Mound Island and Telegraph Cove

After a bit of SE wind, everything calmed down by around midnight.  We pulled up the anchor around 09:30 and in a fit of optimism, I pulled up the mizzen.  The forecast was for 15-20 knot SE, perfect for us to start heading NW again.  We turned west and the wind died.  Oh well, at least it wasn't raining.  We motored through Blackfish Sound and then between Stubbs Is. and the Plumper Islands on route to Telegraph Cove.  At the end of the Plumper Islands, there was a family of sea lions.  There was another boat that went up to get a closer look and they put up quite an impressive aggressive display.  We came into Telegraph Cove around 12:30 and ended up right behind the Dockside 29 Motel complex.  Telegraph is not really set up for larger sailboats (at 36 ft, we were by far the largest boat in here).  Both the resort marina and Telegraph Cove marina are geared towards sport fishing boats.  Still, everyone was very welcoming and we had a great wander around the cove.  There is a whale museum here that has a skeleton of a Fin whale that was hit by a cruise ship in 1999 and dragged all the way to Vancouver.  We they arrived, unfortunately the whale was dead.  It was left on the sea floor for a year in order for the local marine organisms to eat any of the remaining flesh and the plan was to raise the skeleton intact.  After about a year they did raise it and despite some missing bones collected by locals at low tide, it is mostly intact.  It was towed up here at great expense by local whale watching operator as a gift to her husband.  It was pretty impressive.  Today (Sunday) we are heading back to Port McNeil as the folks are going home tomorrow.  The plan is to try for some halibut on the way back (the real plan is to go to the pub for dinner tonight in McNeil).  The halibut plan sort of worked, I caught one.  It was only about 25 cm lng so I threw it back.  ON to McNeil and off to pub…………..