Week 2 – Desolation Sound

Friday, July 10 we work in the morning and then decide to take the boat to Tenedos Bay in the afternoon. This afforded us another opportunity to practice stern tying. The first ring I went for was snugly between two boats and I just couldn’t get comfortable with how I was able (or more accurately – unable) to position the boat so I quickly abandoned that ring and spotted a better candidate that was on the “edge” of the other rings. I would say that we did an adequate job with this stern tie. We were a little closer to the boat next to us that we wanted to be, but felt secure in our spot.

Our spot was right next to the trail to Unwin Lake. This is good for people watching and less good for privacy. One thing that is hard to find in Desolation Sound is desolation! The next day we decided to drop our prawn pot and then hike to the lake for a swim. Unfortunately, right away we had trouble with the dinghy motor. It was running very poorly. Therefore we decided to drop the pot closer than we originally planned just in case we had to row back to get it. We limped back to shore and headed to the lake.

Unwin Lake was delightfully lacking in obvious leeches. Hooray! Also, we got there early enough that we were the only ones there! We found an amazing spot and went for a swim. The lake is pretty good size and really peaceful. At least temporarily … because solitude was short lived. The flood gates opened and the masses descended. It was a pleasant swim and I will cherish the few minutes that we had the place to ourselves. Then it was back to the shrimp pot in the poorly running dinghy. It turns out that a shrimp pot weighted down with 10 extra pounds 300 feet deep with weighted line is very challenging to pull up. Not for me, of course, as I was the cheering section. Jess got some serious blisters pulling up the empty pot. Sad face.

Sunday the weather wasn’t great and felt like a nice day to read a book. Unfortunately for Jess it was also a nice day to work on dinghy motor repair. Too bad it was a day for an attempt to repair. He practically rebuilt it in the cockpit of the boat. It still won’t run! It was a pretty cold day and not an inspiring day to swim anyway. Jess cooked a pizza which was delicious. The crust was quite thick and a bit cake like, but still yummy.

Monday was back to work day. It was also another cold day. We didn’t even leave the boat and we both had a very long work day. The sun came back out on Tuesday, so after work we were excited to go back to the lake for another swim. It was a popular plan because it seemed like most people in the anchorage had the same plan. We did a little extra hiking and found a more private spot and sat in the sun and swam. It was very nice. People can be very oblivious. There was a couple there with 2 dogs that just kept barking and barking – which echoed on the lake – and they didn’t make a move to comfort them or ask them politely to stop.

Wednesday we decided to move the boat after work. We Decided to check out Prideaux Haven. It is a favorite location for many cruisers to the area and we wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Fuss indeed! It was a mad house with boats everywhere. The entrance is a little narrow and made the helmswoman a little nervous. We decided that we should make for Melanie Cove and grab a stern tie. There was even a boat anchored and stern tied half way across the entrance to the cove! People are oblivious. Fortunately we had several options for mooring and we decided to kindly leave the main (center) anchoring spot for late comers and we practiced stern tying. This time I think we deserve a C-. We hoped to double back the line from shore, but we were too far away and we didn’t realize that we would need to have hand signals from shore to boat. Standing in the cockpit I couldn’t hear anything Jess was saying from shore. In the end, we sorted it out. It was hot out so we jumped into the sea and had a little swim. Followed by a nice shower.

Thursday was a crazy work day and we both put in some long hours. Right as we were trying to wrap up a huge power boat came in and tried to stern tie. The couple on board was really struggling and there was some real intensity there. That is why they sell those T-shirts that say “I am sorry for what I said while docking the boat”! It took them several hours to get the job done and at one point I thought Jess would require resuscitation because he was laughing so hard. The challenge was that they were trying to get their line (which was a strap) back to the boat. They wrapped it around a huge rock on shore that had a lot of friction and therefore were struggling to get the line to move. They were trying to pull it with their dinghy. They tried yelling at each other. Finally a neighbor boat couldn’t stand it any longer and went to shore to physically shift the line around the rock. They ended up getting the line almost back and then just tied the line to the dinghy and the dingy to the boat! Yikes. That is what did it for Jess. His eyes were watering from laughing. Those poor people. Eventually they got the line back to the boat and all tied up. I felt for them. It is bad enough to struggle with something and worse to struggle with an audience.

