Day 17- Wednesday, August 29, 2012- Santa
Gertrudis Cove (49°36'6.48"N, 126°37'17.45"W)- A Whale Of A Good Day!
Our plans were to be motoring by first light
to teach those salmon we missed yesterday a lesson. The alarm rang at 6AM and it was pouring
rain. Val and I both rolled over and
slept until mid-morning! I love the rain
on the boat…so soothing and peaceful. It
rained hard on and off all night long again.
It was so pretty watching the showers come through our cozy little
cove. The furnace would cycle and keep
us cozy and dry.
Val was busy in the galley, which is also
the helm, saloon, and darn near berth on our little boat. She had clams, oysters, mussels, rock fish,
spices, and all kinds of other ingredients spread out like an Anthony’s
Restaurant. I couldn’t stand it any more
and intruded on her space and made up some lovely oyster stew for lunch. Connor opted for pancakes.
Early afternoon had us hauling in the
anchor, pulling our crab pot, which only yielded a massive Sun Star (ugly,
slimy thing) and our shrimp pot, which only yielded three star fish. Not such a productive harvest today.
We decided to just cruise around Nootka
Sound today. There are lot of little
islands and great coves to explore.
We
were cruising through Ewin Inlet on Bligh Isalnd when we saw a whole group of
sea lions and a couple whale feeding on pitchards, I think they are
called. Wow. The channel was narrow and they were feasting
right beside us! We got some great video
and few pictures that don’t do justice to the scene. It was truly remarkable and we thank God for
the extra special gift of being able to experience His unique creation in this
way today.
Then, it was off to the Nootka Lighthouse
and Yuquot Longhouse for a tour of both.
Ray met us at the dock and gave us instructions on what to do and
see. It was a fun stop. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Fortunately, the rain quite and brightened up
quite a bit.
You’ll notice the blackberries. They were EVERYWHERE- acres and acres of
succulent, juicy, sweet blackberries. We
walked and ate and then we stopped and ate and then walked and ate some more.
Then, we motored just a few miles around the
point and found the nicest little one or two boat cove called Santa Gertrudis
Cove. We love these secluded anchorages
and have always been the only ones around.
We are seeing more sportfishing boats all the time.
Val made rock fish tacos for dinner and then
Connor and the pups went off exploring in the dinghy while I prepped the boat
for tomorrow and then set off on my own exploration in the kayak.
The skies broke and even got to see a full
beautiful moon. I’m glad, after three
plus days of rain, that the weather seems to finally be stabilizing again as we
plan to head a dozen or so miles off shore tomorrow to chase salmon and then
work our way south of the Hesquit Peninsula, also known as Estevan Point. We’re getting closer to Tofino, the next real
town of any size.
Good night, friends.
