Photo: Boats anchored in Waiatt Bay.

We leave Shoal Bay with the last of the ebb, riding it out Nodales Channel and across Johnstone Strait to Otter Cove where we anchor for several hours waiting for the tide. A large salmon seiner anchors behind us with a loud clatter of chain on steel.

The passages in this area are narrow and current-swept with rapids at the narrowest spots. Catch the rapids at the wrong time and a boat can be swept into whirlpools and end up on the rocks. Go through at slack water and it's boring. Boring is good.

Towards the end of the flood, we leave Otter Cove and motor up Oskiollo Channel, arriving at Lower Rapids near slack water, as planned. We continue through Upper Rapids and into the Octopus Islands. The Islands are a pleasant provincial park where boats anchor and stern tie in pleasant little nooks but we prefer the more open Waiatt Bay with views of the mountains -- as do a lot of other boats. No matter, there's lots of room.