Slowly But Majestically

Saturday May 21st

http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe/100657

The older caretaker looked pretty calm as he motioned me up to the dock.  He calmly said 3 knots current and then had a patient look like that meant something important to me to factor into my approach.  Luckily I have had some experience running rivers and I let the current do most of the work and a little wind and settled into the small docks of Port Neville.  The Wandrian ran it in like a pro and we quickly were all tied up and settled in for the evening.  Johnstone Straits was a bit rough so we decided to get out of the slop and tie up for the evening.  We left Shoal Bay this morning and after easily making it through Green Point rapids and Whirlpool rapids which did have some whirlpools broiling as we went through.  We were traveling with a sailboat named Steel Eagle and another boat that we met in Shoal bay and at the Port Neville turn off they continued on with their goal being the Charlotte Islands.  I was tempted to keep going but Wandrian was ready for a break and it has been good to spend some shore time with the older boys and catch up on odds and ends.  I have some engine room work that I need to deal with including better mounting my sea strainer on my port engine which has come loose from it’s wooden bracket that is connected to the rails and I am concerned that in rough seas it will vibrate and cause a hole somewhere that will let sea water in.  I also notice a slight oil leak on the starboard motor and a slight diesel lead on the port motor and the primary fuel filter meter shows it getting a bit clogged so will need changed soon.  Overall the boat is running really well and reliably but I want to stay on top of the little things I do know how to do.

 

I forgot to mention that we caught some crabs in Shoal Bay – we were very excited and we ended up with 3 legal male crabs.  That would be about 100 dollars per crab if you figure out so far what I have into crab pot, rope and buoy and canadian fishing licenses.  But one the caretaker gave me a demonstration on a crab of his on how to clean them and gave me the crab that made 4 to cook up and we sat on the docs and feasted on the fresh white meat and it was worth every penny.  Since we do not have crabbing in PWS where we do most of our boating we are excited to do as much crabbing as we can while in Canada and southeast Alaska.

 

We are averaging less miles per day than I anticipated but the leisurely approach is good as we get used to the boat and running these waters and we are now about 300 miles to Alaska and that will put me somewhere near Ketchican at the first of the month to tackle my billing for the month.  I actually have really been missing work, I know that sounds strange but I actually love what I do and working on new designs for customers and working through the technological challenges around web media and brand design is rewarding.  I find myself wanting to just go for it and do 100 mile days and left to my own ideas I think I would be in Juneau or Sitka a week from now but as the caretaker here told me today “take your time and smell the flowers and see the sights along the way”.  Let’s just say it is not easy to tame my type “A” personality that is more about getting it done.  My good friend and boating buddy Mark Anderson has always been much better at Gunkholing “resting at anchor” where I am always sharpening hooks and getting gear ready to pillage, plunder and ravage:)  Tomorrow our goal “Lagoon Cove” is only about 15-20 miles away and the highlight is that each day the owner has a all you can eat shrimp feed/potluch and apparently has an interesting story about a bear water skiing.  If I am not careful I will get the hang of the Wandrian’s Slogan “Slow but Majestically”.

 

One thing I now understand and that is why so many boats in the San Juan area head up to Desolation sound as this area is much like the boating in Prince William Sound and is much less populated and the water is clearer and mountains higher.

 

I am bouncing around a lot but once cool picture that we took in squirrel cove was of a couple canadian geese with their 5 babies that came paddling up to our boat, they seemed to have their 5 babies under much better control than we do but I was fun to see another set of parents out with their brood.  I asked them if they were heading all the way to Alaska and they just honked.

 

As the sun sets this evening and the winds begin to die down from the warnings in Johnstone Straits it is good to look at the map and see a long winding yellow highlighted line starting from Anacortes and I look forward to adding a few more inches of yellow tomorrow.

 

Cheers from the Sundog Crew and God Bless.