Friday was our busiest day to date. We left Zeballos promptly at 8am and headed for Friendly Cove, our first stop. The winds were light as we traveled through back channels and finally in Tahsis Inlet which led back to the open ocean. We encountered a sea lion sitting on a float at one of the many salmon farms that are found throughout these back inlets.
We were also treated to a raft of sea otters.
These inlets are covered with evidence of logging, and this is one of the more unusual locations of a very new one, probably less than a year old.
Friendly Cove is just inside the open sea, and it is the location of one of 27 manned lighthouses along the west coast of Vancouver Island.
It is also a native reserve which is the terminus of the Nootka Trail which crosses Nootka Sound Island, one of the largest on the coast. We tied up at the dock at the foot of a long walkway which also serves as the dock for the supply freighter that serves the region and also transports people as well.
The land is managed by a husband and wife of the Yuquot tribe which owns the land and manages it. Normally, there is a per person landing charge, but no one was around to greet us, so we explored the area without any contact with the team. The first stop was the Catholic church which was surprisingly unlocked and amazingly in great shape, especially the inside which featured several magnificent totems and carvings.
There were also two stained glass windows, one of which commemorated the Nootka Treaty between England (Captain Cook) and Spain.
From the church we walked along the shore as we passed the old cemetery.
The walk ended at a fresh water lake before we turned around to visit the lighthouse where visitors are welcome.
We were greeted by a couple who have manned the station for the last 15 years.
They have a reasonable setup with housing, but they are responsible for making weather reports every 3 hours, 42/7, so they split the duty 50/50-the husband during the afternoon and evening, and the wife throughout the night and morning hours. We spent quite a bit of time learning more about their jobs and living arrangements, and it was quite informative. They are flown in and out by helicopter (there is a very nice helipad) during their relief periods (about 4 weeks a year). They do have satellite TV and internet but at their personal expense. Groceries are flown in by helicopter and equipment and supplies are delivered by the Coast Guard boats. They told us about the local area, especially about the wolves and cougars, as well as all the changes in water life that have occurred over the 15 years, mostly due to overfishing.
We left the lighthouse and returned to the dock where we met three hikers who had just finished the Nootka Trail and were waiting for a float plane to pick them up. We planned to spend overnight at the dock, but the weather was just too tempting to keep going-decent wind and calm seas. We set sail as soon as we cleared the point and sailed for about one hour before the winds decided to take a break, so the remainder of the journey was by motor sailing and motor. We finally reached our destination around 8pm-Rae Basin at the head of Hesquiat Harbour.
Along the Harbour we were treated to several spouts of a whale a few hundred yards to our port (left). The cove was very quiet and well protected, as we were once again the only boat in the anchorage.
Saturday was another exciting day. We started with a trip to see Cougar Annie's Garden, a famous historical site on the Island. Annie had 4 husbands, all of whom died under unusual circumstances. She also managed to have 11 children. The cruising guide that we use showed the existence of a trail from Rae Basin, so we launched the dinghy and went ashore. We walked the entire beach looking for the trail but could not find it, so we set out through the dense forest in our attempt to reach the logging road that led to the garden. What looked like a short walk in the book turned out to be a 45 minute trek through dense brush and hills. We were truly bushwhackers! We finally reached the road and walked a few kilometers, looking for the other end of the trail but to no avail. We did reach the entry to the garden, but there was a warning sign "No Trespassing without a guide," and none was to be found.
There was a path across the road down to the beach where we found a surf style hut, but it too was vacant. We tried a different way back to the dinghy by going along the shoreline, but that, too, turned into more bushwhacking of about an hour.
I had chosen to wear shorts on this trek, and it was a big mistake-My lower legs were covered in scrapes when we finally arrived back at the dinghy. As expected, we left the dinghy onshore knowing that the tide was going out, so by the time that we returned after 3 hours, it was a long way from the water. Fortunately, I had mounted wheels on the transom when we bought the dinghy, and they sure came in handy getting the boat back to the water across a very rocky bottom that required that we create a path by moving some of the larger ones.
We were off to our next destination, Hot Springs Cove, and as soon as we were in open water, the winds filled to 20 knots, and we had a delightful downwind sail to the entrance to the cove. We found a good site to anchor, launched the dinghy and went ashore for the walk to the springs. The trail consists of a boardwalk of 12" planks, and people over the years have carved their boat names and other messages on them.
The park finally had to say "enough," and now you can bring a pre-carved message board to the park, and they will use it for repairs, The walk was 2km, and we were late enough in the afternoon that most of the crowds had already departed, so we had a delightful soak in this natural site.
I managed to get a bit of a hot shower, as well.
Upon returning to Lion's Paw, all of the hiking/walking and soaking made us very hungry, so it was dinner on short order. We then spent the night in the quiet anchorage.
After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, we set out for our next destination, Tofino. With the winds we had yesterday, we hoped for a repeat of a beautiful day of downwind sailing, but it was not to be. The day began in fog, and we started out as the fog was lifting. Unfortunately, the wind did not fill in until shortly before we entered the channel into Tofino, passing the lighthouse guarding its entrance.
We arrived, only to find no moorage available. We set anchor close to shore, lowered the dinghy and motored into the public dock. I have to say that Tofino ranks as the most disappointing stop on this journey so far. The town is several blocks of kayak, surf, ice cream, and other tourist related shops, and the streets were crowded with tourists. Its only redeeming features were the very nice Co-op grocery store and a few good restaurants. We managed to fill in some of the provisions that were getting low, and we had a pleasant dinner at Wolf in the Fog restaurant which featured a killer dessert of chocolate mousse, chunks of pure chocolate, and a scoop of raspberry sorbet. I also managed to take advantage of the laundromat directly across from the restaurant as we dined. The waters adjacent to the town were filled with speeding power boats, float planes taking off and landing, and quite a few kayakers, so it was not very conducive to a quiet night at anchor. We therefore decided to relocate to a more quiet location near Meares Island where we will take the dinghy ashore tomorrow for a hike through the Big Tree Trail, this being one of the last areas in Vancouver Island which has not been subjected to any logging activity.