Monday, July 29, 2019

July 20 - 23rd Quitsino to the Bunsby Islands Rounding Brooks Peninsula


July 20 Julian Cove  Refreshed from a good night’s sleep we have a lazy 4 hour day up Quatsino Sound towards our evening anchorage in Julian Cove.  We fish (of course) along the way and enjoy the numerous small groups of sea otters, known to be abundant in this area.  We pass the 180 foot Coast Guard vessel “Tanu,” anchored and standing by. 

As rugged and remote as this area may seem it has been the scene of heavy industry for decades.  Numerous large timber harvest units dot the mountainsides, with ongoing logging.  The area has been mined although the copper mine is now closed.  Commercial fishing, once a mainstay, is all but non-existent.  Fish farms, kayaks and sport fishing are filling some of the void and this is a spectacularly scenic area for recreational boats of any kind.

July 21-23 Winter Harbour, 5 nautical miles up from the entrance of Quatsino Sound, is a tiny and truly remote village, accessible only by pit run gravel logging road or boat.  We top off the diesel tank and tie up at the “Outpost” dock, the only sailboat here in and amongst a bunch of recreational fishing boats.  It is a welcome break for us to take showers, wash clothes and enjoy someone else’s cooking.  The small cook shack has a wonderful view of the busy small harbour and delicious fish and chips, burgers and fish tacos.  

Over dinner we visit with Jane and Roger, and their medium sized labradoodle, Kiska.  They are the only other sailboat in the area and they have tied up at the government dock, on the other side of the small village.  We came up the inlet behind them and they came to introduce themselves.  

While Carl and I consider ourselves cruisers, they are voyagers.  They have been voyaging on “Wings and Strings,” their 42’ Tayana for 15 years having left Florida, ventured through the Panama Canal, off to New Zealand and coming to this area by way of Japan and the Aleutian Islands.  They pick our brains about the waters between here and Portland as they plan to end up there and settle.  Over a cup of coffee in the cockpit the next morning I look up and say “incoming.”  A helicopter is headed straight for us and turns slightly so that he can land on the low tide shore between us and the boardwalk.




We all agree that the weather indicates another night in Winter Harbour is prudent.  Then the four of us take off together at 0700 to round Brooks Peninsula.  All the books say, if you get a chance to scoot around Brooks….take it!  So we do.  While Cape Scott is the northernmost point of Vancouver Island, Brooks Peninsula is the westernmost point, and another daunting stretch of water in front of us.  We have one day of favorable wind bracketed by days with gale warnings in effect.  Wings and Strings gains slowly on us as they have just a slightly longer water line.  We chat via VHF occasionally. 

With careful planning we all make it around the peninsula with light winds and rippled seas.  However the next twenty or so miles has the wind and the seas gaining in strength and height.  ExTerra does well on one tack yet not so well on the other tack so we sail for a while, taking the sails down once the wind and seas are too uncomfortable.  Pam admits she got spooked!

The further south we go Wings and Strings moves out more in front of us.  We sign off on the radio and separate, they to Walters Corners and Carl and I to the Bunsby Islands.  Perhaps we will meet again over the next month.

Sails down we motor through Gay Passage.  With two other sailboats in Scow Bay we decide to go a bit further.  We settle into the “West Nook” anchorage in the Bunsby Islands, one day ahead of schedule.  We have been in touch with our good friends Walt and Odile, approaching the area from the south.  They are near.  We will rendezvous tomorrow, as scheduled.  We each have a Garmin InReach Explorer, a satellite gizmo that allows us to text even though neither of us have had cell coverage for a few days.  We sleep well knowing that we now have the most challenging waters behind us.  Two major milestones under our belts brings a good sense of accomplishment.

July 17th through 19th positioning to round Cape Scott


July 17th  through 19th positioning to round Cape Scott

Having topped off the diesel already we are now ready to start our final uphill climb to the top of Vancouver Island.  We anchor one night in Beaver Harbour, Cattle Islands.  We tried to anchor in Patrician Cove only to very firmly wrap our anchor chain around…..something!  We circled the chain using the boat to pull us this way and that way and the bow of the boat was pulled ominously DOWN a few times.  We finally break loose and head for the other small anchorage, Cattle Islands, sharing it with a very large power boat and a very salty sailboat.

Pam awakes around 0445 to find Carl working in the bilge, changing yet again, the alternator belt.  We need to figure this one out as each belt appears to simply be another bandaid!  At 0545 we start the straight, nearly east west run up Goletas Channel to Bull Harbour, our haven before rounding the Cape.

