Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Day 2 - Campbell River


Day 2 – Campbell River  (Written Tuesday evening, May 14, 2012)

Nothing to exciting today…  and I like it that way.

We had a perfectly still anchorage last night and we all slept great.  After doggie duties, engine checks, etc., we throttled up and made the 4 hour run up the Strait of Georgia and stopped at Campbell River for some fuel as well as a slip for the night.
 


I needed to do some business and there was a gale blowing in Johnstone Strait so a slip made sense for tonight.  Normally, we much prefer a quiet, secluded cove.  My Garmin tells me that we put on 147 nautical miles (169 statute miles) in the last day and a half.  We normally cruise a couple of hours a day and then we go hiking, fishing, or whatever.  This afternoon, I made calls and worked on my e-mails while Connor home-schooled and Val read/napped.  Then we all went out to dinner, got our fishing license, and, of course, more provisions.  It was a beautiful night.


Tomorrow, weather permitting will be another bigger day up North through Johnstone Strait.  The weather has been typical, sunny, comfortable, Northwest winds.  It can get lumpy on these straits when the wind opposes the tides.  We had about an hour and half of lumps today and hoping our timing will give us a smooth passage tomorrow.  The current runs through Seymour Narrows just North of Campbell River up to about 10 knots…even the cruise ships have to stage their passage.  So, tomorrow, we’ll have to wait for the current to subside before we sail but I don’t want to wait to long as the winds tend to kick up in Johnstone Strait as the day goes on.  We've learned to plan "loosely" on our cruises allowing plenty of room for weather, fish cravings, and who knows what else.  That's part of the joy (and curse) of boating.
Have a great day.  We'll be in touch in Port Hardy, Lord willing.