Who's navigating?
13 July 2019 | Pruth Bay
Diane Meador
Leave Millbrook Cove 8:15a
Arrive Pruth Bay 2:05p
51 38.8:-128 5.51
The other little sailboat picked up fairly early this morning, while we were still gearing up for a beach walk (coffee, rain gear, oars, the otter box with a patch kit and spares for the inflatable and motor, air pump, bilge pump, shore bag with the kind of stuff you need if you get stuck on shore). That sounds like a lot, but we can pull it together half asleep with boisterous encouragement from the dog. This morning, she was delighted to find clam shalls, tossing them into the air and chasing after them. She fell out of the inflatable as we were shoving off. Neka doesn't do anything half-assed.
So, lots of bucketsful to wash all the mud off, well, everything. Good morning!
As we rounded the corner around Brown Island through Irving Passage, we discovered two humpbacks breaching and fin slapping. I liked their attitude. Big bad Queen Charlotte Sound is rolling gentle, well-spaced swells beneath the hull. The fog banks are stacked way out on the horizon, the dog towel is drying on the back deck, and the coffee cup is topped up. Life is good.
Sea otters today! Once we entered Fitz Hugh Sound, we were in the commercial traffic again. But today, it was a BC ferry, an Alaskan ferry, an Alaskan Marine Lines tug and barge, and a cruise ship. It's beginning to feel more... north. We were in the traffic just for a short while, running up the inside coast of Calvert Island. Our objective after this: visit outer coast islands and stay the hell away from the big boats. The cross wake from two passing ferries wreaked havoc. Let's just say I'm glad our new monitor is still working.
We hung a left into Kwakshua, a six mile channel dividing Hecate Island to the north from Calvert Island to the south. We were heading to Pruth Bay on the recommendation of one of the cruisers we spoke with in Port McNeill. With the help of binoculars, we could see five boats anchored on the shelf in front of the Hakai Institute's (private) dock. The Institute conducts research and holds conferences, working with Canadian universities and funding graduate and postdoctoral student research. Their focus is on the archaeology and cultural history in the area.
We are the lone boat in Keith Anchorage off Calvert, a couple miles from the dock. It was a good call, even though it was a 30 minute inflatable ride to the institute's public dinghy dock. On the way in the Anchorage, we saw what we both thought was a kayak at first. It turned out to be a rock with a family of seals sunning themselves and belching and tooting. A couple little guys were in the water, trying to jet propel themselves up the rock.
By the time we made it over to the dock, several other boats had come in, filling the anchorage by the institute, and over flowing into another anchorage just around the corner from them. We followed a well-used path through the woods for another 20 minutes or so until we popped out on the ocean side of the island onto a beautiful, large, white sand crescent beach, the sand and water twinkling in bright, warm sunshine. It was gorgeous. I looked at Harry, and said, "how did we end up in Tahiti?" He replied, "I thought *you* were navigating."
We freed Neka from her leash, and she ran, rolled in the sand, tossed sticks, and jumped through the surf, tongue lolling, and delirious with unbridled joy. A lesson from the dog: immerse oneself in the moment.