This was our fourth crossing of Cape Caution. The first one was the only one that was a little bit uncomfortable (6 foot swells at 4-5 seconds apart). The rest have been relatively calm and uneventful. (When you have the time to wait for a good weather window, you can be picky about when you do your crossing.) This one was boring. I napped for the actual crossing of the Cape. Yawn. Sleepy. There was no land in view, barely any water in view, and only an occasional other boat on AIS (also not in view). We had radar going but mostly the screen was blank. See? Boring. (Wind was 5kts or less, swells were around 3 feet…around 8 seconds or more, and as you can see…visibility sucked. We’ll take it!)
While Kevin was napping I passed an otter chillin’…he was only about 25ft from the boat as I went by and he just floated there watching me pass. I said hello (actually I said “Hey buddy!”) and took his photo.
As we got a ways into Queen Charlotte Strait, the fog started to clear and we could see land.
Behind us, out toward the Pacific (that dot is a fishing boat):
Ahead of us, toward Port McNeill (today’s destination):
It was sunny and warm as we arrived. We got settled at the North Island Marina and then walked (T-shirts only, no jackets!) up to the IGA market to stock up on veggies and a few other things. Our plan is to head back across the strait tomorrow and hang out in the Broughtons a bit…maybe go to some places we haven’t been yet (along with a few repeat favorites).
They had giant bunches of fragrant (local) fresh basil at the market, so tonight we’re going to make some tortellini and toss it with fresh basil, grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a little olive oil and salt.
