From Sucia to Stuart

After a beautiful night at Sucia we woke up to high winds and rain this morning.

Since we could only stay at Sucia for 3 nights and captain Jeff had already decided to leave this morning anyway, the engines were fired up at 8.30 am. which was also my wake up call and off we went to our next stop, Stuart Island. 

As soon as we left the protection of Fossil Bay I could tell this was going to be a bit of a rough ride.

A ‘bit rough’ is an understatement because the ride was in fact quite rough.

So rough that we even had to take a bit of a d-tour.

The barbeque on the back deck is usually pretty stable but it fell off the table and one of the legs broke off.

I remember when we first started boating all those years ago I used to hate it when it was rough (I was a true fair weather boater). 

I still don't like it but it doesn't scare me anymore.

As long as I know we are not going to tip over I'm okay. 

Since our boat is a trawler with a big "tent" on top it catches the wind like a kite and we are really affected by the wind and waves.

I am really lucky I don't get seasick.

When we arrived at Stuart we decided to stay in Prevost instead of Reid harbor.

I always pick Prevost because it has far better cell service which is way more important to me than it is to captain Jeff.

Both protected harbours are beautiful and very peaceful.

Stuart Island has full and part-time residents even though there are no stores on the island.

There is a school house (which closed in 2007) you can visit on your way to the Turn Point lighthouse where if you are lucky you get to see the orcas.

You can  take a tour of the old light-keepers house there, which is run by volunteers every summer.

There is also a stand by the schoolhouse with souvenirs and t-shirts. Payment is based on an honour system which is an envelope you can mail back with payment.

The island also has 2 airstrips and a cemetery.

We were able to get a buoy which is great. Captain Jeff went ashore by himself to drop off payment while I stayed onboard and did some work.

I was sure happy I packed my AirEssentials pants and pullover.

They are so nice and light but super warm and it was exactly what I needed today. 

If you want to have a look at the AirEssentials collection from Spanx you can do so right  here.

Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow so we can hike to the lighthouse and I can tell you all about in my next blog entry.

Fingers crossed!

Love,
Renate