Pretty Good Days… Sept. 13, 2007Dear Ones,
I just had to share a bit about our last few days up here. After we wrapped up our caretaking job at Pierre’s Bay Marina, the weather forecast started to look very good, so we decided to stay up north a bit longer than we might have otherwise. Our first destination was the Burdwood Group of islands, one of my favorite places in the world for its unique beauty. My favorite anchorage is the site of an abandoned Indian village, with its stunning white shell midden beach on two sides. Because the beach is relatively steep, or maybe for other reasons as well, there are almost no rocks or dirt mixed in with the bleached white shells, so as the shells trail off into the water, they make it look like a Caribbean island in the middle of a northern pine forest. I’ll let a picture tell you all about it – See Tenacious peeking out from behind that tree?
After a couple of hours at anchor in this beautiful spot, we decided to spend the night in Viner Sound, a small inlet with a large estuary and salmon stream at its head. We entered the Sound and found a beautiful little anchorage in a nook along its northern side. BC Parks had placed a couple of mooring balls there, which meant we didn’t have to drop anchor – an easy tie-up. We dropped our crab trap among a few others at the mouth of the little nook and took the dinghy up to the head of Viner Sound. The tide was still fairly high although it was beginning to go out. We took the dinghy over a large and very shallow muddy shoal before we came to the grassy estuary with canals running through and draining it. We found a fallen log to tie the dinghy to, and scrambled up the slick grass bank to walk farther up. We saw lots of bear sign. That’s a polite way of saying we barely avoided stepping smack in the middle of a large pile of mushy purplish-brown bear dung, liberally filled with tiny berry seeds. Black bears eat lots of berries.
As an aside, when you go hiking in areas that are known to have bears, it is recommended that you make lots of noise and carry bear spray – especially for the grizzly bears (known as brown bears up here.) You can buy all sorts of noisemakers, bear whistles and little canisters of bear spray that clip on to your fanny pack. You can tell what kind of bears are in the area by their “sign” – aka poop. Black bears are less aggressive, and their sign is as described – filled with berry seeds. Brown/grizzly bear sign is different. It is filled with bear whistles and spray canisters…
We watched for salmon going upstream and were rewarded – and they were in pretty good shape relatively speaking. They obviously hadn’t had to fight their way through rocks and shallows yet. We followed the creek as far as we could go, until it was obstructed by a huge, fallen blue spruce. I need to report that downed tree to MESSS – the Mainland Enhancement for Salmonid Species Society. They work to restore damaged salmon habitats and run a hatchery for native salmon.
On the way back down to the dinghy we spotted a bear cub crossing the creek just ahead of us. We were pretty wary, knowing that where there are cubs there are generally over-protective mamas. Fortunately we didn’t see her, and the cub moved into the forest.
We had a quiet night at anchor, and woke to a mysterious world of swirling fog surrounding us. As the nights get cooler here, the fog can grow really thick over the warmer water. That didn’t seem to bother the six otters who inhabited our little bay, though.
They swam and played, dove and fished and ate all around us. I saw one eating a whole crab while swim-ming along on his back, and another one who had caught a fish that was several times larger than his head, and swam with it in his mouth over to the rocky shore where he could enjoy it in a more relaxed atmosphere. One otter saw Pat and I standing on deck as the fog continue to burn off, and stopped to offer his chittering, squeaking commentary on voyeuristic boaters. We got quite a tongue-lashing. They were purely adorable.
Our next destination was another inlet into the BC mainland – Bond Sound. There, we retraced some of our steps from last year when we visited Bond for the first time with Maple Leaf. Bond Sound is extremely deep and the banks, except at the very head, drop straight down from the mountain tops to literally hundreds of feet below the water’s surface. At the head of the Sound where Ahta Creek and the Ahta River flow into the Sound, there is a large muddy shoal that dries at low tide. Just around the edge of this shoaly bank on one side is a narrow strip that varies between 80 – 100 feet deep where, if you know what you are doing, you can anchor. We successfully completed the rather tricky anchorage there and once again took the dinghy up the Ahta River to watch the salmon. We boated in as far as we thought was wise, given the falling tide, and hiked the rest of the way in to a rocky beach on a curve of the river where the intrepid salmon seem to stop and take a break before their next assault on the spawning grounds farther upstream. They were both beautiful and brave, and ragged and sad-looking as they fought to simply stay in place against the strong downstream current, so as not to lose their hard-won upstream progress. We could see dozens of them, wavering back and forth among the smooth rounded stones on the bottom, occasionally finding a burst of energy and lashing their tails back and forth to power them forward to the next little pool or eddy. As we hiked back out to the dinghy we found eagle feathers and a salmon head on the trail -- evidence that the salmon are an important part of the food chain here.
