Broughtons Summer Cruise - Day 24 Gorge Harbour

We got to sleep in an extra 1/2 hour and only had to get up at 6:15 this time! We left Blind Channel and headed for Gorge Harbour. We had the same three sets of rapids to get through that we did on our way up. All went well and only had mile currents since we hit the first set 1/2 hour before slack and then the next two right at slack.  The scenery was beautiful and we can see it changing as we move south. The hills are lower and there are more rocky beaches along the shoreline (instead of rock walls). One of these pictures shows a cleft in the rocks that I thought was interesting.

The following picture shows all the signs that tugboat captains have attached to the trees showing their boat names as they wait for the slack tide. I took a picture on my way north but that was one of the photos that was lost when my camera disk became corrupted. Some of these signs are so high they had to have used tall ladders or climbed the trees to attach them.

I love being up on the fly bridge IF it is nice and sunny and NO wind! Today we had that so we both enjoyed some time up on top.

As we were cruising along our friends noticed a whale tour boat and three orcas swimming around. We got some great photos of them.

This photo was taken as we entered Gorge Harbour.

After we entered the harbour, this cruised past us. It was strange enough that Bob had to have a picture of it. It is a 24' plywood skiff that someone built a cabin on top of. It has a rounded cabin with porthole windows. They lashed a couple of amas (pontoons) to the sides to stabilize it. The really weird part of it is that at the rear between two tall rudders you can see an airplane engine and propeller mounted air boat style! It also has an old military anchor hanging from the bow. You never know what you are going to see up here!

We were here once before but I couldn't remember exactly what it was like. We believe they have made some upgrades since we were here last but even then it was a beautiful place. It has a definite resort feel and includes a campground as well as the marina. They have a great restaurant where we ate lunch and also a spa, swimming pool, grocery store, playground and sports field, as well as many areas for visiting with others.

We had planned to eat lunch on the boat but as soon as someone said they were going to the restaurant we were all in! We had a great lunch and the view is spectacular!

I got some nice shots of all of our boats. In the first picture Synnova is in front of New Era. The second picture shows Eight Bells in front and then Sunshine.

While we were gathered on the dock for an appetizer dinner we were watching the family on the boat across from us. The teenager daughter was fishing off the side of their boat and caught a huge dog fish (mud shark). They were very excited and after the dad got the hook out they set it free.

This evening the marina provided entertainment and it was a group of four young ladies. They did a fine job and had a pretty good attendance. Many people just listened from their boats as they watched the sun go down.