We left Blunden Harbour on July 8th, heading for the Southgate Group and then to Miles Inlet, an out of the way kind of place, with a very small entry, right off the ocean, it felt like the boat hardly fitted in, and we kept going, and kept going, until towards the wider spot at the end, where we put the anchor down, we were totally surrounded by walls of green, and  BIG rocks in the water.  Three Ospreys circled overhead, and we could hear the surf of the ocean.   We didnt see any other boats, but close to us came a floathouse in view,around the corner, when we started turning, a couple live their, when they have time off of work, what a spot.We investigated all the nooks and crannies of this place, it went on forever it seemed, and there were two overfalls, which were very wild once the tide started running. No signs of any animals other then ospreys and eagles. We had a quiet night there,with the moon coming up late in the evening, and we got up at 4.30,yikes!!!  but the plan was to round Cape Caution , and the wind is not a problem so early, plus the tide was in our favor. I cant describe the scent of the forest , i think its the cedar trees, together with the moss and rotting logs, its of earth, and living things, i have never smelled anything like it. It is gone ,once we are in open water.  The trees look like giant bonzais, great big trunks but not very tall, windswept from the ocean winds. Anyway, we rounded Cape Caution with no problem at all, we had heard such horror stories from boaters, but most of them would leave later in the day, and then the wind comes up. The swell was not bad, our cat , Annie had no problem with it at all, slept through the whole thing, me on the other hand turned a tad green……..but i did get used to it.  We kept going till about 11.30, and then were tired, needing a good lunch.  Bert decided to pull into one of the bays on Penrose island, and we dropped anchor in Frigate bay….no one was there!!!on the way into the bay, we noticed a beautiful sand beach……need to check that out!!! We stayed two nights , surrounded by 30 some Canada geese, Harlequin ducks, and Merganzers.   We took the kayaks to the beach the next morning, sat there, in the sun, and Bert commented that this could be the Bahamas……  What a nice place!!  on the way back to the boat, i saw some little fluffy reddish things on a big rock, they were 4 Merganzer chicks, sitting very, very quiet, waiting for a parent to come back from fishing.  We loved it here in Frigate bay, and i had trouble leaving!!  We noticed on the way out, that other boats were all anchored one bay over.

I just finished writing a long post, and it up and disappeared!!  great!  i will start again…..We went to Port McNeill on June 28th, our anniversary, to do the laundry, get supplies at IGA .  Port McNeill is a friendly place, everything is there that you need, even a pet shop.  We stayed one night and then anchored across from the marina, didnt stay there long though, as a SE storm was coming, and it would not be a comfortable place, as the waves really built in the entrance.   So, back in the marina for another night and then across to Sointula, on Malcolm Island, a historic place, with a very nice feel to it, the people here are from Finnish background, everywhere you look, are children with very blond hair. The town is well over a 100 years old, with rustic looking houses, old fishing boats, and a hundred year old co-op store. On June 30th, we left Sointula to head across Queen Charlotte Strait, tide was in our favor, wind was suppose to be from NW, 5-15 knots.  Bert put up the main, staysail and the genoa, and we moved along nicely at 5 knots.  Slowly the wind picked up…… we reefed the main, took down the staysail, by now the wind was 15 knots and not about to taper off, one out in the open, it picked up to 22 knots, reefed the genoa, the waves made it hard to enjoy this for me, as i had a cat down below that was slowly turning a bit green……Wind was 25 knots by the time we came to the other side, cat  was sick, and i had enough.    But things got better, the coast is beautiful here, very rugged, very wild, the entrance to Blunden Harbour is tricky, lots and lots of rocks. The harbour consists of a large main Bay, and several lagoons, and a smaller Bay, which was empty!!!  We took that spot.  Anchored  in 10 metres, mud bottom. The next morning, we put air in the kayaks, and watched, as there are salmon jumping all over the place, the local eagle pair diving down to try to get one.  We also see a lot of Ospreys, and their loud call sounds at first like an otter. We kayaked all around the lagoons, and went over to the large midden, in the main Bay, where the sight is of an old Kwakiutl village, there is nothing left anymore, so hard to believe that this was a thriving community.  In the broken shell lie lots of  treasures, pieces of pottery, old iron pegs, old glass, all from the early 1900’s. There are suppose to be tradebeads here also, but i only found one piece of one.Early the next morning, when i stuck my head out of the cockpit, i looked into the eye of a Dolphin, a very big, Pacific White Sided Dolphin, and he was not alone, 13 others were swimming all around the boat, what a wonderful sight!!!   i nearly killed myself , trying to get the camera, should listen to Bert, who says to keep it handy at all times…….i did get a few shots, they stayed for a while, apparently they hunt for Capelin, a small fish that is on the increase here on the coast. We were the only boat here, in the small bay, all the other boats coming in, 7 of them, went to the larger bay.    We decided to move on , on July 4th, towards Cape Caution.