Hotham Island July 12, 2016

This has been a great day. One of the more pleasant ones I think. We did not go anywhere or do much, but it was fun doing it.

We started with Blueberry pancakes for breakfast, which is always one of our favorite traveling breakfasts. I was up earlier than Kerry, of course, so I enjoyed my coffee on Annie's upper deck. Nothing like being anchored at a beautiful island to pick up the spirits. I talked with Rosemary from home and learned that she is spending her mad money on plumbing and garage door repairs.

After breakfast Kerry helped me tighten the bolts on the bow roller platform. Two of five were loose. I will watch tomorrow to see if I still think I have a problem. Then I patched some gel coat deficiencies. I spent a lot of money to buy a quart of matching gel coat, of which I need a a shot glass full, but I think it was worth the expenditure. We really dislike blemishes on Annie.

I took the kayak and paddled to shore to walk around a bit. I got some pictures of our boats in the harbor and Kerry got one of me on shore.

I picked some wildflowers for Kerry and surprised her when I returned to Annie. She loves wildflowers on the boat.

It seems that one should at least go in the water once while here. It is so clean and clear. So, today was the day for me. It is 70, so not horrible - just refreshing. Kerry photographed it for proof.

The couple in the sailboat anchored behind us were kind enough to leave this morning, giving us an empty area with no one behind us. This provided the opportunity for a refreshing shower off the back of Annie. Kerry made her famous nachos for lunch.

Peter took me on a long dingy ride through the harbor. There are numerous places where boats can anchor. Most (12 or so) were crammed together in the South Harbor, while Peter and I and one other sailboat were alone in the West Harbor. We could not figure out why they did that, but were happy they are doing so. One possible explanation is that there is a cottage in the South Harbor and the Canadian family that lives there has been known to dingy out to anchored boaters and invite them to cocktails ashore.

 The harbor has lots of interesting coves and rock formations. I got to see them all thanks to Peter's tour.

Peter picked us up early for dinner because a large squaw line had developed and was forecast to hit about 7:30. We had a delicious dinner again on Brillig. This time it was potato and egg treat that Marianna learned to make while in Spain. It was delicious, especially with spicy salsa on top.

When it was time for the expected storm, the skies darkened, the temperature dropped and the wind started. We heard thunder. Peter rushed us home and we all battened down the hatches. Then nothing happened but a sprinkle. Tricked again by the weather gods. We did get to see a rainbow.

But then it got great. Two loons were in the harbor with us. While I was watching them an eagle swooped down and plucked something from the water, took it to shore and had a nice meal. I could see the eagle and loons really well with my binoculars. A picture was really too far away, but here is the best I could do. The eagle is the white dot on the top right.

I did get a couple of loon pictures.

That was the end of a great day. We fell asleep with the frustrated sound of mosquitoes, whose high strung wings who were unable to get through our screens. Tomorrow we are off to Gore Bay for 2 days.