Day 22 Lewis Island to Port Simpson

June 9^th  6:30 departure  calm

LEWIS ISLAND TO PORT SIMPSON

We try to leave our radio on when we are anchored so that we can hear broadcasts from the Canadian Coast Guard. There seemed to be a lot more activity last night than usual. One reported incident was a mayday call from a boater on the rocks whose boat was taking in water. Any and all boats in the vicinity were urged to assist. A group of kayakers reported that two in their group had fallen in the water. They managed to right themselves. All throughout the day the Coast Guard was hailing a sailboat, and in the evening, it was reported missing. All boaters were asked to keep a keen eye out for it. Thankfully, this morning, it was reported that the missing boat on its way to Alaska had been found and all was well.

It was a gloriously smooth ride today. We saw our first cargo ship on this trip as we were passing Prince Rupert Island. Along the mountain sides there are great swaths of new growth trees which are a cheery bright green. When we were in Ocean Falls a group of tree planters had just finished three weeks of work and were celebrating with a Barbecue.  Canada seems to have an active and successful reforesting program in the great Northwest.

We were able to Facetime with all the grandkids today. Nothing like getting a great big face plant on the screen.

As we were aiming for the opening to Port Simpson, we saw a fishing boat near a buoy, and we corrected our course to maneuver around it.  To our surprise, the boat started to glide away from the buoy laying a gill net straight across our path. You don’t want to get caught up in one of those. We had to veer off a considerable distance to get around him and his not so welcoming net. 

Port Simpson is a tribal village. There were several large metal buildings and a dock which was mainly occupied by fishing boats. The bay was very protected and with the stabilizers out all night, we experienced only gentle rocks.

David is having some back pain. I think he strained his back while setting out our stabilizers. There are two 30 pound “fish” that have to be lifted over the railing and placed in the water. I am convinced that they are the culprits.  Trying to get him to take it easy is a full-time job.

Tomorrow we will be back in the USA!