On our way back to Tenacious, Pat dropped me off at the mouth of the river for some beachcombing (I admit to being a total magpie…) While I explored the rocky beach I heard something splashing in the water among the barnacle-covered rocks at the water’s edge.
Following the sound, I came across a large spring salmon almost beached in a little pool created by the receding tide. His strong instincts were telling him that he had to continue upstream and he was beating himself against the rocks trying to cross to what was actually dry land… After a couple of (very slippery) false starts I was able to pick him up and carry him into deeper water so that he could continue on his way to meet his destiny upstream.
Later that night the skies were clear and we went up on deck into the cool night air at around 10PM. We could see the Milky Way and Carl Sagan’s “billions and billions” of stars. Aside from our tiny anchor light 65 feet above the waterline, they provided the only light in the bay, and the only sound was that of the water moving over the rocky riverbed, the fresh water mixing with the salt. As we stared up at the night sky, each of us saw a shooting star and made our wishes.
We left Bond Sound en route to Thompson Sound the next morning. Our friend, Hermit Bob, whom we had run into in the Laundromat in Port McNeill a few weeks ago, had told us about going upriver to visit another hermit who lives up there. He was very excited to tell us that his hermit friend had installed a bathtub in his cabin, and Hermit Bob was able to have his first hot bath in 10 years. I have to assume that it was not his first bathing experience in 10 years, but considering Hermit Bob’s natural fragrance, it might have been. We decided to scout up the river to see if we could figure out where Hermit Bob’s hermit friend might live. Bob said there were lots of grizzly bears in the area, too. We tied up to another convenient mooring buoy off a sheer rock face near the top of the Sound and jumped in the dingy.
As we headed around a charted muddy shoal toward the channel at the mouth of the river we could see a number of large logs stranded in the shallow water. As we got closer Pat remarked, “Those logs look like they’re moving!” Sure enough, each log was covered with baby harbour seals, waiting for their mothers who apparently were fishing for salmon in the area! This one posed for us…
We saw dozens of eagles flying along the river, and gaggles of Canada geese gathered along the muddy banks as they paused on their southern journey. When startled by our boat, they exploded out of the water, running along the surface as they gained speed for take-off, and flapping and honking loudly. Apparently they didn’t care that we could overhear their rude remarks about our passage! This river was quite a bit deeper and faster
than the others we had recently explored, and we were able to take the boat upriver a couple of miles before we were stopped by shallow rapids. Once again we tied up to a downed tree and walked upriver. Lots of evidence of bears again – this track was quite fresh, as you can see from how sharp the edges are. Notice the claw marks. Heap big, long claws!
We spent the night at Lagoon Cove last night. It’s one of our favorite little marinas. We shared cocktails and pot-luck hors d’oeuvres with a small group of boaters, exchanging boater gossip, favorite anchorages and fish stories. We are on our way south now, heading slowly for the home dock. We’ll take it slowly as long as the weather holds out. Today is another gloriously sunny day, but the nights are getting quite cool.
A Maple Leaf wedding! Tuesday, August 21, 2007 1:59 PM
This past weekend, as we were in the area, we were lucky enough to be included at the wedding of Maureen Gordon and Kevin Smith, first mate and captain of the sailing vessel Maple Leaf, aboard which we sailed around Alaska last spring. We sailed Tenacious down from Rivers Inlet (past the northern 
tip of Vancouver Island) to Comox (about halfway down the eastern side of the Island) to meet the flotilla on Friday night. We all anchored together in a sheltered little bay on the north end of Denman Island. Along with Maple Leaf were two other old wooden vessels; the Pacific Yellowfin, a gorgeous 114’ motor yacht with 30’ beam built by the Army Corp of Engineers in 1943 – tons of gleaming mahogany inside; and the 
Duen, a unique and beautiful sailboat over 100 years old and built in Norway. Usually the three ships were rafted together so that we could all clamber back and forth across the decks and eat, drink and be merry aboard any of the three. On Saturday we all got an early start and prayed that the weather would improve or at least hold off as we motored down to Tribune Bay on Hornby Island, where there is a glorious and dramatic bluff with unusual rock formations and a lovely grassy hike along the cliffs. We anchored and prepared for the morning wedding. The ceremony was just beautiful. It took place on a tiny island just off the cliffs with a pebbly beach and a rocky reef that extended off the tip. Harbour seals favored this spot as a haulout and were 
happy to be part of the festivities. Of course, Maureen was the most beautiful bride ever! The vows were wonderful and romantic as Kevin and Maureen called upon their family and friends and the winds and the ocean to witness their commitment to one another. After the wedding we all returned to the ships for a sumptuous buffet luncheon that featured lots of local seafood. It was held in the mail salon of the Pacific Yellowfin which simply has to be seen to be believed. The main spac
es on board were more than sufficient to accommodate over 60 wedding guests. It was gorgeous! The chefs from the three ships outdid themselves. For example, for dinner that night aboard Maple Leaf, the chef served “Marriage of the Seas” which had a strip of salmon, a strip of halibut and a strip of spinach-stuffed seaweed literally braided together into a colorful and delicious main course. The best surprise of the day was that Jenny, the naturalist from our Maple Leaf trip was there, too! We had such fun with her when we were aboard. 