It is a melancholy day for us as just before we lost cell coverage we received an email about the accidental death of one of our RCYC friends, Dave.  He died doing what he loved, at the controls of his glider.  Our hearts go out to your family and friends and you will be missed.

Bull Harbour is all native land in a beautiful spot.  We are snug for the evening and share the anchorage with 3 sailboats and 2 power boats.  We share stories about Dave and toast him as the sun sets.  Rest in peace Dave. 

July 19th – Rounding Cape Scott

Departing at 0450 we enjoy the sunrise as we leave Bull Harbout.  We use the guidance from our friends Walt and Odile as well as guidebooks and regular weather reports.  We have chosen a day with favorable light wind and seas that have reduced from 2-3 meters to an estimated 1-2 meters.  We carefully make our way across Goletas to behind the Tatnall reefs, hugging the shore until Cape Suitil.  This is the “inner route” to Cape Sutil, first identified by June Cameron in 1992.  It saves one from having to cross the Nahwitti Bar, often quite rough as this is where the great waters of the Pacific enter Goletas channel.



We see two of the sailboats from Bull Harbour, Wind Gypsy and Alcidae far outside the bar.  They have chosen to cross the bar and sail further out.  All of us have the same goal and eventually reach it.  We are to get to Cape Scott at slack water as the Scott Channel can be extremely dangerous for ships large and small.  Thus the anxiety of planning this part of our trip!

Like ducks in a row, we cross the Scott Channel at slack with a 780 foot cargo ship to our starboard and the two sailboats behind a few miles to the stern.  We have an uneventful, safe crossing, a milestone of our trip!

As an added bonus we are surrounded by humpback whales, spot the fin of two Orca, and see playful sea otters along the way.

We continue for eight more hours making our way to Quatsino Sound and our anchorage in “Rubby Dub” in Koprino Harbour.  It is steaks on the barby to celebrate our meeting our challenging yet exhilarating goal.  Exhausted, as the seas had not really subsided to 1 meter, and the constant swell and chop wore us out, we head to bed early having been up and ‘on the road’ for 13 hours.

Cheers to us and our sturdy boat ExTerra! 



July 15th through 17th Cultural detour


July 15th through 17th Cultural detour

another post that will have to wait for good wifi for photos!

We leave Spout Islet anchorage and head on into Port McNeil fuel dock to top off the tanks and cans.  Then it is a quick motor across the upper end of Queen Charlotte Strait to the small village of Sointula on Malcom Island.  We stay two nights, moored at the Sointula marina.  A few helpful people help us tie up as the wind is up and we are quickly pushed off of the dock.  Safely moored and after a round of “thank you so much” we enjoy the evening hanging out at the burger shack overlooking the marina.  Showers were a welcome amenity.

The next day we walk to the ferry dock and embark on our tourist trip.  The ferry runs from Sointula to Port McNeil to Alert Bay.  It is free if you walk on in Sointula and stay on until Alert Bay.  Our side trip is so that we can explore Alert Bay and take in the U’mista Cultural Centre. 



While walking the mile or so to the Centre we visit with a few people.  The proprietress at the small artisan’s gallery tells us she is third generation; her granddad owned the building from the 1930’s and her dad helped her create the gallery area so she and her sisters can display their wares.  Silver jewelry, clothing and art work are excellent.  Further down the seaside walk we are admiring one of the five small gathering platforms, “awakwas,” that overlook the bay.  An elder stops and explains to us that each chief of the five clans of the Namgis First Nation peoples have an awakwas.  He is one of the chiefs and his is the awakwas by the Centre.  He gathers all the other chiefs into his awakwas before a potlatch and they ‘yak.’

The Centre is very well done with exceptional artifacts.  Many of these are masks and coppers that were confiscated during the ban on potlach ceremonies.  Fortunately many have been returned to the Namgis and are on display in Alert Bay and Yaculta.  The Centre subtly yet effectively, tells the story of the hardship of forced residential schools and of the celebration of the demolition of that school building near the Centre.  It also highlights the affect of the ban and the reinstatement of legitimacy of the potlach ceremony.

