August 25 - Home, 2015

Following a delightful breakfast of salal berry pancakes, bacon and eggs we cast off our lines from B Mondo knowing that it may be 2017 before we once again get to raft up with Walt and Odile.  They bring us gifts of warm fresh bread and brownies. We give them cubes of butter and a box of milk. I think we got the better end of that deal!

We head out for our 30 plus hour run to Astoria under sunny skies.  As we approach the traffic lanes that separate large ship traffic coming out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca we are very thankful for clear skies. We had a near miss with a large ship last year in nearly the exact spot that we see one this year. The difference is we can see this one since it is not sheltered in dense fog. We test our radar and AIS settings since the ship is just at the edge of distant fog. Both show it to be eight miles out. As it closes the distance we alter course slightly to ensure that we pass behind the ship.  Clear of the ship we continue on.  We pass the time talking to the many playful dolphin who swim and cavort within feet of our boat.  We also see numerous sea lions and whale sports in the distance.

The seas are quite calm today. This allows easy work in the galley which means we can have something other than granola bars and sardines. Lunch is the remains of our bon voyage steak sliced onto Odile's home made bread and followed by one of Walt's chewy, nutty brownies. Have we become spoiled or what!

We enjoy a beautiful sunset followed by a moon set with fishing boats off in the distance followed by a delightful sunrise on our voyage south along the Washington coast.  The seas remain calm and there is not enough wind to sail but our trusty motor and auto pilot keep us on track.  We arrive at the Columbia River bar a bit early so we turn off the motor and float around then we do a slow sail over the bar with our still reefed main and a 1/3 head sail out.  

The bar report is 2-4 foot seas and 100% visibility.  This is true for the first 30 minutes but all of a sudden we are in pea soup fog.  After a call to the Coast Guard for an updated bar report they say again that it is 100% visibility.  I let them know that we are in the channel and we can see about 50 yards....maybe!  We soon hear a revised report that indeed says visibility five zero yards repeat five zero yards in a voice bordering on anxious.  Now everyone knows to approach cautiously.   Our normal three hour transit to Astoria takes 5 and 1/2 hours but we arrive safely thanks to a close eye on the radar, AIS and slow going with watchful eyes.

After a sound sleep we depart up river, destination the delightful Longview Yacht Club.  We enjoy the flood tide which adds a knot and a half to our normal speed.  We dine on their deck and have nice discussions with some of the members who are working on the club house.  The next morning, well rested, we take off for the City of Rainier dock to pick up Carl's brother Jim.  The three of us go to a nice cafe for breakfast which will give the outgoing tide some time to pass through so we don't have to fight the tide and the current.

We have a nice motoring up the river enjoying the normal river commerce, barges, logging containers, dredging, and a treat, one of the tall ships with its pirate crew and the Queen of the West paddlewheel.  We make decent time and arrive home a little before 7:00 p.m.  It is nice to be home.  Once again our trip has proven to be nerve wracking fun and worth every minute.  Until next year!

August 17 - 24, 2015

The peaceful Pinkertons are a nice place to anchor. We end up staying six nights.  On the 17th we see another sailboat carefully picking their way through one of the narrow entrances. It is B Mondo and her crew, our good friends Walt and Odile Dortch.  Carl and Walt worked together for years at the Forest Service on relicensing of hydro electric dams.  Odile came to the northwest on her 26 foot sailboat, by herself, all the way from France and settled down with Walt.

We last saw B Mondo in August of 2013 in Desolation Sound when we headed south and they continued north.  Walt and Odile took the train to Portland and came with us on our first voyage with ExTerra.  Our intrepid foursome battled NW winds and relatively high seas as we sailed for two days off the coast of Washington. We then turned on the motor and eventually made our way to Anacortes to drop Walt and Odile back at their boat, then north together to Desolation Sound.  We were so thankful for their expert sailing knowledge and camaraderie.

