I awoke early (6:00) and prepared to get underway. As usual; Matt awoke and joined me. Lukas slept through the commotion and did not get up until I woke him for breakfast (while underway) at about 9:00.
The diesel stove kept any chill off through the night and we left it simmering.
We came upon another whale as we exited Cousins Inlet (Barba Pt). We lingered, as we always do, to take it in. The whale was very close to shore.
Matt had the wheel all morning. I mostly lay on the bench behind him reading more of ‘Curve of Time’. I decided to turn up the diesel stove to boil some water for hot chocolate and for Matts morning coffee. I took the helm while Matt got his coffee going. He turned the stove up to full (by accident) and before long that thing was truly pumping out the heat. The alarm went off as the air started to go foul in the kitchen. I turned it down and we opened up a bunch of windows. All was well in short order.
I cooked breakfast (bacon, eggs, toast, and fruit). We took turns on helm & breakfast until all had eaten. I took the helm and had Lukas do the dishes.
One of the things we wanted to catch along the way (other than more fish) was the marker where Sir Alexander MacKenzie reached, across land, around 1793. We found it (on a point at Elcho Harbour) and I was pleased that we could get close without having to anchor and take the tender.
The next point of interest was a short distance away – the Eucott hot springs. We slowly made our way into Eucott Bay. This is a stunning shelter for boats (with shallow draft of less than 5′). We circled the bay and found no clear sign of where the hot springs are – not even a trail head. So we decided to exit the bay and carry on to Bella Coola. We later found out that they were located just above the old pilings to the right (as one enters the bay).
I will forget the names of most of the islands and channels we have travelled (there are so many) but I will not forget King Island. We are on track to spending 16 hrs cruising its coast line. Its large.