It was really a lovely event, unforgettable in every way. It was so great to meet K&M’s family and friends! What a great bunch of people. We all parted ways on Sunday. Pat and I are now headed back north to meet some boating friends from Vancouver and continue our summer sail.Update from S/V Tenacious, Aug. 3, 2007 We’ve had a glorious time at the beginning of our sailing! Until last night, we’ve had terrific weather, but we’re at the dock in Port McNeill toward the northern end of Vancouver Island, so we’re safe, warm and cozy aboard Tenacious. Pat is working on another upholstery project and I’m assisting while working on various clean-up projects. We are meeting two friends here tomorrow, and will be sailing around with them for the next week. I’m hoping the rain slows down so that I can get to the grocery store without getting too wet. Luckily, I did the laundry yesterday right after we landed and before the rain started, so that’s out of the way.
First, here are some ‘before and after’ pictures of Tenacious and her cockpit varnish project. Quite a difference, eh? She had gotten rather shabby, poor thing, but she’s glowing again. We have almost completely stripped the toe rail (wood trim that runs all the way around the top edge of the deck, including the handrails around the stern of the boat). We did most of the scraping and sanding either while we were under way, or while anchored out in various places.
You can see how scarred and blistered the cockpit varnish had become.
We had to remove the dodger and bimimi over the cockpit so we could
completely strip, sand and re-varnish the interior. Note the glowing results!
(A few days later.)
We have picked up our friends from Portland, Noma and Gail, and are now traveling through the Broughton Islands and vicinity. We left Port McNeill on Sunday and Gail was celebrating her birthday. We were lucky enough to come across a humpback whale and her calf, and we spent about 45 minutes watching them blow and swim around us. We’re up in Drury Inlet now, looking forward to a Cajun feast and potluck supper at a small, rustic marina. We’ve been dropping our prawn trap and picking it up regularly, and have been getting some nice big prawns, but the last time Pat went out to pick up the trap he discovered what was almost a disaster. Several large felled trees has formed a floating “snag” and were drifting down the inlet toward the rapids that are at the mouth of the inlet. They ran squarely into the float for our prawn trap, carrying the float, line and trap (some 350 feet below) along with them. Luckily, Pat was doing a routine check and discovered the dragging before we lost the trap entirely!
We spotted this nest full of these darling baby barn swallows under the eaves at Jennis Bay. We got to watch their first attempts at flight while we were here. We have also caught more than ½ dozen lovely red rock crabs right here at the dock, and Noma has promised to make her world famous crab cakes for us. We can’t wait!
We’ve seen lots of porpoises, eagles, river otters, harbour seals and even a bear and a humpback whale with her calf already. Our weather this week has been a bit unpredictable, but we have terrific sunshine today. Pat and I got a coat of clear Cetol on the toe rail and it looks absolutely gorgeous – all gleaming and shiny! We completely stripped the old Cetol – something that hasn’t been done since we first bought the boat when we were living in Portland. The toe rail was starting to look just about as bad as the cockpit “before” picture above, so this is going to make a huge difference in our appearance. Did I tell you we were invited to the wedding of our captain and first mate from “Maple Leaf”, aboard which we cruised in Alaska last year? We’re sailing to their floating wedding in a few weeks and Tenacious will make us proud, I think!
We went fishing with Noma and Gail a few days ago and just as I was catching a tiny little fish, Gail was catching what turned out to be a 32 ½-pound halibut! He put up quite a fight, but she reeled him in successfully. We caused quite a sensation on the dock when we came in. Pat cleaned the fish on the communal fish-cleaning table, and we
really got a lot of lovely meat – really more than we could enjoy for the rest of our trip. Gail was kind
enough to want to share her fish, and so we were able to provide lovely dinner-sized helpings of fresh halibut to other friends on the dock, too. What a catch! Amanda the cat wanted to know, "When is the sushi being served?"
