Pot dodging and whale watching

Well, we are one full day in. It's been a bit of motoring and sailing so far. We had good wind around 9:00 last night.  Duncan got us up to eleven knots at one point! Go Duncan!! The Ferriers also logged our first Orca sighting on their 3am-6am watch! 

This morning is a gift as the temps are just right and we finally have some blue sky and plenty of sunshine. What a morale booster! Virginia served us a two-course meal that included chicken and frittata. So fancy! It was just what we all needed to warm us up in the chilly evening air. I can't end this post without mentioning the humpback whales. Wow! They really put on a show for us in all directions yesterday. Have a great day everybody! 

-Denise

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Denise is completely correct that the Ferrier’s were zooming around last night, but I’d like to add that they were zooming along whilst dodging a minefield of crab pots. We’d initially opted to scooch down the outside of the marked channel of Haida Gwai so we could tootle along free of cruise ships. However as we approached this area after dinner we were greeted with lines on lines of pots that made for some exciting sailing - 10/10 spotting and driving from Jarrett, Duncan and Jeremy. I decided that I didn’t want to spend my night hours trying to spot pots whilst going at 11 knots, so we altered course to the east and entered the marked channel. Here we were greeted by the bigger boats and deeper water, including one cruise ship that seemed worryingly intent on aiming for us no matter our course change. (Obviously we managed to hail them on the radio eventually so we’re still floating) 

It was a glorious few hours sailing before it inevitably died as forecast. We’ve since been motoring along, looking hopeful whenever we get a sniff of breeze. I live in hope that by sunset tonight we’ll be back sailing as we emerge out of the lee of the island and the wind will be more westerly which lends itself to a better sailing angle. That should mark the start of a decent chunk of sailing until we reach the Juan de Fuca Strait. In the meantime we’ve been spotting whales all over the shop, so much so that the whale alarm is now much more subdued than prior. All good on board, sextant has been out whilst we’ve had clear skies, but looking forward to utilising our sails again soon.