Aug. 15th - Blind Channel

We left our cove about 7:30 to go through Chatham Channel rapids - we were about 30 minutes ahead of slack so we got a push through from the current which meant we went through at almost 10 kt., about 2 kt faster than we normally travel. We're hoping to get across Johnstone Straits before the winds pick up too much as they're predicted to be 10-20 knots in the afternoon. We'd like to get to Blind Channel today, but if the straits are too windy our backup plan is to go to Port Harvey Marina which is right before the straits. Good news is that there wasn't any fog when we left so hopefully that will be true for the whole trip.
Now that we're leaving the Broughtons, a few comments about the places we visited. We did not see as many boaters up here this year - more Canadians than US & more larger boats than small. The little marinas seem to be filling up most of the time but the larger ones - Sullivan Bay hasn't been that busy this year & Pierre's has been busy on meal nights but not when there is no meal. We sure hope that the marinas continue to get enough business to keep going as most of them are only open June-Sept. It seems that Lagoon Cove (really the start of the trek) has been busy but we think that's because that's where a lot of boaters wait for the weather to change in the straits.
We entered Johnstone Straits at 8:30 - 3 knots of wind, flat water - good job again Captain Rod! Lots of other boats headed out from Port Harvey - another good sign when other boaters think the timing is good. Wind got as high as 14 knots, average 10. We were through the straits by 10:00.
We hit Whirlpool Rapids at 11:15 with 6 knots against us but we would have had to wait until 2:00 for slack. We put everything in the sink or on the couch but the Captain is very experienced at manuvering the boat so we didn't have a problem - however, we did see whirlpools going through. Another boater called on the radio after we got through to see how we did & Rod gave him some tips. Arrived at Blind Channel at 1:15 & it was 62 & cloudy.
Had dinner at the restaurant - Rod had schnitzel & I had goulash - both delicious - & we shared a berry crisp with ice cream. We were sitting next to a couple from Saltsprings Island & visited across the tables. They joined us while we had our dessert & told us about a potlatch they were invited to in Alert Bay. That's now on our list to visit next year. It was starting to drizzle when we came back to the boat around 8:30.
We're docked across from another Grand Banks (the Pelican) whom we've seen before at a Grand Banks rendezvous. The owners are John & Elaine Sherba (?) & their kid went to school with Rex (Rod's son) at University Prep. Small world!