August 19.
After four days getting caught up on the blog and getting squared away on everything else, we left our slip in fair weather, stopped at the fuel dock for fuel and propane, stopped to see the folks on the Ericson 36 Dream Seeker anchored in the anchorage,that we had met the day before, and headed toward the Broughtons.
The weather was deteriorating rapidly before our eyes. Our headway dropped below 4 knots. Well we just turned around and went back to the same slip we had just left. When we went up to the harbour office to check back in, we spotted Dream Seeker at the loading dock waiting for moorage. We stopped to chat and they invited us to join them on their boat for cocktails that evening. We had a wonderful time getting to know them and sharing stories of anchorages, moorages, and adventures in general.
The next morning we took off again in smooth seas and great currents. We made it across Blackfish sound, in building southeast winds, and to Joe Cove faster than ever before.
By the time we set out crab trap near the entrance to the cove,
and tied to the float in the cove with two other boats, it started raining. It rained steady all night.
The next morning we fished unsuccessfully for halibut until we lost the tide, then went over to the Burdwood Group and set the prawn trap before going into Pierre's at Echo Bay for the night.
Pierre sold us on joining the steak and baked potato night at his circus tent. We meet several interesting people and had a great time visiting over an outstanding steak dinner.
Art, standing in the cockpit of"Afternoon Delight" turned out to be a close friend of folks that used to live on Beaver Creek very near us on the Klamath River.
Besides seeing Art and Dan of "Afternoon Delight" at Port McNeill and Pierre's at Echo Bay, we also saw them at Lagoon Cove, Blind Channel, and at Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham.
The next morning we picked up our prawn trap yielding 9 very small rock crabs and just 8 fair sized prawns. We dumped the rock crabs and saved the prawns.
We then headed for Lagoon Cove for moorage and the famous Lagoon Cove happy hour featuring fresh cooked prawns. The owner collects a couple hundred prawns from his string of traps daily for the pot-luck happy hour. You don't need to plan dinner after going through the spread of food put out at these great feeds.
The next morning a southeaster was blowing up a storm and we were unable to get to our prawn trap and went back to the comfort of Lagoon Cove Marina and stayed until the next morning. We also had to suffer another pot-luck happy hour, prawns and all.
8/24 The weather looked tolerable by morning and we made another attempt at collecting our prawn trap. Well, the high winds the day before had drug our trap and fouled it, or the line, with something on the bottom. We tried several different pulls, but nothing would free it, and in the battle we pulled the float down under and it set on the one way catch. So when we finally cut our boat loose we were only able to save just under 100 feet of line that we had winched aboard. All the rest of the gear including the trap were left on the bottom.
Dejected, we went through the Blow Hole and Chatham Channel and on to Port Neville in smooth seas, fair current and sunny skies.
We arrived at the public dock by noon just as the whale watching boats pulled in for their lunch break. Most of the folks shed their foulies (foul weather suits) when they headed up the docks.
Later in the day four other boats came in and moored for the night.
We visited with the other boaters , and went ashore to stretch our legs, and chat with some of the locals who were visiting the folks at Port Neville
The next morning we left Port Neville on the tide in a heavy fog and headed for Blind Channel resort on Mayne Passage. By the time we got into Johnstone Strait the fog lifted and The trip down the Strait was smooth and fast with a good current push.
The 4 to 5 knot tide rips in and around Current Passage, that could not be avoided, steered Teal around as much as 45 degrees. They can be very troublesome when they are kicked up by an opposing wind.
We arrived at Blind Channel Resort about mid day, got caught up on our domestic chores, took a walk on the scenic trail out to the point, and visited with some of the boaters that were coming in to the docks to moor for the night.
By evening the place was full.
Tomorrow we will head for Heriot Bay.
Stay tuned more to come,
George and JoAnne
It was a beautiful morning when we left Garden Bay and headed for Howe Sound.
The sun was shining and the seas were flat. It wasn't too long after we reached Trail Islands a northwest breeze started to build, and we were surfing along on a very broad reach. The wind kept building, and by the time we reached Grower Point I had to relieve our tiller pilot, take over the helm and hand steer through the building seas.
When we reached Port Graves the anchorage was full of boats. Everyone out for labor day weekend no doubt. We were sheltered from the wind but the surface was a little rolly. We kept circling the anchorage, like a frustrated dog looking for a place to flop, until we found a spot where Teal rode fairly quiet and set the anchor. By night fall the surface laid down and all had a peaceful night.
The next morning showed promise of a fair day, and we headed for Point Roberts.
September 1. The 38 mile passage to Point Roberts was a little lumpy under cloudy skies, yet we made good way.
We arrived mid afternoon under sunny skies with a bunch of other boats coming out of the San Juan Islands, all checking in with US Customs.
The customs dock was jammed and it took a while for us to clear customs and get into a slip for the night.
The 32 mile passage to Bellingham was smooth and fast, we arrived in time for lunch, then took a cab out to the storage facility to retrieve our car, then started laying up Teal for the winter.
Our cruise was over. This year Teal covered 2186 nautical miles, we visited 27 harbors or resorts with docks, and anchored 41 times in 36 different coves.
