Day 10 &11 we decided to go to Roscoe Bay.  This very well protected by has a drying shoal blocking the entrance at low tide.  You must enter at or near high tide or you will wind up on the hard.  We determined 4pm would give us enough water to cross. The short cruise got us out from the steep walls of our anchorage.  Under sunny skies the tall snow capped mountains were a beautiful sight!  Once inside we once again stern tied in a great little spot.

As we turned off the engine and looked into the water all we could see is jellyfish!  It was amazing how many there was throughout the whole bay.  Millions of them, it looked like it was raining on top of the water as they broke the surface.  I guess we would be swimming with the jellies, good thing they’re not the stinging type.

Skylar swam while we made dinner.  It was a very hot day, over 80 degrees.  After sunset Julie and I sat on top the boat in what should have been a very quiet evening.  Some yahoo right next to us thought it necessary to run their loud generator well past 10pm, echoing throughout the bay!  I think they had it on to run their AC, at least they were nice and cool while we enjoyed the noise.

One more full day at Roscoe so we could have time to enjoy the lake just a short hike away.  This was a beautiful, huge, warm, freshwater lake that everyone swims in.  Jumping off the rocks into the deep lake was so refreshing after some hot weather.  Lots of people had the same idea, and it was fun to hang out with everyone, talking boats while we all swam in the lake!

After dinner we all swam in the salt water/Jellyfish again.  Its so much fun swimming to the rocky shore form the boat.  The rocks jet down to deep water so quick you can leap from the rocks into the water.

Skyar and I took the dinghy out in open water for some fishing.  Skylar caught a bunch of rockfish but nothing real big.  It was a gorgeous evening floating around with the engine off.

Day 9 started out a little cloudy again but by midday the sun was out in full force.  Julie had a great early morning kayak around Grace Harbor before our 10am departure.  Our destination today was a short ride to Tenedos bay.  Tenedos is a great anchorage where once again we stern tie in a tight channel off the main bay.  Our stern tie skills are improving as we gain more experience, no issues this time!  Well maybe one.  The tree I chose to tie off to had some major branches and brush all the way down to the ground.  It looked Ok from the water but when ashore it took some serious bushwhacking to get in, loop the line around the tree and find my way back out.  When I got back Julie said I completely vanished for a while then emerged from the brush.

Every new anchorage usually starts off with some exploring with the dinghy and this one was no different.  Its always fun to check everything out by little boat, getting into all the nooks of the bay.  The chart showed a lake just a short hike away, so we set off for Lake Unwin.  Following a small stream flowing into the bay we reached the lake.  It was a great swimming lake, much larger than we expected, and Skylar swam for a long time.   Back at the boat we all went for a swim in the warm salt water.  Jumping off the top of the boat is a blast and Ava loves the big green raft.  We all still can’t believe the water is as warm or warmer than Hawaii.  It’s totally amazing!

I took a long evening kayak paddle just before dark that was awesome.  Totally calm, lots of small fish schools and a seal swimming under the kayak in shallow water scared the crap out of me!

Day 8.  We will finally reach Desolation Sound!  However we have a 6 hour cruise ahead of us under a grey sky and 15-20 knots of wind.  As we poked out into the open, the water was a little lumpy but at least now we will have following seas.  It ended up a fairly smooth ride and only got better further north.  We cruised past Powel River and Lund then up through the inside of the Copeland Islands.  Rounding Sarah Point the high peaks surrounding Desolation should have come into view but the cloud cover was too thick.

Grace Harbor was our first stop in Desolation.  This is truly a beautiful and rugged place.  The water drops off deep just a few feet from the waterline making passages in tight waterways possible.  Stern tying is the norm here.  This is a method of anchoring where you drop your anchor, back up toward shore, then take a line from your boat to shore.  You wrap the line around something and pull the end back to the boat making a loop.  It’s harder than it sounds because your boat wants to blow down wind while you are trying to tie it off.  The great thing about it is your boat doesn’t swing and you can get the stern of your boat really close to shore due to the steep drop off in this area.

We have stern tied a few times before but by no means have it mastered.  This time we got the anchor down, backed to shore but not close enough.  As I got in the dinghy to take the line to shore it became apparent I would not have enough line to bring it all the way back, so I just tied it off.  The problem with tying it off is when your ready to leave you have to go back to shore to untie.  I came back to the boat, tightened the line and we seemed to be in place.  Julie says all I do is fiddle with things when I’m on the boat.  I can’t seem to just relax, I need to have everything just the way I want it.  Of course I couldn’t just leave it alone.  I let more anchor rode out so we could get closer to shore then dinged in to grab the end of the line and pull it back to the boat.  I quickly grabbed the end (the boat is loose now) and tried to pull the line back to the boat.  Problem is the friction on the line from trying to pull it around the tree made driving the dinghy while holding the line extremely difficult.  I would give it some gas and get yanked all over the place almost running over the line with the outboard several times.  It was a real show!  I was determined though so I gave it one final goose of the throttle, almost getting yanked out of the dinghy but made it back to the boat.  Julie and I laughed for an hour at the sight of me pulling the line.  There is an easy solution, all I needed to do is pull a bunch of line while on shore and pile the loose line in the boat.  Next time.

First thing Skylar did was jump off the boat into the warm water! We took off for a dingy tour of the harbor and noticed a sign showing a trail to a lake.  It was about 1 mile round trip so we took off through the dense forest to see what we could find.  It was a beautiful lake but not good for swimming, too many logs and marshland.  Locals call it Leech Lake.  Ava is turning into a great hiker!  There was even a smell waterfall and a bunch of old equipment left behind from logging days.

Fish tacos for dinner and Skylar took a nice long evening kayak paddle.  It’s the only thing that settles him down.  Since the prospect of warm water that’s all he can talk about, driving us crazy with; dad come swimming, Ava watch this, can I jump off the top of the boat, can I, can I, can I, watch this, watch this, watch this!  He has a one-track mind that demands your full attention at all times.  You gotta love the energy and excitement though!