Today they are delivering groceries to us from their run to Ucluelet. Then they are off to Pipestem to gather fresh oysters.  Carl and I spend the rest of the day fishing and reading.  Late the next day Walt and Odile return and raft up to our boat with limits of oysters.  We then have what we call the crab rodeo in the cockpit, sorting out the best crab and cleaning then for dinner.  We make quick work the crab in Pam's pressure cooker then enjoy a nice BBQ oysters, crab and quinoa salad dinner, talking late into the evening in the cockpit.

The next day Carl and Odile dinghy fish for hours!  I think Pam and Walt are glad  the two  obsessive... I mean enthusiastic fishing folks have someone to fish with. Not that I don't enjoy our evenings in the dinghy rowing and reading while Carl fishes but it is nice for them to fish together and compare notes.

When they return with a bucket of nice rock fish they mention seeing a bear swimming between islands. Sure enough we then see the bear walking to the point and into the water, swimming on through to the next little island. What fun!  We close this day with a full turf dinner, pressure cooker meatloaf from Pam and Carl's elk burger and homemade warm "boat bread" from Odile's bakery.

We decide after a few nights of oyster feeding frenzies that we all will take B Mondo back to Pipestem, restock the oyster bucket and move on to Effingham.  Walt and Odile anchor in their favorite spot, we raft up to them and another wonderful dinner is shared; steamed little neck clams, fresh baked bread and rice. We are getting spoiled! We enjoy a nice sunset.  The rest of our time at Effingham includes a hike to the far beach. We bring back driftwood boards to add to the trail.  We are visited by two folks who are originally from France and have an aluminum boat similar to B Mondo.  Pretty soon Odile is having a lovely discussion with them in French and they head on their way. They have been sailing for years. 

Now it is off to Dodger Passage where Pam and Carl will depart from in a couple days.  This usually quiet anchorage is a buzz of activity. From what we can piece together a good sized fin whale has been towed in from sea so that a necropsy can be done on it.  This is the second largest mammal in the world. The unfortunate critter is surrounded by small boat loads of officials.  We dinghy close enough for a few photos then we head over to Haines island.

Haines island is Huu-AHT First Nations territory and has a beautiful welcome sign. It also has lots of ripe salal berries and plums.  We pick lots of each.  Pam looks over Odile's shoulder and learns how to make salal jelly in B Mondo's galley.  Walt and Odile keep us full of wonderful treats like the jelly, fresh baked breads and brownies! Pam and Carl bring their home made elk sausage, deer jerkey and burger to share.  What feasts we have!

This evening we will celebrate our last dinner together for the season. What a wonderful time it has been and we look forward to 2017 when once again we may get to sail with them.  But now we need to declare and store the dinghy and recheck everything for our 10:30 departure tomorrow morning for the Columbia river bar.

August 10 - 16, 2015

And now today's episode of as the worm turns...Will wonders never cease. As mentioned our boat parts are finally here!  Their journey has been plagued from start to finish. I made sure to contact UPS Canada and pay import duty and tax so the Harbor Master Kevin would not have to worry about it.  When we go to pick up the parts Kevin says with a concern on his face "the parts came COD and I had to go to the pharmacy since that is where UPS dropped them off. The pharmacy would not let me take them until I paid $35.41 which I did with my personal credit card."   We fork over the cash thanking Kevin profusely for going above and beyond and agree to work it out with UPS.  Carl heads to the pharmacy to figure it out while Pam starts the laundry. Carl returns and says that UPS had stopped back by the pharmacy and said the package was not supposed to have been COD (duh!) but for some reason no one bothered to let Kevin know that. Kevin promptly returned our cash and says he will now work it out with his credit card company. We head up to Ukee Scoops and buy a gift certificate for Kevin. When we try to give it to him he says "absolutely not. I am on contract and cannot take gifts of ANY kind!" We promise a nice letter to the editor instead and do the only other thing we can at the moment. We march back to Ukee Scoops and consume enough ice cream for three people.

Back to the boat, parts in hand. We take apart the windlass, put it all back together. Everything works and no parts were dropped overboard which is always a bonus.  We have a very brief chat with Cam as he motors near the dock with his tour boat full of whale watchers and calls out a greeting to us. "Perhaps Laura and I will stroll by tonight" he yells as he motors off.  We see him returning from his second tour around 8:30 that night.  Since it is so late we know we won't see them now until we return in 2017.

