the reverse curve of time

~ From Julia ~

Woke to a Happy Birthday sign! Fun place to be on my 71st birthday. Sounds like I’m going to get a real shower at Refuge Cove. That sounds lovely to me. Brian left early and we said goodbye and thanked him for coming to spend time with us.

Getting cabin and Crow ready to go Coop bashed his lower teeth on a pole when it popped out. This added to the head bumps he’s had on the trip was not fun! We had coffee and I brought out my big chart to see where we’d go today. Thoughts are go to Refuge Cove, anchor there, get water and drop garbage, get a few things. I’d get a shower and we’d all get ice cream. Then we’d head for Walsh Cove or somewhere on the way. We loved it there and want Oceanna to see it too. We headed out of Grace Harbor and other boats were leaving too. Once out of the harbor there were so many boats everywhere. More than we’d seen. Guess August is the big vacation time up here.

We had a nice motor over to Refuge Cove and saw so many boats. It was like a back up on the freeway… Most people were heading to the fuel dock and they were in very large boats of all kinds. Nate and I were on the dock after my shower and found a table to sit at so he could work on uploading photos. He needed to go help Coop so I stayed with the laptop.

While there, a couple with ice cream cones came by looking for a place to sit. I scooted over and said of course sit in the shade. Turns out they were traveling on a ski doo. Where did you start I asked. Lund they said. I couldn’t believe it. Their ski doo is large and goes very fast. Igor told me he has a small drone he used to take a video at the waterfall at Teakerne Arm. He showed me on his phone. It looked like a professional video. We had a fun visit and I introduced them to Coop, Nate and Oceanna. They live in Vancouver and are from Belarus. Very fun people. Before they took off they zipped around the dock so we could all wave to them.

We also met a man who took our picture. I told him it was my birthday and he asked how old I was and I said 71. He said I’m 85. He shared that he started Zeta boats. He lives in Vancouver too. He’s been coming to Refuge Cove since 1957.

We are having an awesome day. From Refuge Cove we headed out to Waddington Channel on our way, hopefully, to Walsh Cove. Along the way we peeked into other coves in case Walsh was too crowded. We saw Roscoe Bay where we met up with Ronnie and Johnnie and their families. And where we hiked up to Black Lake and had days full of fun.

Continuing up Waddington Channel we were reminded of when Grasshopper had its motor breakdown. We passed a few spots where we could come back to if needed. As we entered Walsh Cove we all got very happy even though there were lots of boats. We felt we could find a spot. Our previous spot was filled but there was a spot where we’d have to stern tie to a tree. In fact a guy on a paddle board was going by and shouted out “want me to climb up and tie you on?” Nate said “thanks but I’ve got it.” We thanked him for his kind offer. Later we noticed that he had a Minto dinghy too, almost identical to Sweetpea. Nate went over later to thank him with beers and to see if he’d like to dinghy sail together. His name is Andy and his nephew made the comment when Nate arrived, “Uncle Andy what did you do now?” That’s because the day before Andy had helped someone else out and they brought him a bottle of wine. Andy is just full of kindnesses. And he has a good sense of humor as well. The next morning Nate returned to Andy’s boat and they ended up sailing their Minto dinghies with their sailing rigs all over the Cove and into the channel.

The stern tie to the tree worked well. Nate climbed up on rocks high enough to get to the tree. After we got anchored and settled a couple with a little dinghy and an electric motor came by and we chatted. They were on a cool boat called Blue Marble Explorer, a Valiant 46. They had been to many places. They were heading up Bute Inlet the next morning. Coop and Nate shared some information they’d read about cautions in certain areas up that way.

Next was having a light margarita cocktail for the Birthday Celebration. Oceanna was making chicken and cheese enchiladas for dinner. She is a doer. Oceanna brings a skill of organization that helps the functioning in the galley. While the enchiladas simmered we played Mexican Train. It was a very sweet day and beautiful. I was surrounded by love, smiles and lots of hugs. I also received wishes on my phone that I read when we had cell before getting into Waddington Channel.

My sister Jane had texted from LA where she and her friends Marsha and LIz were waiting for their flight to Seattle. Then they would continue on to Iceland for a special tour. She said she was waiting to hear if the volcano that erupted the day before would change anything. It is 20 miles from the airport. It all worked out and they arrived.

Dinner was spectacular. We went to bed feeling we are in a great place for the next couple of days.