Friday August 5^th – We decided to leave Prideaux Haven and head just a few miles away to Tenedos for a night. After getting anchored and shore tied we decided to take our dinghies to Refuge Cove for lunch and some groceries. Refuge Cove is about 6nm from Tenedos. It’s the only place in the area that has some groceries, and a restaurant if you call it that. In a 13’ dinghy it’s a bit of a trek through some fairly open water but the weather was nice so we decided to make the journey. Following behind us was Todd & Tami and Bruce & Gloria. The 3 dinghies made it without incident but it did get a little sloppy in one area.

We fueled up the dinghies, got some groceries, had lunch and a beer at the restaurant then made the run back to our boats anchored in Tenedos. It was a fun adventure!

Every year a large Ocean Alexander puts on a concert on the back of their boat in Prideaux Haven. We happened to be here this year and today was the day. Back in the dinghies, drinks and snacks in hand, we all cruised over to the concert where there were at least 100+ small boats all tied together ready to watch the concert. We found our place in the sea of boats and tied on. The concert was fantastic and the crowd was fun to watch. One lady was getting a little crazy dancing on a boat. She lost her balance, fell into another boat and totally destroyed their windshield. She was ok, but I don’t think the guy who owned the boat was very happy!

After the concert the kids couldn’t resist the rope swing one more time. They jumped off the boat, and each took turns swinging through the air to the water below. I had to pee, so the rope swing was the perfect excuse to get in the water but it was actually a whole lot of fun swinging with the kids.

Friday August 4^th – After Jeff’s funeral Julie and I needed to get back to our kids and boat in Prideaux Haven. We arrived at Northwest Seaplanes terminal in Renton for our flight back at 8am. While waiting for our flight in the lobby our pilot was getting a briefing on where he was going. Everyone in the lobby could hear the conversation that went something like – “Ok so what your going to do is fly to Nanaimo, land there and clear customs, then fly to Refuge Cove drop off some passengers then on to Prideaux Haven to drop off the other two”. The pilot was then asking questions about where to land in these locations and weather or not he need to get fuel in Nanaimo. It was all a little unsettling for Julie and I.

We boarded the plane with 3 other passengers going to Refuge Cove. The pilot was very nice but didn’t have that confidence about himself that pilots usually have. He was fidgety and took some deep breaths just before taking off that really added to our anxiety. Just as we got a few hundred feet in the air he gave us a wheeeewww… as he wiped his hand across his forehead. Not at all comfortable with this situation Julie and I looked at each other with a bit of fear in our eyes. He flew the plane just fine but his body language did not give us confidence. I thought to myself, if he doesn’t land this plane good in Nanaimo we are getting off! Thankfully it was a good landing. The pilot got out on the dock and we waited on the plane for the customs agent. We talked with the other passengers about this experience and they agreed with the uneasy feeling.

Back in the sky the pilot landed way outside Refuge Cove then taxied all the way in asking the other passengers where the seaplane dock was located. The other 3 passengers got off leaving just Julie and I on the plane. Then the pilot looked at us and said, “do you guys know how to get to Prideaux Haven”? Is he joking? Nope, he was serious; he’s never been there before.

After trying to explain it to him from the back seat he asked me to come up to the co-pilot seat to navigate. I crawled up to the front seat as we taxied out of the bay and put on a headset so we could talk with each other. He took off as I explained where we needed to go and how to get there. Prideaux Haven doesn’t have a dock; you need to get picked up by dinghy then taken into the inner bay where boats are anchored. We were only about 7 miles away but you still have to navigate through islands and I explained to him how it’s customary for pilots to buzz the harbor where people are anchored so your pickup knows you have arrived. He buzzed the inner bay then I explained to him where to land. He did a great job but landed a little short just outside the next bay over. No big deal, Todd came over on the dinghy and picked us up and the kids greeted us back.

Happy to be off the plane Julie and I explained the whole ordeal to Todd then quickly grabbed a couple drinks back at the boat to calm the nerves. It was an experience we will never forget and I guess I can check off my bucket list “navigating a seaplane”.

To the pilots credit, he actually flew the plane really well even though he looked really nervous. We later learned he had been flying planes for quite some time but not to those locations.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, swimming and exploring in the dinghy.

Wednesday August 2^nd – A few days ago we got some sad news. My brother’s dad Jeff Morris passed away. David and I are half brothers but we’ve never thought of each other that way, we are brothers 100%. Although Jeff was not my dad he played an important role in my life while growing up. I had a connection to him that was more than just my brother’s dad. This was heartbreaking news and not expected. I wanted to be there for the funeral and for my brother, so Julie and I booked a seaplane flight back to Seattle.

We left Grace Harbor and headed back to Prideaux Haven through the now fully smoke engulfed islands. (south wind was now blanketing the area with smoke from the wildfires in BC) Briana’s friend Sean was flying in today and Julie and I were going to fly out. Prideaux Haven doesn’t have any docks so we anchored our boats and stern tied them to shore. Todd and Tami were such a big help. Not only did we leave our boat tied to theirs for the 2 nights we would be gone but we also left our kids with them. Thank you guys so much!

The kids swam in the water then at 5:30pm our Kenmore Air flight buzzed the bay and landed just outside. Our bags packed, we jumped in Todd’s dinghy where he delivered us to the seaplane. After a couple stops along the way to pick up other passengers, we had a smoke filled 2.5 hour flight back to Kenmore WA. Even with the smoke it was a beautiful flight. We took an Uber to the Hampton Inn in Renton right by where our Northwest Seaplane flight would be leaving to go home.

The funeral the next day was really nice with a full military ceremony that paid respect to the time in the service Jeff spent. We sure do appreciate Jeff’s sacrifice to keep our country free! Even under these circumstances it was nice to see friends and family. After the ceremony everyone got together for dinner and to talk about memories. Jeff’s family put together a very nice memorial table that was really fun to look at. RIP Jeff Morris, you will be missed.