When people say, “timing is everything” they aren’t kidding. Today we would enter the taunting Johnston Strait - 54 miles long and each section with it own currents. Check out the chart below we had to follow in order to traverse it. That being said if you time it right and the weather cooperates it can be a very scenic and smooth ride. If not then you can be in some serious trouble. At 7:06am we up anchored in order to time the rapids in both Upper and Lower Oksillo channel before getting to Johnstone strait. We traveled though Johnstone with several other boats we knew from Deso - Crews Inn, Seas the Dream and Rhomba Girl. They just a little ahead of us appeared on AIS all day long. Johnstone was full of debris and logs and even full trees that kept us on our toes the entire day. The worst spot came during my shift (of course) and was right at the entrance to Port Harvey. Rhumba Girl just ahead of us started zig-zagging all over the place and I knew exactly what was happening. A whole long line of tree and branches blocking our path to the entrance. You hold your breath and being the obstacle course hoping you don't miss anything. Jeff stood beside me acting as a spotter making sure we didn’t hit anything. Fortunately we did not and I could breath again as we made our way in. This time instead of following the crowd to Port Harvey I found an anchorage just around the corner called Boughey Bay. It was green and lush and we had the place to ourselves as the AIS filled up in Port Harvey. After a long 62 mile intense day this was just what we needed. We sat outside for quite awhile soaking in the view and unwinding.
We woke up feeling refreshed and up-anchored at 8:14a.m. ready to tackle the final portion of Johnstone Strait. The day brought sun which is a rarity here so it was much welcomed. In anticipation of our upcoming month in the Broughton’s archipelago we made our way for Port McNeil in order to re-provision and water the boat. Johnstone brought more logs and debris and our day felt familiar. 43 miles later and were tied up at North Island Marina, a wonderful welcoming place where they remembered us from the year before. After a quick lunch we checked in and made our way into town. First stop - coffee shop where I got an americano then we headed for the hardware store liquor store and market in order to get a few things to make Jeff’s special birthday dinner the following night. He requested salmon en crute like we used to have with the kids on Altamont. We were able to find most things for the meal and the rest I would have to improvise. That night we went to the steakhouse for a pre-birthday dinner. The place was empty and weird but the food was good so that’s all that counts right?
Happy Birthday Jeff! The day started very slowly and it was great to be able to sleep in and not have to hurry up and leave to time currents. Eventually Jeff did some work in the engine room. While I worked on baking a birthday cake. Birthday lunch was at the brewery where we sat outside and took in the water views. Jeff had pizza and I had tacos along with a couple of birthday beers and the day started feeling festive. We took a walk to see the world’s largest burl. Quiet weird and odd but it was there so we saw it. Back at the boat Jeff took a nap then we did a birthday FaceTime with the kids and put together dinner. Boat toaster ovens don’t work quiet the same as my nice oven at our house but other then the cake everything turned out okay. Jeff felt special and got many birthday wishes so the day was a success.
Our third and final day at Port McNeil was a busy work day. I did laundry, cleaning and blogging while Jeff transferred and polished fuel. I never left the boat the entire day working from morning till evening. Provisioning had to wait till the morning.
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