After the Centre we use the guided walk brochure to find the numerous totem poles and the burial grounds.  We have an excellent lunch at “A Place in Thyme,” then it is back on the ferry for our return to Sointula.  We have just enough time to visit the co-op, opened by the Finnish at the turn of the century to serve their ‘utopia.’  Another very friendly small town.  Alas, the bakery has just closed but we do find a nice dark beer at the Whale Rub Pub.  The unmistakable Irish bar tender chats with us about our trip to Ireland and offers us a chocolate porter or a Guinness.  We opt for the porter.








Tuesday, July 16, 2019

July 10 – 15th Planning comes together!


Moored next to us in Campbell River is the s/v Funny Girl from Portland.  We take up a nice conversation with skipper Bruce, realizing it truly is a small world.  Our paths overlap with Bruce, both in our history of work for the Forest Service, battling wild fires, and in our friends at Rose City YC.  He gives us some great ‘local knowledge’ information and helps us off the dock.  The winds give us a full 360 degree spin to get fully out of the slip and waterway, controlled by Carl at the helm and then we venture out into Discovery Passage.

We fight some nasty wind, waves and current but the goal is solid as it will get us to Seymour Narrows at the slack before the ebb and we will transit Johnstone Strait on the ebb, which flows in a more northerly direction in this area.



We reach the Narrows right on time with some help from our head sail and venture through.  The wind and current are favorable and we make the decision to continue on clear to Port Neville for our evening anchorage.  We have, of course, charted out “bail out” anchorages all along the way, on our old fashioned paper charts.  Johnstone Strait is not to be trifled with as the wind and currents can howl through here. 




The day is uneventful other than some of the worst, torrential rain we have ever encountered while ‘sailing.’  At one point it was flying straight across the cockpit on a 19 knot beam wind.  The black clouds tell the tale.  We carry on and are thankful to reach Port Neville, successfully having transited the entire Seymour Narrows and a good portion of Johnstone Strait.



July 11th Beware Cove Turnour Island

Safely off of Johnstone Strait we meet a cruise ship exiting Blachney passage.  All the boats in Johnstone scurry out of her way and we motor on through the passage to our evening anchorage Beware Cove, Turnour Island.  It is very difficult to find just the right spot as there are numerous crap pot type buoys that we think might be for research.  We do find safe anchorage and settle in for the night, the angst of the Strait and the Narrows behinds us.




July 12th – 14th Dusky Cove Bonwick Island in the Broughtons




Leaving Beware Bay we do some fishing along the way only to realize that the currents will not allow us to drift safely around the rocks.  Carl does however catch a nice lingcod in Spring Passage. 

We continue to Dusky Cove where we separated from our buddy boaters Walt and Odile a couple of years ago when we all made it nearly to Alaska.  

We like Dusky Cove and the small islets which will make a great area to try out our kayaks.  We have both of them on board this year.  Carl’s is a fully rigged fishing machine with net, rod holder and bucket for his catch.  I have on board my book and camera and road snacks!  We venture far enough over that we are outside the rockfish conservation area and kayak for nearly 6 hours, each of us catching fish ranging from smallish flounder to very nice greenlings and rockfish.  Most of the rockfish are catch and release and the greenlings go into the freezer.  The kayaks are a success but a critique of the excursion includes a promise that next time we will have also scouted out a good place to beach the kayaks, take a break and stretch our legs.





July 15th Spout Islet anchorage Hanson Island

Leaving Dusky Cove we take a short trip to our anchorage at Spout Islet off of Hanson Island.  We spend a lazy day and night, Pam pouring over charts and tide books to plan our rounding of Cape Scott, the northernmost point of Vancouver Island.  I chat back and forth with Walt and Odile via email (when the boat drifts into the tiny bit of cell coverage we have).  They have gone around the top a few times and have some great information for us.  Carl of course fishes and reads.  There is only one casualty for this anchorage…..Pam’s throw is as good as it always has been and the very over ripe avocado she meant to compost in the bay becomes impaled upon the rod holder instead.





Tuesday, July 9, 2019

July 6th through 9th Sidney to Campbell River


June 6th through 8th Sidney to the Secretaries to Henry Bay, Denman Island

I will need to add photos sometime when we have enough bandwidth to do it.  



We are headed out to one of our favorite anchorages, a little nook between the two small Secretary Islands in the Gulf group.  We anchor, all to ourselves, and deploy the trusty dinghy, ET.  ET takes us to shore with clam buckets and our oyster shell clam diggers.  We’re clamming in the rain, we’re clamming in the rain, what a wonderful feeling we’re clamming again…..we easily get plenty of manila clams and oysters which are there for the picking.  Carl has checked the Canada Fisheries and Ocean notices to make sure they are not in a toxic area.  These go into our ‘live well,’ a five gallon bucket full of holes that we dangle off the stern, keeping all such creatures hydrated until they are to be consumed.  



