We live like Queens in Queen Charlotte City

Ahoy there from Queen Charlotte City! With big bear hugs we said goodbye to Sebastian on Wednesday, and are missing him dearly. Here's an update from your three favourite sailors before Char and Lisa head for a month in Gwai Haanas. We have:

Fisherwoman Lisa,

Stormwatcher Charlotte,

Plus scallywag (and super model!) Sebastian

Well, first off, a big thanks to Seb for a wonderful 2 weeks of sailing! We've learned a lot about bird id and fishing (we'll make you proud), and will remember the hours of laughing at the helm, storytelling in spanish to Carlotta, and Seb's "how to really sail" lessons for speed. Thanks Seb!

Hikes and forest runs have been a good way to work out all of our energy!

Rowing up to new boats to say hello, like to Jamie on Isis, has given rise to great advice, exciting stories of the sea, and some interesting new friends! This is us going over charts with Jamie in Shearwater on the shaky (but free!) dock.

Before our Hecate crossing, we anchored for the night in Gillan Harbour, a protected bay in the Ecological Reserve of the Estevan Islands. Char rowed around in the bay, fiercely shooting pictures and swatting flies. While they've got nothing on Ontario flies (both Lisa and Greg agree!) they sure were nibbling, and Charlotte got some beautiful pictures!

To make the jump across from the protection of the Estevan Group, we embarked at 3:30am after hauling our anchor and crab trap. We were blessed with calm seas we had an easy crossing, although our short sleep brought out the goofiness of the crew, including keeping the rising sourdough in our rain pants to help them rise (and the kangaroo pouch for peanut!) and wrestling down below to help stay warm. Light winds throughout the day, but Char rigged up a gennaker sail with our spinnaker in the early afternoon, and it sailed like a dream. Rafts of birds (and a certain bird lover who deviated from his course with exciting bird sightings...hahaha), and groups of humpbacks in the distance, and a sea lion devouring a flounder 2m off our stern made for an eventful day without rough seas.

Lisa at the tiller...so bright already at 5am!

After a late and attentive arrival into Queen Charlotte City, we sent our SPOT to let family know we'd made the crossing safely. While we had wanted to let Charlotte's godparents, Kathryn and Greg, know we were coming in the night before, we woke up to the friendly smile of Greg, who had come down to the boat before a day of fishing after receiving our local position! Kathryn and Greg have been so generous opening up their home for delicious dinners (oh how we've adored the grazing on the cornucopia of fresh greens!), wood fired saunas, and tours of the island sites.

Cooking up a storm with Kathryn!

What a view!

Munching on dried salmon and herring roe at Diane Brown's house in Skidegate

Our very first day Katheryn and Greg took us hiking up Sleeping Beauty, the very same mountain that Irene Whitney climbed with the 2-day old Charlotte (Impressive Irene!). While Kathryn and Lisa practiced being "sleeping beauties" Seb, Char, and Greg scaled to the top through the deep snow for a brilliant view from the peak. A fun slide down too!

While it was hard saying goodbye to Seb, we got to tramp though the Sitka spruce forest where the Golden Spruce once stood, and poke around the north of Haida Gwaii before delivering Seb to the Masset airport. We were given a great view from the top of Tow Hill, and were grateful we weren't out in Nakusiak for the blustery winds. Sitting in the lee of the weathered rocks, we ate our lunch.

Goofy faces!

A highlight of our stay in Charlotte City was our trip out to the West Coast for salmon trolling. With a salmon biologist and experienced fisherman it was the PERFECT first fishing trip for Lisa. Learned a lot, and we caught 4 Chinooks! Lisa caught a small rock fish too (her first fish), but in reeling it in, a cheeky eagle snatched it right up.

"Do you think we could get Nakusiak on plane like this?"

Lisa's first Chinook!

Filleting made easy with Charotte's mad skills!

Doesn't get much better than this...lightly seasoned fresh salmon...YUMMM!

On top of the hunting, we have honed in on our gathering skills too. Kathryn showed us one of her favourite nettle patches, and we collected bunches to dry along with our fish. We now have dried food stowed away for some healthy eats once our fresh food from Isabelle Creek gets gobbled up!

A big BIG BIG thank you to Kathryn and Greg. Your generosity has warmed our hearts (and our bellies). Thank you soooo much.