On the move
Well, I sure was in a mood when I woke up. You can even sense the tone in my blog that I wrote. I have been having vivid dreams for some reason and my knee only seems to be really hurting at night when it stiffens up. Captain got up around 9am and we took Kona to shore. I regaled him with my woes, un-certain to why I was feeling blue and trying to figure out what we would do today. The boats of musicians were staying another day and I wanted Captain to have the opportunity to stay and play with them but I was also itching to go to Killarney and grab a mooring ball if we could. Captain said “It’s not all about me” and I said the same was true for me. I was okay staying if it meant he got to play some more.
We decided we would at least try the hike up the rocks today since I was certain my knee was up for it. Honestly my leg is just sore and is dying to move again, the downside to wearing a hinged brace for nearly 10 days. Then we would see if there was a ball in Killarney at least by reaching out to the dock master who we know and are connected with.
We woke Cory, grabbed some beef jerky and freeze-dried apples and headed on the hike around 10am. It was a very short hike and only about 150 feet in elevation. My knee did great. At the top we were greeted with views of Frazer Bay off in the distance with the mountains even further, a little hazy due to either the smoke or humidity in the air. Below us lay Covered Portage, our home for the last four nights. A tour boat from Killarney came in and met us at the top. We asked the guide if the balls were open and he didn’t seem to optimistic. We ate our jerky and apples and enjoyed the view for quite some time. Kona played stick and we were careful to only the throw the stick away from the cliffs. She became thirsty and we could tell she was looking way down at the water and wanting to go cliff diving. I had forgotten her water dish but I took her along the rocks until I found a natural bowl in the formations and poured her half of my water bottle which she lapped up happily.
On our return we were met with the musicians. David said they were all leaving for Mary Ann’s Cove, a change in plans from the night before. A bummer for us as that isn’t the direction we are ready to go right now and also an answer to if we stayed here another night for their sake. His wife, Heather, stopped me on the way down. She asked about my knee as I was just wearing my compression sock and scolded me for wearing it too much. She is a doctor and said to only wear it while hiking, not sleeping and start more rehab. She noticed that my ankle was swollen from wearing it too much (I could barely see this, but trust the doctor). Since she was a doctor I asked her to look at Captains hands which have been breaking out. We thought he may have just been fondling the plants on the hikes too much and had some sort of reaction but the timing didn’t link up and he was very uncomfortable. Turns out he has his first eczema breakout. Tiny blisters that itch like crazy and pop. Not fun. Not contagious, but a problem if they get infected. She advised us to cortisone cream, cold treatment, lotion and frequent hand washing. We came back to the boat and also researched it is a bit. I hope he can get that under control. We have been beat up pretty bad this summer.
Captain dropped Cory off at Ciara and we went for one more dinghy ride to enjoy the anchorage and spend a few moments together. Back at the boat around noon I wrote Red at the Killarney Mountain Lodge and asked if there was a ball free (they are first come first serve). Because Captain had taken some Benadryl for his hands, he wanted a nap so that is that we did while I waited to hear from Red. We awoke to a message that was written at 12:55. “I have a ball for you.” And then another that was written at 12:58 “Sorry someone has taken the ball.” Okay, no worries. Captain and I decided we did want to move since we have been here awhile and decided we would move past Killarney and go to the Keyhole, a place we had been last year near Collin’s Inlet. Only about 1.5 hours away. I am unsure if I will ever get used to how close and plentiful the anchorages are around here.
Cory and I lifted our short rode of 50 chain in no time and the anchor came up very easily since with wasn’t resting far below our boat. We motored to Killarney Channel which was half an hour away. There is always hope that another ball had freed so we were eying them as we approached. We let out a huge sigh when we saw our good friend from Green Bay, John, on Merging Waters who had taken “our” ball! We laughed. Captain scolded me “Don’t tell people our secrets Deb!” We slowed Ciara down and chatted with him for a few mintues before we passed by and out of the channel.
We passed the Killarney Lighthouse to our port side and followed the land to the north. While minding our charts we noticed an anchorage what was only half an hour away (vs the hour to Key Hole) and thought we would, at the very least, take a detour and see what it looked like.
Thomas Bay has a slow entrance. Lots of rocks in sight, and many more just below the surface. Life with Navionics makes this much easier and I can only imagine trying to dead reckoning into spots like this back in the day. Bow watch for rocks, watching for waves crashing for no reason, or birds standing on the water would be your only tells of danger. Lore passed down from sailor to sailor about coming in until this tree and that tree line up and then go to Starboard etc would be your guides.
We were greeted by a cute anchorage. There were two blue hulled sailboats already in there. Adding us would fill the anchorage and we felt this as a nice spot for the night at least. Checking off the “let’s try new places” box. A nice house stood over the anchorage with large solar panels. Red granite rocks popped up on the main land and the many stone islands surrounding the anchorage making an inviting play ground for Kona.
We settled in at anchor and made dinner of Vindaloo Curry. It was yummy and a bit early as we hadn’t really eaten much all day. Dinner and dishes were done not long after 7pm. Captain and I took Kona on a dinghy exploration and found an island out of sight of the home that also had a navigation beacon on it. We explored the rock while Kona found a spare stick and played fetch. Captain flew his drone and I observed small frogs and pools of tadpoles in the rocks natural pools.
Across the way we saw campers on another small island. They had a small campfire a tent and a canoe. These waters are a backwaters canoe/kayakers dream. We left our rock island about 8:30 so I could play Last Post back on Ciara at 9pm. Last Post was beautiful as the anchorage was quiet and the other two sailboats had really kept to themselves and didn’t even hear me from down below. Sometimes it is just nice to play to nature.
We came back inside for the mosquito hour. Cory set up their iPad and we watched Forrest Gump until about midnight. We had snacks. I stretched my legs and realized how much flexibility I used to have and how quickly it can be taken away. It felt so good to stretch those hip flexors!
It was really nice to move again today, both in body and boat. I was reminded by our friend Mike Cooney that sitting and doing nothing is actually really okay. Just close your eyes, take a few deep breathes and open your eyes slowly. Enjoy what is right in front of you. Something I preach, but obviously still have to practice myself.
