Day 346 Reid Harbor

We're hold up in Reid Harbor(48 40.31N 123 12.02W) on the South side of Stuart Island. We'd tied to the dock on the opposite side of the island in Prevost Harbor last November and thought we'd try this side for a change. It's a well protected harbor from just about all winds.

We started the day in Blind Bay southeast of here in virtually calm winds. The weather folks had forecast winds in the mid 20 knot range with showers through the day. Instead, it was calm to maybe 5 knot winds with sunny skies throughout the afternoon. A pleasant day all in all.

We stopped on the way over at Deer Harbor for a quick fill up and empty out. We'd originally planned on spending the winter there but there was little to no cell phone service and no wifi at all. That's the primary reason we went else where. It's a nice place. A bit removed from most services but a nice marina. We emptied out our sewage tanks and filled the water tanks and a gasoline tank and took off for Stuart Island. We'd left Blind Bay just after 0900 and got to Deer Harbor by just after 1000. It took till 1140 to get everything filled and emptied and we were off.

Along the way to Stuart Island, we saw several whales as they slowly passed us heading the opposite way. None stayed to play and show off unfortunately. With the constant changes in tides, we have to be on the constant lookout for "dead heads". These are logs that have washed down from up the rivers that feed the San Juan Islands. We saw one today that we think broke free from one of the tugs that haul huge "islands" of logs through Washington's waters. It looked fresh cut and far from water logged.

We were forced to motor all the way with little to no wind. The transmission is still working great. The propeller stops when the controls are in neutral instead of spinning like it had. It's great to see that we hadn't wasted March waiting for a fix that didn't happen.

We've tied up to one of the docks here but must move tomorrow as when the tide goes out, we could very well be in the mud. We arrived in just 1 to 2 feet under our keel and that was with the water just past low tide. Tomorrow, the tide will be a bit lower so we will move to a dock they have installed out closer to the center of the bay. They have installed a dock at the landing and two out in the bay all quite adequate to handle a boat of our size. The problem is that the dock at shore is just a bit shallow for a boat with our draft--6'2". We docked here so we could have a nice walk about the park without having to launch Puff.

While on a hike this afternoon, we ran into another couple that had died up to the dock over on the opposite of the island in Prevost Harbor. In the same spot we'd tied up last year in October when we were here. Nice couple in a 46 foot power boat. We visited for well over an hour trading stories.

We had dinner out in the cockpit enjoying the setting Sun and the warmth that it provided. It was great to spend the day our in the Sun since the forecast had been for rain. Nice to see the weather folks are consistent--wrong!

We had cell and a wifi signal till we entered the harbor here but they quickly vanished as we entered the harbor. Since we have to move in the morning, we may exit the harbor and try and establish a signal so we can get this post posted. If not, we'll get it out as soon as we can.