DAY 5 Squirrel Cove to Beaver Inlet, Broughtons

DAY 5: Squirrel Cove to Beaver Inlet, Broughtons

9:00 am departure  sunny   calm   67 degrees

When I greeted David this morning, he said with a great big grin, "I got the generator going again!"  He got up early and sat staring at the generator following the lines of connections and discovered a tripped breaker.  He was a happy man.  This task was made so much easier because of all the panels and circuits that he and Geoff had spent time labeling. Now he is working on the course indicator up on the dodger. Maybe his luck will hold out.

Today we said good-bye to our hosts, Anita and her faithful companion, Wiser, and cruised along the forested hillsides and snow capped mountains of Desolation Sound...breathtaking. About an hour into our trip, I noticed that the anchor hydraulic switch was still on. Not good. After checking things out in the engine room, all was well. It's my job to switch it off each time we work the anchor. Have to be more careful.

We had planned to stop in Francis Bay for the night, but then David calculated that we could actually make it through the trio of rapids just beyond our planned destination. The timing was perfect for a safe crossing. There was a "fleet" of boats obviously thinking the same way, so we just followed right along. The first rapid, Yuculet, was the most challenging with multiple little whirlpools which pulled us hither and thither. Fortunately, our trips through Gillord and Dent Rapids were sans nail biting.

When we anchored in Shoal Bay, I thought we were done for the day, but little did I know what David was plotting. We had two more rapids to navigate during this leg of our trip, and David wanted to get through one more before calling it a day.  It made sense to anchor in Shoal for about four hours waiting for slack tide and then shove off for Green Point Rapids.

After a short snooze, we hauled anchor and left for the next rapids. We heard a tug on the radio informing nearby boats when he would be making his way through the rapids and that he was pulling a barge. We calculated that we would not meet him in the rapids but needed to keep a sharp eye out for him as he made his way out. We were heading straight into the sun and the glare was intense on the water. A few miles from the entrance to the rapids, David suddenly changed course. It was then that I actually saw the tug.  We had plenty of time to make way, but it was disconcerting that we were so blinded by the sun that we did not see him until that very moment.

We were escorted through Green Point Rapids by two bald eagles soaring above us and a friendly brown seal to port.  Once we made it through with no problem, finding an anchorage was the next task. We decided on Beaver Inlet off Loughbough Inlet. The anchor was finally dropped at 8 pm.that evening. I was cranky. David was slightly uncomfortable with the proximity of the shore once anchored, but we had a strong hold in 35 feet. Our anchor alarm is always set.

We traveled 21 nautical miles today. One more set of rapids to go!