After launching from Duncanby Marina I headed out across Rivers Inlet.
The alarm woke me up this morning at 5am and I started getting ready to go. I hade some coffee and oatmeal down on the dock where my boat was tied up, told Rick goodbye and was on my way at 7am. Right after I launched I saw the same three Grizzly bears I had seen yesterday still feeding along the shoreline just a short distance away.
Entering Klaquaek Channel from Rivers Inlet.
The sky was overcast and the wind calm as I crossed Rivers Inlet and made my way up Klaquaek Channel in the Penrose Islands. This is a very pretty area in protected waters and would be a good place to explore by kayak if strong winds were whipping up waves in the outside waters.
Darby Channel with Addenbroke Point ahead.
As I crossed Darby Channel, approaching Addenbroke Point, the wind started to pick up out of the northwest. It built to around 10 to 15 mph and I had to paddle directly into it.
Entering Convoy Passage.
As I entered Convoy Passage and then into Fairmile Pass I got a break from the wind as I was in the wind shadow of a number of small islands.
Looking out across Fitz Hugh Sound from Fairmile Pass.
As I re-entered Fitz Hugh Sound the wind was still blowing strong out of the northwest and was now creating waves that were bouncing off the vertical rock shoreline. These refraction waves created a maelstrom with waves now coming at me from every direction. I had no choice but to keep going as there was no place to land along the rocky shoreline. Luckily, I felt good and was not too tired.
I arrive at my campsite for the evening.
I finally arrived at my destination for the evening, a clamshell beach about a mile south of Kwakume Point, at 5:30pm. I had just paddled 26 miles in 10½ hours, which was a new distance record for me at the time. I did not know it then, but in the weeks to come, this record would be broken a few more times.
Looking south down Fitz Hugh Sound from my campsite beach.
This was a nice campsite with great views up and down Fitz Hugh Sound. There was only one problem. At high tide, most of the beach disappeared under water, and the only level dry spot available was up in the trees. There was no place big enough to set up even a small tent, so I used my bivy sack and hoped it did not start raining overnight. The high tide this night was at 10:50pm so I stayed up late to make sure I had all my gear safely out of reach of high water. At high tide, the water got to within three feet of my sleeping bag but it soon began to drop, and by morning, the entire shell beach was dry again.
High tide almost reaches my campsite at 10:50pm.