A couple of weeks ago we had a malfunction of the staysail – a pulley blew out and we lost a shackle and a line guard on the mast. It was nothing dangerous or anything, but the staysail came down and was lying on the
deck for a while. With the rain and other projects, we didn’t get to working on it until yesterday, which turned in to a lovely, sunny afternoon. With the help of our guest Noma, who is a trained climber and knows how to belay, Pat put me in the bosun’s chair and winched me up the mast – something I LOVE – to affect the repairs. The fabric “chair” straps on around my hips and between my legs and is all fitted out with multiple pockets for tools and spares. I was hauled up together with a selection of cutters, pliers, wire and screwdrivers, along with a new shackle and pulley. Since we started the project around 4:30 pm, I ended up providing the entertainment for Happy Hour on the dock… I really do love to go up the mast in the bosun’s chair. The only scary thing is worrying that you’re going to drop something while you up there, 50 or 60 feet above the deck. If you do, it will either go crashing on to the deck, or worse, overboard to be forever lost.
Luckily, I accomplished all three repairs without losing a tool or spare item. I was sorry when I was finished, and stayed aloft to enjoy the glorious view from above for a few extra minutes. The sun was dropping a bit lower in the sky, and I could see a panoramic view of the bay and inlet from the raven’s eye point of view. It was glorious. I rappelled down the mast with Pat controlling my drop with the winch, to my hard-earned and well-deserved cocktail.
Update on 7/30/07: We're anchored out in Blunden Harbour, site of an abandoned First Nation village. The final coat of Cetol went on the toe rail today and we’re starting to take the painters tape off. Tenacious has never looked so good! This morning I found a huge blue faceted trade bead, and I found another one just like it this evening – the largest and best condition of any I’ve found, so it’s a blue ribbon day! I also got another trip up the mast – this time all the way to the very top – some 75 feet above the water – to thread our new topping lift line through a recalcitrant pulley…Yippee!
Finally, I have been “gainfully employed” hunting for old trade beads on abandoned midden beaches. I made some earrings with small, faceted blue beads, and now ’m working on a necklace. Here’s a sample of my finds from the past few days, alongside a Canadian quarter (approx. the same size as US):
Tenacious News July 13, 2007We are having lovely weather as we make our way north aboard Tenacious! We are already in the Broughton Archipelago and are enjoying a relaxing evening in a little marina called Shawl Bay. We’re having excellent weather – warm and sunny every day.
We spent the last two nights at Matilpi, the site of an abandoned Indian village, and one of my favorite places to hunt for beads. We caught a nice low tide at around 6am a couple of days ago, and Pat dinghy’d me over to the beach to hunt. I was lucky enough to find 6 beads! A subsequent low-tide hunt this morning only yielded two, but I have to count this visit as quite a success!
When we left the anchorage we stopped to pick up our prawn trap which had been set overnight. In it we found about 35 prawns and three good sized starfish. The starfish eat the prawns – we could see little prawn antennae sticking out of the starfish’s stomachs! Luckily we had a very large pull the day before – around 100 prawns. The cats, I must say, demanded at least their fair share while I was cleaning them. They were both up on the deck (a bit unusual for Amanda this early in the voyage) demanding treats as I dismembered the prawns and threw the heads, shells and tails overboard.
We’re in a marina tonight, and bumped into a very nice couple that we had met here last year. Its really a very small world up here! We were able to catch up on all of the latest gossip – who is still trying to sell their marina, who has had a suspicious fire at their marina, etc. Very interesting! As at many of these little outposts in the wild, Happy Hour is a tradition, and all of the boaters get together and bring an appetizer to share, and enjoy cocktails on the docks. It’s a great way to share stories and information, and to form friendships.
Tomorrow we will head to Blunden Harbour, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, with very little to recommend it aside from the fact that it is a FABULOUS place to find old Indian trade beads on the beach. It’s the site of an abandoned village and it has tons of interesting detritus to beachcomb, not the least of which are trade beads that came here from the voyages of Captain Cook, Captain Vancouver, and countless fur-trading ships from the mid- to late-1800s. I can – and have – spent hours on this shell midden beach with my back bent over and my eyes scanning everything from boulders to tiny pebbles, broken shells to broken china, intertidal life from seaweeds to red rock and hermit crabs, and the occasional treasured trade bead.
After a few days in Blunden Harbour we’ll head to Port McNeill (civilization!) and the dock, laundry, showers, grocery store, etc. More news from there!
Bears on the Beach Sept. 3, 2006We are anchored just off a pretty white-shell Indian midden beach (so that I can hunt to trade beads, of course!) and we spotted a bear this morning! A nice, young black bear, not full grown but probably 200 pounds. He was walking along the beach
as the tide dropped, turning over rocks to eat the little beach crabs and critters that hide under them. We were able to take the dinghy out, in order to get closer to him. I got some wonderful photos and video to share with you when we get home.
