With 40-50 knots winds in the forecast we decided to duck into the protection of Codville Lagoon on the 27th. The first day, before the front moved in, we hiked and climbed an incredibly muddy trail up to a mountain lake with red sand beaches. Pat actually stripped and went swimming! It was too cold for me, although it was a really nice, sandy bottom. Then we pretty much vegetated for the next two days. I think I'm getting the hang of sleeping like the cats. We made lots of progress on a 1000-piece puzzle and listened to music from my iPod. Pat made some delicious banana bread from scratch, and I made Nanaimo bars, which have a chocolate and coconut base, custard filling and melted chocolate on top. MMmmmmm.
We got tired of sitting around in the gloom on the 29th and took advantage of a break in the rain to pull up anchor. Of course, the rain started again while I was on deck getting the anchor up. After a two-hour run, the native town of New Bella Bella looked pretty grim facility-wise and had no protected anchorage, so we continued another 2 or 3 miles over to Shearwater. They couldn't accomodate us at the dock so we anchored out once for two more nights. I knew we had been at anchor for too long when at about 10 am on Thursday morning I started thinking that Bloody Marys would be a good idea...
Once again we're exploring new territory. This is the farthest north - and west - that we have been so far. We're hearing of good salmon fishing up here, so perhaps we'll have some luck. More later!
July 25 at Pruth Bay
We are at anchor for a few days in a pretty place called Pruth Bay. Lots of boaters told us about it. There is a very luxurious (and very expensive) fly-in fishing resort here, but our anchorage is lovely and private. We're tucked into a little nook close to the rocky shoreline. We took the
dinghy to the head of the bay and hiked an easy trail over to the Pacific Ocean side of Calvert Island. There we found a wide sandy beach to explore. It was surrounded by huge rocks that had been carved and molded by the ocean waves for millenia. I found rocks covered with huge mussels and tide pools full of colorful starfish and anemones. We even found what looked like a nursery for baby Dungeness crabs where the outflow from a fresh-water stream met the tideline. There were dozens and dozens of little crabs in there. Pat opened up a few mussels and tossed them in. You should have seen them go after the food! I think this might be a sign that we've been anchored out long enough - we're finding it quite entertaining to watch baby crabs eat shellfish ... It has started raining, so we're prepared to relax and wait out the storm.
July 25 at Pruth Bay
We are at anchor for a few days in a pretty place called Pruth Bay. Lots of boaters told us about it. There is a very luxurious (and very expensive) fly-in fishing resort here, but our anchorage is lovely and private. We're tucked into a little nook close to the rocky shoreline. We took the
dinghy to the head of the bay and hiked an easy trail over to the Pacific Ocean side of Calvert Island. There we found a wide sandy beach to explore. It was surrounded by huge rocks that had been carved and molded by the ocean waves for millenia. I found rocks covered with huge mussels and tide pools full of colorful starfish and anemones. We even found what looked like a nursery for baby Dungeness crabs where the outflow from a fresh-water stream met the tideline. There were dozens and dozens of little crabs in there. Pat opened up a few mussels and tossed them in. You should have seen them go after the food! I think this might be a sign that we've been anchored out long enough - we're finding it quite entertaining to watch baby crabs eat shellfish ... It has started raining, so we're prepared to relax and wait out the storm.July 23 at Open Bight
Yesterday we rounded Cape Caution, taking us beyond the protection of Vancouver Island, and made our way up Queen Charlotte Sound. On our way we anchored for a couple of hours at Open
Bight, a beautiful white crescent of beach that I love to walk and explore. Off to one side of the beach, separated from the sand by dense forest and huge surf-beaten rocks, there is a white-shell midden beach that I have wanted to explore. We had tried to get there by dinghy last year but found the waves to high to make a safe landing on the slippery rocks that guard the entrance to the midden. I decided not to let a little wild country stop me, so I scrambled up rocky banks, climbed over and ducked under huge fallen logs, crashed through salal thickets and fern brakes and finally came out to the big rocks, only to find that they were quite steep in places. I really had to gird up my loins and do some rock climbing to get across to the midden. Once there, it was just gorgeous. It was obviously a place where ancient people came to harvest shellfish in the appropriate season. The beach was steep with a huge pile of discarded shells, among them many mussel shells in shades of lavender and violet, accented with gleaming mother-of-pearl where there outer shell had worn away with sun and tides. I found the remains of abalone shells, too, with their multi-colored irridescent reflections, scattered against the matte white of tumbled and broken clam and oyster shells. Wildflowers grew at the edges of the beach, finding a tenuous toehold in the tide-washed crevices of silvery driftwood logs. I could look out over the shells to see Tenacious anchored beyond the kelp that marks the off-shore rocks.
