May 2, 2022 - Sidney to Smuggler's Cove

Cast off at 7:30 this morning headed for Silva Bay for the night, our staging point for our Straits of Georgia crossing in the morning. Just a short 4 hour run today, but it was absolutely pouring, low overcast/fog, and the diesel heater is working overtime. We did get our first whale sighting though! A humpback surfaced just 50’ off our port side, so that was exciting. Never tire of seeing the whales and wildlife. We pulled into Silva around noon, but not before sticking our nose out into the Georgia straits to see the conditions. A bit too sporty out there for us, so we sat on the dock until 3:30 and after confirming the seas had calmed, set out across the straits with Smugglers Cove in our sights for the night. The sun was out and the water was calm, and John and I shared a nice Bodhizafa IPA in our sunny and warm pilothouse enroute. Tonight is Shannon’s turn to cook dinner so I have the night off. Tomorrow we will be in Campbell River for a couple of days reprovisioning so will probably have dinner out at the Riptide Pub at the top of the dock, yay, neither of us has to cook. My mantra is – if we are in port, the cooks have the night off.

I forgot to mention earlier that last Friday we asked our dear friend Greg Abell to do a blessing of the fleet ceremony for the two vessels to ensure safe travels on this trip. So far we have crossed three straits with calm seas, and for that we are deeply grateful to Greg. Thank you, friend. Your blessings are powerful.

Snuggled into Smuggler’s Cove tonight, sun streaming down, glassy water, and we were the only occupants of the cove, so peaceful except for the cacophony of Eagles debating some sort of situation, but to me that is a sound of paradise, just love their cadence. Shannon served up a stellar spaghetti dinner with her homemade bread and salad, along with a super nice bottle of Cayuse red wine that she and I quietly drank while the boys were distracted. What a great day!