Ouch!

July 17th- Just as we got underway today I was savagely attacked by a dreaded yellow jacket bee. Out of the blue I was stung on the right arm. Since I am allergic to what is really a bite rather than a sting of the yellow jacket, I headed down to the stateroom for the tube of Sting X and then to the cabinet for two antihistamine capsules. It was hurting pretty good and had swollen to a 4 inch circular patch on the inside of my arm at the elbow.

We are currently stopped in an inlet near a house to steal internet service and check our e-mail. This is our view.....

Quiet cove

July 16th- the change in tide is pretty substantial here. What is smooth water in front of our anchorage is high tide gradually becomes a protruding rock and hazard to navigation. Hours later, at low tide, we are able to walk around on it and explore what has become a small island covered with sea life. The cycle repeats itself twice a day.

Happy Birthday Max!

July 15th-Today was Max’s Birthday! He is two years old not. As always, he is loving life and having a great time on the trip.

While we were doing chores around the boat this morning we heard some kind of bear activity coming from the woods on shore. I thought it sounded like tow bears growling, possibly fighting over something. Chris thought it sounded like a baby bear in distress, possibly separated from its mother. We will never know……..

During a kayaking trip out and around some of the rock islands today I spotted a mink. It ran down the rock edge of one island to the water, jumped in, and swam to a nearby island. It scampered up the bank of that island and disappeared before I could get Chris’ attention.

There are a lot of Bald Eagles in the area so we are constantly watchful of where Max is. A pair of loons has been feeding near the boat most of the day as well. I am getting used to their call, but it was quite nerve racking at first. It’s a very eerie sound that loons make and it is very lout echoing off the mountains and water here in the cove.

Chris installed his electric downrigger on the port stern of the boat today. He is ready to catch the “big one”!

Desolation Sound

July 14th- We left Lund Marina bound for Desolation Sound around 8 AM. We said good-bye to new friends with the hopes of seeing them again one day in the Gulf of Mexico where they keep trawler year round. We entered the Desolation Sound Marine Park at the mouth of Malaspina Inlet. Then took a left into Lancelot Inlet and a right into Theodosia Inlet. Just inside of Theodosia, we found a peaceful cove for anchoring. Tucked behind a small rock island we dropped anchor. We noticed on our way in that the inlet was teaming with delicate, white jelly fish. The graceful beauty and sheer number of them in the cove, thousands, was amazing.

At low tide the rock shoreline became a wide beach with lots of things to explore. There were sea stars of all varieties and colors, oysters, clams, small fish, snails, crabs and Max’s favorite…floating sticks! The water was shallow and warm near shore during low tide and great for wading.

We continue to experience beautiful weather with temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s. Desolation Sound is definitely in the mountains and the air is cool after dark it there is a breeze. We took a dinghy ride the far end of Theodosia Inlet after dinner and didn’t get back to Sea Mist till after 9PM. The sun had gone behind the mountains and it was time for a sweater. We have experienced a few mosquito bites but mostly we a bothered by large, black flies that bite! They are particularly annoying when we are sitting on the upper deck. We tend to sit with a book or computer in one hand and a fly swatter in the other.

Laundry

Chris decided that today was his day to do some laundry.

Kayaking in Boho Bay

It is surprising to us that we have Internet connections here, but for some reason we do...

We took the kayaks out to do some sightseeing around the bay after lunch this afternoon. Max would rather we all be in the dinghy.  When we kayak, he is never happy and ends up going back and forth between Chris' kayak and mine.

Stabilizers

Today was the first opportunity we've had to test the stabilizers that Chris designed for Sea Mist. We had some wind and fairly rough water to navigate  crossing Georgia Strait on our way to Boho Bay and we were certainly pleased with how the stabilizers performed.

Quiet ride