Desolation Sound - Day 9 at Dent Island

This morning started off with all of us enjoying the lodge’s breakfast out on the deck. We had a great time just sitting there and talking about all the place we could go next year for our summer cruise. On our way back from breakfast Bob stopped to show me the underwater crate where fresh crab is selected when a dinner order comes in for crab. It doesn’t get any fresher than that!

 

While Bob and I were watching boats come in, some of our group decided to take the kayaks through the narrow passage by the resort while the water was at nearly slack. Jack, Sue, Larry and Cheryl had a wonderful time kayaking around the bay on the other side and count it as one of their favorite things they have done on this trip. I guess this gives Bob and I a very good reason to come back again – as if we needed a reason. We love it here and will definitely be returning.

 

Desolation Sound - Day 8 at Dent Island

We had a leisurely morning as we waited for the proper timing to go through Hole In The Wall and then Yuculta Rapids and Gillard Passage. We pulled up our anchors and unrafted so that we timed our run for slack tide.  We  had no problems at all. In fact, it was actually pretty calm considering how fast the current is known to flow.

We arrived at Dent Island for our next two night stay. What a beautiful place. It is extremely pricey ($3.50 per foot moorage instead of $1.50 or so) and the restaurant’s famous dinner runs $110 per person. We decided it was a place to visit at least once. We will do most of our own cooking other than breakfast tomorrow morning for a mere $18 per person. We do love it here, though. Bob was especially happy to be docked right next to the seaplane dock.  It is a small, intimate resort and feels like being a guest in someone’s home. No one was in the office when we went to buy ice cream bars and another seasoned visitor told us to just take them and let the staff know when we saw them! That’s what we did and the staff member said it was no problem, he would add it to our tab. The resort here is amazing. We wandered around the grounds and got a few pictures of the grounds during low tide.

One thing we decided to do today (and Larry joined us) was to take the jet boat tour through the rapids when they were running fast and then to see the eagles feeding. What an incredible time! We had so much fun and Bob got some great video as we went through the rapids and I got some photos. One of the whirlpools that is in the Dent Rapids is known as Devil’s Hole. We saw it trying to build and watched it get about 10’ deep. It can get as large as 30’ feet across and 20’ deep  so a boater definitely wants to heed the warnings about going through at slack tide.

The picture with all the signs in the trees are names of various tugs who have holed up in the cove waiting with their loads of logs for a certain kind of tide current, often waiting as long as two days. While waiting, they started hanging signs with their tugboat names showing they had been there.

Another highlight of the trip was at Jimmy Judd Island where eagles gather to feed on the fish that float to the top. The pressure of the rapids forces the fish deeper so their air bladders inflate to bring them closer to the surface. The problem they have is that they inflate so much that they float on the surface (and sometimes explode). The fish lie on the surface of the water until eagles get them or they deflate enough to go back under water. There were hundreds of eagles flying all around us, taking their fill of the floating fish and then perching in the trees overhead. It was an amazing site to see.

After leaving Jimmy Judd Island, we went by an area that was swarming with seals. Although they can be a nuisance, they are still pretty cute.

We went by two beautiful estates that our guide pointed out to us. The first is owned by the famous auctioneers, Ritchie Brothers. They have a dining area converted from an upside boat hull. There was also a large barge that they use for their guests and often take the barge wherever they might need it.

The second estate was owned by the Washington Corporation, a large mining company in Montana. They are Dennis Washington who Bob sold several boats to over the years.  He owns two boats – one is 220’ and the other is 330’. The photo shows a tugboat restoration project that was docked at the house.

The final part of our jet boat ride was through Arran Rapids. These rapids are so strong that boaters are discouraged from traveling through them at any time. Tidal streams can run as fast as 13+ knots. They have a long history of killing the unsuspecting or foolish boater.

We had so much fun on this tour that when we came back and told of our experience Cheryl, Jack & Moon, and Sue & Al promptly headed to the office to sign-up for tomorrow’s trip. Sue and Al are celebrating their 40^th anniversary tomorrow so they enjoyed the $110 dinner out on the deck this evening. They had a wonderful time and said the food was excellent!

Our evening ended with a beautiful sunset and watching the moon rise up over the hills.

Desolation Sound - Day 7 at Octopus Islands

It is so nice to be staying a second night. It was beautiful this morning when we crawled out of our boats with our cups of coffee.

We went with Al and Sue in our dinghies over to the Octopus Island Marine Park where my gps indicated a cache was hidden. We took a short hike up to the cluster of trees where we found the hidden peanut butter jar hidden in the cleft of a rock. One more “find” that I canlog!

As we headed back to the boat we took the long route back along the shoreline and came up on an eagle sitting along the shoreline. We cut our engines and drifted within 25’ before the eagle flew off.

It was another day of relaxing and just enjoying the solitude. There is no cell reception at all so we are feeling a little disconnected from families but in some ways it is so nice to have no phone calls or texts. A couple who have a 34’ American Tug (“Fly Aweigh”) kayaked over to us and visited for awhile. As they left, they invited all of us to their boat for appetizers this evening. We put together our own plates of appetizers to take with us and headed over to their boat in our dinghies. We had a wonderful time making new friends and visiting. Bob even got some aerial shots of their boat with his drone. Afterwards, we headed back to our boats, fixed some dinner and made plans for our morning departure.