Photo: Mackerel sky over Skull Cove
"Mackerel sky and mare's tails make tall ships carry short sails."

Only the mackerel sky over the cove hinted of the storm we knew was coming -- sometime. We were enjoying wine and cheese in the cockpit. The sun was out and the water calm. We'd motored here in a flat calm all the way from Pruth Bay in one day and now we were looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow. But just as the threat of a storm had pushed us on from Pruth, the postponement of the storm and the promise of another quiet day kept us going.

The next morning we motored down the coast under overcast sky with fog patches in Queen Charlotte Strait making the islands look ethereal. We anchored in Blunden Harbour and went ashore to explore the old village site. There's nothing there now but one old house and a white shell beach.

The storm when it finally arrived was an anticlimax: no wind but lots of rain. Lots and lots of rain. It drummed on the cabin roof all night and all the next day. We and the other boats in the harbour stayed put.