Port McNeill to Allison Harbour

6 hours  38.5 miles
We had every intention of hitting the road (water) early.  Due to some bad luck and planning on our part it didn’t quite work out as planned.  Common wisdom says that when one is crossing a large body of water, the conditions will be more favorable in the early morning.  Well, we didn’t pay our moorage yesterday so we have to do it this AM.  I went to the dock office at 7:30 while Fred went to get us some lattes for the road.  This also allowed Merlin some sniffing and peeing time ashore.  Soooo, there is a sign on the dock office door saying they won’t be in until 10 AM today.  I went to meet Fred at the coffee shop and it is closed tight (even though the sign says they should have been open 30 minutes ago).  I headed back to the boat and waited for Fred.  Bless his heart (and latte addiction) he went up to a restaurant in the mall (about 3 more blocks) to get us our coffee.  We left the dock about 8:00 AM to head over to the fuel dock.  I’m not just saying this; Fred did a spectacular job of getting us off the dock.  We were wedged in in such a way that our escape would not have been possible with any wind at all.    Fortunately we didn’t have to wait in line at the fuel dock.  We took 227 gallons (we think it cost about $2.93 US / gal).  While we were there I called the marina office and said we had to leave before they were open. No problem, ‘have VISA will travel’.  We finally left Port McNeill about 9:00 AM.  It is raining softly, there is no wind and the water is smooth as silk.  We were going to stop in Blunden Harbour, but while Merlin and I were having a beauty nap, the skipper made a management decision and we went an additional 15 miles to Allison Harbour.  The harbour is about one mile long and much protected from Queen Charlotte Straight.  This will give us a head start when we go around Cape Caution tomorrow morning.