Day 8 - They call it a Rainforest for a reason

We departed our beautiful lake-like anchorage in Penrose Island at 830am hoping to beat the rain that was predicted to start around 1pm and we managed to stay in a weather hole that appeared to follow us for most of the way north up Fitz Hugh sound, when we looked around there was rain in all directions but we stayed warm and dry.  A pod or Orca’s with breaching calves passed under us about halfway up to our planned turn at Denny Island. 


Rounding the point into Lama Passage, we spotted a pictograph on the rocks to port.  It was so clear and bright that it looked like it had been repainted (maybe it had, as the dockhand at Echo bay told us that some people do that).  


We only saw two other pleasure craft the entire day but lots of fishing boats.  Nearing Shearwater lodge the rain started and the visibility was poor enough that I fired up the radar on a split screen as we are on the Ferry route.  


We hit our first log today as I came upon a line of flotsam so thick and wide that I had to choose between hitting a smallish log and avoiding the tree beside it.  When I saw that collision was inevitable I throttled down and threw the engines into neutral and other than a nice loud thump against the hull, it popped out behind us and we continued on.  


It looks like we have a few days of rain with a bad storm coming in on Friday and Saturday with 50mm of rain and 30-40 knot winds so I’m glad we’re in these protected waters.  We’re anchored alone in a sheltered bay around the corner from Bella Bella (pronounced “Pil-Palma” by the local First Nations) in 59 feet of water so lots of room to swing with the winds. Bella Bella was the location of a post of the Hudson’s Bay company named Fort McLoughlin in 1833. 


Tommorrow we plan to stop at Klemtu for some water and then see if we can find a nice anchorage up Tolmie channel for the evening. 


Roman seems to have perfected his technique with the oven. The bread was amazing tonight with black bean soup, a perfect meal to match our weather. 


It’s movie night so I’ll put on the popcorn shortly. Late show starts at 9.  See you all Tommorrow.


Running time: 5 hours.  Fuel burned 210L, fuel remaining 845L, range 20 hours.









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