Today was cloudy and cool, and we got some much-needed rain.  Cruising among the low misty clouds the shore and water both took on shades of gray and blue.  As we turned to enter the narrow passage into Fury Cove, a humpback whale surfaced directly in front of us!  We throttled back in order to avoid it, and then watched in amazement as it came lunging up with its mouth open only feet from our boats!

Once in Fury Cove, we rafted four of the boats together while Discovery and Patos anchored out.  After 10 days of traveling together, we’re becoming very efficient at building these rafts.  A flurry of activity occurred as we dropped the anchor, launched the dinghy, stern tied, brought the boats in, tied them up, turned off the engines and had a seat!

The afternoon was spent exploring.  Fury Cove has a spectacular midden beach.  These white shell beaches are formed from hundreds and even thousands of years of human activity as people shuck clams and toss the shells.  Alyson and the girls went ashore for a walk, Tracy took out a kayak, Discovery dropped a crab pot, and the rest of the crews enjoyed the wet afternoon from the comfort of their cabins.

This evening Deception had Discovery over for dinner.  John, Gail, Alessandra and Garrett will be leaving the group in Port McNeill, so it was nice to get to spend some time with them before that.  They are a lovely and fun family and we enjoyed sharing the evening with them. Alessandra even had photos from last year’s trip to share!   As if on que, the rain let up after dinner and we all went to shore for a bonfire and s’mores.

The tide was low and we had fun poking around the shoreline, spotting crabs and fish and picking up shells.  A short jaunt into the nearby woods reminded us we were in a temperate rainforest.  The ground was soft and springy underfoot with moss, and the tall trees were draped with ferns and lichens. We watched a beautiful sunset looking out at the open water and listening to the light swell hitting the shore.   The fire was lit with an expired flare from Deception, and was soon a cozy, crackling bonfire.