We woke to a beautiful morning in Newcombe Harbor.  The water was so still that the boats’ reflections looked like a mirror.  The morning was warm and still and we weren’t departing until 10, so we had plenty of time to enjoy it.  The girls and Alyson on Grand Adventure got out and did their morning yoga, Captain Rich flew his drone, and the rest of us sipped our coffee on deck watching the morning unfold around us.

Because it was less than 30 miles between Newcombe Harbor and Patterson Inlet we took the scenic route today.  Both anchorages are on Pitt Island, but between them are many small islands, narrow passage ways, rocks and reefs.  We enjoyed this interesting day out on the water.  Cruising close to the rocky shorelines allowed us to see the coastline from a new perspective.  We spotted bald eagles and harbor seals along the way.

As we were about to enter Patterson Inlet, a small pod of killer whales appeared in front of us!  About 4 or 5 whales surfaced traveling close to shore.  They were moving quickly and after surfacing a few times they dove and we did not see them again.

After traveling through the narrow opening into Patterson Inlet, we followed the north arm of the channel and found a lovely secluded anchorage.  A dinghy exploration over to the south arm revealed a beautiful creek emptying into the bay.  The water was full of milky white moon jellies, large salmon, and purple and orange sea stars clung to the shoreline.  Our group attempted to scramble up the creek in order to find the fresh water lake at the top.  Only Norris actually made it to the lake, the rest of us were deterred by the slippery rocks.  We returned significantly wetter than we left and with a few more bumps and bruises, but also happy to have gotten out and seen the sights.

Deception hosted a happy hour this evening.  All of the crews joined us and brought tasty snacks to share.  We had another lovely evening getting to know one another and sharing our experiences from the past few days.  One of the great things about a trip like this is all of the interesting people that you meet.