Battle of the Flies...

It's close.   Will Ross or the flies ultimately triumph?  Since it is effectively infinity:1, due to sheer numbers, I'm betting on the flies.

These little dudes are actually pretty big and they bite!  We all have bites on us.   I'm not a fan of horse flies or whatever variant on that these are.   Maybe deer flies?

They must be the NW Canadian state bird or something.

The coveted cover photo is courtesy of Ross.

Our armed protagonist in action...

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Heading southward in Caamano Sound.   That's the North Pacific Ocean out there.   Nice and flat today!

We are heading to Higgins Passage to anchor for the night.   We can't sneak through without a lot of risk as the passage has a "semi-dry" spot that dries with a tide of 3' or less.   So, we'd need at least a 10' tide to pass.   We actually have a 14' tide, but it's just too risky, so tomorrow we will go around Price Island and through Milbanke Sound to Shearwater instead.

A one-bird log...   We'd see one seagull swoop in and displace the prior resident.  Only to have this scenario repeated when some other bird took a fancy to this perch.

While we say lots of whales today, they were too distant to photograph.   Most looked like humpbacks, including one that was sleeping on the surface.

And we saw at least two if not three, sharks on separate occasions.  They were slowly swimming along the surface.   The largest, well, actually the closest, we estimated to be about five feet long.   

Ross at the helm while Karen was enjoying the bit of sun up on the fly bridge.

Lovely sunny weather.   We are continuing our southward journey in Laredo Channel.

Lateral buoys that denote Wilson Rock (actually a reef) in Laredo Channel.

The weather started to turn as we were heading into Higgins Passage.   Good timing on our part!

Looking back out and southward in Laredo Channel into the North Pacific.   Note the color change as the winds and seas picked up.   Gone is the mill pond smooth water, now we've got 2' wind waves on top of 3' long-period ocean swells.   Not particularly uncomfortable in a Selene, but I still prefer flat water.

Can you see Hawaii in this picture?   It's out there, but I can't see it either.

Coming into Higgins Passage from the west side.

You probably can't read the chart (map) well enough in this picture, but Higgins Passage is pockmarked with rocky outcroppings, boulders, and granitic bedrock.   It is also a rather twisty passage with a few switch-back turns to avoid said rocky bits.

Here is a different view of our route in Higgins Passage.

Our anchor is down, and we are here for the night.

A quick jaunt around the anchorage in Roe to explore.   Here is some kelp streaming in the narrow shallow channels.   

Cool looking mosses, lichens, and whatever else there is coating these trees.

All the trees look really old and weather-worn.   They must get some strong winds here off of the North Pacific Ocean.

Just a peek of Blue Redd as we came around one of the numerous rocky islands that dot this passage.

Appetizers & a 2016 Manzone Gramolere Reserva Barolo!

Prepping dinner as sunset approaches.

Karen made Pork Al Pastor over cheese tortellini.  Kind of a Mex/Italian mash up.   It worked remarkably well.

A school (herd, flock, or whatever) of moon jellies of all sizes slowly undulated by the boat.

And then there was another beautiful sunset again.

And a moonrise.

Good Night.