Dol Cove to Princess Luisa Inlet

 

Was running my new software today. Certainly I’ve noticed some things that I’ll have to fix, but for the most part it behaved quite well and gave us information that Rod’s chart plotter doesn’t. Nothing crucial, more like “nice to have” information rather than “must have”, such as our ETA at the rapids given our current rate of advance.

We saw several whales on our way. Looked like smallish humpbacks again. I wonder if they’re in migration now? Usually we’re keyed in to their presence by seeing a blow and then watching for them, though occasionally we’ll spot them before they blow, or when their fluke lifts up into the air. There is something about seeing a marine mammal that is just awe inspiring, and not only because of their size. Porpoises and Dolphins do it for me as well.

At one point Rod was down in the cabin and I was on watch when I saw two or three whales dead ahead at about 200 yards. We were really no danger to them, but the law says not to approach, so I turned us off to starboard and then just watched them take a few breaths and slip back under the water – except one that lifted their fluke up into the air. I realize they were just diving, but it almost felt like they were waving goodbye, as we didn’t see them again.

The transit through the rapids was a non-event – no rapids due to hitting them at exactly slack tide. We had arrived about an hour early and so just idled back and forth once or twice to kill time. The water was smooth as glass as we came through and then the area started opening up.

It’s truly lovely here, surrounded by mountains with the sound of a waterfall behind us making its white-noise sounds This is also a stern tie place and that’s a whole story I’ll tell at the end. Around us are more boats, but they aren’t close enough to feel like we’re crowded, and it seems like everyone is of the same mind not to disturb the quiet serenity here.

Dinner was Spinach and sausage soup along with cream cheese and crackers and bread and butter. Spinach soup does not sound appetizing but either the “eating on a boat” magic spell hit or something, because the soup is delicious. We both had seconds, and we’ll have it again tomorrow for dinner as well.

Dessert was pie again. Rod finished off the remainder of the apple pie while I had peach. There’s room in the refrigerator now so the pie goes in there and, hopefully, won’t get mold on it before we’ve consumed it.

We’re going to be here for another day, our first time not traveling each day. It’s kind of nice and relaxing to take a break from travel and just relax. We’ll go for a hike tomorrow morning and then do some boat maintenance in the afternoon. Plus I have to make a decision about plunges in the water. Is my new tradition a plunge in each anchorage and it doesn’t require a repeat tomorrow – not that I’m averse to it, or is it a plunge each day in an anchorage, in which case tradition demands another plunge tomorrow? I did go in today just in case, though.

Stern tieing in Luisa Inlet... I was towing the end of the line behind me in the dinghy and approaching the rock which we were to use for stern tie. There were two lines hanging down from the rock, either of which can be used. However there was a problem. We were near low-tide and in order to get to those lines I would have to stand up in the dinghy and lean on the rock since it was slightly tilted away from me. This, in turn, would push the dinghy out from under me and I’d do the cartoon thing of trying to walk on water before splashing down in shallow water with irregular (some of them somewhat pointy) rocks just waiting. So after trying to approach it from different angles, I decided to bring the dinghy to shore and try to climb the shoreward side. Someone else had the same idea and had piled some rocks against that side to give a boost.

Well either their hands were stickier than mine or they had a boost or they failed, because even with that pile of rocks, there was just no way. I ended up deciding to just wade in, geting as deep as my waist before coming up on the seaward side of the rock. Here there was a rock ledge to stand on and I was just able to stretch up and put the line through a loop. Of course now I was drenched to the waist – clothes that I had intended to sleep in, and my shoes were filled with water. Vesi claims that their shoes are waterproof, and they are. At least until the depth of the water is higher than the top of the shoe. There’s nothing to stop water from coming in over the top. Further, I can attest that Vesi shoes are as good at retaining water as they are at keeping water out. Oh well, task complete. I’ll find something to sleep in and my shoes are drying on the deck. I know, I know, SUCH problems I have, eh?