Off the dock we go, headed back out to Barkley sound.  Entire we pass by Folger island that is covered with sea lions. We can head their barking nearly a mile away.  We anchor in what will become a new favorite spot for us, Dodger Channel in the Deer Group of islands.  We explore by dinghy and land on Haines Island with its beautiful beaches and abandoned cabin.  We pick fresh ripe plums from the old small orchard. We see our first deer tracks ever in all of our exploration (except the neighborhood deer in Ucluelet).   This anchorage puts us safely behind a row of small barrier islands that allow us calm yet we have a front row seat to watch breaking waves as they roll into the sound.

Next we head for Tzartus Cove.  We catch... Rock fish... No surprise. The real treat is the mature  Bald Eagle that swoops down three feet from us and snags the fish carcass that Carl threw out!  Had my sister Barb been here she would have taken some great photos I am sure!   We also like the rugged shore here with caves and rock arches. We dinghy into one of the arches and I am reminded of Leif and Lisa and our dinghy excursions off the coast of Mexico.

We take our burnable trash to the shore.  Lighting the small fire at the waterline,  Pam solemnly reflects on the wildfire that is raging in Canyon City,  Oregon the small town where we raised our  two sons. The hill that our home was on is under mandatory evacuation. We hope for safety from the fires for the residents and the fire fighters.  As we get back into the dinghy we make sure that our little fire is "out... dead out" as Smokey would say.

Carl catches a very nice ling cod that we freeze for part of a fish dinner with the "kids and grands" when we get home.

Today it is off to the Pinkertons, another area we enjoy for its small islands and beautiful sunsets.  We crack crab and enjoy the sun. We stop by the cabin that is receiving much needed repair and visit with Christine and her Dad Ray.  We find out she went to our alma mater Oregon State to be part of their rowing crew.  We look forward to seeing Walt and Odile as they have made their way from Anacortes and down the outside of Vancouver island and will tie up with us in a day or so.

August 4 - 10, 2015

For all of you who have spouses and significant others please say howdy to them for us. I often only send the email to one of you so as not to fill up too many in boxes!

We have anchored in Cataract Cove in Pipestem Inlet in Barkley sound.  It is quite nice. A series of small rock islands, fresh water creeks and cabins to explore.  First order of business is to check the shrimp pot.  We pull up the 200 feet of line and set the pot on the edge of the dinghy. Thank goodness it is on the edge and not down inside!  Pam is not easily grossed out but the two foot long slime eel that snakes it's way out of the pot and over the edge of the dinghy into the water definitely is gross!! Imagine a two foot long two inch diameter slimy banana slug slithering past like a snake... Yikes! 

The good news is we do get shrimp, at least a few. We also get a bunch of what we call crimps. They look like a cross between a crawdad and a shrimp with long skinny pincers and a rounded tail.  Some internet searching says they are Japanese scampi and should not exist in these waters. More tsunami invasive species? We don't know but we will send a photo to Fisheries Canada.

We chat with folks from a very nice large power boat who anchor nearby. He says we have chosen the only spot where we don't have to run a stern tie to shore. We watch as they make quick work of this task. We chat off and one with them about shrimp, crab, oysters and clams.  They ask if we will be heading to Lucky creek and we say no we ventured up into Cataract creek to rinse Carl's drive gear. 

Since Pam dove the boat to change the pro zinc it was Carl's turn to play junior frogman. Seems the knot that was on our seafood live well (5 gallon bucket with lots of holes that we throw over the side) came undone and the bucket sank to the bottom.  With the oysters and mussels inside.  Carl dons full scuba gear and ventures out.  He goes too far out on his first try. Next we drop a line with a five pound weight on it so he can have a reference point to stay closer to the boat. Fairly quickly Pam sees Carl surfacing, lobster bucket in hand.

