived at the public dock (50° 03.241’ N / 127° 06.970’ W), the rain was coming down.
We tied to the dock and went up to the “Swan Song” store and visited with the owner. She gave us a weather report off the net, as the VHF weather station isn’t accessible in this part of the Sound. We headed back to the boat to have lunch and watched boats from all around coming in for Friday fuel, as the truck had just made its delivery. This is the only fuel between Zeballos and Winter Harbor. Fair Harbor services the Indian Village boats as well as fishing boats operating in the area. We considered the propane situation and decided to top off the tank we were currently using as we weren’t sure we could refill it at Kyuquot. (As it turned out, we would not have been able to.)
We headed back to Dixie Cove to sit out the storm. Upon entering we passed Sestina a Catalina 390 anchored in the outer cove. We went back and anchored in our same spot in the inner cove. The Catalina 36 had departed while we were gone. Before too long Sestina’s skipper, Mike approached Teal in his dinghy, inquiring about the water depth. He and his wife June who was celebrating her 78th birthday brought Sestina in to join us in the inner cove. We spent time with them the following day sharing adventures. They have been cruising waters all over the world for the last 50 years. They had some great stories to tell. By the time we left their boat, the sky was breaking into blue… Maybe we would see the blue moon afterall – NOT! By nightfall the clouds came back in and we had sprinkles – again!
More coming,
George and JoAnne
and some super jumbos. Good eatin’ tonight! 
We arrived in Walters Cove (50° 01.593 N / 127°22.509’ W) mid afternoon threading our way in around rocks and shallow water. We’re amazed that floatplanes and the freighter Uchuck III meander in thru this same channel. 