When it was time to go back to Tenacious, the seas had settled and the tide was such that Pat could pick me up in the dinghy, so I didn't have to repeat the scramble over rock and tree to get back to the beach - which was quite a relief to me, as I had pretty much already used up my quote of courage and derring-do for the day, but it is an adventure I'll never forget.
On our way up here we spotted a humpback whale in Fitz Hugh Sound. It was just meandering along so we put Tenacious in neutral and drifted along with the current while I got some video of the whale from the foredeck. We were getting closer to the whale, so Pat went aft to steer away. Just as we were turning away, the whale noticed us, scooped up a huge tail-full of water and flipped it right toward me on the deck. I was soaked! Luckily the video camera wasn't drenched, and I just caught the whale's flukes as he dove below us. We couldn't stop laughing as I stood on deck, dripping...
Yesterday we rounded Cape Caution, taking us beyond the protection of Vancouver Island, and made our way up Queen Charlotte Sound. On our way we anchored for a couple of hours at Open
Bight, a beautiful white crescent of beach that I love to walk and explore. Off to one side of the beach, separated from the sand by dense forest and huge surf-beaten rocks, there is a white-shell midden beach that I have wanted to explore. We had tried to get there by dinghy last year but found the waves to high to make a safe landing on the slippery rocks that guard the entrance to the midden. I decided not to let a little wild country stop me, so I scrambled up rocky banks, climbed over and ducked under huge fallen logs, crashed through salal thickets and fern brakes and finally came out to the big rocks, only to find that they were quite steep in places. I really had to gird up my loins and do some rock climbing to get across to the midden. Once there, it was just gorgeous. It was obviously a place where ancient people came to harvest shellfish in the appropriate season. The beach was steep with a huge pile of discarded shells, among them many mussel shells in shades of lavender and violet, accented with gleaming mother-of-pearl where there outer shell had worn away with sun and tides. I found the remains of abalone shells, too, with their multi-colored irridescent reflections, scattered against the matte white of tumbled and broken clam and oyster shells. Wildflowers grew at the edges of the beach, finding a tenuous toehold in the tide-washed crevices of silvery driftwood logs. I could look out over the shells to see Tenacious anchored beyond the kelp that marks the off-shore rocks.
When it was time to go back to Tenacious, the seas had settled and the tide was such that Pat could pick me up in the dinghy, so I didn't have to repeat the scramble over rock and tree to get back to the beach - which was quite a relief to me, as I had pretty much already used up my quote of courage and derring-do for the day, but it is an adventure I'll never forget.
On our way up here we spotted a humpback whale in Fitz Hugh Sound. It was just meandering along so we put Tenacious in neutral and drifted along with the current while I got some video of the whale from the foredeck. We were getting closer to the whale, so Pat went aft to steer away. Just as we were turning away, the whale noticed us, scooped up a huge tail-full of water and flipped it right toward me on the deck. I was soaked! Luckily the video camera wasn't drenched, and I just caught the whale's flukes as he dove below us. We couldn't stop laughing as I stood on deck, dripping...
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