Oysters and mussels retrieved Pam decides it will be a nice time to do an old fashioned crab boil.  We end up with potatoes, onions, crab, mussels, and scampi. Fresh ears of corn are missing but our elk salami is a decent substitute for kielbasa sausage. Crusty bread and oysters off the barby make for a nice feast.

Rainy day, lazy day, chicken soup... hot tea day.  We nestled inside the boat as the area receives a full day of steady, heavy much needed rain.  Many books read.  Pam has been trying to figure out what that steady hum is. After the deluge she goes out to find many new waterfalls, their water thundering down the steep hillsides and into the Inlet. She then hoists the main sail to dump the rain. Had we been sailing the south seas we could have harvested many gallons of fresh rain from our sails.

Spending one night anchored in Lyall point byte we see three bears and find a research site for European green crabs, another invasive aquatic species.  Then we motor back to Ucluelet and thankfully find out that our windlass parts had finally found their way to us. A hike to town to retrieve them includes pizza, fresh groceries, showers and laundry. Schlepping our bags back to the boat we have just settled in when we hear someone hailing us from the dock. Laura heard us on the radio and stopped in to say hi. We have visited with her and Cam over the years going out on their chatter fishing boat and staying at their vacation rental. It was great to see her.

Hi Emily and Sam

Nana and Papa love you and miss you!! Hugs and kisses from us to you!

Pam and Carl Urban Weekend In Ucluelet

It is unusual for us to tie up to a dock for four nights but here we are on the customs dock in Ucluelet waiting for our windlass bearings.  We just found out they have not even been shipped yet. Pam calls the company and they assure us that the package will go out today, Thursday, thus the four days on the dock.  We see the invoice says air freight two day delivery so we settle in and will look for them Monday allowing an extra day or so.

We are on the "52 Step" dock so called due to the 52 steps you climb each time you venture off the dock.  As we climbed the 52 steps this evening we had an educational chat with Karla Robison and her energetic crew. Karla is the manager of the Environmental and Emergency Services, Ucluelet district. As such she is in charge of the nearly one million dollar grant from Japan.  The U.S. received 5 million.

Her crew and many like them along the coast of Alaska have been stock piling tsunami debris. This coming Tuesday a barge the size of a football field will be outside the Ucluelet Inlet. A helicopter will airlift all the debris Karla's crew has gathered up and load it on the barge. Then the barge heads to Seattle where the sorting and recycling begins. 

Rightfully so Karla is obviously proud that her crew is involved in this effort, the only participant in British Columbia.  She goes on to explain that Japanese scientists have met with her to help confirm that most of the debris is Japanese. This includes large chunks of mortise and tenon house construction pieces.  She said to Google tsunami debris Ucluelet. I did that and borrowed a great photo. That is Karla helping one of the Japanese delegates off of the raft. The photos of the barge are mine. We passed the barge as it floated in Newcombe channel awaiting it's debris.

Otherwise our urban weekend consisted of small boat projects, walking around town, ice cream at Ukee Scoops and visiting with the neighbors.

We share the dock with large ocean going fishing vessels who fish a mile plus below the waves for Black cod and Idiot fish.  They are all exhausted and ready for a break.

We meet Gerry who has been refurbishing his old cement sailboat. He has many stories to tell including being rescued at sea one Christmas eve by the Tofino coast guard.

Then there is Jerry whom we help tie up. He has single handed his beautiful ketch from Hawaii. He has been gone for two years down to Mexico and back. He phones his wife and the customs people, in that order. He is a day or two behind schedule because his auto pilot died and he had to rely on the wind vane.  We leave a not for him to join us for dinner but he sleeps right through.  They next morning he cheerily waves and thanks us as he takes off, heading home to Washington.

We give some crab to a chatty guy who pulled up in his small sailboat with a catamaran tied on the side, two kayaks atop the cat.  His boat is called the Fiord Explorer and he has been up every Inlet on the British Columbia coastline and is now working more of them on this side of the island. He says he will be getting a small trimaran as his current rig is getting to hard to handle.

Then a short visit with a man who has done a low tide haul out of his sailboat, tired securely to the dock and standing on it's keel.

