Day 1: May 18th, 2007
Bligh Island, Nootka Sound
SW point (the isthmus)
WX [weather] 21.30 Fri May 18 SYN [synopsis] H[high pressure system] N/W [lying northwest] over Van[Vancouver Island] shifts E & leaves 995 L [millibar low] moves to N. Van I. front across N. coast easing later Sat. str[strong] S[southerlies] rising to SE tonite str SW SW eases Sun.
VIS [Vancouver Island South] SE 20-30 [knots] easing to SW 10-15 O/N [overnight] rising to S 15-25 Sat am SW 15 Sat eve. 1-2 m [swell] rising to 3 Sat am O/L [outlook]: mod SW veering to mod/str NW
Sarah picked me up this morning at 8:30 or so. We said goodbye to Lennie & Serina, & Bev, & met Simone MacIsaac & Carolyn at Serious Coffee. I really like Simone. She's just passing through town, but she's a part of our group of friends. She's really nice & real, & reminds me of what's out there in the outdoors world for opportunities.
Sarah & I left & drove to Strathcona Park Lodge, loaded the boats & gear & ate some veggie chili she brought, then drove to Gold River.
Picked up sponges for the boats & some snacks & drove the rest of the way to Tuta Marina. Got there at 3:30 or so, which was good. We were pretty efficient, & it gave us enough time to pack our boats, get on the water, and actually paddle 7 nautical miles to the southwest tip of Bligh Island to camp at a good campsite. Wicked.
We are so organized, on the same page, and competent. It's great. We really know what we're doing out here, we know how to work as a team, and all our years guiding has paid off. Here's the reward -- a personal trip where we both know how to do it all, and the campwork's done quickly and easily, and there's low stress, and decisions are made quickly. We haven't had time to exactly relax yet, but we drove, picked up boats & gear, packed, paddled, set up camp, & cooked, & were still in bed by 10:30. Awesome. I told Sarah I think we're gonna spend the whole trip being really pleased w/ourselves.
It started raining at Tuta Marina, lightly, & hasn't really let up.
Right after dinner, while I was setting my tent up, the wind picked up huge. We could barely hear the weather forecast, and we took down the kitchen tarp so it wouldn't tear. But it'd died again now, and it's just raining. Or at least it's changed direction and we're protected. We're hoping it'll blow hard tonight & be done with it, so we have moderate winds to go up the coast of Nootka with. Otherwise we have to go up the inlet, the E. side of the island, & we don't want to. We want the wide white sandy beaches of the exposed west coast. We'll see tomorrow what happens. For now I'm in my tent, relatively dry. Up at 7:30 tomorrow & outta here if we can. We have so much ahead of us. God nat [good night in Danish].
We are so organized, on the same page, and competent. It's great. We really know what we're doing out here, we know how to work as a team, and all our years guiding has paid off. Here's the reward -- a personal trip where we both know how to do it all, and the campwork's done quickly and easily, and there's low stress, and decisions are made quickly. We haven't had time to exactly relax yet, but we drove, picked up boats & gear, packed, paddled, set up camp, & cooked, & were still in bed by 10:30. Awesome. I told Sarah I think we're gonna spend the whole trip being really pleased w/ourselves.
It started raining at Tuta Marina, lightly, & hasn't really let up.
Right after dinner, while I was setting my tent up, the wind picked up huge. We could barely hear the weather forecast, and we took down the kitchen tarp so it wouldn't tear. But it'd died again now, and it's just raining. Or at least it's changed direction and we're protected. We're hoping it'll blow hard tonight & be done with it, so we have moderate winds to go up the coast of Nootka with. Otherwise we have to go up the inlet, the E. side of the island, & we don't want to. We want the wide white sandy beaches of the exposed west coast. We'll see tomorrow what happens. For now I'm in my tent, relatively dry. Up at 7:30 tomorrow & outta here if we can. We have so much ahead of us. God nat [good night in Danish].
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