Village Island and Potts Lagoon

Today we stopped at Village Island to visit the abandoned village Mimkwamlis of the Mamalilaculla First Nation. We phoned for permission first and deposited the required fee in a drop box. The village is set on a very beautiful location, but only fallen buildings and a few posts of the Bighouse remain (Sheila is standing in the entry to the Bighouse in the picture).

We then went on to anchor in Potts Lagoon, a well protected but for us busy bay with 4 boats here today.

http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=50.559095&lon=-126.450078

Dusky Cove, Bonwick Island

We moved closer to Queen Charlotte Strait today as the weather seems fairly settled. The anchorage is a pool in between an awful lot of rocks, but should be safe in this weather. This afternoon we spent a couple of hours in in the sunshine exploring islets and rocks in the area.

http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=50.692547&lon=-126.668963

Insect Island

We left beautiful Booker Lagoon at low tide today, went past Fly Island to anchor in Old Passage behind Insect Island. Sheila and Peggy kayaked around Insect Island while Graham and I were doing maintenance work in our respective boats. The islands carry their names with pride, I had some horseflies follow me into the deep corners of our aft lazarette while I was fixing a water leak. But after a hot shower and a cold beer in the sun, all is good again.

http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=50.757075&lon=-126.604803

Booker Lagoon

We came into Booker Lagoon yesterday with our friends Graham and Peggy from Vancouver. This morning we went bear watching in our dinghies and spent a few hours observing two black bears finding food along the beaches at low tide. This afternoon we took the kayaks to the site of an old shack where we walked along the beach for a bit. Sheila always maintains that bears come back at 4pm from their noon naps, whereas I thought 6pm more likely. Well, today at 4:01pm as we were at the beach, a bear showed up close by watching us intently. Maybe we woke him up from his nap? Anyhow, we got into our kayaks and left. Tonight we rounded out a nice day with the prawns we caught today, enjoying the sunshine on our flybridge.

http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=50.776723&lon=-126.767368

Sullivan Bay

We’re in Sullivan Bay Marina for the night, with lots of mist in the mornings, and sun in the evening. Kayaking or paddle boarding through the morning mist is lovely, but we didn’t see any bears today. We have had some lovely walks through the forest to pretty lakes recently. Tonight we walked along the docks.

http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=50.884910&lon=-126.828977

Turnbull Cove

After watching the bear on the beach this morning, we came into Turnbull Cove this afternoon. The weather is hot and sunny, and we hiked to Huaskin Lake for a swim (well, the others swam, I went in up to my belly button). Great to be here when the weather is so nice.

http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=50.961875&lon=-126.832988

Another day, another bear

We are enjoying the wildlife in the Broughton Islands and I went bear watching this morning at low tide.

Greenway Sound

We came into Greenway Sound today to meet some friends from Vancouver. On the way we saw a bear on the beach and two orcas chasing fish along the shore. The afternoon we spent hiking to Broughton and Silver King Lake. The prawn trap yielded quite a few prawns, so should be a nice dinner tonight. The weather continues to be cool and misty in the mornings, with brilliant and warm sunshine in the afternoons and evenings.

http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=50.838548&lon=-126.816982

Claydon Bay

Sheila and I came back to the boat in Port McNeill on Monday and spent yesterday provisioning and cleaning. In the evening we went to a new brewery in town, very nice. Today we crossed Queen Charlotte Strait and are now in the Broughtons proper, very remote, very scenic and we saw a proper sea otter on the way too (sorry, no pictures over the satellite phone). Tonight we are anchored in Claydon Bay and after a cool and cloudy morning, the sun came out and it is nice and warm.

http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=50.937848&lon=-126.891853

Second COVID vaccination

The heat wave is abating and today the top temperature is a very pleasant 25 degrees. Much better and less dangerous. This morning I received my second vaccination, Sheila had hers last week. Freedom beckons! In British Columbia from tomorrow on, travel is unrestricted, masks will be optional and personal gatherings return to normal. Unfortunately, the Canadian borders still remain closed for non essential travel.