The islands that make up Desolation Sound pay for their rights to the sea through the twice daily passage of swift waters making up The Five Rapids. Everything is timing when it comes to passing the Rapids. The book 'Ports and Passages' forecasts currents and tides for areas from Puget
Sound, British Columbia, and SE Alaska. On August 1 we left Lagoon Cove for Forward Harbor which God placed just before the Whirlpool Rapids, first of the five Rapids. To make things interesting, you have to pass Whirlpool Rapids at 'slack before flood' (Rapids are never really slack!),
but this means you will have to go through the next Rapids, that is, the Green Point Rapids with a few knots of flood current with you. If you misjudge the timing, you can easily find yourself in dangerous 6-8 knots of current. So on the afternoon of August 2, after passing the first two Rapids,
we motored into Frederick Arm which is a quiet, seldom used anchorage which we have enjoyed in times past. It was here that Sue spotted our first black bear of our trip. We were in our dinghy tending our crab pot when she spotted the bear on shore. Lots of birds caught our attention as
well. On the morning of August 3 we headed out in pea soup fog with chartplotter, radar, and VHF radio at hand. We went through a diminishing flood tide at Dent Rapids and Gillard Passage with 2.5-3 knots of current. Then we came to a tide line going into Yaculta Rapids where several
logs and trees were floating in the debris. We immediately had a couple of knots of current against us at what was supposed to be slack before flood. Passing through Yaculta Rapids, we had just a couple of miles before entering into 'Hole-in-the-Wall' Rapids which we passed shortly after
slack before ebb. Finally we were passed all Five Rapids, and headed a short ways to the Octopus Islands which we now share with twenty other boats. Now just imagine doing this in 95% fog, with nearly 20 other boats going both directions. Everyone watched carefully, and we all made
it through!