Reflections by Kirk 07-16-2013

Even though I am writing this on July 16, you won’t be seeing it for a while. We are again out in the boonies and may not get WiFi again for a week or more.

We have moved on from the Broughton Islands to the north side of Queen Charlotte Strait and on into Queen Charlotte Sound. By normal standards our moves have not been very far, maybe 20 to 40 miles at a time. But we are now in an entirely different atmosphere. Not as many people live up here and that is a population decline from the Broughtons, where population is so thin that most people are forced to live off the grid. There are also not as many recreational boaters. It is awesomely beautiful, but in a different way than the areas through which we have already passed. The weather seems as though it is finally settling into a summer pattern. There are still days with strong winds, but not as strong and not as frequently. There have been several days when we sailed a beam reach in 15 knots for hours before the afternoon uptick to the low 20’s. Twenties are OK, just more work and not as relaxing.

I wonder how some of these places got their names; places like Poison Cove, Cape Caution, Bear Bay, Hurricane Inlet, Whirlpool Rapids, Safe Cove, Security Bay. We are now the only boat in Fly Inlet. I’ve got this one figured out – horseflies. Although we have helped many of these guys into the afterlife, we’ve also learned their survival as a species strategy. They only attack two at a time, at least here in Fly Inlet. While one flies around your head as a diversionary measure, his partner will move in for a vicious bite on the ankles or hands. By the time the pain from the bite on an ankle registers and you quickly move to slap the offender, he is already gone and the guy that was dive bombing your head moves in for the neck attack while you are distracted. We were quick to learn their strategy and have dispatched many of the attacking pairs. But as soon as we deal with one pair another pair enters the battlefield. It seems as though they are all lined up like planes trying to land at a major airport, only there must be millions of pairs patiently waiting for a chance at some down home human flesh. We have endured this onslaught for three days because we are in such a great place. Fly Inlet is one arm at the head of Takush Harbor. The outer harbor is quite large and it appears to be an uninhabited area. It has several small islands and more than one nice anchorage that we explored in the dingy. Fly Inlet on the inside is also quite large and definitely uninhabited. If this were in the San Juan Islands or Desolation Sound, there would be at least 50 boats in here with room for more. Yet we are the only boat here. We spent an entire afternoon exploring numerous shallow coves and inlets in the kayaks. The only disturbance was when a small commercial boat came in here to check his crab traps. Oh boy, this place is loaded with crabs. And the water is warm, 68 degrees, which is nearly scorching by northwest standards. Warm enough for Kris to take a saltwater bath off the back of the boat. There is also quite a large bird population that we have seen and even more that we can hear. Quite an amazing place.

We came here from the Murray Labyrinth. We easily figured out how this place got its name. Entering the labyrinth from the open water of Queen Charlotte Strait, we first had to carefully navigate through numerous small islands and underwater rocks. Thank you for electronic charting. We can be in the cockpit watching the iPad (for which we have an excellent charting program) and know when to go left or right or straight to avoid these boat-crunching obstacles. Once we got to the labyrinth itself, things got interesting. It is not very far into the anchoring area, but it is a circuitous route with very narrow passages. The islets are so close together that you really have to be right on top of the next channel before you can even see it. A wrong turn could leave you in a dead end with limited turnaround space. As Kris was driving and I was navigating, she said “This is insane;” and I guess it was, but the reward was excellent. The anchorage had room for maybe three boats, but we never saw another soul for two beautiful warm sunny afternoons. With all of the rocks, islets and channels, this was a very cool place to play in the kayaks; and, there were crabs to boot.

We only have a few weeks before it will be time to turn around and start going south; but, if the last few places where we have been are a good indicator, we will still find more beautiful and deserted places to drop the hook. By the way, it has now been one month since we left Shilshole Marina in Seattle and we have not connected to shore power or run the engine just to charge batteries even once. The solar panels and wind generator have topped the batteries off every day so far.

We still have those lingering thoughts about finding a way to spend another season up here.

Fair Winds and Following Seas