August 6, 2013 ~ Turnbull Cove to Claydon Bay (via McKenzie Sound)

We really like Turnbull Cove.  This morning the clouds were halfway down the hillsides, obscuring most of the big landslide that happened some years ago but allowing us to see the shoreline all the way around.  Laura prepared breakfast this morning – fried potatoes and onions cooked in  the fashion her father prepared them years ago.  They were accompanied by eggs to order, although everyone ordered their eggs over easy.  Thanks Laura for cooking a great breakfast.

Roaringhole Rapids

nWe left the harbor just after noon, with plans to go on a sightseeing cruise around McKenzie Sound.  As we emerged from Turnbull, I could see white water up at Roaringhole Rapids.  Turns out the rapids go both ways, and although we had a rising tide there was a lot of turbulent water to look at.  We approached to within a couple hundred feet or so for some photo opportunities, and since the tide was rising I needed to give it a little reverse from time to time to maintain our safe distance.

Laura and Lynn at Roaringhole Rapids

We then continued on through Kenneth Passage and into McKenzie Sound.  We followed the south shoreline towards Stirling Point, and then angled north towards Little Nimmo Bay.  We cruised past the entrance and continued on towards the head of McKenzie Sound, where we made a looping 180 degree turn and followed the opposite shoreline on the way out.  We saw great mountain views and tree studded and rock cliff shorelines the entire way.  By the time we returned to Kenneth Passage, the current was slack and the water mirror smooth.

We see these mountains from everywhere

We continued on to Claydon Bay, where we anchored in the north cove.  There were three other boats already at anchor here, one of which, the Daisy, we had encountered in at least two other locations on our cruise north.  We enjoyed a stay in this bay 6 years ago when we rendezvoused with Trav and Barb, caught some crab and watched a black bear on the beach.  Those are good memories.

After an appropriate rest period following today’s journey, I assembled a crab trap and set it near the boat.  There are a few others placed around, so hopefully that’s a good sign.  Maybe it’s a bad sign though – too many tables at the restaurant may reduce our chances.  Erin went with me to set the trap, and afterwards we took a run out around the corner to where we saw the bear the last time.  Well, he wasn’t there today, and the tide wasn’t all that low to afford some good tide pool munchies for him anyway.  There’s a lower tide tomorrow morning, so we may check out the beach then.  We have a second crab trap and plenty of bait, so I put out a second trap as well.  We’ll wait until morning to see our results.

Dinner this evening consisted of the leftovers from the rice dish Erin prepared yesterday, along with our fresh crab that we caught back at Sullivan Bay.  It was all yummy good.