On Wednesday we motored in zero wind and 3-6 foot swells from Quatsino Sound to Brooks Penninsula. What a difference a few days and 40 miles makes! There was none of the shaking that we experienced when rounding Cape Scott and because the swells were half what they were before, we had a much nicer ride. After rounding Brooks Penninsula the wind picked up to 15 knots from the NW and we put the sails up! We had such a good time sailing that we passed our intended anchorage and headed for the Bunsby Islands instead.

We're now anchored in Scow Bay in the Bunsby's. What a beautiful place! The sun came out for half a day yesterday (it's now gone) and we took the dinghy into a nearby lagoon. The lagoon is huge and because the water is so shallow and clear we were able to spot lots of critters (crabs, stars, fish, etc.) We came back to the boat and spent the evening watching eagles fish and a seal round up schools of fish for his dinner. Some large, jumping fish kept the cats entertained. After dinner this evening Ken was relaxing in the cockpit and thought he was listening to a seal breathing that has been swimming around the boat. Turns out it was a whale coming up Gay Passage right next to where we are anchored! We are not sure of the kind of whale (Minke, Grey?). We watched it go by for about 10 minutes and then it was gone. Our first whale sighting this trip!

Ken went fishing this evening and caught a small rockfish. Too small to keep. I had some bananas asking to be made into banana bread.

All this sounds lovely, right? What I haven't told you is that we are having engine overheating difficulties. Grrrr. We spent 6 hours today trying to fix the problem (clogged strainer? No. Restricted seacock? No. Broken or worn out impeller? No. Loose belts to the alternator and raw water pump. Yes! Restricted heat exchanger? No, but there was a small amount of seaweed in there.) Mechanic Dad has been helping as much as he can by email but really what can he do? We are pretty isolated where we are; no cell phones, no internet, no other boats around us, no roads even! I tried to get Dad to fly up, hike through the woods carrying a kayak and then paddle out into the Pacific to help us but he didn't seem to like that idea too much. The closest mechanic that I can find in my books is more than 100 miles down the coast. I think we can limp along for 100 miles and get it looked at down there.

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