Days 82-84 – Blind Channel to Stuart Island (Big Bay)

The last three days on the boat have been all about reuniting with good friends, celebrating anniversaries and birthdays, and having some great parties. On 8/2 we traveled from Blind Channel to Stuart Island (Big Bay) for a 3 night stay. Night one we traveled over to Dent Island Lodge for a wonderful dinner at the Tapas Bar celebrating Tom and Marlien’s 41^st wedding anniversary with them and their son Michael and daughter-in-law Kristin who is expecting! Dent has an outdoor kitchen with a wonderful half moon wood bar with the kitchen as the focal point. We feasted on a 6 course incredibly creative dinner under the heat lamps perched above the narrow channel that rushes and subsides with the tides. It was a beautiful and fun evening and well worth it if you can get reservations. Marlien reserved in January just to give you an idea of how long it takes to get a table. The folks at Dent took the old lodge down to the studs and rebuilt a stunning new lodge full of overstuffed leather couches and chairs, a huge wet bar, enormous rock fireplaces, and tons of ambience. On 8/3 the MBYC boats began arriving on the morning slack tide – the Griffins, Carrosinos, Boyers, Rosens, Paines, Ellefsons, and Evans. Griffins hosted all of us for cocktail hour on their beautiful new boat followed by a group dinner on the dock. Saturday August 4^th was the day of the big Auction Dinner for the Salmon Enhancement Fund, a non-profit dedicated to rebuilding the salmon population in the area. It was a gorgeous sunny morning and the shore was bustling with preparations as there was a DJ, huge buffet dinner, bar, and all the auction items to be set up. Marlien went up and helped with setup and snagged MBYC a table (thanks Mar!). Meanwhile all the “boys” went fishing up the Arran Rapids where it was legal to keep non-hatchery coho. Both boats came back with fish so it was a successful venture! John took me out for a boat ride early afternoon to go visit the sea lions that inhabit the channel across from Big Bay. We found a colony of them this year when last year there were only 2 large males. We watched them fish for while then played in the rapids among the whirlpools and swirling water in the whaler. At 3:30 the Ellefsons hosted a prefunction on their boat, and at 5PM we all walked up to get our tickets and start perusing the auction items. The buffet dinner was delicious and extensive, offering ribs, prime rib, salmon, and chicken, along with a multitude of salads and sides – they always do an incredible job. Soon the live auction started and the bidding frenzy began. John snagged a First Nations carved mask for a steal as it was the first item of the evening and we think people weren’t paying attention – lucky us! Our friends also picked up some beautiful items but mainly we just enjoyed sitting in the warm evening sun among friends, good food and good music. After the auction the DJ began and the music turned to more of the kind that appealed to the younger generation (or maybe we are just getting old?) so we retired back to the boat and celebrated Keith Rosen’s 60^th birthday on our boat with the whole gang. Dedee made a chocolate bundt cake and John was pouring Duck Farts (again). Such a wonderful evening and weekend with our friends.