Our Salt Water Aquarium at Stryker Island

August 1st (Thursday)
Hard to believe it was three months ago today that we left Vancouver.
We headed out for an early morning paddle this morning. The tide cycle had come around again so that we were getting the very low tides. This is a time we really like to go out exploring by kayak and look into our saltwater aquarium. 

Sheya in the kayak at low tide.

Sheya in the same position at high tide.

Today was no disappointment! We saw so much cool stuff. In some of the sandy shallow areas there were hundreds of shrimp. This is something we had not seen before, so I imagine that maybe they were congregated to breed. If they were startled in the shallows they would jump along the surface of the water to get away.  Most of the time, however, they were quite unconcerned by our presence, and we could drift over in our kayaks and they would not bother moving. As a result, we got a good look at them, and we identified them as Coonstripe Shrimp. We were also seeing a lot of Giant Rock Scallops, which was super cool, because although we cannot eat them now because of the risk of red tide contamination (which we have actually seen evidence of recently), if we do spend the winter we will definitely be back for them. 

Rock Scallop well camouflaged in the seabed. 

We were also seeing a lot of Black Eyed Goby fish, which are super cute!  There were also lots and lots of snails, especially Brown Turban snails. It was funny because many of the ones that were out of the water, of which there were lots, would loosen their grip to the rock, and then, if they were on a steep area or overhang they would eventually fall. It was not uncommon to hear the clunk and splash of falling snails. It sounded like large pine cones falling off of trees, and it was quite amusing. 

There were also a lot of Kelp Crabs, but very, very few Rock Crabs, and no Dungeness.  It was lovely to get to see so much below the surface, and the further we got away from the anchorage, the better the visibility got. The water in our anchorage, as with the anchorage and the basin on Campbell Island had been a very, very dark red for the last week. Only just today with the very large tides has it flushed out, and by the evening our water was much cleaner. 

Red Sea Anemone, Purple Starfish, and the slit of a Rock Scallop.

When lunchtime came around a lovely beach spot presented itself. It was not sand, but small smooth rocks, almost pumas like. We explored the area on foot before the tide came in all the way, and then had our lunch of leftover seafood chowder. Delicious! 

We relaxed and enjoyed the beach and the day, as it was actually quite a nice day. There was a high overcast cloud cover, but heat from the sun was still getting through.
Back home we made fish and chips for dinner with battered prawns. We had one piece of Lingcod and one piece of Salmon, with our home made tartar sauce. It was yummy! 

As I write this ending to the day we are just enjoying a cup of hot chocolate in the cockpit as the sun is setting. It was a beautiful orange ball again tonight. We have also heard the distinct call of Sandhill Cranes in the distance.