Hello from Campbell River where we arrived this morning around 9:30am. More on that but first, here is some information about day 6.

The morning of Day 6 we were in Prideaux Haven, Desolation Sound and the weather report was not a good one, with winds expected to be 25 to 35 knots. Two of our 6 boats had to be in Campbell River that night so some guests could fly out first thing on Friday morning. That meant they had to cross the Straits of Georgia in that weather. The term for the seas in that conditions is “very lumpy”. The other 4 boats decided to take a northern direction past Mink Island, then up and around West Redonda Island, and into Teakerne Arm for a view of the double waterfalls at the end of the Arm. Choosing that route gave us protection from much of the winds because sailing through close islands provides protection from much of the stong winds. The trip to the falls took 2 1/2 hours, but we were rewarded with a spectacular sight. Pictures have been downloaded, but more taken from other boats, of our boat will be sent to us via e mail. We took turns getting close to the waterfalls and circling past. In route we passed a “sea farm” where someone has built a very rustic facility to farm fish. The area is protected by nets but we saw a lot of wildlife activity outside the wire fence. We suspect it is enticing to preditors to see/smell such a collection of trapped fish. Maybe like when we pass an In and Out Burger restaurant in our cars, where the smells are overwhelming?

Ater leaving the falls we headed north through Lewis Channel and around the northern end of Cortes Island, then South through the Sutil Channel toward Read Island and Quadra Island. Our destination was a small harbor tucked in on the East side of Quadra Island named Heriot Bay. We knew the further South we traveled we were going to be exposed to the winds and waves of the Strait of Georgia, so we made sure everything was off the counters and put away. We tied down everything on deck, and got our foul weather gear on, along with our PFDs (personal flotation device/life jacket). We were about 90 minutes from Heriot Bay when it started. Light at first, then heavier. The wind was not as bad as we expected, but the waves were running 5 feet and off our port side. We were traveling southwest at this point, and the waves were hitting us from the side, so the ride was very rocky (lumpy). As each wave would hit, it would raise the port side up, then let it down, and do the same to the starboard hull. We were bouncing all over the place, but now we were only 30 to 40 minutes out. It was about then that we began hearing the siren on the starboard engine. Every time a wave hit, the siren sounded for a couple of seconds. This was a bit distrubing given the weather conditions. The next bit of excitement was the presence of the ENGINE LIGHT coming on along with the siren. And it was the low oil indicator. Turning off the engine was not an option and adding oil in that condition was not either. We were fine with the waves, but the siren now coming on more often, was beginning to worry us. Within 20 minutes the siren was on full time, and the starboard engine light was coming on with a second siren that went off every 10 seconds. About 15 minutes from our destination, we radioed our flotilla leader with the news. He could hear the screaching over the radio. He said slow it down a bit and maybe they will cool off. That was the last thing we wanted to do with the waves hitting us, but we did. As soon as I did that both sirens were now constant and both ENGINE LIGHTS were on all the time. As we got close to the harbor the waves lessened and we learned the harbor did not have space for our 4 boats. Our leader (Mike) said we have four choices: to anchor in Heriot Bay harbor, to tie up to the outside breakwater of their dock, to motor north again to another small harbor 30 minutes away, or to go north 10 minutes to a dock that is very exposed to the weather. The sirens made my choice easy, either we anchor right here or tie to the breakwater. Mike said just drop you anchor and turn off the engine, so Dianna went forward with that in mind, getting the anchor ready to deploy. I knew we needed some engine help so I changed the plan radioed that I would rather tie to the breakwater, because at least we will have access to help to fix our problem. Dianna waved a guy down on the dock and he grabbed our stern line as we got closer. With the stern line tied off, I put the port engine in forward and the bow came around. Once we knew we were securely tied, I finally got to turn off the engines and stop the scretching sirens. WHEW! Both of us had ringing in our ears for more than an hour. Later one of the people on another one of our boats came up and started mouthing words as a joke. Pretty funny at the time.

When the dust of docking settled down we opened the “sugar scoops” (rear engine platforms) and had a look. Everything looked fine, no oil leaking into the compartment. To check closely you actually have to decend into the chamber to inspect further. All of which would be crazy anywhere but at a dock. The dock we were tied to was really a breakwater so it moved with the waves a bit and was unsteady. When we checked the engine oil both engines showed nothing on the dip stick! We had check the morning before and all was fine. We added more oil, started them up, and everything was fine. As a side note, last night at dinner we had a toast to “motor oil”.

Our position on the dock was exposed to waves and currents so there was motion all night, but at least we knew we were tied up. Being on that dock also gave us access to the hotel pub where we had dinner, and access to ice that came in very handy for cocktail hour. I last nights drink tasted better than any I can remember! W

This morning we had to leave for Campbell River by 7am in order to enter Discovery Passage at slack tide. Otherwise the currents can run 8 knots down river making it impossible to make way up to the town of Campbell River. An hour out of Heriot Bay we came across a pod of whales. It seemed like they were everywhere. We stopped for 30 minutes to watch and take pictures. Our boat did not have the best vantage point but the show was still amazing, so graceful in their movements together. There must have been 20 to 30 moving north in the Sutil Channel.

Campbell River in the sun as we approached was really beautiful, with the morning glow of great colors. We showered, shopped, did laundry, went to lunch, did some needed work on the boat and dinghy, added fuel and water, and most importantly, bought engine oil!!

We are docked next to serveral mega yachts. One is about 100 feet long, but next to us is a huge Orion that must be 120 to 150 feet long. Amazing to see and it is 20 feet from our boat. I took a picture of it and then a second one with our boat in the background. I will post pictures of today soon.

Sun is going down and I neeed to buy ice before the store closes.

Cheers from 2 of the luckiest people in this amazing world!