Saturday and Sunday August 2&3 –  Ava seemed to feel much better! Every year John and Tootie open up their cabin for the Hinckley Family Fun Days.  It’s a great time and an awesome setting to spend quality time with everyone.  Thank you to all who put so much work into a really fun weekend.

We had a great time with family all day Saturday and into Sunday afternoon.  The crab was amazing – especially the Dungenator – and clams harvested from the beach the day before were awesome!  Everyone made great food and we all had a fun time together.

Breakfast on Sunday morning, and then some more play time in the water for the kids.  By 2:30 we pulled anchor and took off for Wollochet bay (near Gig Harbor).  TYC has an outstation there with laundry facilities and we needed to get cleaned up for our journey north!

Pirates to Wollochet –

Arrived – 5:15pm

22.69nm

Friday August 1st – Fair Harbor is a really nice little marina tucked in behind Reach Island almost at the end of Case Inlet.  After a restful night sleep for Julie and Ava’s recovery process we spent all morning cleaning the boat and getting things ready for the family reunion while sitting on the docks at Fair Harbor.  Just a mile or so away is Pirates Cove.  We are going to anchor there for a couple nights so we can dinghy into shore and walk up to John and Tootie’s cabin for the reunion starting this evening.

Skylar has been begging all morning long to kayak by himself to the cabin.  Finally after cleaning the crab and letting Julie and Ava rest (they still don’t feel the best) we let him take off at the same time we did (5:20pm).  He packed up his kayak with all his gear, tent, sleeping bag, backpack with survival essentials and pillow, then set off for Pirates Cove.  He was so excited!  It was his first Kayak camping adventure and he was totally self-sufficient.  In the big boat we have to take the long way around but Skylar was able to pass under the low bridge.  That meant however he was totally on his own – and he loved every minute!

At 5:55 (2.3nm) we arrived and anchored in the bay.  Skylar was already up at the cabin setting up camp for the night.  Troy and Gerry were kayaking in the area and stopped by to say hello.

Skylar and I went out to dinner with John, Tootie, Troy and Gerry while Julie and Ava continued to recover on the boat.  Skylar slept at his camp while I dinghied back to the boat.  Then it happened – just when you think she’s on the mend and after a day and a half of no puke, Ava woke up and puked again!  Defeated, and feeling terrible for Ava, we wondered if she really was getting better.  But it was just one puke and right back to sleep – hopefully tomorrow she will feel better.

Julie and Ava puked all night long.  Ava was a super trooper and hardly even complained.  At one point they were both puking at the same time, Julie holding Ava’s hair so it didn’t get doused.

As they tried to recover Skylar and I kept checking the crab pots.  A few more Rock Crab and a few Dungeness we weren’t doing too bad.

As we pulled the last pot of the string, Skylar was looing over letting me know the catch.  “I see some – oh yea there’s a few – wow one is huge!”  As I get the pot to the surface I look over and saw a huge shape – absolutely the largest Dungeness crab I have ever seen!  The problem is, it was not even in the pot!  It was on the bottom of the pot just hanging on by his monster legs.   If I just pull the pot up carefully maybe he’ll stay on, I thought.  No such luck.  As I grab the pot he lets go, slowly drifting toward the ocean floor 150’ below.  I am not letting this thing get away! I said to myself.  I reached down and grabbed the crab with my hand and pulled it to the surface, but he didn’t want to come easy.  Just as he broke the surface I could see him going crazy and I thought for sure my finger was coming off.  I had to let him go.  As he slowly sunk once again even deeper I was determined to give it one more shot.  With my whole arm in the water I quickly grabbed on, yanked him out of the water as fast as I could and threw him in the boat!  My adrenalin was racing and I couldn’t believe what just happened.  A guy in a boat 100’ away yelled over “That was awesome!  The coolest thing I’ve ever seen!  Wish I had a video camera.”

And he was huge!  9.5” and I have the shell to prove it!

With water running out, and flu-infested laundry, we took off at 12:45pm for Fair Harbor in Grapeview.

Traveled 16.69nm