A second sailboat, with two lassies aboard from the Canadian Forces Sailing Association anchors nearby and they are surprised to find out that yes, we really did come up from Portland.  Last year we moored at their dock which is located in Esquimalt under the watchful eye of Her Majesty’s forces.

July 7th We await the slack of the current through Porlier Pass with a lazy departure around 1330.  Carl spots Orca whales between us and the Pass, the first we have seen this year.  The resident Orca were two months late returning to this area this year.  We anchor 36 miles up the Strait of Georgia in Nuttal Bay.  While this is not the scenic route, we do still enjoy deer frolicking in the front yards of the houses dotting the Nuttal Bay shoreline, and we pass many small tree studded islands along the way.

We have chosen what they call the express route to Johnstone Strait.  Our goal is to get through Seymour Narrows, Discovery Passage and Johnstone Strait before the northwesterly winds set in.  We look to the wind gods Anemoi and hope for fare winds as we need south southeast wind to make it through Johnstone on the ebb current. 

Keeping with our express route we depart at 0800 on Carl’s birthday, July 8th.  Happy Birthday Carl!  We travel another 33 miles, drop the anchor in Henry Bay, Denman Island, and Carl is already happily fishing off the side of the boat.  First catch of the day, a pesky Dog Fish, a member of the shark family with a nasty sting from its tail if you let it get close enough.  Our son Zach encountered this last year  and purchased a new set of needle nose pliers for the boat as the other set went to the deep when he was trying to get the shark loose.  “You didn’t say it was a shark” we seem to remember him saying.

July 9, 2019  0900 (an hour later each day) we are off to Campbell River, just inside Discovery Passage.  We share the Comox Bar crossing with two of Her Majesty’s war ships, HMS 57 and 58 “Caribou.”    The shallows on either side make it necessary to stay the course, Caribou slows a bit to keep from running us over and we all make it through just fine. 


The day passes uneventfully.  We are riding the current up the edge of the Georgia Strait.  We cross the boundary where ebbs now flow north and floods flow south and our speed increases dramatically putting us up to 9.8 nautical miles per hour, a tad higher than our boat’s normal hull speed average of 6.     We tie up to the Campbell River Discovery Marina fuel dock, easy in, easy out, lots of room.  Then it is off the slip I-09, the same slip we were in a couple of years ago.

This is a very convenient marina as it borders a shopping center with a gigantic “tire” store that is a hardware and department store in hiding.  On our list is a second “water heater” wrench as it has the appropriate size mouth to fit on the two nuts that we need to reposition in our drip shaft area.  Or better put, it allows two nuts lying on their bellies to try to squeeze one arm each into a tiny opening to adequately get enough opposing force on two wrenches, each on a separate, large tightening nut.  And people ask what we do with our time!

Tonight we are each pouring over current tables, weather, guide books and charts.  We will each come up with a plan and if they jive enough, we will be headed towards Seymour Narrows tomorrow morning.



Saturday, July 6, 2019

July 3rd - 5th Neah Bay and on to Canada


July 3rd, 2019  Neah Bay to Crescent Bay

If you want to follow along on the map with us you can find us at https://share.garmin.com/PamCorey

We depart Neah Bay around noon to follow the flood current into Crescent Bay.  It is nice to slow down a bit and tidy the boat after being on the ocean nearly 34 hours.  The journey to Crescent Bay is as expected and we arrive in plenty of time to figure out where best to anchor.  This is a seldom used anchorage as it opens to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  We spend a rolly polly sleep interrupted night and wonder whether or not it is a good decision. 

4th of July – July 6th 2019 Planning gone awry

We depart the U.S. on our country’s birthday.  Happy 4th of July to everyone and to our country!  May we forever be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

We choose a 7 a.m. departure from our anchorage as the low tide will be minus three feet which is putting us pretty close to the keel.  As we make our 13 mile crossing we chat on the radio with cargo vessel Mattson Anchorage.  They are enroute to Seattle and we agree to alter course to safely pass them on their stern.  Although I seldom contact ship captains, I always appreciate the calm, courteous captains that I talk with on the VHF radio.

