Photo: Sunset at the Harmony Islands.
We three sailboats motored down the reaches of Jervis Inlet, and turned the corner toward the Harmony Islands. On the way into the anchorage, Dave set his prawn trap in about 350 feet off Freil Lake Falls. Talisman already had the best anchoring spot at the Harmony Islands, so Dave dropped his anchor in the middle of the channel. After rafting up with Juniata, David and Clark went fishing so Clark could catch his one-rockfish limit. Dave had already caught his on the way out of Princess Louisa Inlet. Another yellow-eye. Another scrumptious dinner of oysters and grilled fish. We love it!
Talisman and Juniata lead the way toward Patrick Point in Queens Reach, Jervis Inlet.
After dinner, four of us loaded up in Darzee and took a ride over to Friel Falls. As the sun sank slowly, we nibbled on chocolate that Marcia had brought along. Close along the shore, we could peak into the forest through the green maple leaves and photograph dogwoods whose blooms nearly touched the water, or spy down into the clear water at massive granite boulders lurking underneath us. I harvested some prime rockweed from one of them. The sunset that ended the lovely evening was especially splendid.
Dave and Marcia riding on the front seat of Darzee on an evening excursion.
The sun next day was almost hot! I spliced some eyes for Clark’s new prawn trap line, he baited it and went out in Darzee to lower it to the salty depths. We were hoping for big ones, but the cage came up the following day with a lonely box crab instead of prawns. We carefully took a portrait and sent the spiny crustacean to its home in the deep. Dinner was aboard Rikki-tikki– prawns, pickled oysters and BBQ’d oysters, steamed clams and my spicy peanut celery salad. The clams had been purging for two days. Clark and I each tested one the day before without getting tingly lips so we decided they were safe to eat. After the seafood was eaten, we introduced Dave and Marcia our version of the dice game “Greedy”. Ours is called “Farkle”.
This box crab was fascinating.
Tapawingo was also at Ballet Bay. Bruce and Margaret came over for appetizers, sharing many wonderful stories. They captured this photo of us from across Blind Bay.
Clark volunteered to be the leader (or ‘bottom dummy” as Marcia calls it) through Telescope Passage. There are lots of rocks in Ballet Bay, some the locals have marked with sticks, some not. There was plenty of water through Telescope even though it was low tide. No problem for Juniata coming behind us. Tapawingo spotted us on the way in and hailed Rikki-tikki-tavi on the VHF. They said there was lots of room as they were the only boat in Ballet Bay. Once in the little cove, Juniata dropped her hook and we rafted alongside.
It was another beautiful sunny day so the guys set crab traps, then Clark paddled over to Tapawingo in a kayak to invite Bruce and Margaret over for happy hour on Juniata. It was nice to see them again and to reciprocate for the happy hour we had on their boat at Princess Louisa. We swatted mosquitoes, told stories, and generally had a good time. After dinner we played another game of Farkle with Dave and Marcia.
Clark and I took Juniata’s dinghy around Nelson Island to look at the entrance to Hidden Basin. Dear friends of my grandparents had built a home and lived there many years. The tide was low and a vigorous flow of water from inside the bay roared over jagged rocks. Serendipity had passed through this narrow door dozens of times. Clark and I had been through with my parents too, on a chartered sailboat, but it was not possible to enter with the current running over exposed boulders. Passage can be done only at high tide and slack current with enough water below the keel to clear those huge rocks.
Marcia and I kayaked along the shores at low tide while the guys changed the oil in the engines. I spotted moon snails on the sandy bottom. Usually we see only their discarded circular egg cases, but there were two live snails moving in slow motion. One was inserting a proboscis into a clam hole. It then spread its large foot around itself and the clam hole while it dined on the hapless victim. We learned that moon snails spend a lot of time buried in the sand, so it is no wonder one rarely sees them.
The guys had no luck fishing and the traps remained empty of crab and prawns. By cocktail time it had clouded up and we felt droplets of drizzle. An ever-increasing rain drove us from the cockpit, and we retired inside Juniata for a grilled fish dinner (the last of our fresh fish) cooked by Clark. It was our turn to learn a new game– Dave and Marcia introduced us to a domino game called Mexican Train.
Rikki-tikki with a few of the hundreds of Pacific Loons we encountered. Photo by Marcia Meyer.
On May 20 we left Nelson Island, headed up Malaspina Strait, and set our course for Rebecca Spit on Quadra Island at the far north end of the Strait of Georgia. There was not enough wind to sail. Out in the middle of Georgia, we took a cruise around nature reserve Mitlenatch Island, viewing the thousands of birds, seals and sea lions through our binoculars. A little way past this tiny, isolated treasure, Rikki-tikki came upon a huge raft of hundreds of Red-throated Loons. Usually we see only a single loon at a time, so this sighting was thrilling.
Clark watching birds and seals at Mitlenatch Island, a wildlife refuge.
Anchored in Drew Harbour at Rebecca Spit, the strong SE winds kicked the bay to froth and chop. We slogged our way in little Darzee to and fro between the Taku docks and Rikki-tikki, taking care of unexpected financial chores, laundry, groceries, and contacting family on Skype. This was accomplished by me sitting outside the pub under the trees while Clark held an umbrella over my head to keep the rain off the iBook. That’s where the wi-fi signal was the strongest. We must’ve made a very funny picture.
Samantha holds up the handmade crocheted onesie I sent for her baby shower.
We had some good news- the baby shower for my daughter-in-law went well, she loved the crocheted onesie and booties I’d sent. There was also very sad news. I made sympathy cards for family and loved ones that dear Ellie left behind and mailed them from the Heriot Bay Post Office before we left for the Octopus Islands. Sometimes it is very difficult to be far away and out of touch with family and friends.
Clark & Nina