Now this was something to come across!
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
Comments [0]
Lunch stop.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
We've slowed down our pace a little so we could explore this area. We've been rushing rushing rushing to get someplace and decided to enjoy where we were. What a concept! So the past few days we've been sampling some of the anchorages on the West Coast of Princess Royal Island.
This is almost open ocean, with only a few low-profile islands between here and China. The trees are stunted and stick out at wild angles. The rocks jut straight up in the air and dare you to try to navigate between them. And every once in a while there is a little cove or an inlet where you can tuck in and feel safe. Sort of. The wind has ways.
Yesterday we had a lunch stop in Fifer Inlet, up Laredo Inlet, off Laredo Channel, not far from Laredo Sound -- (do you sense the theme emerging here?) It was a beautiful day and it is a truly charming place with a handful of small islets guarding the entrance, a shoreline with enticing ins and outs and a sparkling creek at the head of the bay. And just as we were setting the anchor, I saw a deer crossing the creek. It stopped and looked and then kept on going, not a care in the world. And then, we noticed a grizzly on shore, schlepping his way toward the creek, pulling at grasses and nosing around in the dirt for delicacies. We stopped for an hour watching the grizz -- a youthful 400-500 pounds, I would say, cinnamon coloured, with dark feet and ears: what a treat! Our first bear sighting this year.
Today we stumbled upon an old longhouse in a beautiful forest, mossy and green. The huge posts and beams were leaning against each other, some had trees growing out of them, and it was evocative as hell.
And to top it all off a small group of Dall's Porpoises came barrelling down the channel at us, did a 180 when they got to the boat, and played in our bow wake for 10 minutes or so, splashing their way back the way they'd just come.
Then, just to make sure we were paying attention, god had us ride right over a rock on our way into this very protected, but rock-strewn little anchorage (photo). Not to worry, we had at least two inches under the keel. (Yikes!) I'm not sure the depth sounder is ever going to recover. It made her very nervous. Once we got settled, we dinghied back to the entrance and marked where the rocks were, just to make sure we get out in one piece in the morning.
Wild, I tell you, wild.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
Oh those ravens!
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
We had a long (nine-hour) travel day yesterday, heading north. We left Rescue Bay on Mathieson Channel at about 0930 (after pulling up the prawn traps with some nice juicy prawns inside). At the anchorage in Rescue Bay we met Bill, a kayaker from Iowa, who was paddling to Skagway from Olympia, Washington! He picked a good summer for it -- at least so far the weather has been very kayaker friendly.
After about three hours we stopped at Klemtu, a Kitasoo First Nations village, where we topped up our fuel and searched for fresh vegetables in the band store. I did manage to find a cabbage and some broccoli, but the best time is just after the ferry has come in with the weekly order. Some of the shelves were pretty bare yesterday.
I had a very interesting conversation with a man on the dock about fish farming. The Kitasoo have signed an agreement with one of the fish-farming companies and have six fish farms that they run together, employing altogether around 60 people on the farms, in the processing plant, and on the supply boat, although not all of them are from Klemtu. He works on one of the farms and insisted that the radical environmentalists have it all wrong. Nice man. Opposing points of view.
On the water, we saw very few boats all day. After leaving Klemtu we headed through Meyers Passage, which can be a bit tricky since the low water is about 9 feet in the shallowest part, but we passed through with no problems. Our call on the VHF for opposing traffic was met with silence: no other vessels were seen. The sun was shining, the water was dancing, and it was quite lovely. On the other side, the landscape is low to the water, the trees are weathered, and you can tell it can get wild out there. Since it was getting late in the afternoon, we began looking for anchorages, pushing on another hour or so before we found one that looked quite lovely.
It was at the top of the uncharted waters of Thistle Channel, which we poked through very carefully, me standing at the bow looking for rocks. The anchorage was a series of scenic islets that together offered protection according to the cruising guide. It really was beautiful, and there was NO ONE around, except the eagles, who swooped down over us like we were dinner. So we poked along some more, finding a path through the islets, avoiding whatever dangers were there, but to our great disappointment couldn't find the promised 45 feet of depth to anchor in and so decided to head back out and up Laredo Channel to Alston Cove, which we knew was a good anchorage.
