Forecast: Wind light becoming northwest 10 to 20 knots in the afternoon (Environment Canada Central Coast). Mostly sunny, high around 75.
We didn’t have all that far to travel today (about 40nm), but we still wanted to get an early start. We were done with chores at Shearwater, and Pruth Bay—which we’d skipped on the way north—is a more fun place to spend time. We left Shearwater in thick fog, hoping it would burn off, but we ended up cruising in a cloud almost all day. “Fogust” has arrived, it seems.
Even with the fog, we saw a few humpbacks. Close, too! Visibility wasn’t more than about 1/4nm, so by the time a whale came into view it felt like we were right on top of it. Humpbacks make a poor radar signature, so there’s not much that can be done to avoid them from further away.
We tend to travel with our radar on at all times, even when it’s sunny. This provides good practice and it’s extremely helpful to see what different types of boats look like on the radar screen when you can still see them with your eyes. That practice pays off on days like today, in very little visibility with many small fishing boats to avoid.
The fog persisted all afternoon and through the evening at Pruth Bay. Several people went out fishing, several went to shore and hiked to the white sand beaches, and we all met for taco night on the raft.
Pruth Bay, by the way, was busier than we’ve ever seen it! We counted somewhere around 18 boats in for the night! Thankfully it’s a large anchorage and there was more than enough room for everyone.
