What a fantastic weekend. After visiting with my parents and enjoying a great visit with Ash and Jer on Friday, we left on Kea for a weekend of exploring Desolation Sound. We had quite high spirits and expectations as we motored into Discovery Passage on a gorgeous Saturday morning. As we passed all the hopeful Tyee boats, we had dreams of catching ourselves a humongous fish sometime throughout the weekend.

I had noticed that our just-refurbished outboard wasn't 'peeing' as much as it usually does, but we thought it was just getting warmed up for the day's adventures!!  Unfortunately, it wasn't long until she stopped 'peeing' altogether. After several attempts to fix her and a couple hours of drifting amoung the fishing boats south of Quadra Island, we flagged down the Dacia Marie, who was nice enough to tow us back to the house. Luckily we weren't too far away. We quickly switched motors and were off on our second attempt by mid-afternoon.

We no longer had much time for trolling today, so we motored straight to our destination - past Quadra, Cortez, Hernando, Kinghorn, Martin, Mink and other Islands - to Roscoe Bay on the South-east corner of West Redonda Island. We were lucky enough to see a few dolphins en route, but not lucky enough to get the camera out in time to capture them. There were several other boats at Roscoe Inlet and we were able to nestle in amongst them quite comfortably. John made himself busy preparing a delicious prawn appy, followed by corn on the cob and pasta. There simply isn't enough room in the galley for two, so I kept watch on the seals and jellyfish that surrounded us.

We set off the next morning after breakfast to Refuge Cove on the other side of the island, where we bought gas and burgers and a few necessary provisions (chips!). Once again, we spotted dolphins, and although we took pictures, they look like small specks in the distance.

We continued to motor North in Lewis Channel, between West Rodonda and Cortez islands, enjoying the view and wishing for wind. As we approached Teakerne Arm, we raised the spinnaker, and had a lovely, albeit short stint of sailing into the bay. When we arrived, the small dingy dock was full, and there wasn't a beach to land on, so we anchored off a small rocky outcrop and ran a stern line to the beach. This area is a marine protected area, and was really quite beautiful. A short hike up the hill led us to Cassel Lake where we had a refreshing swim and chatted with some friends of John's that we bumped into.

We continued to motor North, stopping only to explore a abandoned log dump site. As we rounded the top end of Cortez island, and began to travel south, we contemplated where we would spend our last night on the boat. We realized we were only a couple hours away from most points, including our house!! It didn't take us long to decide to head back towards home, and with any luck we would be able to catch the main event of Mark's last race of the season. What a night! We docked at the marina and quickly headed to Saratoga Speedway. Race car driving is all new to me, so John gave me the quick run down of what to expect...crashes, crazy loud cars, 100 laps, and never a dull moment. It was absolutely true. Once I pulled my stomach out of my throat and released my grip from John's leg, I was able to enjoy the action and watch Mark cruise around the track to win the main event!! We opted to enjoy a bit of luxury, and sleep at home, but we vowed to spend Monday back on the boat.

We dug out the prawn traps in the morning, but we knew it would be a long shot, given that we didn't have a depth sounder. As John prepared our lunch, I almost ran over a pod of KILLER WHALES!! I was cruising along, more interested in the scenery, and ensuring that the boom and rolled up sail were not blocking my sun. I noticed that several nearby boats had begun to head my way. But it wasn't until I was only about 50 meters away that I noticed the distinctive, large, black fins in front of me. I quickly cut the engine and managed to get several photos as the pod travelled in front of us, and then between us and the shore. It was quite an incredible moment. One of these whales had an enourmous dorsal fin that was very long and skinny. I recall that is more typical of the transient variety of killer whales. But I'm really not sure, and the other fins were not nearly as distinctive. It seems I have some research to do...

After that highlight, the rest of the day couldn't have gotten any better. We dropped the traps near some other buoys, hoping the depth would be appropriate, and then begun the difficult task of lying on the deck and watching the rods, in hopes of catching the big one. A few hours later, and after releasing two mini-Chinook, the wind came up, so John and I reeled in our lines, and hoisted the sails. We managed to get in a few tacks, before our watch told us we should haul up the traps. WHAT LUCK!! We pulled up two very full traps. We estimate about 300 prawns had blessed us with their presence. We quickly cooked up a few, and scrambled to find buckets for the remainder.

If only every weekend could be so great!

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