Lagoon Cove Marina

We did the final inspection before Jason & Kelli arrive. They are expected to arrive via Kenmore Air (float plane) at 12:30. We received word from Jason that their flight was held up in Seattle due to fog. The plane finally landed about 4 PM. We gave them a little tour of the marina and of course reviewed the location and purpose of all safety equipment aboard Aquila. They barely had time to relax before we headed up to Happy Hour. Again I did not have to cook. There was a marvelous selection of foods and we had our fill of fresh prawns. I brought brie and crackers. There is a small group of folk singers aboard one of the boats so we are going to have a sing along by the campfire at 8:30 PM. The weather was cool but very comfortable and we could see of the stars. The group was quite good and we had a wonderful time singing old camp songs. After the singing we had a marshmallow roast complete with smores.

Viner Sound to Lagoon Cove Marina - 4 hours, 26 miles

Fred woke me up early to see a black bear turning over on the rocks near the boat. Finally, a bear here on our last morning. It rained really hard last night. It sounded so pretty over our heads while we were warm and dry. It rained a little this morning and then just changed to overcast. We had a nice ride to Lagoon Cove. This is one of the several family run marinas in the Broughtons. Bill & Jeanne Barber are always helpful, fun and full of great stories. Ask Bill to tell the one about the bear. We had finished getting the boat clean and ready for Kelli & Jason’s arrival tomorrow and went up to check email. I looked out into the cove and I saw Teddy Bear coming in. This is a 55’ Florida Bay Trawler that was custom built for Teddy & John Hozemer. We last saw them in Sitka in 2007. We had a nice visit during happy hour. As usual, I didn’t have to cook dinner. Everyone brings a pot luck appetizer and Bill provides all you can eat fresh prawns.

Viner Sound

We have given up on getting more than one crab here. Also, the bear appears to out of town. We spent most of the day rearranging things and tidying up in preparation for Jason & Kelli’s arrival on Sunday. We weather has been getting more overcast and we had our first rain in a long time this afternoon.

Viner Sound

We decided to take the dinghy over to Pierre’s at Echo Bay. It is about five miles away but a pretty straight shot as the crow flies. It is in the 50’s with filtered sunshine. We bundled up and were prepared for sea spray. We took the computer so we could check email too. The computer was in it’s bag, wrapped in a beach towel and placed in a waterproof backpack. We weren’t taking any chances that it would be injured. Merlin enjoyed the ride for about 10 minutes then he climbed onto my lap, facing the stern and I wrapped him in a beach towel to keep him comfy and dry. We saw one humpback whale showing off. We were able to check email and do some shopping at their little grocery store. Merlin got to run around on the dock and we even met another Cavalier King Charles. She is a “black and tan” and adorable. The crab trap is still filling up with babies and starfish.

Viner Sound

A buoy became available so we moved Aquila to it. This places us in a wonderful small cove. We have seen bears in the rocky areas we are close to now. We had a nice time kayaking but no bears yet. The crab trap had a dozen crabs but only one large enough to keep! I guess Fred put it down in the nursery.

Joe Cove to Viner Sound, Gilford Island - 2¾ hours, 12 miles

We are traveling in the Broughtons now. These passages are narrow and beautiful. We hear the birds chirping but no sign of bears. As we passed the marina of Pierre’s at Echo Bay, we picked up some weak wifi. We were able to do a quick check of our email as we passed heading for Viner Sound. Viner is a lovely fjord. The little nooks along the passage are too rocky for anchoring. There are two coves ahead, one on the right and one on the left. There are two mooring buoys on each side. All four are occupied. Shoot! We have never anchored in here but Douglass’ book says we can at the head of the sound. We have to careful because of the huge boulders underwater and shoaling close to the head. We picked one spot but as the boat slightly drifted on the anchor we found ourselves in 10 feet of water at high tide. Not good. We pulled up the anchor and moved to a spot right between the two coves with buoys. The anchor caught well and we are settled. We took the dinghy out and wandered looking for bears (none found). One of the boats on a buoy looked just like our so we went over to say hi. Al Mirati has a 34’ CHB, Lady Sea, which looks just like ours (almost). He is single handing the boat and we invited him over to see Lady Sea’s big sister. He says that Lady Sea only has one cabin and everything is on a much smaller scale than ours. The crab pot got put down for the first time this season. We have had good luck in the past.

Port McNeill to Joe Cove - 3½ hours , 21 miles

The fog was a factor in a cruise today from Port McNeill to Joe Cove on Eden Island. Fortunately the wind was not. We had very calm seas for our journey. Our radar works beautifully and the few other boats that were out here were easily picked up. This is our first stop in the Broughtons. Joe Cove is pretty large and very protected. As we entered we saw that there were only two other boats here. We chose a nice spot in the middle.