We are luxuriating in the calm waters of Bottleneck Inlet this morning. The sun is shining and there’s just a gentle breeze blowing. This is what cruising is supposed to be, not storm force winds and Victory at Sea.

After all the trauma yesterday, I slept in. Low tide wasn’t until 1030 hrs, so I could afford to eat breakfast before going for my paddle. I headed for the end of the inlet first, where the creek comes in, hoping to spot a bear. There weren’t any bears, but in the shallows, I did spot this Dungeness crab feeding on a salmon head.

As I was heading out toward the entrance, I spotted this solitary loon.

He was obviously a very friendly loon. He waved at me.

On my way back to the boat, Al was on his way out to go salmon fishing. There were lots of salmon jumping, but that doesn’t always mean you can catch them. Instead, Al got lots of bites and caught two, but they slipped off the barbless hook before he could land them. He went out again after dinner for a couple of hours, but never even got a bite. Oh, well.