We departed Bull Harbour early Tuesday morning, collecting the crab trap on our way out. Unfortunately no crabs. Looks like they've all left Bull Harbour. Either that or we didn't set the trap in the right spot. The trip was mostly uneventful with light winds and six foot seas (the route from Bull Harbour to Pruth Bay is on the open Pacific). I got a little seasick but it went away as soon as I stopped looking at the computer screen and went up on deck.
On our way we met a whale. We're not exactly sure what kind, but we think it was a humpback. We saw it ahead swimming toward us so we shut the boat down and drifted along to see how close it would come. It swam up pretty close, about 150 yards, and then "spy hopped." At first I thought it was feeding, but it only did it once so we figured was just taking a look at us. It swam around for a good 10-15 minutes, all the while staying 150 yards away. Then it surfaced 100 yards from the boat, took a huge breath, and dove. It was gone beneath the surface for 3-4 minutes and then surfaced on the other side of the boat. It obviously swam directly below us! It swam a circle around us at about 150 yards and then closed in on us again, this time surfacing only 20 yards from the boat! We thought we were in store for another close inspection, but it seemed to have had enough of us because the next time it surfaced it was 300 yards away and heading on. Very exciting.
We arrived at Pruth Bay (N 51° 39' W 128° 7') at 1630 and dropped anchor in a nice spot. We took showers and had dinner (left over pasta with creamy garlic sauce and salmon pieces) and were just settling in with our books when a dinghy pulled up to Nakia. In it were a man and his two children (a boy and a girl) and they wanted to know if we would like some fish. Never one to turn down a piece of fish that I don't have to clean, I said yes, and was presented with a four pound fillet of ling cod! Now our freezer is really full.
Of course I had put the crab trap out before they arrived and when I pulled it up this morning there were 4 crabs in it. When it rains it pours! One was a female so I gave her the freedom that her sex requires, and looked over the other three. Two were pretty big, measuring 7 1/2 inches across the back and the third was not quite as big. Not wanting to be greedy, I let the smaller one go as the other two would easily feed us. I put them into our "live tank" (a bucket with a net strung over the top) for storage until dinner time. I put each in his own bucket having had problems before with them pulling each other's limbs off when they are stored in the same bucket.
With dinner secured, we went ashore to take the walk to the beach. To get there we tie up our dinghy at a dock which is owned by the Hakai Beach Resort. This is an upscale fishing resort where the guests fly in on float planes and have world class fishing available within a few miles of the resort. During our beach walk we met the manager (who is the former owner) and he says they're trying to make the place a combination spa/fishing resort so it will appeal more to couples and families (hint, hint, Tom). The wide sandy beach was just as beautiful as we remembered it, and we took in a side trail where we had lunch on our own private beach.
So far the only down side is the bugs which have been pretty pesky every evening, and while walking through the woods to and from the beach. Not mosquitos, these are little biting flies. Their bite is a little red dot which sometimes bleeds a drop of blood and then develops into a welt which itches terribly and lasts forever. I'm not sure what kind of flies they are, but we call them "white socks" after the white patches on their feet. Does anyone know what they might be? They are small - smaller than a mosquito (black flies?).
Tomorrow we're walking out to "North Beach" where we hope we will be having cold cracked crab for lunch. I say "we hope" because it all depends on catching one or two more in the trap tonight. We'll see. Turkey sandwiches wouldn't be bad for a change either.
Phil is continuing to make progress on his return home from Hawaii. As of tonight's radio conversation with him he has about 525 miles to go and hopes to be back in the Gate by Sunday afternoon. He wasn't sounding too happy the other night when things were really slow and he was having to think about rationing his food and water, but he's in much better spirits now that he has some wind again!
Late update: We didn't have cold cracked crab for lunch on the beach. The crabs never showed. Also Phil continues to make great progress. 140 miles closer today thanks to a 25 knot westerly. Take a look at his log on http://sailavie.blogspot.com
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