{"id":6870,"date":"2014-06-17T21:35:18","date_gmt":"2014-06-18T03:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/macblaze.ca\/?p=6870"},"modified":"2015-02-26T09:22:59","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T16:22:59","slug":"6870","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/?p=6870","title":{"rendered":"Day Eleven: Early Bird gets the Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE: pictures to come<\/em><\/p>\n

We were up at 5:30 to hit the heater and the VHF. I crawled back into bed while Leslie indulged in a lukewarm shower–more to the luke side to hear her tell it. [Editor’s note: it was rather less than lukewarm: it was just plain cold.]<\/p>\n

Eventually I got up to put the coffee and tea on and started to dress. At just after 6 we all checked in and Corus said Port Neville was a go. So we cast off the stern line, raised anchor and were first in a long line of ducklings out the channel and into Okisollo Passage.<\/p>\n

In the ongoing comedy, it seems Simply Irresistible was having windlass issues. A radio comment from R Shack Island revealed they had been late coming in because they had had windlass issues. Right now I am hoping the mild issue we had back before we ever started and Sam fixed counts as our turn. It’s like a bad cold…<\/p>\n

So we all headed to the upper rapids for slack. Corus and Simply Irresistible stayed behind and Ravens Magic seemed to be dawdling. I slowed down a bit to see whether the power boats wanted to take point but had no takers so I pulled up my pants and cruised through a little before slack. The water leading up to the rapids was pretty turbulent, but it had calmed right down by the time we hit the narrow bit.<\/p>\n

By this time Corus and company had resolved their issues and were catching up. Again I slowed to see if Mariners Compass wanted to lead, as we had two choices ahead: through lower rapids and the narrow channel or around the long way and through Barnes Bay. Again no takers. So I chose the long way.<\/p>\n

Eventually we turned up Discovery Passage and around Chatham Point into Johnstone Strait. L took a turn at the helm while I warmed up. Mariners Compass had decide to race ahead and eventually we started to approach a more difficult area. Corus had already taken us past the last duck-out point, so we were committed to Port Neville. I decided to throttle back and let Corus take over the lead. About a half an hour later they passed us with a wave and we tucked in behind.<\/p>\n

It’s gorgeous here. High snow-covered mountains, tree-covered slopes and sandy bays. The advantage of seeing it from the water is you get to see the vistas. On this part of the trip we are backtracking the same route my parents came down last week on their cruise.<\/p>\n

Conditions were good. Some sun, some clouds, lots of wind. Sitting under the dodger in the sun is pleasant; sitting at the helm is tolerable. L and I switched off so no one got too cold. Watching the powerboats like Electra, we wondered if that might be a more pleasant experience, but in the end I think they are missing half the fun.<\/p>\n

The last bit — crossing the Strait where it widens — had lots of swells and we whooshed up and down a lot: great fun.<\/p>\n

As we pulled into Port Neville, Mariners Compass was already at dock and Corus decided to go further in and anchor. L and I opted for a night on the dock so we could walk the beaches without SD being an issue. The wind was strong but I brought her in and stopped where we wanted. Almost getting the hang of this docking thing.<\/p>\n

Most of the rest of the boats streamed by, but Ravens Magic decided to come in on the downwind side. Their first attempt failed but we got them tied up on the second try. Ravens Magic is the only boat with a load of people in her. Seemed like 5 or 6. Not sure who was in charge either as it seemed like one of those chicken-with-a-head-cut-off scenarios right at that moment. They needed to get their dinghy off the starboard side but that was unfortunately the side they were tied on. Then they couldn’t shut down an engine.<\/p>\n

One fellow decided to abandon ship and head for shore in hope of buying cigarettes. Two ladies debarked muttering something about not coming back. Two gentleman were in the engine room trying to, I think, disconnect something to stop the engine.<\/p>\n

At this point L and I looked at each other and decided to cede the dock to them. At least that way they could get the dinghy off. They seemed so…sad? Frustrated?<\/p>\n

Anyway, we set a spring line on the stern, threw her into reverse to force the bow into the wind and zoomed off the dock like I knew what I was doing. As we came about, Ocean Grace made motions towards the dock and I let them know what was what. They either took our spot or traded places with Ravens Magic.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile we headed for the anchorage. We dropped anchor aft of Electra and backed up on the rafted Corus\/Simply Irresistible. Then it was time for a beer. Cause we were anchor pros.<\/p>\n

After the beer, we more soberly decided (after soliciting advice) to move as we were a bit too close to the rafted pair. Anchor 2, The Sequel! L had found the anchor snubber earlier in the day, so we snubbed the rode up properly and retired to the cockpit for another beer and some cookies.<\/p>\n

It had been a grand day with beautiful sights and fun times and very little misery. Even Leslie enjoyed it. I know because as we were relaxing, she declared “Today is a fourth-cookie day.” So here we sit swinging in the increasing wind surrounded by 6 other boats in the middle of nowhere, with no cell reception and no internet. Grand. Definitely a 4th-cookie day.<\/p>\n

[flexiblemap src=”http:\/\/macblaze.ca\/kmz\/Day11.kml”]
\n7h04m 41.3nm<\/p>\n

Tonight is BBQ chicken thighs, potatoes and tomato salad…if I can ever drag my ass out of the warm sun.<\/p>\n

Thankfully I couldn’t. Andrea and Cheryl were sitting in the bow of Corus and suddenly got all excited. I grabbed my binoculars and lo and behold, a small black bear was beachcombing on the very shore I am too lazy to go visit. L and I both got a pretty good look before he headed back to the bush. We thanked Carmen (the basil) for her surrogate bear-attracting powers and I resumed the previous schedule of sitting on my ass.<\/p>\n

Eventually I trudged off to the galley to slave away (Get it? Get it? Galley. Slave away…) and supper was born. This BBQ is making me nuts, but I figure after 3 weeks I’ll master it. The regulator is screwed because it’s impossible to shut the gas off from there; you need to turn it off at the tank. And low heat is no heat; med heat is high heat, and who knows what high heat would bring. Towering Inferno?<\/p>\n

No one else in the flotilla is bbq’n… Cowards, one and all!<\/p>\n

Supper was a success. W00t! Got the lemon-to-salt to-oil ratio right on the salad, potatoes were done and savory, and the thighs cooked perfectly. Thanks C.<\/p>\n

Right after dinner Corus called on 68 and it seems we are go for a 10am departure for Port McNeill. It’s another 5-6 hr day but if it was like today it will be tons o’fun. The plan is to try and slip in with Corus and tag along like the later part of today.<\/p>\n

Port McNeill will have wifi, laundry, showers and provisions. Probably our last major provisioning port until we get back. We are pretty good but could use some milk, bread etc. Oh and olive oil. And salt. Seems my cooking style has been influenced. Anyway, it should also give us a chance to chat to our fellow flotilla mates a bit more. At this point I seem to have met the same 8 or 9 people over and over and have no idea who the other 10 or so are.<\/p>\n

Anyway, it’s 7pm, I’ve gone through a couple of beers and a lovely New Zealand Merlot and been up since 6am: I predict an early night.<\/p>\n

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50.500708<\/span>-126.554547<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOTE: pictures to come We were up at 5:30 to hit the heater and the VHF. I crawled back into bed while Leslie indulged in a lukewarm shower–more to the luke side to hear her tell it. [Editor’s note: it was rather less than lukewarm: it was just plain cold.] Eventually I got up to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[52,90],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6870\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/macblaze.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}