3 Jul 22

After yesterday’s exertions, I slept in until nearly 09:00. It was another cool, low overcast day, but the cove is still beautiful. We basically lazed around the boat and read all morning, although Laurie did go for a long row around the cove, just after low water. About 13:00, after lunch, we decided that we may as well get going toward Hot Springs Cove, to see about a nice hot soak in the thermal waters. The anchor was aweigh at 13:38 (the anchor wash-down system worked perfectly, thank you very much) and we motored out of Bottleneck Cove just before 14:00. After stopping to collect our prawn trap (we had one small prawn, which I tossed back, but John had 8 big keepers - enough for a meal for Laurie and him), we motored on down Sydney Inlet under increasingly gloomy skies. At the mouth of the inlet, I called up Prince Rupert Coast Guard radio on 83A for a radio check; we could hear each other very well (which is good to know, should we ever require assistance). Just as we turned the corner into Hot Springs Cove, it started to rain, so I got into my foulies to get ready to put down the anchor. There were no other pleasure boats anchored in the Cove and, sure enough, as we motored by the Maquinna Park dock, there were several signs that said “closed due to Covid-19”; we had been hoping for an opening on 1 July, as had been rumored, but I guess the authorities are worried about the recent spikes in Omicron variant infections. We anchored in the cove anyway at 15:20. There is good cell phone coverage in here, so I was able to contact the care-takers at Cougar Annie’s - Hesquiat Harbour, but it appears that they also continue to be closed. I contacted the (First Nations) guardian of the harbour, but, although he was very nice, it seems unlikely that it will be open either. Bummer. After happy hour, we grilled some salmon and potatoes; John and Laurie prepared a pork curry that they brought over to join us for supper. It rained hard all evening, so we just cowered inside the cockpit enclosure and played Triominos until after 23:00. 

49-21.842’N, 126-15.960’W; Log = 8.2, Sum = 316.1; Eng. hrs. = 1.9, Sum = 2936.1

4 Jul 22

Happy Birthday (no. 246) USA. We woke up to continued light rain, which slowly dissipated through the morning. I spent the morning catching up on book-keeping and had a long chat session with the folks at DJI regarding the “gimbal motor overload” message. I tried all their advice (download the latest firmware and recalibrate the gimbal), but all to no avail. Looks like I will have to send the drone in for repair at some point in time, probably after we return to the states - serious bummer.  The last word we had yesterday from the guardian of Hesquiat Harbour (where Cougar Annie’s is located) is that the harbour, and therefore Cougar Annie’s, are still closed due to Covid-19. So, tomorrow, we will just go straight from here to Friendly Cove (Yuoquot) and just bypass Hesquiat; this will actually save us 13 or 14 miles. It rained all day, off and on. Forecast for tomorrow is pretty benign; maybe up to NW 10-15 in the afternoon; by then, we should be around the corner of Estevan Pt. and headed into Nootka Sound and Friendly Cove. After happy hour and dinner, we played Triominos until 22:00.