Sirius Sailin'

We arrived in Port Hardy on Thursday with a veterinary appointment awaiting Casey that afternoon. Before leaving home, Fraser made a list of veterinary offices in the major ports along our way just in case we might have need of a consultation. It came in handy to know that there was a veterinarian in Port Hardy and to have the number to call. We were able to get a cab, a van, for all five of us and were soon at the clinic. Dr. Michael Paul, a personable young guy, definitely recommended surgery as the best treatment for Casey's ear hematoma as the drain method has not proven itself to have lasting results. We appreciated that he consulted with one our home vets and a good friend, Dr. Scott Knox at Animal Medical Hospital. So, on Friday morning Casey went to the clinic for his surgery. He was very brave. We left Jake and Kaela at home on the boat. They appeared to be relieved at not being invited to go for the ride to the clinic, as if they knew what their friend was about to experience. Casey came home mid-afternoon after a successful procedure much to everyone's relief. The vet who performed the surgery, Dr. Andy Rathwell, was highly skilled and also very kind. He thoroughly explained the procedure and post-op care, and answered all of our questions, so that we felt Casey was in good hands.

Casey is now wearing an Elizabethan collar to protect his ear. The plastic cone is awkward, requiring Casey to navigate differently on the boat. He is amazing in his ability to move through the cabin and pilothouse in a relatively coordinated manner, and to get on and off the boat. We cleanse his incision and stitches twice daily. Fortunately, he's a good patient. He's supposed to wear the collar for three weeks at which time we can remove the stitches. There is no dressing on the wound, so we have to work to keep it clean and infection free, making swimming from the dinghy an undesirable activity. The swimming restriction is anticipated to be the most difficult part of the ordeal for Casey.

Port Hardy is a nice little town, mostly supported by fishing, logging, and mining; all of which are decreasing in prosperity. There is some significant sport fishing for salmon and halibut going on, but due to the hassles of getting fresh fish through customs (so we have heard), there are very few fishermen from the United States. However, here at the Quarterdeck Marina, there are several charter services leaving and returning each morning and afternoon. Every boat returns with a good catch of salmon. Most folks are after springs (Chinook), and due to reduced limits, Coho are less favored but also being caught along with the pinks and a few sockeye. Most are catching so many salmon right now, they're not even bothering with bottomfish (e.g., rockfish, halibut, lingcod), but a few boats come in with some nice halibut too. We're looking forward to getting back out in Queen Charlotte Strait where the fish are and adding some wild salmon back in our diets.

There is an active population of crows, ravens, and eagles around the harbor and town. We have enjoyed hearing all the bird calls. There is a crow and her two young in the marina yard and they are fun to watch. The big "kids" are constantly squawking and begging for food from their mom, but as they wait, they are also busily picking up every edible tidbit they can find. We've enjoyed seeing some of the eagles fly fairly close to us while walking the dogs around the marina property. The ravens seem to spend more time in town and near the public marina. They have such a fascinating variety of calls to communicate with their clan members.

Everything in Port Hardy is within walking distance. We walked into town on the day of our arrival to restock some groceries and found that the "big" grocery store has a great policy: if a patron spends at least $150, they'll pay for your cab fare back to the marina. It is not hard to qualify for that benefit when provisioning the boat for several weeks.
Yesterday, we walked into town again to window shop and buy a couple of last minute supplies. We also stopped at the Fisheries and Oceans local office where Fraser requested and was given beautiful color posters on the pinnipeds, salmon, and mollusks of the British Columbia. These informative posters caught her attention at the Welcome Center in town where they were displayed. Apparently they are not longer being printed, so it is particularly nice to have copies. We managed to time our outing between major rain squalls and stayed mostly dry. The walk did us all good. Some of the tired crew is still sleeping soundly!

We've enjoyed a couple of meals out at the local I.V.'s Pub located at the marina. We had an excellent seafood dinner, then a lunch of halibut sandwiches which were also delicious, although probably not as good as the chef aboard Storm Petrel creates.

Later this morning we'll get underway again, stopping first at the fuel dock to top off our tank. We've stayed a few extra days at the marina to ease Casey's initial recovery and to allow unsettled weather to dissipate. The weather has definitely not been conducive to rounding Cape Scott, our next "gate" to the west coast of Vancouver Island. We will probably spend a few days in a small bay locally known as "God's Pocket" with other boaters waiting to go around the cape or across Queen Charlotte Sound. Bull Harbor is another possibility for a protected anchorage, especially for winds and waves from the northwest. Typically, boaters wait in this harbor for the right conditions to occur before scooting around or safely crossing Nahwitti Bar and then traveling on toward Cape Scott. We'll be waiting for decent weather that coincides with the tides. It is important to pass the bar and round the cape at, or near slack water. There are few places to anchor once past the bar and before getting to Cape Scott. At our speed of about 5 knots, it's a long day from Bull Harbour to Winter Harbour in Quatsino Sound.

We're looking forward to the possibility of seeing more whales and orcas, and possibly, sea otters. The sea otter was reintroduced to the west coast of Vancouver Island, specifically, into Esperanza Inlet, and has done very well. We also hope to see a bear or wolf as much of the west coast is undeveloped and still their homes.

Please note that we may not be able to update the blog for a week or more. Perhaps we will be able to do so when we reach Winter Harbour or maybe (a big maybe), if we can get the satellite phone to cooperate, we can send it out from a more remote location. Data transmissions are extremely slow via sat phone.