We're having lovely, warm sunny weather. At the moment we're traveling with our good boating friends from Vancouver. Ida is making a pie from the huge blackberries that Pat and her husband picked at another Indian beach where we were anchored yesterday. We hunted for trade beads there, too, and I found several more, including two unusual ones that I've never seen before. The collection is growing!
We'll head over for some more bead hunting as soon as Ida's pie is done, and we have given Mr. Bear a little time to move on to some new food-hunting territory…
Maple Leaf and Tenacious Sail Together Aug. 29, 2006
Such an adventure! Yesterday as we fished for salmon and watched the meanderings of a lazy humpback, we spotted a pretty schooner in the distance. It was heading in th
e same general direction that we were, so we thought we'd have a chance to get a closer look. As we approached, we began thinking, "Gee - that looks a bit like Maple Leaf!" As we approached more closely, we realized that it was indeed Maple Leaf with her crew of 15 Sea Cadets on board! We hailed Kevin on the radio and rendezvoused ashore at a fascinating little museum full of collected bits of local history and memorabilia, from ancient stone tools and arrow heads and patent medicine bottles to old logging equipment and fishing gear. Here's a picture of Captain Kevin with museum creator Billy Proctor and Patrick.
After we all left the museum, we ended up following them into Bond Sound, an almost unexplored area. It was a treat to see Maple Leaf and Tenacious running side by side! Finding anchorage there is tricky - most of the sound is over 1000 feet deep. We both found room to drop our hooks on a narrow shelf at the head of the sound where the Ahta River estuary empties, in about 30 feet of water. As the tide dropped, we watched a huge wood snag and then a muddy beach emerge about 25 feet from us - we had passed over it just a few hours earlier with just 7 feet of water under our keel!
We all dinghy'd up the river a bit, then hiked along the river. The water was so clear we could see hundreds of salmon swimming - you guessed it - upstream to spawn. We found lots of bear sign, including some stripped salmon carcasses along the banks. Eagles soared overhead, impatient for us to leave so they could return to their scavenging. There has been almost no rain here this summer so the river was quite low. The salmon really had to wiggle and leap to cross the rocky bottom in some places. We could see the salmon that had already spawned, turning white and ragged as they completed their life cycle. It felt like a Nature Channel special!
We invited Kevin to join us for dessert after he had gotten his cadets organized for the night, and we had a marvelous evening together, sharing freshly baked apple pie, Scotch and stories until the wee hours. This morning he invited us over to Maple Leaf for an inspection tour - she has recently undergone a major overhaul of all of her brightwork. Hundreds of hours of sanding and varnishing paid off, plus, the cadets polish all of the brass on board every morning, so she was absolutely gleaming! We were
piped aboard with the crew lined up against the rails at attention. The senior cadet led us on the inspection tour of the ship and Captain Patrick complimented the crew on their hard work, dedication
and teamwork. It felt as if we were coming home. Here are Maple Leaf and Tenacious anchored out side-by-side in Bond Sound.
Hi From Below the 49th parallel Aug. 18, 2006
Dear All, I'm starting to "collect" funny boat names. We seem to keep seeing a big power boat called "Go Nad Go" It must belong to a fertility specialist. The tender is called "Gamete II" in case somebody doesn't get the boat name... Saw another called "Sosumi." Must belong to a lawyer!
At the moment we're anchored in Village Cove in Belize Inlet. We hiked up an old logging road that follows a stream. First we found some really interesting abandoned logging equipment (a truck from the '30s, a wooden-sided grader, an old water tank on top of a huge cedar stump, etc.) then as we followed the trail up the mountain there were some stunning views down into the deep ravines that flanked either side of the trail. Seems the road followed a ridge line. We only walked part-way up, and when we got back to Tenacious we could see that the trail ran all the way up to the top of the mountain. We had no trouble with either the Schooner Passage or Nakwakto Rapids. It was fun to see all the boat signs on Tremble Island in the middle of the rapids. Tomorrow we'll head toward Alison Sound where Douglas describes some really interesting pictographs.
We've also spent some time in Blunden Harbor where I have become totally hooked on hunting for trade beads. I've found some really beautiful ones, but it is like collecting antiques: I should have started YEARS ago! We ran into a couple on the beach there who have been living aboard their boat, Alisa, for 17 years. They are inveterate bead hunters and she said that years ago people would come to Blunden with Mason jars to collect beads. Sigh...! I've also loaded up the boat with all kinds of interesting beach glass and broken crockery. I've been threatening to make a mosaic of all of the irresistable little 'bits' of things I find. I must have some magpie (or perhaps raven!) in me somewhere.
