15 Aug 23

We were in bed again last night at 21:00, but this morning, we both got up at 07:00. It was cool and mostly cloudy with a bit of wind at the dock. The forecast called for S15 in Sumner Strait, but after breakfast, we decided to go out and have a look, as it is not very interesting hanging onto this dilapidated dock. We had the engine going at 09:19 and were away from the dock a few minutes later. As we rounded Protection Point and turned south into Sumner Strait, the wind was S15-18, but the sea was not too bad, so we decided to carry on; Terri had taken the precaution of taking a Stugeron before we pulled out. Both tide and wind were against us for the 12 mile run down the Strait, but this had the advantage of keeping the seas small. There was a 6 foot, long period swell running up the strait, but this did not bother us, although we were careful to stay outside the 100 m contour until we made the turn into Shakan Bay. Along the way, a cormorant made 4 or 5 close passes, acting like he was going to land on the bow; he never did, but he once got within 2 or 3 feet of the boat. We have no idea what he was doing or thinking. Once we were well inside the bay and in the lee of Kosciusko Island, the sea calmed down and we turned up between Hamilton and Middle Islands, leaving Divide Island to starboard. This opened into a beautiful bay about 1.5 long by 1 mile wide. A couple of humpback whales were feeding just outside the entrance to this lagoon. We anchored in the far southern end in 9.3 m of water at 12:40 and settled in for lunch and a quiet afternoon of solitude with nobody else in sight or anywhere near, as far as I can tell. We watched sea otters and eagles all afternoon. The next several days are all on the inside passage on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, so we should not be bothered much by the forecast S and SW 20 kn winds. By Friday, it is supposed to go light for a few days.

56-09.544’N, 133-30.125’W; Log = 19.9; Sum = 2112.8; Eng. hrs. = 3.4, Sum = 3448.7