Jordan
made some adjustments to our cruising itinerary to get us back on schedule for
reaching Ketchikan on May 29th.
We would be skipping a night of anchoring in Forward Harbour and instead
head for Lagoon Cove. Our route took us
through the Upper Rapids of Okisollo Channel where the rapids can run at 9
Knots on a spring tide. It was quite a
sight to see the flotilla skidding across the eddies.
Our
cruising weather was less than ideal. Low
hanging clouds obscured the mountain tops and intermittent drizzle kept us
under the bimini at the upper helm.
As we
entered Johnstone Strait Hannah told us to be on the lookout for northern
killer whales, Dall’s porpoise and Pacific white-sided dolphins. This strait connecting Discovery Passage with
Queen Charlotte Strait was well-known for sightings of these creatures. We
didn’t see any. But we did spot Steller
sea lions feeding near Helmcken Island on Race Passage. Their surface spouting had us all thinking we
had spotted whales, but NO!
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| Steller sea lions |
Along
Chatham Channel we crossed paths with an interesting row boat with four hearty
souls giving it their all fighting strong currents in the rain.
We
noticed what looked like Spanish moss hanging amongst the trees along the
shoreline and Hannah informed us that it was a lichen called wizard’s
beard. The name so perfectly fit! Hannah also pointed out the difference
between moss and lichen. Moss is a plant with all the needs of a plant while
lichen is a fungi/algae combination with a symbiotic relationship with its
host.
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| Wizard's beard |
By
4:30 the flotilla had arrived at Lagoon Cove Marina. Our boats were the first arrivals of the
season. In fact, divers were in the
water busily chaining these floating docks to the shore.
By
5:30 the crews had all congregated in the ‘historic’ workshop for happy
hour. This marina workshop is filled
with the detritus from years of existence on Minstrel Island – mildewed lines,
crab traps and floats, rusty anchors, dozens of paint cans, old tools, outboard
motors, and burgees left by visiting boaters from around the world. Checkered tablecloths covered the
workbenches. We feasted on delicious
potluck dishes supplied by the flotilla crews and fresh caught giant prawns
supplied by the marina owners, Dan, Kelley and Mike. A great time was had by
all.
Scattered
along the rocky shoreline and clinging to the marina pilings were starfish of
many colors – yellow, orange, gray, pink and purple.
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| Frank after the nature hike at Lagoon Cove |
The
sunshine didn’t last very long and by the time we reached Hanson Island it was
overcast and a balmy 50⁰. But what a show we had on the water! Hanson Island is world-renowned for Orcalab,
its unique killer whale research laboratory.
All the whale research is undertaken in such a way as to limit human
interference with whale behavior. A
network of hydrophones (underwater microphones) are used to listen for whales
in the core habitat of the northern resident community of British Columbia
orcas. Each clan or family of orcas can
be identified by the sounds they make and when vocalization is heard, surface
cameras record the whale movements.
Well, we didn’t see any orcas but we were lucky enough to encounter a
humpback whale spouting and fluking!
But
that wasn’t the end of our sea life encounters.
Dozens of playful Dall’s porpoise entertained us by zipping along in our
bow wake! With coloration much like that
of a killer whale or a black and white torpedo, these fast swimming porpoise
had no trouble keeping up with Bonum
Vitae as we cruised along Johnstone Strait.
North
Island Marina in Port McNeill was our stop for the night. This town is known for its logging and the
visitor centre attendant called the surrounding area “one huge tree farm”. For our flotilla, it proved to be an
excellent reprovisioning point as we will be on the hook for the next six
days.
I
think we saw all the town had to offer within easy strolling distance of the
docks – an IGA Supermarket for restocking the larder, Gus’ Pub for seafood
chowder and happy hour nibbles, the Steam Donkey, and the World’s Largest Sitka
Spruce Burl. A steam donkey is a
steam-powered winch once used in logging operations here in the northwest. It
made high-volume, mechanized logging possible during the early years of the
twentieth century. It replaced the brute
force of hand labor and teams of oxen and horses.
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| Steam Donkey |
Saturday,
May 18th was a lay day. Bob
and Madeline and Scotty and Richard from Patos,
all of us from Bonum Vitae,
Hannah and Lilly boarded a BC ferry for a short ride to Alert Bay, a Namgis
First Nation settlement on Cormorant Island.
Juanita, the museum curator, led our group on a personal tour of the
U’mista Cultural Centre. U’mista means
‘the return of something important’.
In
1921 the government of Canada, in an effort to stop the potlatch custom of
dance, song and wealth distribution, confiscated wooden masks, copper shields
and ceremonial regalia so essential to the Kwakwaka’wakw potlatch
ceremony. The U’mista Cultural Centre
showcases the artifacts that were later reclaimed from institutions and private
collectors from around the world when the period of cultural repression ended
in the 1970’s. Juanita explained the
legends and significance of many of the artifacts in this large
collection.
