We were underway by 0630 hrs. The wind and seas were so calm when we got up this morning that we decided we’d better use this weather window to head for St. John Harbour instead of Tankeeh River. St. John Harbour is on the open ocean, and the seas getting around Cape Swaine are usually big and right on the beam, making it very uncomfortable. So, we felt we had to go while the going was good. Oh, well. There’s always next year for Tankeeh.

We had such an easy rounding of Cape Swaine, we couldn’t believe our good fortune. As we got closer to St. John Harbour, we could see all the fishing lodge boats trolling back and forth for salmon.

Our friends Mel and Bernice Gill and Ed and Ann Jackson were tied up at their float just outside the lagoon. We anchored just across from them. Mel and Bernice came by the boat when Mel got in from fishing. It had been several years since we’d seen them, so it was great to catch up on what they’ve been up to. Apparently, the salmon haven’t come in yet. Mel said he didn’t even get a nibble today. This is unbelievable. When Al used to fish with Mel here, they got as many as 68 salmon in one day — catch and release, of course. Mel doesn’t even like salmon, but he sure loves catching them. We were saddened to learn that this will be Mel and Bernice’s last summer at St. John. They’ve decided it’s time to sell their boat and do something different. We will miss them.

We were invited to happy hour on the float at 0400 hrs, where we enjoyed a chat with P.J. and Ping, from the boat Secret Cove, which was tied up to Mel and Bernice’s float. P.J. and Ping live in Florida, but fly out to Seattle every year to go cruising up here on their boat, which they keep in Oak Harbour, Washington. They’re planning on cruising up as far as Lowe Inlet this summer, so our paths may cross along the way.

We noticed that there’s a fancy new fishing lodge anchored in St. John. The guests at this lodge pay $1,000 a day for lodging and the opportunity to fish for salmon from the lodge’s boats. These people must be pretty bummed, having spent the big bucks, and there aren’t any salmon.

When we got back to our boat we discussed whether we wanted to stay at St. John Harbour, since there were no salmon to be had. Al had wanted to get a salmon or two to smoke, But, since there aren’t any salmon, we decided to leave for Bottleneck Inlet in the morning, if it isn’t foggy, or too windy.