Another hour up the channel with the wind picking up but the sky still a brilliant blue against Cone Mountain with it's smooth rock faces and snowy patches, still no other boats, looking forward to a snuggle into Alston Cove to revel in the solitude that this part of the coast offers. We round the corner into the cove and find two other boats already there. God's little joke.
We were here three or four years ago and at that time it was grey and drizzly and my back went out so we were invalid-bound with me flat on my back in great pain for five days: not too pleasant. Nice to be back when the sun is shining. There are fish weirs at the head of the cove and we're hoping for some bear sightings. Lots to explore.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
We are finally in the Central Coast! We feel like we've rushed a bit to get up here, moving through the weather windows as they presented themsevles, and now can slow down a little and enjoy. We have a vague notion of heading to Haida Gwaii, but we are not holding ourselves to anything.
We travelled around the dreaded Cape Caution two days ago, in the company of Cam and Marianne on Mayknot. There were some big swells, but overall it was a pretty nice day and we arrived in Fury Cove on Penrose Island, just north of Rivers Inlet, around noon. There was only one other boat in the anchorage and the white clamshell beaches were sparkling in the sun--it seemed just about perfect. When we woke up from our naps, we were surrounded by powerboats who had slid in undetected--a bit of a surprise, but they were all well enough behaved, so it was fine.
The next day Ron and I carried on up Fitzhugh Sound where we saw a humpback female and youngster feeding off Kwakshua Channel. For a long time now we've wanted to stop at the Koeye River but whenever we've been driving past the conditions haven't been right. It's right across Fitzhugh from Hakai Pass and if the wind is blowing, temporary anchorage is difficult. But on that day, the wind wasn't too bad and the tide was high, so we dropped the hook in a semi-sheltered cove and dinghied up the river a couple of miles. It was very beautiful, with lots of grassy flatlands where you just know grizzlies and wolves and minks and otters and all kinds of things were lurking in the tall grasses, but all remained invisible to us. That little trip has been on my list for a few years now, so it was gratifying to finally see it. But it's not exactly off the list either -- we'd like to come back in the fall during the salmon run and actually get to see the grizzlies and the wolves and the assorted friends...
We spent that night at our old friend Codville Lagoon, hoping to see baby seals and moms lolling on the rocks. Only saw one baby seal and one mom, but that one baby was awfully tiny, so we think maybe we are a bit early for the nursery scene. We did watch a peregrine falcon in a tree though, as it quite impressively found and ate a meal of fish not far off our stern in the anchorage.
Yesterday we met up with Cam and Marianne again at Shearwater, the cruisers' hub in the Central Coast -- groceries, gas, showers, laundry, pub -- a busy place.
Picture: For years, eagles were a common sight on an old dead tree in front of the resort. Now the tree has gone and the eagles have found a more modern, if temporary, roost.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
We haven't seen a lot of wildlife so far on the trip, but we have been blessed by several schools of porpoises and dolphins who seem to enjoy playing in the bow wake. They seem to be having a really good time. As are we, watching them. Nothing compares with the joy of watching these guys dive and roll and weave over and other each other. I always feel like we've been chosen somehow and they always leave me with a smile on my face.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
Our journey up Johnstone Strait was a bit hairy, with 25-30 knots blasting away at our nose and 1-2 metre waves to contend with at times. We started off heading for Forward Harbour, but decided mid-journey to carry on up the Strait since it was all going so well (!). Karina decided to call it a day at Port Neville, but we mushed on, encouraged by another vessel we had met in Shoal Bay, Alice and Jim on mv Phoenix. We ended up at Lagoon Cove in the Broughtons that night, visited with old friends Bob and Pat on Tonga, who are helping Bill out at the marina these days, and then left the next day.
The Broughton Archipelago is a beautiful area and it felt familiar and comfortable to be there. When the weather is fine, which it was, it is a truly magnificent place, sadly distorted by fish farms that have ruined the wild salmon runs, turned away the resident orcas, and generally wreaked havoc with the ecology of the area. It's disappointing to turn a corner and see one of these facilities spread across a once-charming little bay or cove, knowing what is going on underneath the water is so harmful to the ecology and the local economy, so that a handful of multinationals can wring profits from the devastation. Oh, don't get me started.
