DON/Cloudy and cool (54 degees)
05/30/2012, Tahsis, BC

Dave and I got up in the dark at 4:30 am to bring in the crab pots so we would be ready if the weather was good enough to head out into the Pacific for our next leg. No love. Not a single crab. Sigh.

The wind was up a bit in the morning but the weather report indicated it would be stronger tomorrow so we decided to make a break to get around Estevan Point. Estevan was reporting only 14 knots of wind and that was good enough for us. Once out in the Pacific, though, things picked up quickly. The winds went up to a steady 30 knots and we had about 2 hours to run outside. Our anemometer alarm, set to 30 knots, went off continuously until we turned it off. The seas were about 10 feet or so and confused. We were getting rebound waves from the shore that made for very lumpy seas and both a southerly and westerly swell. We finally turned into Nootka Sound and put the seas on our stern, making for a smoother ride. We went by Friendly Cove, the site of a very famous treaty between Spain and England negotiated by Vancouver and Bodega y Quadra. The treaty permitted them both to map the Northwest together and prevent a potential war over the territory which had recently become important to them both. Sea otter pelts that could be bought cheaply from the First Nation people for very small pieces of iron and traded in China for huge profits. In the early 1800's Nootka Sound was as famous a place as San Francisco is today. Today....not so much. It is pretty much deserted, except for a First Nation family in Friendly Cove and a lighthouse keeper couple at the lighthouse to Nootka Sound.

We cruised down Nootka Sound and turned into Tahsis Inlet, a glacier valley flooded by the sea. We saw the typical U shaped glacial valley shape and a moraine at the end. The moraine was the site of the main village of the chief of the area. It lay right next to a salmon river, Tahsis River. Tahsis, the modern village created around a now deserted logging mill, was nearly deserted. We planned to stop at a marina there, used by sport salmon fisherman.

On the way, we spotted a perfect place to drop our shrimp pots, so Dave and I organized the gear and dropped it while Debbie held the boat in position. Then, we went to set our crab pots near the river mouth.

Coming in the marina I just had to do my reverse fisherman's move, backing the boat to her slip from the upper deck, facing the stern. Amazingly, an international crew of five dockhands greeted us and took our lines. It was early in the season and they were in training. They came from Ghanna, Spain, England, and Canada. Goodness. Who'd a thunk it - that an international crew of dockhands would be at such a remote place?

Going up to the main marina dock we discovered an exceptional facility in the middle of nowhere. There was the best stocked fishing and engine store we had seen along the coast, a nice restaurant, wifi, a great salmon cleaning station, and an outdoor deck for eating and listening to live entertainment. They even had a man made tide pool on the deck, with circulating sea water, holding a ling cod, several rock fish, sea anemone, oysters, and other sea life. That, evening we had dinner in their outdoor restaurant and enjoyed a blues guitarist playing great blues. Who'd a thunk it?

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Don/ Clearing
05/29/2012, The dock at Hot Springs Cove

The dock at Hot Springs.

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05/28/2012

These are diving birds that feed on herring and other bait fish. When they locate herring, they dive to keep them in a ball and then feed on them. When breeding, the males have horns on their beaks. It is how they get their name. You can see them in this photo.

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05/28/2012

These seal lions winter from Puget Sound, south, and then come north to raise their pups on the salmon that come in the summer.

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05/28/2012

The haul out.

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Don /45 degrees brrr
05/28/2012, Tofino, BC

We left Joe's Cove under foggy skies and a bit of wind. We were concerned about the wind for the open ocean run up to Tofino, about 5 hours away. As it turned out the winds were light, running about 5-10 knots with 6 foot swells. It was an easy run.

As we left Barkely Sound under Debbie's expert helm, we went by the islands outside Ucluelet and spotted a colony of Stellar Sea Lions, getting ready for the salmon migration, their summer dinner. It was a pretty large colony. I took photos in a very bouncy sea.

The run to Tofino was uneventful except for the crab pots that always seem to be located for the last 5-10 miles before the entrance to the harbour. We had to dodge and weave a bit.