After
our informative tour, we were treated to an extensive seafood buffet personally
prepared by a husband and wife who had caught all the fish from their own
boat! Clam cakes, smoked salmon, fried
halibut, smoked hooligan (a small, oily fish prized as a trade item – not a
favorite of Juanita or me), fry bread, brownies and ice cream. Just as no one would ever go hungry at a
traditional potlatch, no one went hungry today. No dinner preparations would be
needed tonight!
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| Scotty, Richard, Madeline, Lilly, Barb, Frank, Bob under one of five awakwas at Alert Bay |
Jordan
had the flotilla up early on Sunday, May 19th. It would be a long day of cruising as we
needed to cover 67 miles from Port McNeill to Fury Cove, crossing Queen
Charlotte Strait and into the open waters of Queen Charlotte Sound. Good cruising weather was essential! Vancouver Island had sheltered us for the
entire cruise and now we would leave that protection behind. It could be a rocky ride. Hopefully, Captain Jordan timed our cruise
well!
We
cast off our lines at 6:15 under sunny skies.
It was a refreshing 47⁰. The water of
Queen Charlotte Strait was smooth. To
port was the north end of Vancouver Island; to starboard the snow-capped peaks
of the Canadian Coastal Range. A large
group of Steller sea lions congregated on a rocky outcropping off Race
Island. A group of sea otters floated on
their backs in beds of kelp.
 |
| Sea otter |
 |
| Passing through the Walker Group |
As we
rounded Cape Caution, the flotilla entered Queen Charlotte Sound. While there were good-sized one to two meter
swells, there were no white caps and Bonum
Vitae’s stabilizers were much appreciated.
Perched atop a rocky island, a lone bald eagle kept watch over the sound
amidst a flock of sea gulls. We followed the rocky shoreline of British
Columbia to our anchorage in Fury Cove off Fitz Hugh Sound.
We
shared Fury Cove with three other trawlers that had been docked at Port
McNeill. Just off the bow of Bonum Vitae was a pretty white clamshell
beach and beyond that, through a small opening, we could see the choppy water
of Fitz Hugh Sound. After lunch we
decided to launch the dinghy and wander along the beach. And so began the Great Dinghy Debacle…
Launching
went without a hitch and, with me at the helm, we somewhat cautiously cruised
the perimeter of Fury Cove. Bill at the
bow yelled “hard right” and we grazed a submerged rock near Deception – Captain Jordan would not
have been impressed had I damaged the dinghy while cruising right off his
stern. We headed for the beach where
Brodie and Jordan had anchored their dinghy and we placed ours close by. Well,
they were smart enough to head back to Deception
before the tide went out leaving our dinghy high and dry on the beach. OOPS!! We soon realized that no amount of
pushing and rocking the heavy dinghy was going to get her afloat. Bonum
Vitae sat just beyond our reach in 27 feet of chilly water. We were no longer so proudly boasting that we
had the biggest, heaviest dinghy in the flotilla. We were wishing we had a smaller inflatable
that we could muscle back to the water.
Help
was on the way as Dan from Thea arrived
to rescue us. Bringing his dinghy as
close to shore as possible, he loaded Vivian and me onboard and whisked us back
to Bonum Vitae before returning for
Frank and Bill. By then Brodie and
Jordan were on the beach assessing the situation and no doubt questioning the
boating skills of our crew. It was clear
that the dinghy would have to spend some hours resting on the beach and waiting
for high tide to set her free. That
wouldn’t be until midnight! “No
worries,” said Brodie. He would take
care of it.
We
laughed and drank our way through our dinner of salad and cabbage rolls
purchased at the Port McNeill farmers’ market.
Before we knew it, Jordan arrived to ferry us back to the beach for a
bonfire and s’mores roast. The males in
the group circled the stranded dinghy and commiserated with Frank and
Bill. On our way back to Bonum Vitae I jokingly asked Jordan if
he would ever let us take the dinghy out again and he jokingly (?) said, “I’ll
get back to you.”
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| Bill, Lilly, Frank, Richard at Fury Cove |
The
dinghy magically reappeared the next morning securely tied alongside Bonum Vitae. Let the next adventure begin!
Monday,
May 20th, was a cold, dreary, rainy day to cruise 33 miles to
Hurricane Anchorage. Fitz Hugh Sound was
rather bumpy. While other boats in the
flotilla bobbed to and fro like corks, we had a somewhat gentler bow to stern
pitch through the big swells. Thank you,
stabilizers!! Along the way several sea
otters were spotted in Fitz Hugh Sound.
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| Dinner aboard Deception |
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