Seymour Narrows, Ripple Rock May 7

Alarm 4:35 AM. Headed for dangerous Seymour Narrows and what used to be Ripple Rock before the Canadians blew it  up by one million pounds of TNT a couple years ago.  It's just a sea of frothy whirlpools in every direction and one wave meeting another boiling churning water in all directions. (Note 4) At 5:15 Doyal yelled for Grandpa and I to get up and out of bed as fast as we could.  The boat was out of control.  The boat was running  completely out of control.  It was impossible to shift to another gear and the engine could not be shut off.  Loyal scrambled down to the engine and worked around some relays and finally the engine died. We would have gone up on the bank of one side of the channel if we hadn't stopped. That would have ended it for all of us and the boat. This time was that the electricity had failed (the cable fell off the battery terminal Doyal ) and as the boat is electrically controlled nothing could shut the  engine off or steer it.  They temporarily repaired it with two spare batteries. 
It is so rough we had to put out the stove fire and not cook or keep warm. (in Queen Charlotte Sound)  Everything came out of the Cupboards.  You stand up holding onto anything steady with your feet three feel apart.  Most of the time. 
Note 4. We were off Vancouver Island.  It was dark and we could not see how close we were to the rocky shore. At Seymour Narrows you must go at ebb or flood tide.

Next May 8

Queen Charlotte Sound, Seasickness, Cooking in Seawater, Taking shelter behind ans Island, Steering problems

  Explanation 1.  Loyal had the attitude that it will be fixed right the second time.  That is the reason the battery cable just fell off the terminal. When he installed it he probably didn't have the right tool with him to tighten it up.  Same with lots of the problems that came up