Day 6 - Port McNeill to Fury Cove

We are underway at 5:30 again this morning for the big crossing, and all reports from all of our apps seem to indicate good conditions so we are hopeful. I don't know when we will have cell service again after today, so posts may be delayed. We are all very excited to be on the next leg of this journey past today's crossing and into the inside passage which is supposed to be incredibly beautiful. One of my goals for this trip is to get a Spirit Bear sighting. Spirit Bears are white and are a rare subspecies of the black bear, most of which live in the region we will be passing through in the next week. This time of year we are told the bears are in the woods feeding on grubs and berries and they don't really come down to feed on the beaches and streams until later in the summer, so if we indeed see one, it will be a miracle. Hoping for humpback whale sightings in the Fitz Hugh Sound as well, as they are supposed to be plentiful there. Shannon and I plan to get our crab and shrimp pots down as soon as possible in the next 24 hours. Shannon received some tips from locals about where to find crab at our next destination. Signing off for now, will add and update when I have cell service.

UPDATE:

The crossing around Cape Caution and up the Queen Charlotte Straits couldn’t have been better. We still think Greg Abell’s blessing had a lot to do with our success. We are so very thankful beyond words. The water was so favorable we decided to speed up (which means about 3-4 times the fuel consumption) just so we could take advantage of the flat water and cross as soon as possible. We needn’t have worried because the seas stayed fair for the entire journey. Early into our crossing we were graced with the appearance of a couple of small pods of Orcas – magnificent to watch. They did the tail slapping and belly rolls, small breeches, then swam in the other direction. Lucky Dog got to witness a seal wrestling with and eating a salmon, we missed that show. After nearly 6 hours of running we reached our destination of Fury Cove, a beautiful spot with crushed white shell beaches and just enough of a barrier to shield us from the outside water. We anchored with Lucky Dog rafted alongside and we puttered the afternoon away, doing a little exploration of the nearby coves and inlets by dinghy finishing off with dinner on Esperança and card games on Lucky Dog. Tonight’s menu was Flat Iron Steak (which I overcooked unfortunately, still not used to this BBQ), roasted veggies in the oven (broccoli, brussels, onion, and yams), and mixed greens with blue cheese crumbles, strawberries, green onion, and toasted hazelnuts tossed with champagne vinaigrette.