We check Monday's email and ask Brandon for a tracking number.  What we find is that the order is going UPS ground, NOT air freight and the bearings are not due for another week.  We decide to spend one more night on the dock so we can try to find the tsunami barge on Tuesday.  We find it right where Karla said it would be.  Imagine two of our large Columbia river barges tied together!!  This monster is being towed from Alaska to Seattle by the tug "Billy H."

Then we head out five miles to try for halibut. No luck, just two small Sole fish.  Now we are anchored in Cataract Cove in Pipestem Inlet. Our intrepid protein seeker Carl has set the shrimp pot out and is doing his post dinner rock fishing.

July 27 - 30, 2015

Two peaceful nights by ourselves in Bottleneck Cove. Fishing was OK crabs were soft.  We motor down Sydney Inlet and sail up Shelter Inlet. We drop our sails to maneuver through Hayden passage.  The passages on this side of the island are minor in current and hazards compared to the inside passage but there are four knots of current in a fairly narrow channel with rocks on both sides so down come the sails. Then we make the short motor into Ahousat and tie up to the dock for one night. This year Ahousat is a place for diesel, groceries, laundry and a shower.  Last year we hiked and went over to the First Nations village of Marktosis so this year we just want a couple more of Tammy's home cooked meals at the cafe and a visit with Hugh since we won't see them next year.

July 28-30 we anchor in Ritchie Bay.  We thread our way through all the commercial crab pots and decide that the larger anchorage is not sheltered from the wind enough. We find enough windbreak in the smaller nook and easily set of anchor.   Carl sets of immediately to fish.  His quest borders on obsession.  He only keeps a few small fish to bait the crab pot.  The crab pot is so prolific here that we will leave with our limits of red rock crabs.  Carl also tries out his crab "hawk" a small folding net/cage that you attach to a fishing pole. Then you drop it to the bottom, the crab hop on and as you reel it in the cage closes over the crab. This keeps Carl occupied for hours in the Cove. He has been busy for another hour undoing a gigantic wad of fishing line since on the last cast for some reason the crab "hawk" ended up being dragged halfway across the Cove.   All of the crab are cleaned, cooked and quickly chilled. Pam uses a pressure cooker that makes quick work of this.  It is fresh cracked crab and risotto for dinner.

Sure Do Miss You All!

Hello. It was so nice to have enough cell signal to see all the photos from your beach camping trip.  It looks like you had a good time.  Photos help but we sure do miss you all. 

We will be at the dock in Ucluelet for a few days. The parts we need were delayed. We could go on without them but hauling up ninety feet of chain every time we anchor is a bit much!! 

This evening we will walk into town for a nice dinner to celebrate three years of post stroke health.

Hugs to you all.

Love Mom and Dad
aka Nana and Papa

July 23 - 25, 2015

July 23 - The ship's refrigerator is a marvel.  It is deep so it holds the cold well.  Unless you have an eidetic memory (which I do not) you tend to forget what all is down there.  I do however remember that I had packed away a pound of bacon. I go to retrieve it as a treat now that we are past the halfway mark of our journey.  A treasure is found! Nestled next to the bacon is a large package of our home made elk jerkey.  As I slide the fridge divider back into place however I manage to upend the last carton of blueberries. They of course quickly scatter themselves throughout the fridge making their way to the bottom.

Now the ship's fridge becomes a bit of a frustration for a short person. I take most of the food out and hang over the edge gathering handfuls of berries. With my last handful up comes a lost treasure. Like Humphrey Bogart in the Caine mutiny in search of the lost strawberries we have been searching in vain for an item for over a week. To my pleasure I snag Carl's prescription sunglasses which must have fallen off the counter into the depths of the fridge.

Bacon and eggs consumed, sunglasses cleaned, we will now venture out on the rising tide in our trusty ETsy (ExTerra's dinghy) in search of the ling cod that were hooked but not landed on yesterday's rising tide.

July 24 - No legal sized ling cod were to be found. Today we weigh anchor and head to Bottleneck Cove.  No wait! What is this lugging down sound on the windlass?   After much discussion, reading of the manual and consulting many online experts we decide it is time to take further apart our trusty yet ancient windlass.  Hoping to not drop any gears overboard we gingerly work the cover and the shaft off.  Next the bearing, safely stowing it in the empty potatoe salad container in case it falls apart.  We take it into the galley.

