Day 27th

So, before we describe Day 27th, some "leftovers" from our layover at
Dixie Cove. It was looking like old home week here as boats pulled in
that we had seen at either Columbia Cove or Walter's Cove.

Further signs that the crew is getting "boat bound" ( there was no
place to get on shore at Dixie Cove, even if it wasn't peeing down rain)
include:

> having a $1 pool bet on how many juice glasses of wine are left in
the ship's wine box (stewart won - we accused him of having more time
with the wine box than the rest of us!)
> having a great debate on what the difference is between a "ship" and
a "boat"; one school of thought is that it is somehow tied to length. We
will hopefully get an answer from our shore support team.
> skipper nearly having a hissy fit when Ralph broke up the spaghetti
before cooking it!

Onward to Day 27th.

After we finally got a weather update, it was forecasting gales again
today in the afternoon. We decided to leave early for Queen Cove on the
North East part of Esparanza Inlet, a distance of 27 miles. So far our
planning of playing hid and seek with the weather has paid off and it
did again today. Enroute the weather forecast update at 10:30 was
downgraded from a gale warning to "only" strong winds with another
potential gale tomorrow!!

We saw 2 humpback ( not 100% confirmed if humpback or grey, but pretty
sure) whales today, one that sounded fairly close to the boat which was
nice to see. There are also more boats, both cruising and sport fishing,
out and about. A sure sign that we are getting closer to "civilization'.

The day started with some large swells , about 1.5 meters, which were
likely residual swells from yesterday's gale. The sky and baramater
behaviour is matching the "weather predictor card" that we have,
according to Ralph. Pretty soon we won't need to bother listening to the
Marine Forecast!

Queen cover is very pretty; there is small indian village at one end and
further in there are now ( not in the guide books) private cabins built
since some of the land has been sold. With the rugged rocks and small
bays and inlets it looks like what I would imagine ontario cottage
country to look like. Stewart and I took out the dinghy and motored
around. We got out at what had been an old cabin and kayaking camp site
but aside from some evidence of burned lumber, there is nothing there now.

No crabs in the pot, so I will be cooking baked potatoes with canned
chicken in curry sauce.

Our plan is head up the inlet to Zebbalos tomorrow, a distance of about
15 miles; hopefully any gales on the outside will be somewhat diminished
by the time they get this far in..... showers, fresh food and beer
beckon us on!

Over and out from Queen Cove ( not to be confused with Queen's Cove
which is 1.5 miles south of here!)

PS: more trivia: we are still on the same water tank that we were on in
Winter Harbour... 8 days with probably one or two more left.