The weather forecast was good, but the tide was not favorable early in Meyers Passage, so we did not weigh anchor until 11:00. After motoring west to the end of Meyers Passage, we turned NW into Laredo Channel and into the teeth of a strong NW 20-25 wind. It was obvious we had too much sail up pretty soon, so we pulled into Monk Bay to change down to the #2 jib, put in a couple of reefs in the main and have a horizontal lunch. Then it was back to the races, so to speak. For the next 4 hours we beat into the half-gale, recording a few gusts to 35 kn. Shortly after 17:00, the Admiral and crew threatened imminent mutiny unless something changed, so I dropped the jib and fired up the iron genie and we motored the last 4 miles to Helmcken Inlet. As soon as we entered the inlet, the wind dropped and the water flattened; this proved to be a bullet-proof anchorage and a welcome respite from bashing to windward.

52-45.65'N, 129-03.79'W; Log = 30.0 N-m, Sum = 219.1

The next morning was fine, but the wind was still blowing NW 20-25 outside, so we decided to spend the day exploring Helmcken Inlet. John rigged the sail up on his dinghy "Petite Massilia" and we took turns sailing it around. In the afternoon, we organized a water balloon fight with the kids: 4 kids against 2 dads. We all got soaked but had lots of fun, except for the tedium of scouring the surrounding area to collect all the balloon remnants for environmentally acceptable disposal. Later on, I was paddling around the inlet in the kayak and passed close by a commercial fishing boat that had come in to anchor for the evening. One of the crew was up on deck and we got to chatting. He sold me several pounds of freshly caught, tailed shrimp for CAN$20. A good day all round.