We’ve been focused on “gates” since meeting in the San Juans a week and a half ago. First we had the Strait of Georgia, then the next day the rapids and Johnstone Strait, then a few days later Cape Caution. The “gates” are heavily front-loaded on this trip, and it feels good to have four of the five behind us. Now, for the next several hundred miles, as we work our way north through the vast Central Coast, we have relatively few weather concerns.
After our early wakeup call yesterday for rounding Cape Caution, it was nice to sleep in this morning. We awoke to the pitter-patter of rain on deck, the first so far this trip.
One of the benefits of boating with others is many photo opportunities of your boat while underway. When Airship hailed Nereus to arrange overtaking, they also made arrangements to snap a quick photo. John and Roberta came out on deck to add some color to the shot:
Despite the gloomy, rainy weather, we all donned rain gear and dinghied over to the trailhead to hike up to Sagar Lake.
The hike to Sagar Lake is about half a mile each way and has some challenging ups and downs (natural steps in the tree roots and rocks). If you have any knee or other mobility issues it might be a bit of a challenge, but it’s so nice to get some exercise at any opportunity while cruising, even when it’s raining.
Sagar Lake is a favorite swimming spot, thanks to its fresh water and beautiful beach. Today, though, was a bit too chilly.
Today was John’s birthday, so we celebrated with dinner aboard Nereus. Several folks grilled stuff on the barbecue, and we had a pot of chili, salad, roasted vegetables, corn on the cob, crab dip, and homemade cookies for dessert. Laura and Kevin worked up a little “Happy Birthday” ukulele duet while underway today, so they snuck their ukuleles aboard when John wasn’t looking, then surprised him with a little song later in the evening. Another super fun day with this great group!
Today’s total: 38.6 nautical miles, 5 hours 30 minutes underway
Flotilla total: 344.9 nautical miles, 49 hours 26 minutes underway