Friday it was so stormy! Thunder and lightning and lots of rain. The skies were quite dark all day. It was another day of not leaving the boat.

Saturday we struck out for Teakearne Arm. This place is striking. Mountains greet the sea. Clouds hang suspended by the trees. Stark cliffs cut through the green, scars on the canvas. The overcast enhances the drama. The sun punches through the clouds, the brightness of the single spot hurts your eyes that have adapted for the gloom. Choppy waves on dark water look foreboding and yet in every direction there are white specs dotting the sea. Boats full of families and friends, all scattering to different anchorages in this “choose your own adventure novel”. The freedom is enticing. So many nooks and crannies to explore only limited by time, weather and skill. Jess thinks there are too many people here, even though we knew there would be. Desolation Sound is technically wilderness and while it is away from civilization it is not remote.

The boat has mostly help up. We shattered a wheel on the block for the mainsail while aggressively unreefing under sail. Lesson learned! Fortunately, Glen left us many spares and we were able to rig something up so that we can take advantage of sailing weather should it present itself. We are just over half way through our trip and we have just over half of our fuel and water. We have half of our food too, but we ate all of the fresh fruit and vegetables. So far the crew have not complained about the provisions.

At the end of Teakearne Arm there is a waterfall. It is a tricky place to anchor as there are only a few rings to stern tie to and it is quite deep and fairly exposed. We did find a spot we liked and I actually spun the boat in a tight space. Just when I started to congratulate myself for my improved boat handling skills a guy on a nearby boat came up and flashed us his chicken wings (a universal sign to express your displeasure in where someone is dropping their anchor). It seemed that he put out a ton of scope and I think he just really didn’t want us to squeeze in. So we chose a different spot and decided to test our new found stern tying skills with our trickiest anchoring yet. We decided to drop in the deepest water yet (for us) and then tie up 20 yards off shore. It took 2 tried to get the anchor to set but I would have to give us a B+ for this one! Jess went to shore to wrap our line around a tree and there was a whole family of harbor seals nearby that didn’t even flinch. They actually stayed with us all day until the tide came in just after dinner. It was fun to watch them from the cockpit.

Once we got anchored we needed to sit on the boat and make sure everything was set right. Just as we were turning off the engine I heard a call come on the radio about a humpback whale coming up Teakearne Arm! We sat on the bow of the boat watching for blows and sure enough – there they were! It was really cool to watch at least 2 whales (mamma and calf) come closer and closer. Then they turned around and headed back out. There could have been more than those two whales, but we definitely saw those two. It was my second sighting of a humpback this trip and I hope it never gets old!

We had to row the dinghy to the dock. We rowed past the waterfall and it was crawling with people. Where did all these people come from? There really aren’t that many boats anchored. We tied up Troy and hiked the short, but interesting, trail to Castle Lake. The trail had natural rock steps and chains to help climb over boulders. It went up to the top of the waterfall and then down steep to the lake. Jess jumped in right away and swam off to his own private rock. There were 4 people there already and they had humped in a paddleboard. I suspect it was a dad and his two daughter and one of their boyfriends. They were in a double masted 80 foot schooner. It is a wooden boat and I shudder to think of the upkeep. They came up from Port Townshend for a few weeks. A few minutes later hordes of people arrived forcing me to wonder (again) – where did all these people come from? We hiked back to the dinghy and rowed over to the waterfall, which we had to ourselves this time and then back to the boat. The boat, for the first time this trip, was anchored in a little cove all by herself and it was the first privacy we have had all trip.