Our 18 mile crossing to Unga went smoothly. The NW wind was lighter than forecast but gave us a gentle nudge, especially with the sails up. We passed two tiny islands to break it up.
Yesterday when we were figuring out where best to meet the Tiglax, we had considered camping on Jude island which the pilot described as “150feet high, rounded and grassy on top, rocky coast”. It was quite calm so we thought we might be able to land on the sheltered side. When we mentioned this idea to Captain Billy Pepper, he was quick to discourage us saying it’s full of sea lions. Today we discovered he was spot on. Landing on the rocks would have been tricky enough but there wasn’t a square metre without a snorting, stinky, blubbery mammal guarding the lovely looking flat grass. We’d have been very disappointed to arrive and discover we had to paddle on another 9 miles to Unga.

Our destination on Unga was a petrified forest that a few people have told us about. We needed water so landed by a river – in fact we waded up the river at low tide and are camped on the bank. In amongst the rocks we discovered small chunks of black and silvery tree that had been turned to stone. The grain of the wood and even knots are preserved. It looks just like a tree, except it’s a lot heavier. I would have probably explored further but I’m bunged up with cold and am feeling a bit low on energy this evening. I’ve been lying down for the last 3 hours trying to sleep while Sarah had done all the jobs, including walk 20 minutes for water as it’s brackish for quite some distance – Thanks Sarah! I’ve already told her I’m going to pretend to be ill tomorrow even if I’m better.

We won’t be having a relaxing nights sleep just yet though as the sea is creeping up the river at an alarming rate. What we thought was the last high tide line is already covered at 3 and a half hours before high water at just before 2am. If we’re unlucky we might have to pick the tent and contents up in the dark and move into the uneven spiky grass.

Tomorrow we hope to reach Sand Point and take a few days off to rest, relax and do a few jobs. From there it’s just over 400 miles to Homer as the crow flies – a bit more as the paddler paddles.