Mother Goose had a leisurely morning at Fury Cove, and the sun was fully in the sky when we got underway. The fleet headed north through Fitz Hugh Sound towards Shearwater. The surrounding rivers were full from the recent rainstorm and the outflow of logs and debris dotted the sound. Mother Goose fleet worked together over the radio to call out the deadheads and logs in our route. After 16 days together, the crews are like family and the radios buzzes with helpful hints and cheery banter between boats.

Along the way, Johnny spotted the fluke of two humpbacks taking their terminal dive. Every year Humpbacks migrate from the warm, protected waters of Baja California, Mexico and Hawaii to the cold nutrient rich waters of the northern west coast to feed on small schooling fish such as herring and sandlance. While in their feeding territories, Humpbacks need to consume 4,000 lbs of food a day in order to have enough nutrients stored for the whole year. Happy feeding, Humpbacks!

The fleet arrive at the Shearwater marina right before supper time. Shearwater was originally a Royal Canadian Air Force base built during WWII that housed roughly 1,000 RCAF members. After the war, several of the buildings were converted into fish canneries. Shearwater’s current iteration is as a full-service marina with a grocery and pub. When we arrived, the local pub was open for business and all crews stopped in to enjoy a meal together.