Maybe Someday, I'll be an Octopus...
Note, on the right hand display, the bottom number is our speed. 10.5 knots, not bad for a 6.5 knot boat!
Even with the 0630 departure, we still get a good 2 knots of favorable current and some significant overfalls, eddies, and whirlpools. But nothing we couldn't dance with. We did get nearly spun around in one whirlpool. I had to manually steer through this section of channels as it was too much for the autopilot.
Once we were through Whirlpool Rapids and out into Johnstone Strait, Karen made breakfast.
Breakfast was the usual excellent scramble of whatever she could scrape together. With lots of jalapenos, it was great!
We round Ripple Point in Johnstone Strait and this is our view, looking southeast. Gorgeous!
A bit further on we round Chatham Point. For reference, this is Chatham Point on the chart (landlubbers call this a map)...
And Chatham Point as we approach it in reality. We are heading mostly east-southeast at this moment.
Looking back northwest at the lightstation at Chatham Point on Johnstone Strait. The ATON (Aid To Navigation) with the green top is the same ATON you can see in the prior photo. Totally different perspective, Eh? See, I went all Canadian on you...
About once a month, I run the boat up to 75% throttle for 30 minutes to get the engine hot and burn out carbon and (hopefully) keep my engine happier.
We made it to Octopus Islands Provincial Marine Park. This is one of our favorite stops along Johnstone Strait. You do know that I want to be reincarnated as an octopus - right? But not imminently...
Once the anchor is down, we head out for a dink ride around the Provincial Park.
An abandon very old shoreside cabin in Octopus Islands.
Blue Redd anchored in semi-solitude. There is another boat just to the left that you can't see...
And a peek of Blue Redd between the rocky islets that dot the Provincial Park.
We almost always put the dink away at night. Here, we are hauling Roe back aboard. It is a PITA to do this, but it is safer for us, Blue Redd, and Roe.
In the waning hours of the day, a view back towards the mouth of the bay. There are two entrances to this bay. We entered from the north entrance, and this photo is of the southern entrance/exit.
I made BBQ baby back ribs on the grill. Karen added the leftover jalapeno cheesy rice and some broccoli. I responded with a 2023 Long Cellars Red Reserve Blend (2 different Cab Sauvs and some Petite Verdot).
And tonight's Dish Faery... He who cooks, does not clean...
This is us doing about 10 knots which is very close to our maximum speed.
At this speed, I burn diesel at 14.1 gallons/hour. This is not efficient for us! At 6.5 knots we burn 2.2 gallons/hour.
At our normal cruising speed of 6.5 knots, we make no appreciable wake. It is a different story at 10 knots.
As we pass southbound through the Upper Rapids of Okisollo Rapids, Karen spied this lovely home. What a view! Okisollo rapids are comprised of two sets of rapids, Upper and Lower. Time this well and it is nothing. Time it badly, and it is potentially life-threatening. We hit it somewhere in between. It was more exciting than I wanted, but not at the life-threatening stage yet. Such is 15-minutes time difference from when I wanted to be here versus when we actually got here. That 15-minutes meant we faced 5 knots of foul (negative) current rather than 3. If we'd waited another hour, we'd have had very large standing waves and maybe 10 knots of foul current, potentially life-threatening.
Unlike last year, this anchorage wasn't too crowded, so today, we got our favorite anchoring spot.
In this photo, Karen is removing the anchor chain safety and preparing the anchor snubber/pendant.
The safety prevents unanticipated anchor deployment, like when we are underway - as that would be bad...
I guess, I should cook more often.
Sunset at 1955 (7:55pm) from our anchor spot in Octopus Islands. Wow.
Tomorrow, we are going nowhere. So, it will be an easy, late day for us (I hope).
Good Night, My Friends.
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