We'll spend a few more days here in Belize and then probably head back toward the Broughtons. We had hoped to go either farther north or around Vancouver Island, but some alternator issues (non-fatal but troublesome) are keeping us back. Also, we should have gotten an earlier start for either destination. I think we lollygagged too long on our way up here--a temptation that we couldn't resist!
Indians and Eagles and Fresh Red Snapper Aug. 18, 2006
It's been a while since we've written, but it’s only because we're enjoying our travels so much that pulling out the computer seems far from our minds. This mor
ning we're peacefully at anchor in a little hook-shaped cove that is so protected from winds and current that we wondered if we needed to drop the anchor at all. There is a small grassy beach and a sandy bottom here, so Pat went swimming yesterday after catching three beautiful red snapper for our dinner. I stayed on deck to enjoy the peek at a glacier on a mountaintop that looks almost close enough to touch.
We have been heading north, our goal being going into the central BC coast, or perhaps even 'round the "Wild Side" of Vancouver Island, but we've had a little alternator issue that isn't critical but is keeping us from boldly going into more remote areas. A goal of mine for a year or two has been to get to Blunden Harbor, which is the site of a large abandoned Indian village. It can easily be identified by its white shell beach, actually the remains of a midden, created by generations of inhabitants who cultivated, harvested, ate and then threw out the shells of countless clams, cockles, oysters and mussels on that beach. It's fascinating to examine the shelf of earth at the high-tide line, where the sea carves away soil and you can see layer after layer of shells mixed in with the soil, and sometimes a blackened area with bits of charcoal from an ancient fire pit. At one village site, I found several perfectly smooth, rounded cooking stones in a long-buried fire pit. They were heated red-hot in the fire, then dropped into a tightly-woven basket to bring liquids to a boil.
We had a series of very low tides (the best time to search for beads) that were just after sunrise, so I went to the beach while the mist was still falling to search. The silence was complete and I was listening carefully, as bead-hunters are not the only denizens of this area - bears also like to beachcomb for small crabs and other dainties at low tides! I could hear the "whooosh, whooosh, whooosh" of each beat of a raven's wings as he flew by, and was quite startled by the sudden splash of a seagull landing at the water's edge. I searched the rocks, pebbles, shell bits and detritus of the midden and found quite a few trade beads, including everything from small red seed beads with white middles called "White Hearts" that were traded by the Hudson Bay Company, to large smooth or faceted blue beads called "Russian Blues." There were beautiful large round amber colored beads, and even some really old hand-made ones. I even found a small metal bell and hand-hammered and -rolled metal cylinder that look just like the decorations on the old ceremonial robes I've seen in some of the museums up here. Of course, the magpie in me can't resist picking up the interesting bits of broken glass, china and pottery that are also strewn across the beach. The dwellers there threw not only their clam shells but all of their detritus into the tidal bay, and with help of later generations of boaters contributing bottles and jars, there is a lot of beach glass! I have found bits of old blue willow ware, flow blue and transferware patterns, early pattern glass and depression glass, stoneware, etc. A mosaic someday?
These past few days have found us in some relatively unexplored territory. We transited the Nakwakto Rapids to enter and explore Belize Inlet, which was really only completely charted within the past 25 years. At the biggest tides, Nakwakto Rapids can run as fast as 14-16 knots. Of course, we choose our timing to avoid the hours when the tides are running, and pass through at slack, when the tide has reached equilibrium and is neither going in nor out. Those windows of opportunity last only 10 to 30 minutes, so we have to schedule our departures from anchorage rather closely. We'll have one of those passages today at 5:30pm. In the middle of the rapids there is a small rocky outcropping called Tremble Island. It is said that it actually trembles when the tide is running at full spate. Bold mariners have landed on this islet (presumably when it's slack!) and nailed signs with the painted names of their boats to the stunted trees.
Yesterday, high on a cliff wall along Belize Inlet, we spotted an ancient Indian pictograph, painted in ochre paint under an overhanging ledge. It seemed to depict a large square-rigged boat in the distance, a long boat with numerous paddles and people with wide-brimmed hats and rifles, and two smaller canoes in the foreground, with orcas dancing in the waves around them. It is speculated that this pictograph might represent an early meeting between Indians and whites, perhaps even the first encounters with Captains Cook or Vancouver. In any case, it was fascinating to see.
Tonight, we plan to anchor just beyond the Rapids in a tiny cove off Schooner Passage that sheltered us a few days ago before we came in to Belize Inlet. It is surrounded on three sides by steep mountains that drop straight down into the water, old cedar trees somehow clinging to the sheer surfaces, fallen brethren lying grey and smooth at their feet, washed by the changing tides. When we were there before, we saw an eagle on top of a tall tree as we dropped anchor. Later, as we relaxed on the deck in the late afternoon sunlight, we heard a loud "CRACK" and wondered what that could be--there was very little wind. Soon we spotted our eagle again and watched it soaring and flying from treetop to treetop. During one flight we saw the eagle grab a branch in its talons, break it off (with the accompanying loud "CRACK!") and continue to fly, holding on to the branch. We followed its flight to its eyrie, where we could see an adolescent eagle. There was a pair of eagles with the youngster, and eyrie repair and expansion was the order of the day. We're looking forward to visiting them again tonight, on our southern travels.
