After spending most of Monday, the 13th, getting the engine repaired, we decided it didn’t constitute a genuine layday. Since we weren’t really on any firm schedule, we then proposed to spend another day in Port McNeill. The vote was 2-0 in favor of this proposal. So we spent Tuesday, not exactly relaxing, but getting a bunch of things done at amore relaxing pace. A nice feature of North Island Marina is their long fuel hoses, which bring fuel to the boat as opposed to having to take the boat to a specific dock. We put 150 gallons of diesel in the tanks, which should be enough to get us home, or at least back to the US of A where prices are slightly lower. We restocked groceries and booze and picked up some miscellaneous stuff at the marine store, too.

On Wednesday, the 14th, we left Port McNeill a little after 0800 in fog and drizzle. Visibility was anywhere from ¼ to ¾ mile as we made our way on instruments between Malcolm and Cormorant Islands. As we started across Queen Charlotte Strait, the fog began to lift and visibility improved considerably. We pulled into Cullen Harbour, on the southeast side of Broughton Island, about 1115 and dropped the hook in 30 feet of water. As the fog cleared, the wind arrived and soon we were enjoying our old friend, the Northwesterly Hurricane, once again. A possible trade-off was that we had the place all to ourselves. Later, when Charlie took the shrimp pot back into Booker Lagoon, he noted at least three boats anchored back in there. We chose not to go into the lagoon and become hostage to the tide. You pretty much have to go in and out at slack water, which is of very short duration in the narrow entrance. If you go in, and all the choice anchorages are occupied, you are stuck for six hours waiting for the next slack to let you out again.

Our layday at Cullen Harbour on Thursday, the 16th, was highly reminiscent of our stay at Waddington Bay a couple of weeks ago. A strong high-pressure ridge parked to the northwest over Haida Gwai (aka the Queen Charlotte Islands) was generating 20-30 knot gales all over the area. We were safe and secure in Cullen, but the killer gusts did make their way in at times. In addition, the swells from out on Queen Charlotte Strait, though much diminished, sometimes worked their way in as well.

For the first time since we left Desolation Sound, we actually got a couple dozen prawns and the crab pot produced a few keepers as well. But the wind made it uncomfortable to be outside and made things like kayaking totally impossible. So mostly we just sat inside reading. Charlie did get up the energy to make some apple crisp, which made the cabin smell pretty good for awhile.

For the second night in a row, we were blessed with the Cullen Harbour version of what we call the “Sucia Swell,” a phenomenon in which swells from “someplace else” find their way into an anchorage. While not very obvious to the eye, they are VERY noticeable to the boat which invariably turns broadside to them and rolls obnoxiously all night long