The run from Port Harvey, back through Chatham Channel and around to Lagoon Cove takes about an hour an a half. And you end up about two miles from where you started. The roaring westerly that forced Happy Hours and concerts indoors, and threatened to spoil the Canada Day fireworks, waited until we were secure at Lagoon Cove before returning with a vengeance.

Charlie got the crab pots set out, baited with shiner perch from beneath the docks. We love to point out the idiocy of some new Washington State DNR regulations that mandate expensive grating systems on new docks in order to provide more daylight for fish. Look under any dock and where are the fish? Hiding in the shade, of course. One has to wonder if the geniuses who come up with these regs have ever actually SEEN a dock, let alone looked under one to see what actual live fish are doing.

Lagoon Cove was pretty quiet. The 30-40 knot westerlies out on Johnstone were keeping people holed up, unable to get up from points south. Fortunately, one of the other boats was Pete’s Packet. As noted in a previous blog post, skipper Pete Hodgson is a harmonica virtuoso. It didn’t take much effort to persuade him to join Charlie in providing music for Happy Hour. With a total of just five boats in residence, plus Lagoon Cove owner Jean Barber and helpers Lyle and Heidi, it was a small and intimate gathering and turned out to be great fun.