Salmon-chanted Evening Sept. 18, 2005We're still out here, living off the fat of the sea! Today was a red-letter day. We set out this morning in a generally southward direction, down the Johnstone Strait, on our way to meet friends in the Octopus Islands tomorrow. We noticed a gaggle of salmon fisherman in the Strait, but we were turning off to our planned anchorage in Chameleon Bay. A mile or so down, just outside the entrance to our anchorage we decided to try for a salmon ourselves. I told Pat that I
saw a place that looked very likely for salmon. We headed for it at trolling speed, pulling our hook along slow and deep. We were watching a bald eagle when we noticed the strike! We had a salmon on the line! It gave a good fight but we brought it in--about a 25 pounder, about 30" long, nice and plump. We landed it, then headed in to drop anchor. Pat filleted her (turns out she was full of roe.) We're going to enjoy salmon tonight, and will have plenty to share with our friends tomorrow.
This afternoon while Pat took a little nap, I went out on deck to enjoy the sunshine. We are anchored in about 40 feet of water, tucked into the southwest corner of Chameleon Bay. We're in close to shore, where we'll enjoy protection from the strong southeasterly winds that are forecast for tonight. As the boat swung back and forth a bit on the "hook," I sat on the foredeck and enjoyed the sun on my back while examining the shoreline. What beach was visible was quite narrow, as it was almost high tide. The few deciduous trees interspersed with the tall evergreens have begun to turn color, and the breeze that blew my bangs around spoke warningly of the chilly nights to come. The silence was only broken by the chittering call of a passing kingfisher, and the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of the wings of a crow flying overhead. Amanda the Cat was prowling on deck, sniffing the place where Pat brought the salmon on board. It was littered with the last of the fish scales that stubbornly remained after we rinsed the deck with a bucket of sea water. They gleamed in the late afternoon sunlight like silver sequins that might have come loose from a gown. Off the port bow I heard a "pffft" of air. A pair of harbor porpoises were passing alongside us, their mottled grey backs arching out of the water in perfect tandem.
Lots of love from your salty kids,
Lydia and Pat
Whales and Clams September 11, 2005 We've been having wonderful adventures out here. The day before yesterday we anchored in a little bay inside of Simoom Sound, a long narrow inlet into the mainland coast of BC. We dropped our prawn trap in to deep "hole" near the entrance to the inlet on our way in. We made our way to the remote end of the inlet and dropped anchor in a spot where we were surrounded by tall trees on three sides. Our charts promised a beach nearby at low tide--I later went ashore in the dinghy and found a bucketful of lovely native littleneck clams, which we enjoyed tonight. We were all alone. We didn't see another boat all day. As night fell, we went below, lit our oil lamp and some candles and enjoyed our dinner of red rock crab and Pat's freshly-caught butter sole, the largest we've caught up here yet. (The cats had their fair share, I can assure you!) Darkness fell and Pat went up on deck for one last check before we went to sleep. He came back down below to invite me up on deck - the stars were magical!
The night sky was crystal clear, and since we were so far from any city there was very little ambient light, even at the horizon. We could see a billion stars, or maybe more. We stood on the deck of our little ship and saw the constellations turning. We saw three falling stars and two satellites pass by far overhead. We slept soundly until morning.
Yesterday we made our way south to the Johnstone Strait. We listened to the channel upon which the whale watching tour boats and orca researchers communicate. As we listened, we heard about pods of orcas, always ahead of us or in different areas. We heard about a pod of "transient" orcas consisting of several mothers and babies (described on the radio as "adult females and juveniles..."). Transient whales live out in the open sea and tend to be more aggressive than the local "resident" pods who remain in the inside passage, and the researchers and whale watchers were very excited to have them on local waters. As we sailed on to Port McNeill, we came closer to the areas where whales had been reported through the afternoon, but still, we hadn't spotted anything larger than some porpoises sporting among the waves. I had pretty much given up as we neared the Vancouver Island coast and had started de-heading a batch of prawns that we had picked up in our trap as we departed Simoom Sound when Pat gave the cry, "Whales!" Sure enough, the transient pod was just off our port bow. They swam around our boat for almost an hour. We met them at a confluence of currents which ran around a group of islands--a fine place to find a fish if you are a hunter!