Yesterday the galley was putting forth bacon and eggs. Today it has been converted to the ship's toolshed.  Cleaning and soaking the bearing in diesel it becomes apparent that it is hopelessly seized up. Thankful for cell signal Pam goes online to find the part number and somewhere on the continent to order from.   Hopefully the two new bearings will be waiting for us when we get back to Ucluelet.  The very competent Wharfinger Kevin says he will hold onto them until we arrive.

July 25- today we do weigh anchor and realize why it is called "weigh anchor" after pulling up our all chain rode by hand.  We take the chain off and put on our rope rode so we are ready when we do get to Bottleneck Cove.  Two things!  It is always good to have at least one and better, two backups for all you major systems and having such it is always good to think through and talk about these backups when you first put them to work.  We navigate the narrow, shallow entrance to Bottleneck Cove. Pam releases the anchor and rode letting out more scope than we use with the chain. Carl "sets the hook" and we both evaluate this first time use of rope versus chain.  Thankfully this Cove is beautifully protected from wind and swell.

July 26 A few times last night we awoke to the sound of much needed heavy rain.  When I ventured outside this morning a new sound was in the anchorage.  The overnight rains brought forth a small waterfall that was shedding the rain water from the hillsides.  What a beautiful sound with the calm water backdrop.  This evening we will have our first dungeness crab and hopefully fresh bread as once more the galley is a galley and I will be testing our oven for the first time.

July 12 - 22, 2015

Leaving Queen Cove we motor out into the Inlet, destination the village of  Zeballos. The engine is sputtering off and on which can always raise the blood pressure a few beats. We make it safely into Zeballos and tie up to the village dock.  The 2009 guide book mentions numerous pubs and restaurants. We find only one still in business and enjoy wonderful fish and chips.  The boom and bust village has seen gold and iron mines and logging. Now it is primarily logging and only has about 200 people. It does however have nice interpretive signs that take you back to the 1930's hey day and explain where all the original building were. 

We are able to take nice long hot showers for only two loonies. The tiny laundromat allows us to wash all the salt air out of our clothes. The nice find is the tiny grocery store with fresh from the garden vegetables. We have a nice long chat with the owners. She tells us that the locals don't know what to do with her bok choy and some of her other vegetables.  She hesitates as she asks "would you like some fresh swiss chard?" We leave with a huge bunch and two different ways to enjoy it, her version and his version . She lets me have my small ginger root for free and tucks in a small fresh garlic bulb as we walk out the door.

Now it's back to boat chores. We spend a few hours cleaning the air filter, air drying it and oiling it. We lose track of time and get to the pay phone to late to call our oldest grandson and wish him happy birthday. Happy birthday Aiden!!

July 13 - The village office is open today so we walk to town to pay our fee. She says "I know that the sign says 50 cents per foot but the new by-laws raised it to $1.00 per foot."  OK I say with a question in my voice. The man behind her says" if the sign still says 50 cents then that is all we are going to charge. " We thank them kindly. I wonder if that topic will come up at their next Board meeting.  Of we go towards our next stop. ExTerra plugs along nicely, happy with her clean air filter.

With brisk wind we are able to use both sails for some decent amount of time then the wind dies as we round up into Hecate channel.  We stop at the Esperanza Mission fuel dock to fill up, preferring to throw our fuel dollars to them as it is a source of income for the Mission.  The Nootka mission was founded in 1937 as a hospital; it continues today with non-denominational camps for kids.  We buy an ice cream and head out again, destination Tahsis.

For us the trip up to Tahsis is just to know that we have gone there. We cannot anchor and the small town is in the bust side of boom and bust.  However we are guided into the bustling Westview marina by their competent staff on VHF 06 and they help us tie up for the night.  Westview has kept itself alive by being a top notch destination for the large crowd of small fishing boats. They have an extremely busy fish cleaning station that you can watch from their outdoor bar and grill. I did not get photos but as we enjoyed steak,  chicken Alfredo and fresh peach cobbler we watched wheelbarrows full of halibut, ling cod and salmon come in to be cleaned.   We then retired to the boat for the mundane changing of the oil. 

