North... to Alaska?

Simon in the cockpit, underway

Port McNeill, June 29, 2013
Tonight we are preparing to round Cape Caution, an annual minor crisis of planning for minimal wave height forecasts combined with preparing Tenacious an undefined period of time at anchorages in the wilderness. Shopping opportunities (for food, fuel or repair parts) become fewer and farther between the farther north we go, so we try to make ourselves as self-sufficient as possible. The last couple of ingredients for favorite seafood recipes, a spare impeller, an O-ring for the raw water intake, a bottle of Seam-Seal to fix a sneaky drip from a seam of the canvas cockpit, and bags of ice for Happy Hour cocktails are among our final purchases in Port McNeill.

This will be the first time new mates Simon and Jake, aka "The Kitty-Boys," will experience the swell of the Pacific Ocean. Until now we have traveled behind the protection of Vancouver Island, and been quite fortunate with very calm seas. Wish us all luck!




The kitty boys are doing so very well. They are relaxed on board and friendly with everyone who comes over (and everyone wants to meet them.) Best of all, they show no signs of wanting to jump off on the dock and go wandering. Such good boys!  I wouldn’t want to be on a smaller boat though. One of their favorite activities right after breakfast is racing each other pell-mell from one end of the boat to the other. Or from stem to stern, as we mariners say. Then it's nap time...

Pierre's at Echo Bay, June 19-20

Yep, we were all the way up there!

I am well along in my annual process of recapturing my "Nature Girl" persona; or maybe this is the real me? Today my friend Colleen asks if I would climb with her up to the top of the cliffs across from the marina. I reply instantly, "Of course!" but feel some inner misgivings. I have gone bashing though the woods with Colleen before. I know that the experiences are always strenuous and a bit of a stretch for my courage, and always very memorable.

 

We dinghy over to the other side of the bay and clamber up the rocky shoreline to reach the forest above the high tide line. Soon we find the remains of a trail leading inward and upward along the all-but-vertical base of the cliffs. Rainstorms over the last couple of days have left everything wet and slippery. Before long the trail becomes steeper and less defined. We lose it and backtrack find it again a couple of times. Suddenly we are faced with a slick rock face lined with scraggly salal bushes and ill-mannered cedar branches. Thankfully we also find an aged rope, slick with mud and moss, tied to a tree above. A few tugs to ensure the rope still attached and we haul ourselves up hand-over-hand. This turns out to be the first of four places where we must climb using ropes.

 

The trail deteriorates; we scramble over fallen timber and thrusting through various errant and impudent growths before arriving at the peak thoroughly slimed. There we are greeted by spectacular views of the marina, Billy Proctor's buildings and Cramer Passage and her many islands, beyond. I call Patrick on the walkie-talkie so he can get some pictures of us. We can barely be seen from the dock; we can see for miles and miles.

 

Tenacious looks so tiny down there!

Colleen and I relax and enjoy the view for a while before re-tracing our steps. At one point I think I have a foothold on a huge rounded granite outcropping and end up stripping off a massive patch of moss as I slide down the face of the rock before catching a root with my toes. Lucky thing: the next stop is quite a bit farther down. Dirty hands, face, knees, backside, scratched up arms and pine needles down my neck, you might not recognize me. And I am completely happy.

 

Captains Cove Marina, June 3

Tenacious is getting her bottom worked on.  I pressure-wash the gunk off as Patrick greases the prop and changes the sacrificial zincs that protect it. It's a little disconcerting, working underneath this multi-ton hull as she hangs from two straps that we can hear groaning and stretching...
Pictures from the road...
Baby prairie dogs in the badlands! Nothing is cuter, except my two cats.