29th Aug.. overnight at Alert Bay, Cormorant Island, Johnston Strait, east coast Vancouver Island, BC, Canada in a tight but well- tended little harbor. Watched "Finding Forrester". Dorothy, Craig & Anne off to the museum (potlatch, masks, tallest totem 53m) this morning while I worked out our route and timing (timing is the key issue in traversing the various passages, going with the flow, rather than against it. We're a slow boat under the best of circumstances; just a couple knots current against us brings us down to a speed slower than a brisk walk and even when going with the flow, more than a couple of knots carrying the boat along can be dangerous in carrying one into bends where eddies, rips and whirlpools develop).

Underway shortly after noon, catching the end of the flood, through the slack then slogging against the opposing ebb past Telegraph Cove and Robson Bight (famous for resident pods of orcas). So much going on in this section: dozens of orcas, kayakers, watched a seiner setting his net against the edge of the channel, a tug towing a raft of logs and a Canadian buoy tender all within view just by looking in different directions.

30 Aug spent last night at Port Neville, which is what used to be a supply stop along the east Vancouver Island coast, before the roads were put in. Now everyone can drive to the place they over-winter their boat, and no longer need to stop for fuel and groceries. It is kind of sad, really, the roughly shaped log, 2-story, store was closed in 1964. The daughter of the original family there, is still there running the Post Office, although mail only goes out once a week. (Bryanna, Miss Dorothy sent you a post card from there). Scenically, the place is idyllic.

Strong westerly winds made our docking (and departure from the dock) at Port Neville challenging, but not nearly so "exciting" as our docking at Brown Bay (below). We made a 0430 departure from Port Neville, to catch the 0612 slackwater at Race Passage. As with yesterday's run down Johnstone Strait, there was something interesting to see no matter which way one looked: tugs with barges; cruise ships; seiners working the edge of the channel and lots of sport fishing boats and float planes following the channel at low altitude. By noon we'd transited from Johnstone Strait to Discovery Passage, stopping at Brown Bay, just above Seymour Narrows (which we will transit tomorrow am, again at slackwater before flood). With 20 knots of westerly wind and a strong current, docking at Brown Bay was about exciting as I ever want to get in this boat. I had visions of a phone call to Tommy Ho at AON Insurance in Hong Kong to explain about the 3 boats we crushed trying to land DE. Fast footwork by Dorothy, Craig and Anne, and especially "Frank" from Brown Bay on the dock, along with an anonymous Samaritan off a commercial fish boat, made it look easy to onlookers, but the reality was we docked entirely 180º from our intended orientation - I didn't know it was actually possible to turn around in that small a space.

Two beers and good lunch made it all better. Again many people interested in DE, and in Rusty. Time for a nap to fortify ourselves as we risk the rapids tomorrow morning.