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.
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