July 14 - 15 leaving Tahsis we head back to the Esperanza Mission to retrieve our credit card after receiving a hail from them over the VHF. We see a speeding motor boat that flags us down and there in the middle of the Tahsis narrows they pull up beside us, she hangs on the rail of their boat, credit card in hand while Carl hangs on the rail of our boat. Their skipper and I keep the boats from colliding, the card is retrieved and off we both go.  Our goal today is to reach Princess channel and muster the courage to navigate through to anchor.  With paper chart in my hands and Carl's eye on the electronic chart we make it through. It looks tame but each book mentions all the underwater rock hazards so we pay close attention. The reward is two nights in a beautiful anchorage between Tahsis and Kendrick inlets.

Tonight some of that fresh swiss chard will compliment our ling cod.  Messing about in the ship's galley I am reminded how well thought out the galley is. It is compact and everything is in easy reach. It makes you think to plan ahead. Otherwise once you have all of your vegetables chopped up and covering the countertop that steamer that you need for the vegetables will be buried in the deep counter pot locker under all your chopped up veges. Steamer retrieved and dinner proceeds.  After dinner it is fishing once again since this area is closed to all fin fish starting tomorrow.

With fishing closed Carl continue his quest for protein by setting up our alien spaceship collapsible crab trap. We found this gem at Kim's well staffed and stocked Columbia Marine Exchange. A shout out to you and your staff. I don't have Joe's email but tell him the teak work he did is holding up well.

July 16 - 18 we actually get to sail some today as we move to Hisnet Inlet Bay.  This will be one of my favorite spots, peaceful and private.  We enter the bay to the woeful call of the loon often a sign that you have moved off the beaten path.  Other than old clear cuts on the hillside there is a feeling of remoteness right down to the cry of the wolf that we hear each day.  We retrieve an abandoned crab trap and two hundred feet of line that has washed up near shore so it won't wrap around anyone's prop.  We release the two nearly starved crabs.

In my overzealous effort to thoroughly rinse the new to us line I manage to get enough water on my side of the berth that I have to string sheets, blankets and foam pad over all the lifelines. As we take off to find oysters at low tide ExTerra looks like the laundry Junks that we saw on the rivers in China.    Since this area is safe for oysters (no red tide) we fill our buckets easily and throw in some mussels and clams as well.  We walk the old logging roads and wonder what the road work we hear in the distance will be for. An invigorating (read somewhat colder than we hoped) sponge bath in the fresh water creek and then fresh oysters and the rest of our swiss chard for dinner.  In the morning we retrieve our empty shrimp pot and head for Bligh Inlet Cove.

July 18 - 20 leaving Hisnet we make a short move to Bligh Inlet Cove.  I appreciate that many of the inlets and coves are named for those who plied these waters early in our known history, both the first Nations tribal members and the white settlers and explorers.  Enroute we cross the open expanse of water where Nootka sound meets the open ocean.  We see a lone kayak in the middle of the open copy waters. He disappears regularly in the deep swells. We slowly motor close to him to see if he is ok and he gives us the OK signal and keeps paddling frantically towards shore.  We find our quiet anchorage, alone once again.  The next night our anchorage is full with three  sailboats and five small, rafted together fishing boats. One of the sailboats is Madrone, a 43 foot Taswell that moors in Hayden Bay.  We visit with Angie and Mike when they dinghy over after seeing our Rose City burgee.

July 20-22 next anchorage is Friendly Cove.  This Yuquot  First Nations village is one of the earliest populated sites on the West Coast Vancouver island.  We make this stop so we can visit the church that has been converted to a community center and small museum. It has beautiful stained glass windows donated by Spain. The windows depict the transfer of the Cove from  Spain to England and the other shows a Franciscan monk giving a sermon to the natives. I am glad to see that the natives have chosen to use the building as their community center and display history and some of their beautiful tribal significant carvings and totems. 