We tied up at the 4th street dock and rafted next to a sailboat. I used my fisherman's move to back in, handling the controls while facing backwards from the upper helm. All went well and we tied up and then went into town to pick up some lunch. Prices were somewhat steep here but we had a nourishing meal. Then Dave went off to pick up more fish gear for the manly men and Debbie went shopping for veggies. I went back to try to get our laundry done but there was a long line up and only a single washer and dryer. I worked online while I waited, finally finishing about 7 pm. In between we went over to Deception to celebrate Dryke's birthday.

When I got back to the boat, carrying my trophy of clean clothes, I downed several beers as a reward. Then, of course, Debbie suggested that we finish off the ice cream. How could I resist? Dave added m&m peanuts on top and we were set!

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05/27/2012

Getting ready to go out fishing in Rubber Ducky.

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Don//foggy
05/27/2012, Joe's Cove

We planned a short trip today, to the Broken Island Group in Barkley Sound with departure about 11 am. That allowed Martine, Debbie, and Dave to go for a nature walk over to a cove with salt-water tide pools. I stayed on the boat to catch up with the blog and some online work that needed attention. There will be wifi at only one other place, in Tofino, during the next week or so.

We departed at 11 and I nearly screwed up big time with our departure. I failed to check the position of the rudders and steering wheel. When we docked, I had to put them hard over to starboard and I failed to center them when done or to check their position on departure. As a result, steering was affected and I did not realize the situation as we departed very tight quarters. I almost took off the swim platform of the boat ahead of us. Oh my! So stupid. The lesson teaches me that problems are most likely to occur when I am confident. Ever alert from now on!!!

We cruised over to Joe's Cove, a new place for us, near Turtle Island. The islands once held about 10,000 First Nation people. Captain Barkley, an early British Explorer named the place, when he was the first European to arrive to trade for sea otters furs which were worth their weight in gold in China at the time. There are a number of white beaches, clam and oyster shell middens from a village that had been there once.

We navigated through a twisty-turny stretch around a number of rocks and anchored in a quiet section of the small, protected bay. The anchor chain got jumbled up in the bouncy and rolly portion in the Straight of Juan de Fuca so it jammed going out. This happens when the top of the chain pile slides to one side and then more chain piles on top. I went down to the chain locker to sort things out by hand and then anchoring went fine.

Dave and I dropped the dinghy down and tested the battery on a short ride in and out of the bay. Then we checked the battery level with the volt meter and all was good. We started at 12.45 volts and returned with a reading of 12.7. The alternator on our engine was charging the battery just fine. Good to go!

Fishing it is! Dave and I rigged up three rods and set out to catch some rock fish to we would have fish heads for crab bait. We cruised out to some rocks with sea gulls, figuring that they knew where the fish were. Sure enough, we picked up two kelp bass and a black fish. We returned back and stopped by a sailboat anchored in another part of the bay. It looked like similar lines to my dad's 40 foot Panda/Baba/Tashiba designed by Bruce. We had a short chat and sure enough it was. It has classic, beautiful lines. We all loved that boat.

We got back to the boat in a light drizzle and cleaned the fish. Rock fish like these are very tasty so we froze the fillets and the heads, to use when we arrive in crab country. Then we raised Rubber Ducky and tied it down on deck. It took a while. That happens the first time each season, until we get our systems down.

Debbie fixed a wonderful meal of chili and corn bread muffins, using a secret new trick to get them out easily from the pan. We also had the last of our lettuce in a salad. It sure hit the spot!

For desert, I made Jiffy Pop popcorn. I was attempting to set a new world's record for the fewest kernels that did not pop (1 point for each) with the least number of burnt pieces of popcorn (2 points for each). The record was set two years ago when the women (Katie and Sarah) beat the men (Don and John). Sarah had 32 kernels and no burnt pieces for 32 points. I came close. I had 34 kernels for 34 points. Darn! That Dave! He found a few kernels in the pop corn we were eating that I had not found. Sigh!

We all turned in tired, full, and happy.

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don
05/26/2012

I know. How cute! ;-)

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Don/cool
05/26/2012, Bamfield

Edible seaweed spotted on the nature walk near the tide pools.

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