· We no longer feel like we are a knife’s edge away from
hypothermia. When we left Juneau in late
March the temps were still typically below freezing and snow was not uncommon.
We can now warm the cabin with our Dickinson heater in 30 minutes compared to
the three or more hours it took before, and are down from sleeping under two
comforters to just one.
·
The water temperature now hovers around 59° F
instead of 36° F. We still consider our
survival suits as a primary defense for abandoning ship but the plan will soon
change to favoring the life raft.
·
In Ucluelet we are sharing the anchorage outside
the boat basin with two other cruising boats.
It’s the first time we have shared an anchorage in two months. Well, that’s not exactly true since we did
hole up on occasion in Southeast with the occasional troller. These pugnacious little boats fear no weather
in their hunt winter salmon.
·
It’s been awhile since storm force winds have
been forecast, although gales are still very common.
·
What can you say? Once a village is connected to the real world
with an honest to goodness road the food prices drop radically. A half gallon of OJ has gone from $8 to $5.
·
Orange, yellow or green PVC foulies worn over
Carhartt’s and hoodies have given way to REI de jour brands such as Marmot Precip
and Arc’teryx softshell. We’re the odd
ducks in our XtraTuffs when everyone else is sporting Bogs. Southeast’s practicality driven fashion is
not the same as Tofino hip.
·
There is less wildlife but in some ways we
actually consider this to be a blessing.
Further north there are enough Humpbacks in the water that they pose a
true hazard to navigation, more so than the logs of British Columbia. On top of that, there is no longer a brown
bear behind every bush and though they are quite large up here, the black bears
do not strike the same fear.
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