Day 7 – Sunday, August 19, 2012 - Sea Otter Cove to Browning
Inlet (By Winter Harbour, Quantsino Sound) – Great Fishing!
What a great day it has been. We got an early start this morning and were
motoring out of Sea Otter Cove by 7:30.
Our prayer was for flat seas and visibility to make the 20 mile run on
the outside unprotected waters to Quantsino Sound. It was overcast but no fog. As the engines warmed, we cruised into San
Josef Bay to check out the beach. It was
probably the nicest one yet but we wanted to keep going. The water was flat calm! Praise, God!
Seriously, we did, too! This is a
great place to have church!
As we got closer to our destination, I thought I saw several
boats offshore, a rarity so far. I turned on my radar and, sure enough, about 4
miles out, I picked them up on my screen.
I said to Val that my guess is they are fishing boats out of Winter
Harbor and I asked her if she wanted to fish.
She can never say no. She loves
fishing more than anyone I know. We
turned in the their direction and saw all kinds of guide boats out there
pulling in salmon with their clients.
With flat seas and brightening skies we geared up for the big catch
planning on spending a short time giving it a try. Within minutes, Val and I were pulling in cohos. Connor, sound asleep in his berth, heard the
excitement and decided he wanted to try too.
We all had great success.
We could have limited out in cohos but we’re only allowed a total of 8
salmon a piece on this trip (possession limit) and want to save them for some
big king salmon, hopefully. So, we kept a real nice coho that Val caught for
eating, even though we still have a package left from Beaver Bay. I pulled in two real nice Ling Cod, a real
treat. We slowed our troll down hoping
to tempt a halibut into biting and, sure enough, I pulled up a small “chicken”
but at least there’s fresh halibut in the fridge and a few packages in the
freezer. Val sounded like she was in
labor but finally landed the biggest Rock Fish, a.k.a. Red Snapper, I’ve ever
personally seen. What a prehistoric and
crazy looking fish. They grow really
slow and it’s sad that a fish like this may be 100 years old. The DFO does a nice job of limiting catches
but it’s not always easy to know where and when you can catch them. This one was a real beauty.
Connor was complaining because his pole wasn’t as hot as
Val’s. He said he needed a “herring
aid.” We all thought that was pretty
clever and got a chuckle. Sure enough,
it was Connor’s turn for a big one. He
fought long and hard and pulled in the biggest Ling Cod I’ve ever seen (besides
in pictures.) This fish is even more
prehistoric looking! They have huge
heads and huge teeth but skinny bodies, although this guy yielded nine packages
of nice filets which make the best fish and chips (at least the fish part of
that dish.) It was non-stop action but I
knew there was a lot of fish cleaning and boat cleaning to do so I had to pry
the fishing poles out of the hands of Val and Connor and we headed towards the
inlet.
The weather turned out to be such a blessing even though we
could hear thunder and see lightning in the distance. I kept a vigilant eye on the system and
meanwhile enjoyed the warm sun and glassy seas.
We rounded the corner into Quantsino Inlet and found a pretty little
cove to anchor in.
Connor started his homework while I cleaned fish and Val
vacuum packaged them. We carry a deep
freeze in one of the fish holds and keep it cranked as cold as it will go. Then, we run the inverter when the engines
are running or the genset when we’re at anchor but, much of the time, we’re
able to keep things frozen solid even when the engines and the genset aren’t
running just by letting it “coast” a while.
Val started dinner and I went for a kayak ride while Connor
continued his studies. An hour later,
Val had one of my favorite, most amazing meals ready: salmon filets stuffed
with bacon, asparagus, and tons of crab, covered with mayo and a perfect blend
of monterey jack and parmesan cheese with a side of fresh asparagus, a salad,
and my made from scratch tomato basil baked bread, fresh from the oven and
still warm. Oh my, what a meal!
Well, tomorrow is Monday and it’s back to the office. Our plans are always pretty loose on the boat
as there are many, many variables to change everything. I plan to get up early and take the dinghy
into Winter Harbor (about 3 miles) to try to find a phone connection and
Internet. Connor will start school. Val will clean the boat and prepare the laundry. Upon my return, we hope to go for a hike and
then afterwards, we’ll take the Dakota Roamer (the mother ship) into Winter
Harbour to do laundry and fill her with water as well as more communications
with the outside world. I haven’t had a
cell signal since Thursday night. I’m
not complaining but I don’t want anyone waiting on me or worrying about us.
The boat is running great.
Ron Meng and IMC crew have done a great job with their Ocean Sport
Roamers. This boat works perfectly for
our family and is very comfortable for the way we use it. I am very thankful for the places she takes
us and the things we experience. What a
great way to be a family and live a grand adventure.
Well, that’s it for today.
I hope you are all doing well.
Send me an e-mail sometime.
Blessings, friends.
