Sullivan Bay to Burly Bay - 1½ hours, 11 miles

What a way to cool down. We woke up to heavy fog. By the time we left we could at least see at water level. We have had a lovely time on docks but it is time to head out and hang on the hook”. We experienced no turbulence as we passed through Grappler Sound and Kenneth Passage. We didn’t see any boats in Burly Bay and our favorite spot behind Blair Islet was free. We anchored without difficulty and were enjoying the serenity. One direction we look out a huge wall of granite and the other way we hear the water passing through Hopetown Passage. We were disappointed to see another boat enter our bay in the afternoon. It is a beautiful Selene called “Three Wishes”. It motored around Aquila and found that there was no room in our nook. It anchored across our little bay near the opening of Hopetown Passage. We will have to remember that that is a good anchoring spot.

Sullivan Bay

Another scorcher today with high humidity. Mama ain’t happy. Fred seems to thrive in this weather, I wilt. We saw and heard a great deal of sea bird action out in the water and we saw dolphins playing out there too. I'm glad the kids can add another mammal sighting to their list. Jason & Kelli were packing and we were saying our goodbyes when I heard the plane coming into the “airport”. It is a little early. They weren’t supposed to leave until 12:30. Fortunately the pilot wasn’t in a panic (is it because he is 15 years old…no only looks it). The plane was a XXX. We got a lot of photos of the plane and them leaving. It was bittersweet. Our guests are gone but now we have more space to spread out in. The storage that was in the second stateroom had to be moved to our room during the visit. Now we can move it back and be less claustrophobic when we sleep. Tonight the special at the restaurant is deep fried turkey. We made reservations and fortunately the weather cooled down enough that we enjoyed the dinner tremendously.

Greenway Sound to Sullivan Bay - 1 ¼ hours, 8 miles

This morning Fred, Jason & Kelli took the dinghy over to the small float that leads to a hiking the trail up to Broughton Lake. It is going to be another hot day, so Jason & Kelli took swimsuits to cool off by swimming in the lake. Apparently only Jason took the plunge. The hike was too much for me but the pictures showed that is quite beautiful. At noon we left to head over to Sullivan Bay. Jason & Kelli will be flying out of there tomorrow. Fred opened up the upper helm for the first time this year. Even though we don’t have a bimini anymore, everyone was quite comfortable and enjoyed the views. The temperature is in the low 90’s and we all are very uncomfortable when the boat stopped. The only relief was sitting on the swim platform and cooling our feet in the water. This is the home of Buddy. He is a teeny tiny Yorkie owned by the managers. Today he is adorable and friendly. However, in 2008 when we here during Merlin's first cruising season, Buddy yapped and frightened Merlin right into the drink. Merlin is definitely not an alpha male. There was no harm done and Merlin's ability to swim was reaffirmed. Today the dogs are friends and Buddy is not the least bit “yappy” or aggressive. Sullivan Bay is quite charming. It is up against a cliff and all of the buildings are on floats. There are three docks for boats, one and a half for homes and one for “downtown”. There are also about 10 or so homes on floats here. I don’t mean boathouses, these are very upscale homes. One has its own float plane behind it another has a beautiful red helicopter on the roof. Definitely high end. All of the docks have street names. The head of the marina has different floats which contain a restaurant, grocery store, laundry & shower, garbage, fuel and airport. This is called “town”. Before dinner there is an interesting event. Every boat gets two golf balls and aims them for a target set up in the bay which is covered with artificial grass and made to look like the green on a golf course. A fellow on one of the boats plays the bagpipes. He led the parade off the “golf course”. If anyone gets a hole-in-one they get a free night’s moorage. Jason & Fred weren’t even close to the target. I think Jason gave a seagull a real scare. However, there is a Manager’s Special that if one stays two nights the third night is free. We have no plans after Jason & Kelli leave… so we’ll stay. Jason & Kelli took us out to dinner at the restaurant. The food and service were excellent, if a bit pricey. It was a lovely ending to their visit. We have enjoyed the company.

Shawl Bay to Greenway Sound - 1¼ hours, 8.2 miles

Greenway Sound is another very unusual marina. The dock is shaped like a “U” that is ½ mile in total length. The marina changed hands earlier this year so we were curious to see what, if any, changes had been made. The previous owners (and founders), Tom & Anne Taylor, had the docks topped with red, felt carpet. The new owner has done it in green. Green seems appropriate. We have heard mixed reviews about the restaurant now. We decided to save our money and eat on the boat.

Viner Sound to Shawl Bay - 1½ hours, 12.1 miles

It was a short trip to Shawl Bay. Again this is a favorite place. Rob, the son of the owners, met us on the dock with his friendly German Sheppard named Shiloh. As always, there have been improvements to the marina. Rob informed us that it was fish chowder night. All we have to do is bring dishes and utensils. They now have a beautifully carved sign with a whale logo. I did a load of laundry here but the machines are so slow I didn't have time to do more. The marina filled up and we had a nice crowd at dinner. Everyone else loved the chowder. It was a bit too fishy for me.

Glendale Cove to Kwatsi Bay Marina - 5 hours, 36 miles

Low tide was at 8 AM and sure enough there are bears on the beach turning over rocks for whatever good stuff is underneath. There is a large female and three cubs. One of the cubs was blond in color. There were all adorable. We all went out in the dinghy to have a better look. The boat was about 50 yards from the shore. The bears just kept on feeding and ignored us. We are all elated that we get to see brown bears in their natural habitat. We left at 10:15 to head back down Knight Inlet. We had the wind in our face this time but we had the tide with us. We arrived at Kwatsi Bay Marina at 3 PM.

Lagoon Cove to Glendale Cove - 4 hours, 27 miles

We all discussed our next destination. One option was to go up Knight Inlet to Glendale Cove to see brown bears (grizzly bears). It is a long haul. 27 miles straight up Knight Inlet. However, we were traveling on a flood tide with the wind at our back. This added 2 knots speed. We arrived at the cove at 3:30 PM. It was near high tide and the bears come out at low tide. We had a heck of a time anchoring. There were numerous crab pots located in the best anchoring spots. Also, the cove has a large mud flat at the head. I think we tried 3 times until we felt comfortable. Comfortable is a relative term. We were well anchored but we were in about 90 feet of water and there is a huge amount of rocking and rolling because this cove is open to Knight Inlet.