Day 6 - Lagoon Cove

We spent a rainy night anchored in Forward Harbour, with our friends' boats rafted to ours. We all put down anchors and stayed secure together, enjoying company and jolly visits. Tuesday morning we again had calm seas as we cruised up Johnstone Strait and thru Chatham Channel to one of our favourite spots at Lagoon Cove. We've decided to stay two nights before moving on to Port McNeill on Thursday. We've been coming to Lagoon Cove for more than ten years, and always enjoy the warm welcome we get from Bill & Jean. Somehow we've made it a tradition to arrive with a fresh rhubarb pie for Bill, so I never leave home without some homemade pastry and chopped rhubarb ready to put together enroute. It was a bit of an experiment this trip, seeing if the new small size convection oven would do the job, and I think it is going to serve us well.

This haven is noted for exceptional prawning grounds; every day Bill & Jean host 5:00 Happy Hour on the dock for all their guests, and they provide literally buckets of the day's catch -- several hundred at least. Dan's trap was not quite this lucky today, but we're working on it!

We continue to enjoy calm seas, and aren't minding the overcast skies as long as that keeps the winds down. All is well.

Underway

In spite of a delayed departure, we are now right on schedule according to our itinerary! The weather conditions and winds in Vancouver Harbour were not pleasant as we left North Vancouver on Friday afternoon; we had hoped the forecasts for improving conditions in the afternoon would serve us well, but we found the 4-5 foot swells quite uncomfortable so we altered our course and sought protection in Howe Sound. We spent a good long night at Plumper Cover, Keats Island and faced a new day feeling rested and ready to face the seas. Still, the marine reports told us to expect 30 mph winds down the Strait, but when we ventured out we were delighted to find flat calm seas and sunny skies, which stayed with us all the way to Campbell River. It was an eight-hour run that was most pleasant, and we were welcomed to the docks of Discovery Harbour Marina by dear boating friends, Colyn and Connie.


We enjoyed a warm summer evening together, eating seafood platters at Patti's Patio on the dock. We have completely forgotten about winter and the cold spring inland; it is summer here, and we're lovin' it!


We will scoot across the channel this afternoon, to April Point for a night at George's dock, and head up Seymour Narrows on Monday, along with Colyn & Connie.


So far, so good.


Thank you to so many who have sent good wishes. We enjoy every note.

Provisioning

This week we are in the busyness of 'provisioning'. For you land-lubber-types, that means we are shopping, packing and stowing all the provisions that we can imagine needing or wanting on board with us for the next three months. The dog, the knitting, the books, the prawn traps.... and the groceries.

By Friday, May 23rd, we expect to be underway. And we will add to this Blogspot whenever we have access to internet services. 'Hope you enjoy our journey with us, and please feel free to add a Comment or send emails. I know we will miss our friends and family very much.