We spent one night in Waddington Bay, a well-protected anchorage, and headed the next day for Skull Cove, where we met up with Cam and Marianne on sv May Knot, another BCA boat. We had been talking to them on the ham and VHF radios for a few days, so it was great to finally see them in the flesh.
The photo is of Arrow Passage, at the north end of the Broughtons. We left Waddington early in the morning to avoid the strong winds that were forecast to rise up later in the day and would be right on our nose--not too comfortable. We were rewarded by a large pod of Pacific White Sided Dolphins swimming past us about 100 metres off our starboard beam. A nice touch.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
This a view of the dock with Phillips Arm in the background.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
Since gale force winds were blowing in Johnstone Strait -- what else is new? -- we stayed at Shoal Bay for three nights. By the third night, several other boats had shown up and we had a potluck on the deck of Mark's house--he's the owner of the old townsite of Shoal Bay and manages the government dock, so is well known to cruisers. Our crabbing and prawning didn't yield as much as we hoped, but Mark had a bunch of crab that he donated to the cause and we had quite a feast!
Picture: Mark (l) and Jay (Karina C)entertaining the troops.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
Today was the BEST of days. We left Comox yesterday, motoring across the bar, and in fact across the Strait -- typical sailing luck for us, since it's been 25 knots out there most of the time we were tied up at the dock in Comox, but nary a whisper when we set out -- ending up in Squirrel Cove on Quadra Island, a favourite anchorage, that we enjoy every time we drop a hook there.
There were only a handful of boats, including a BCA vessel, SV Karina C, Jay and Anita, who turn out to be ham operators as well. It was a lovely peaceful evening, with eagles and Canada Geese families and mergansers.
This morning Meredith SWEARS she saw a small wolf pack on the shore (altho, if pressed, she MIGHT admit they were dogs, but HIGHLY unlikely). We left the anchorage around 9:45 headed for the dreaded Yuculta-Gillard-Dent Rapids trio along with Karina C.
And then the fun began! On the way north up Lewis Channel we encountered a pod of Dalls Porpoises who blessedly played in our bow wake for about 10 minutes. The water was clear and they were determined and it was a wonderful show of diving and leaping and splashing. We saw several more pods during the trip up, but from a distance, and all duly noted in my BC Cetacean Sightings logbook.
We made the rapids in good time, passing through at slack, with no trouble. I've never seen so many seals as there were gathered in the Yuculta section. Lots in the water in groups of two and three, and it looked as though some of them were little ones. And lots more on the rocks around Sonora Lodge, just laying about looking approriately fat. Once through Dent and on our way north toward the junction with Nodales Channel, we saw a young Humpback Whale spouting, and then fluking, heading south. We've never seen one in these parts, so it was quite exciting. More dolphin sightings followed around Hall Point.
Fantastic day of wildlife viewing.
We have tied up at the dock at Shoal Bay, the only boats here. We've set the prawn and the crab traps, and we're hoping for a little fresh seafood for dinner. Jay and Anita have promised steak if the crabs don't cooperate, and, cooperation or not, a concert after dinner (they're both musicians). Life is good.
The new motto is "Savour the freedom." We're doing our best.
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
Oh dear. We came for a couple of days, but that was years ago ... at least it seems like years ago. The Comox Valley is really a beautiful spot, and the weather has been fantastic, and we have been talking about checking it out because someday, some time, we just MIGHT want to invest in some property here ... So we've spent the last few days looking around and yesterday actually put an offer in on a sweet little place, right on the water, but just heard that our offer wasn't accepted, which is both a relief and a disappointment. We have met some very friendly people here, and it is absolutely lovely here, but dream property IS expensive.
So tomorrow, just when the weather is about to get nasty, we will Try to Get off the Dock. Sounds like a good title for the memoirs...
(I mean, really, how could you resist this view?)
| 2009: BC Coast |
|