Next we hike up to the Nootka lighthouse and talk with the light keeper. They have staffed the light for twelve years. They host a small crew of coast guard who travel the area in an inflatable boat, the only cost guard presence since the latest reduction in coast guard staff and locations.

We watch the converted gunship Uchuck III ferry arrive and depart.  She is loaded with many Yuquot families who have journeyed from their Gold River village to gather at Friendly Cove for a few nights of camping and visiting. 

After a very rolely night and not much sleep we depart. We troll for a couple of hours with the salmon fishing fleet. We don't catch salmon but we do get to watch a pod of Orca whales for quite sometime.  Then we hoist the sails and start back south since the predicted winds are northwest. We sail for hours in winds that are southwest instead of northwest being able to stay just enough of the wind to make our way around Estevan point.  One hour short of Hot Springs Cove the wind kicks up to a steady 25 knots and we struggle to get our head sail in.  Reef sooner next time!  Somehow our alien crab put flies off the boat.  I think we have lost it until I see it frantically bobbing along behind the boat on its fifty foot line. Images of wrapping our prop with our own crab put flash through my mind. After much heaving and pulling I get it back on board. Store it's rope inside it... next time! This is how we learn. 

We finally make it into Hot Springs Cove and invite Angie and Mike over for snacks. We have a nice long visit. They depart for the hot springs and we settle in for a much needed good night's rest.

July 7 - 12, 2015

This will be a long read since we have been out of cell range for days.

As we round Estevan point we are in uncharted waters for us. We are glad we waited for now we have a smooth ride. It gives us a chance to relax and watch for wildlife. We can now say we have Peeps or at least one Peep as a yet unidentified small Sand Piper decided we are his island. He stays with us for about twenty minutes exploring his new found world from stern to bow. We see numerous sea otters floating lazily along on their backs, feet and heads bobbing along. None close enough for photos. First fish catch of the trip as we circle and fish an underwater pinnacle and catch three Rock fish. Then we anchor in tranquil Mary Basin on Nuchatlitz Inlet, the only boat around. 

July 8 happy birthday to Carl! We pull up anchor and head for anchorage in Port Langford a large indent at the base of the Sophia mountain range.  We paddle around in the dinghy with Carl fishing and Pam nestled down inside reading her book. No fish and no keeper crabs so Carl's birthday dinner is fish tacos and fresh fruit using more of the rock fish.  Carl then takes off fishing again happy as a clam.

July 9th a lazy day with a long dinghy ride at low tide. We met our goal of seeing the bears foraging at low tide. One single bear right where the books said he would be. Must have been his shift for the tourists.  Around another corner we head in to shore and see a sow with two cubs. Mama bear quickly takes the cubs to cover.  Later a peaceful end to a peaceful day. We read books and sip evening beverages in the cockpit. We rock slowly on the hook while the Bald Eagles chatter and our stringed symphony plays on (three fishing poles whose lines catch the wind at different pitches).

July 10-11th. Sometime in the middle of last night we awaken to a loud clatter as something hits our standing rigging. Carl goes to investigate and determines that it is a bat or a bird, too dark and foggy to tell. The critter stays around for awhile sending vibrations down the cables each time it hits them. We think perhaps the fog and our anchor light have confused the poor thing.  It gets the last laugh however as it's song actually does sound like someone laughing which keeps us awake for awhile. UummMwahahaha!

Leaving Port Langford anchorage we motor towards Esperanza Inlet. Fishing another underwater pinnacle Carl gets the first lingcod of the trip.  We then head into Port Eliza, another Inlet off of Esperanza Inlet. We anchor in Queen Cove for two nights.  This protected anchorage has a number of nice vacation homes around it, all empty.  We circle the entire Cove in the dinghy snapping photos of the shipwrecked Vancouver 5 princess and fishing, catching only tiny perch and rock fish. The next day we stretch out legs on a short logging road. Then it is home made soup and hot tea while the low drizzle continues outside.  One greenling to add to the larder for you fisher folk out there.