The Waiting Game

Here we are, still in Port Hardy.

The weather has finally settled into its typical summer configuration (so we are told), with a high pressure ridge just off the Vancouver Island western shore.  This produces nice clear skies and reasonably warm temperatures, but also brings s steady NW wind.

We made the mistake of listening to the skippers of a couple of boats that have just come back from up north, telling tales of strong winds and high seas as they fought their way down Queen Charlotte Sound. And they were going with the wind as they approached Port Hardy - we will have to beat our way against the flow if we want to make it around the infamous "Cape Caution".
Actually, we do have a choice of going around the northern tip of Vancouver Island instead (as we did 5 years ago) - we would just have to fight those same winds till we rounded the infamous "Cape Scott" instead.  Sort of between a rock and a hard place.

So here we sit, waiting for a weather window and also, incidentally, pinned down in the marina as long as the winds keep blowing us onto the dock (our boat does not do well in reverse with contrary winds).  As a result, we have had to settle for walking around the town, admiring the circling eagles, and trying some of the local trails; these have turned out to be surprisingly interesting.

We spent one afternoon hiking along the Quatsi River to the salmon hatchery, where we got a very personal tour of the facility (owing to the fact that few people were willing to trek all that way in the, at the time, iffy weather).  Of course, we did not know where we were going and neglected to take a camera along, so you will just have to take our word for it that we were there.

Port Hardy, by the way, is not the most prosperous looking place.  I guess the copper mine closed down some 10 years ago and the population has been shrinking ever since.  Strangely enough though, the property that we see for sale does not seem to be all that cheap - go figure.

While the temperature outside is not too bad for Port Hardy (low 20s), the wind continues to feel a little cool, so sunbathing has been kept to a minimum.  This morning, in addition to the wind, the strait looked a little fogged in, which did not make it any more appealing.  Sometimes we start asking ourselves why we are really doing this - maybe we should have just headed south instead.

We are hoping that tomorrow morning there will be a nice lull in the winds and we can cast off.  We shall see.