In past years we have made regular stops in Port McNeill, B.C. It is the gateway town to the Broughtons and points north. There is all the necessary services and supplies. This year we decided to make a port call in Sointula, just three miles across Broughton Strait from Port McNeill. We crossed Blackfish Sound early on Wednesday morning. The seas were flat and there was no wind for the 6 mile crossing. There was no boat or ship traffic but there was cetacean activity: we observed a humpback whale swimming across the sound. We got into the harbor just as the predicted southeast wind was beginning to pick up. After an hour or so M/V Snoop tied up along side L-dock.

It is a 2 km walk (a mile or so) into town from the Sointula Harbour Authority wharf in Rough Bay. This is the only downside to visiting here; but temporary we hear. They are planning to re-build the ferry slip in town and it will include a concrete float for temporary tie-ups. They recently removed the old dinghy float in order to do the necessary dredging for the new landings.

We were tied up in Rough Bay for three days and walked into town every day. The weather has been pleasant during the day and stormy at night so we had easy going for our explorations on foot. We toured the local museum, had lunch at the Upper Crust Bakery, shopped at the co-op store, had ice cream cones at Deb's Deli, visited the old cemetery, and found some geocaches around town. The museum was very interesting and we learned a lot about local history and how the settlement was founded. It is an "interactive" museum and most of the items on display can be handled by visitors. The local name for the museum is "Grandma's Attic". Almost all of the items on display were donated by local families, descendents of original settlers. We were lucky enough to be at the museum on the day that the blacksmith shop was open. We had a demonstration of the forge and the blacksmith made us a small iron hat hook as part of that demonstration.

For more information about this predominantly Finnish community that was founded as a communal living experiment in the early twentieth century, follow this link: Sointula.