Day 3 - Handfield Bay to Octopus Islands

Georgiy Shestayev

Left Handfield Bay in the morning, had to sail close haul to get to the channel and then all the way to Chatham Point. After that the wind changed to NW funneling down the Johnston Strait and we headed down it on broad reach with the winds reaching up to 25 knots. When we entered Okisollo channel wind died out and soon we had to motor. Saw some fish farms there. Arrived to Lower Rapids around slack and went through it no problems. More eddies. Went through Upper Rapids as close to the northern side as possible to stay away from Bentley Rock. After that we went to the Octopus Islands Marine Park and anchored there for the next two nights with a stern tie. Next day it was very rainy, but we managed to go on a hike to Small Inlet. Also tried to catch crabs in Waiatt Bay with no luck - only a small one that fell out of the cage as soon as we pulled it out. However, later we through a trap of the bow of the boat and in 3-4 hours we had three nice crabs for dinner. Not sure the type - red ones. Boiled in 1 part sea water and 2 parts fresh for 10-12 minutes, made garlic butter and it was delicious! In the evening I followed Alex's (another crew member) example and took a dinghy out paddling around the area and enjoying the views.