The crossing is fine and all is well until we try to round Race Rocks.  We essentially stay in one place for an hour as we have misjudged our timing on the currents.  Reflections over evening beverages in the cockpit include lessons learned.  Next time, yes we would still cross the Strait as you always want to do that when winds are favorable (which they were).  However, next time we would probably anchor in the bay after crossing and wait for the currents to subside before heading up and around Race Rocks.  Of course, every single factor will be different next time but we agree to tuck this lesson away in case we need it again.  The currents always win, even on a boat with a well equipped engine.

We check into Customs, tie up at Van Isle marina and do our normal, post ocean chores; laundry to get the salt air out, a check of all belts, and minor (hopefully) alterations or repairs.  We walk to town to purchase fishing licenses.  You can get them online but if you want to catch and retain halibut in some areas you have to purchase them at a brick and mortar vender.  This also puts us at the Sidney street fair allowing us to amply sample street fare food for dinner and stock the larder with some awesome fresh vegetables and homemade bread.  We are entertained by a variety of musical talent including a great celtic group singing salty sailing songs.   We purchase a dozen eggs to boil as well.  I wonder how the dozen boiled eggs that we left sitting on the counter at home will smell in 7 weeks?


What is it with alternators and our boat?  I am beginning to think the belt issue is a symptom of a larger problem.  In Longview we purchased and installed a new one because the relatively new one separated.  Now here we are a few days later and the brand new one is stretched beyond where it should be.  We dip into the spares tub and Carl puts on another new one.  Then it is a couple of miles round trip walking to replenish the spares tub.  This is one way we get our exercise.

Stretching our legs allows us to find a couple of good dark beers at a decent pub, Dark Matter and Black Magic.  Then it is back to the boat to pore over guide books, charts and ship’s logs to do some planning for our next leg.  Our goal this year is to circumnavigate Vancouver Island counterclockwise.  This will also allow us to meet up with our friends Walt and Odile on B Mondo as they circumnavigate clockwise.  We hope to meet up and explore on the wild west coast of the Island.



Tuesday, July 2, 2019

2019 Circumnavigation around Vancouver Island


We launch our 7th season on Saturday June 29th at 0900 with our youngest son Jacob and our two youngest grandkids Emily (7) and Sam (4 ¾) on board.  The first leg of our trip is short lived as we tie up in about 5 minutes to the Donaldson’s fuel dock and fill the tank and two cans.  Carl installed a new sending unit for the fuel gauge this year and some thorough studying of past fuel logs tells us that if we fill up here we can make it to the Neah Bay fuel dock and not have to worry about putting into a fuel dock anywhere in between.

Jake helps tie us up, we top off all fuel containers and head on down the river.  With a timely radio call to 49 Vancouver, the kids are impressed that a bridge opens for us and they do lively waves at the bridge tender who does not seem to be in sight.  Our day is uneventful, just how we like it.  The kids explore the boat, sit in the perfect 70 degree sun (sunscreen liberally applied by Dad of course) and find my fresh stash of activity books and crayons.  Sam makes sure the companionway drop boards are in correctly after studying each one and making sure all the lips line up correctly.  They torment one another as you can ‘lock’ the companionway doors from the inside and the outside and they commence to locking each other in/out.



They get to see boats of all sizes and ones that go ‘real fast.’  Emily explores cubbies and cupboards to re-assure herself as she mentions many times that she is worried that there is “not enough food on this boat.”  Come dinner time I have her go in search of a can of baked beans which leads her to the an as yet un-explored  ‘food’ hold, our dry bilge can storage area.


We tie up at Longview Yacht Club at 1550.  We tie to the new floating boat house that has a nice long side tie slip and dedicated shore power, and agreement between Dave, LVYC’s always gracious host and the owner of the new boat house.  After a nice welcoming visit with Dave, we offload the kids, their fishing poles, my book and an assortment of electronic devices and spread out on the deck in the shade.  The kids commence to “bobbering” and are quite content for a good hour.  No fish are harmed as “bobbering” is their way of practicing casting, bobbers only and a contest to see who can cast the furthest.




Dinner is enjoyed in the clubhouse, Jacob fixes my phone, and then we head back to the boat and configure sleeping quarters for 5.  Emily called dibs on the Pullman (mid ship nearly queen bed) and Sam tried to share this.  Midway through the night Sam crawled into the salon area and went to bed on the cushions on the floor, then migrated to the other queen berth (settee pullout) and nestled in beside Papa for the rest of the night.  Emily was found fully crosswise in the pullman, sleeping like a log.

