Log Entry: Tuesday, June 15th, 1999

Mirror Harbor to Inian Cove (via Elfin Cove): 39.5 nm

Up at 4:00 a.m., and moving by 4:20.  The trip out of the cove was much more of a nail-biter, because of what we now knew to be underneath …

We found the sea very quiet, just a gentle 4-5 foot swell behind us as we motored (of course) to Elfin Cove, which was our intended destination.  During this passage, we passed through the westernmost point of our Pacific Northwest trip.

Although our routes always show us going straight up the coast, frequently, when we are out on the open ocean, our actual track is more of a zigzag, as we try to keep the waves off our beam.

Jane determined that our route to Glacier Bay the following day, through the Inian Islands, would be difficult against the current, and that our best bet was to get through the islands today, rather than have time constraints on our arrival at Glacier Bay the day after.

We were in Elfin Cove and docked by 10:30. Jane found a pay phone, and called Glacier Bay to confirm our arrival the following morning (this was a very important phone call, as you'll discover later ...) 

Elfin Cove is a wonderful little town, with lots of fishing boats, built into a steep hill, with a boardwalk high above the harbour on one side, and on the other fronting the shops, the school, the post office, a café, a well-tended rock garden filled with elves and other objects ...

We wandered around, visited some of the shops, and had lunch at the café. We relaxed on the boat, and watched a small cruise ship (The Sealion) dock beside us at the dock.

We left for Inian Cove, one hour up the coast.  Quiet anchorage …

Jane's log:

"Left Mirror Harbor as far into the ebbing tide as we dared!  No problems leaving - a pod of whales were outside again and a lone sea otter lazing about on the swell.

"Spotted a Northern Brown Harrier on the rocks as we passed.

"Stopped in Elfin Cove for lunch, where the Sea Lion (a small cruise ship) came alongside before we left.  After telephone calls and lunch, we headed up through North Inian Passage just before slack before ebb.

"Lots of birdlife on the way up: hawks, sandpipers, osprey, gulls, terns, cormorants (including Pelagic and Brandt's).

"If you include eagles, loons, geese, scooters, Murres, and shearwaters, you pretty much cover everything we saw coming up the coast.  We think we saw some puffins today, and we had a great sighting of the rhinoceros Auklet, which is actually more closely related to the puffin than to other auklets.

"Our favourite friend the sea otter was waiting to greet us when we entered Inian Cove - lazing around in the kelp, lots of mums with pups on their bellies."