Reid Harbor

With a slight feeling of "end of summer holidays" we made our way to Reid Harbor on Stuart Island. The entrance is rather narrow and you have to snake your way between small islands and rocks. This give the harbor incredible protection to all sorts of weather, a good thing as we had over 40 knots of wind one night.

After this we'll need to get back to Anacortes so I can fly to France for my 6 monthly medical checkup.

Snapping in to climb the mast

The bay was empty most of our stay, the only trouble being how incredibly rich and full of life and critters the waters are, meaning I had to rinse the water maker's pre-filters more often when making our daily top-off water. Not exactly a big deal.

Small routine maintenance never truly stops, and I went up the mast to change our "mechanical propulsion" white light. It's been quite a while since my days climbing up masts, so I was rusty as well as being not exactly in the same physical shape as in my twenties. Got it done though, so no complaints.

I have to say that this simple and natural life, and "having" to walk Princess multiple times a day is doing wonders for me. I can feel I'm regaining my strength and my endurance slowly. Hopefully my Doctor will agree!

The walks are steep, and we even walked up to the old school where they kindly have fresh water waiting for you as a reward for the climb.

There is an honor system T-Shirt shop there too: Grab a shirt and leave money in the box.

Climbing the various hills makes for a happy Princess and helps me recover

Fresh water at the T-Shirt "store"

The old school

Princess enjoyed every walk, and alerted us many times to chase deers, and we got to see a few. She found a racoon and many otters, and usually by the end of a long walk she'd crash back on the boat's foredeck.

A tired husky is a good husky

The forecasted bad weather came and went, but the bay is so well protected that it wasn't really a concern.

The calm after the storm

Di at the helm of the tender. She now goes ashore on her own when needed

Every good thing comes to an end, and the worry free days are getting to an end too. We're heading back to Anacortes, and I'll be the first to admit that despite feeling in great form, I can't escape the little voice in the back of my head "what if..."

So fingers crossed for the trip to France and good news.