Desolation Sound Flotilla: Day 8 – Okeover to Grace Harbour
The weather was calm while each boat slowly awakened to a misty morning on the docks of Okeover. Randy and Robert from Grand Adventure took a stroll down the beach at low tide. They found thousands of oysters, muscles and evidence of manila and cockle clams in the inter-tidal zone. It was fascinating to see how much life was present in the silty sand and rocks along the beach. Millions of pinholes indicated that the clams were thriving here. Each step on the beach stimulated the clams to squirt from the sand like a tiny water park. After an hour, with rain starting to fall, it was time to head back to the boats and be on our way.
Today we sailed to Grace Harbour, making good time. It was only a few miles up Malaspina Inlet, which took less than an hour. Captain Jordan wanted to anchor close to shore so Ross and Brian hopped in the tender to set up a stern-tie using a giant Douglas Fir. One after another, each boat saddled up next to Deception until we had a five-boat raft in the back of a small cove.
Both Grand Adventure and Patos launched crab pots, while Eric stood on the bow and caught two dogfish! Whenever the flotilla rafts up together, we like to host everyone aboard Deception. Each boat came over with bottles of wine, a few appetizers and lots of laughter. It was so much fun, and with a surprising amount of food, dinner was skipped all together.
Frank, Jean, Jack, & Jan were leaving us in the morning to catch a flight back home, so in accordance with tradition, Captain Jordan loaded the canon. Everyone gathered on the aft deck of Deception to watch the “send-off” of AnamCara. The canon was tied to a bulwark and the muzzle protruded out of the dock line chock pointing aft at the granite wall we had stern-tied to. I am not sure if it was the amount of powder or the fact that the canon was fired at a wall fifty feet away, but the outcome was spectacular. It was the loudest we have heard the little canon fire and everyone was jumping with total enthusiasm. We will miss the crew of AnamCara and with them safe travels, calm winds, and following seas back to Victoria.