Sunday June 30, 2019

The next morning it is full agreement that pancakes are in order.  We pile into the vehicle that Carl and I dropped off at LVYC Friday for Jacob to get home in.  Jacob finds the Pancake House in Longview, which is obviously a local’s favorite.   Between us we had 3 different types of pancakes, with two votes for chocolate chippers.

Enroute back to the boat Carl diverts us to Napa Auto Parts for an as yet explained need.  He has been pretty vague as to what has gone wrong on the boat but it is pretty obvious when he comes out of Napa with an alternator belt.

We gather all the ‘kids’ stuff up and get them on down the road.  It has, as always, been wonderful to have them along for a leg of our journey.  Thank you Jacob, for making it happen.



Now it is time to dive into the bowels of our bilge, where our engine sits, and get that alternator belt changed.  What is it with our alternator?  It seems like every year the alternator ends up being a story in our blog.  This year the belt has completely separated and it is not that old.  Anyway, as with last year, we are glad the issue arose while on the river and not out on the overnight trip on the ocean.

Belt changed, Carl and I head for Tongue Point, our anchorage for the night.  Given that we don’t have any passengers to pick up or drop off in Astoria, and that we have plenty of fuel, we choose this year to forgo tying up in the hectic West Basin and check out instead the anchorage behind Elsie Island, a tip given to us by Steve and Rosey B. from the club.  The irony is not lost on us that we can now say that we have anchored our sailboat on the John Day River, which outflows along Elsie Island.  We raised our boys in towns along the main stem of the John Day and still enjoy camping, fishing and hunting along its tributaries in eastern Oregon.  Of course this is a completely different John Day River but it has a nice feel to it none-the-less.

We take advantage of the calm anchorage to do chores.  Reef in the main; check.  Jacklines on deck; check.  Engine checks; check.  Glass of wine and bourbon, pork chops on the grill and relaxing in the cockpit; check.



July 1, 2019

This proves to be a very nice, quiet anchorage, we sleep peacefully, and awake refreshed and ready to head out across the bar.  That is of course, after Carl takes a shim out of the raw water pump pulley as he thinks the belt is a little tight.

Now we are truly headed out over the bar, timing our crossing on the beginning of the flood.  We have learned that it does not pay to get there too close to slack when there is strong ebb, as there is today.  We make a smooth crossing, taking only 3 hours on still apparent ebb, to reach the bar even though our anchorage is a good hour further away than our normal West Basin departure point.

We settle in for our roughly 160 nautical mile trip, next planned stop, Neah Bay.  The seas are a bit sloppy and ride choppy, until we are fully outside the Columbia River outflow.  We hoist the main for stability rather than sailing as the wind is predictably on the nose.  We see a nice variety of ocean life, a shark, many whale blows, a few whale tales, one sea otter, a puffin and a good group of dolphin.  Through the night we do our yearly dance with the Grays Harbour fishing fleet although our dance card is nearly empty this year as the fleet is much further offshore than normal.

All is well until Pam jumps out of the lee cloth berth at the sound of the engine slowing around 10:30 PM.  Carl said there was something different with the transmission.  He takes quite some time checking out the engine compartment while Pam revs and slows the throttle.  Everything seems back to normal and we motor on.  In retrospect we think it is possible that we snagged a line or something.  If so, our “shaft shark” hopefully severed it quickly.  Even though we are in the agreed upon crab free “tow lane” we still notice a high number of crab sets and it is difficult to find them all in the dark.  Hopefully we do not have any lasting damage.



Tuesday July 2, 2019

We are still motoring along well, no re-occurrence of the (perhaps) tranny issue.  We each kept a close watch on the instruments during our 3 on 3 off shifts through the night and feel pretty confident.  That did not stop me from mentally checking which fishing boats were in the area in the middle of the night and which Coast Guard unit we were closest to.

We radio the Coast Guard to discuss their live ammo training ongoing near Neah Bay and they assure us the area is well away from Neah Bay and we proceed with caution to the fuel dock.  We take on 38.8 gallons and have fairly good trust in our new fuel tank gauge.  Anchored out we enjoy the calm bay with two other sailboats, one just in from Hawaii and one from San Francisco.  Last year we anchored near Chuck P. and his sailboat Puffin, aptly named for anchoring here as the we always see Puffins floating around the entrance.  Thankfully Neah Bay now has cell phone coverage and I will get this missive onto the blog before we regroup and start heading up the Strait of Juan de Fuca tomorrow on a rising tide.