The sun was late coming up this morning because we are anchored in cozy little Squirrel Cove surrounded by small mountains. We noticed yesterday when we arrived that the water is filled with jelly fish that vary in size but the larger ones are the size of a dinner plate. It is cool to sit and watch them travel in slow motion through the water with all their gracefullness.

Yesterday was as close to the perfect day as can happen! We left Campbell River right at 10:30am during a slack tide and made our way around Cape Mudge where there are some tricky rocks and shallow areas. We put our sails up, tuned off our engines, and we were a sailboat for 6 hours! Wow! The wind was 10 to 15 knots in the morning, and 15 to 20 knots in the afternoon so it was just perfect. We started on a long port tack for over 2 hours, which is such a treat for us, because we are used to sailing in the California Delta where tacking is done every 15 to 20 minutes, or so it seems. We sailed across the Strait of Georgia again and encounted some side waves but managed nicely. Then through Baker Passage and around Hernando Island, then north in the Lewis Channel. The other 4 sailboats are all monohulls so that gives them an advantage when sailing to wind. We hung in there nicely for the beam and broad reach sections of the day, but when we turned to sail up Lewis Channel, we were going to wind where we have a disadvantage of not being able to point as high. One by one they passed us with a graceful heel that was really spectacular. It made me long for our boat that performs in a similar way, but we had a blast on Messing About. Most sailors in this area are “purists” and prefer monohull boats. They are sometimes opinionated in their views to the point of being critical, but it seems they are never too reluctant to come on our boat for cocktails, etc. Our group is really not like that other than they prefer monhulls. We did get a little ribbing as we arrived in Squirrel Cove an hour after everyone else, but all is good spirit.

We anchored and rafted together with 2 rafts of 3 boats each and hosted cocktails for our group of 2 other boats. Dinner was Barbara’s rice pilaf, lamb chops & steak on the grill, romaine lettuce leaves with a mustard vinegarette, and a bottle of Alexandria Nicole red blend from Washington state. And of course, Dianna’s candle on the table. The wine was the best we have had to date on this trip. I put the meat on the grill and noticed that the moon was coming up over the mountains off to our starboard side. It was so amazing to see this “supermoon” in this setting. We took a couple of pictures but they don’t really do it justice. We needed Maggie’s expertise to capture the moment. The other people were below decks eating their dinners, so we knocked and told them about the moon, as well as yelled across the cove to our other group. They came running out of their salons with cameras in hand. Lots of ooohs and aaahs followed. It was the most amazing thing I have witnessed in a long time.

Today we are off to Tenados Bay which is not very far away from here, so we will probably find some good wind (hopefully) and sail around a bit. Tonight we are anchoring with all 6 boats tied together, so should be fun!

Well we are off to do our morning preparation routine and looking forward to another wonderful day in this beautiful place.