They turned and swam ahead of us, then went under us and swam behind and beside, all around us! Jessie the Cat was up on deck with us (she had discovered the benefits of being in the neighborhood when prawns were being cleaned...) and was quite surprised (and impressed) when several whales surfaced and "blew" just a few yards away from her! We floated into our moorage at Port McNeill on the mist of orca breath!
Bear Alert! August 23, 2005We are at sea, and have been for a couple of weeks. It's been glorious. We've already met up with two sets of friends from previous years up here, and had lovely reunions. We're finally starting to get up into the more northern waters, where "civilization" and boats are a bit farther apart than in the San Juans and Gulf Islands. We've seen orcas, eagles, bears, sea lions and more. Pat caught some delicious butter sole (a flounder-type fish) that we ate for dinner a few nights ago. We've also found oysters to barbecue and clams to steam. The cats, of course, share in the seafood bounty. We saw our first orcas for 2005 in the Johnstone Strait a couple of days ago. That's always so exciting! We're hoping to spot many more in the coming weeks.
Night before last we anchored between two little islets called the Indian Islands. They are across from the mainland on which was a shell midden beach - evidence of an abandoned Indian village. Just as we finished dropping the anchor, we heard crashing in the woods of the small island nearby. We suspected what it was, and sure enough, moments later a large black bear came out of the tall trees and appeared at the edge of the water. He was moving around, standing up to reach the salal berries growing over his head. We watched him for about 20 minutes as he worked his way along the rocky bank, picking the berries and eating them. After the bear went back into the woods, Pat went fishing among the kelp and rocks, and brought in our prawn trap with enough fresh prawns to
allow all four of us to have a surf-and-turf dinner. Amanda has already figured out that when we come back in the dinghy, it usually means fresh seafood... As soon as we're back on board Tenacious she's meowing and ready to demand her share of any bounty from the sea!
At the site of the Indian village I searched the beach and actually found an old trade bead! What a beach combing treasure! Yesterday morning as we were about to pull up anchor and leave, we heard a whale blowing three times in succession, and saw the cloud of breath it expelled each time, just a few hundred yards away. We're not sure if it was a humpback or Minke whale, but both are in this area, and it definitely wasn't an orca with the prominent dorsal fin. So--our first non-orca whale sighting!
We're now at a little marina called Lagoon Cove on an island in the southern end of the Broughton Islands. They're famous for their nightly cocktail potluck. At five o'clock, everyone at the marina gathers in this big, shabby, tool-shed-cum-cocktail lounge with their own drinks and a plate of hors d'ouevres to share. The marina owner supplies a huge pot of freshly-caught prawns, and the feasting, drinking and tale-telling begin. The owner/host is quite the raconteur, telling stories (tall and otherwise) with wit and panache that keeps us all coming back. It's a wonderful place to meet fellow boaters, learn about interesting anchorages, get advice on good fishing, prawning or crabbing areas, and just get to know some really in
teresting people from all over the world. Yesterday, we met a couple from Italy, here on a boat. Tonight, the potluck included freshly-caught halibut, and we ran into our new dockmates from Vancouver. The halibut was delicious, and now we know for sure the world is definitely a small place!
We'll continue north tomorrow. Our friends the Thomas's inspired us with their pictures and stories of their Alaskan adventure earlier this summer. It sounds like the farther north you go, the more beautiful the scenery, and the more bounteous the seafood! We'll keep you posted.
Love to all,
Lydia and Pat
observed and studied for years. The tour operators can identify the different family groups by their distinctive markings and calls. We drifted among several different family groups of orcas for hours. We watched one group of seven whales as they passed us and we passed them during the course of the afternoon, and after a while we could easily pick them out by the dorsal fin of the largest male which had a very definite split at the top. We carefully avoided approaching too closely or getting in their way at all, but observing them as they traveled, hunted, fed and gamboled about showed me a side of these huge creatures that translates as very caring, loving and playful. They swim close to each other most of the time, always touching, nudging, speeding up and slowing down together, diving and blowing synchronously. Even when they separate for a little while, their reunions are celebrations of bumping and rubbing sides. Periodically one or another would dive down a bit and then pop up with its head straight up out of the water in order to look around, sometimes so high we could see their pectoral fins above the water. This is called 'spy-hopping.' We could hear their vocalizations at times. One call sounded just like they were giving us Bronx Cheer.
where he marked the terminus of his journey on a prominent rock with the words, "Alex Mackenzie from Canada by land, 22nd July, 1793." Seeing the words that he wrote in vermilion-stained grease (later carved in to the rock) we felt very close to Mackenzie. And having hacked our way through the vegetation around here, we have tremendous respect for his journey. 
