Cell coverage in Port McNeill made phone calls to son and daughter possible. Also we 'went out to eat', celebrating Mother's Day by watching National Hockey League Playoffs!
The weather has socked in with a low pressure cell that brings NW15-30 winds for the next 4 days preventing us from moving northward. So while at the dock at North Island Marina, we provision, shop, fuel, water, add a coat of varnish to the starboard cap rail, go ashore to birdwatch, and rest for the balance of our trip to Prince Rupert before May 28th.

In Boughey Bay before mooring in Lagoon Cove we got a sighting of one of three brown bears. They were so healthy, and seen swimming between islands. Three showed up beside the owner's house in Lagoon Cove. They were eating grass salads, and foraging the beach at low tide looking for the usual suspects.

After spending two nights at Discovery Marina in Campbell River, and provisioning, we are heading through Seymour Narrows on the slack before flooding (180*). We have a light wind weather report which if true would allow us to move forward to Lagoon Cove next.

After arriving at 'Julia Max' from the Anacortes ferry, we prepped the boat with three sails, diesel, water, and a few other preparations. Our two head toilets needed attention before leaving the dock. And we replaced our AM/FM radio which had died; an important entertainment center for music, and news.
We left the US on Saturday, May 3rd, for Canadian Customs in Bedwell Harbour, on South Pender Island. Then it was a half-day trip to Ganges Harbour where we provisioned for our trip north.
We are in contact with our friends on the Great Northern Boaters HAM Net each morning at 8am. We're quickly adjusting to boating life, and looking forward with anticipation to heading north to Alaska!

We chose an excellent day of single-digit wind for our motoring. A sunny day for traveling the Straits of Juan de Fuca, we forecasted an ebb tide of 2 knots against us until 2pm. Then the incoming tide boosted our travel by 2 knots. Finally the wind picked up to 16 knots from behind us, allowing us to use our genoa in addition to our motoring and the incoming tide: 10+ knots speed over the ground. We pulled in to Griffin Bay by 10pm. And then in the morning, we were able to check into US Customs. This finished our circumnavigation around Vancouver Island for 2024!

Our son-in-law Steve flew from Seattle to Tofino, and taxied to Ucluelet, to be on board 'Julia Max' for a few days. The penultimate reason for his visit was going salmon fishing!! We enjoyed his company, his help in crabbing, and his anticipation towards charter fishing in the Broken Group Provincial Park a few miles away. We left the harbor at 2pm and fished until 7:30pm with calm winds and sunny skies. Our fishing guide, Tyler, successfully plied the familiar waters, and we came away with 4 Coho, 1 Ling Cod, and one King Salmon. All-in-all, we came away with a great time and wonderful memories.