To Secret Cove
09 August 2015

We got up early to pull the anchor and head out Von Donop Inlet. We were headed to Secret Cove, a small marina where Deb had called and got reservations yesterday. It was along day of slogging, over 64 miles or 8 hours for us. We wanted to get back to Bellingham as soon as we could to allow Jenna and her team at Northwest Explorations to replace Otto with a Furuno autopilot.
Deb had the wheel during the most challenging portion of the trip, a narrow passage off Lund, where boats funnel north and south, to and from Desolation Sound. There was a lot of traffic but Deb got us through the narrows nicely. Then it was just a trip we had made many times before, passing Powel River and the ferry traffic there, scooting by Jervis Inlet, Texada Island, Malaspina Straight, past Garden Bay, and down to Secret Cove. The closer we got to Vancouver, the more traffic we encountered. Otto went in and out during this portion of our trip. I think he knew we were going to replace him.
We pulled into Secret Cove about 4:30 pm and tied up. Water was precious down here so there was no washing of boats or other excessive use. It was warm. We had made reservations at their restaurant, The Upper Deck, and went up to eat. It is always a nice place. Then, we went to bed early after looking at the weather forecast. Our plan was to head down the Georgia Strait and try to make it all the way to Bellingham in a straight shot south, about 80 miles. If the weather kicked up in the Straight, we would turn to starboard and head into the more protected waters of the Gulf Islands. If good weather favored us, we would continue south, clear customs at Point Roberts or by phone, if permitted to do so, and head to Bellingham. If we could make it to Bellingham on Monday, the team at NWE could begin the installation of the new autopilot on Tuesday.