Mother Goose Leg 3, Day 5 – Coronation Island Lay Day

Everyone enjoyed a relaxed and leisurely morning on our lay day in Egg Harbor. Everyone, that is, but the fishermen. Pat and his little boat full of anglers left at around 8 am, eager to get out there and catch the monsters of the deep. The rest of the fleet arose a little later and went their separate ways, some people exploring in their dinghies, others reading, cooking, or just generally lounging around the boats. The fisherpeople returned at around 11 am, having caught a great haul of lingcod and rockfish. Brian and Pat promptly filleted the fish and distributed the meat. Before long, Pat was off with his next load of people. He was kind enough to act as a sort of volunteer fishing charter service for the day, taking those members of the fleet with fishing licenses out to drop a line in the water.

In the early afternoon, a small group went ashore for a forest walk guided by our naturalist Casey. After landing on the beach, we found a nice spot to enter the forest and promptly stepped into another world. In this temperate rainforest everything was covered by at least 3 inches of dense moss. Small plants grew up through the moss carpet, including some beautiful wild orchids which sent up spikes of beautiful, tiny purple flowers. As we meandered through the trees the setting was so still and peaceful that someone remarked it felt like being in a cathedral. High above us, the dense canopy of evergreens spread out, letting in only dappled sunlight. The thick branches were covered in lichens, mosses, and ferns, making them look thicker still. In a small clearing, we found the skeleton of a deer. This animal must have been one of many deer on the island, because lots of game trails and deer tracks littered the forest floor. After exploring the forest, we returned to the beach and had a look around before piling into the dinghies and returning to the boats.

Everyone got a chance to go out fishing with Pat, and they certainly chose the right person to go fishing with. Pat knew just the spot to put a line in the water, and everyone got to pull in plenty of fish. Jack caught the prize fish of the day, a 4 foot lingcod which swallowed the fish he was reeling in whole and got caught instead.

While the last group was out fishing, Casey went ashore and went on a hike through the forest. After scrambling through the dense forest for about an hour, he emerged on the rocky slopes of Pin Peak, the tallest mountain on Coronation Island. The weather had cleared and the sun was shining as he reached the craggy summit. From the top of the mountain, the boats were like little white toys. Even the soaring eagles were far below the peak. From below, the fleet could clearly see him standing atop the peak.

When we all had returned from our respective adventures, everyone settled in for a nice meal and a quiet evening. Tomorrow we would be leaving this little piece of paradise in the Pacific Ocean and cruising north to Baranof Island. For now, however, we sat at anchor in our little bay, contented.