July 30th – August 1st Shearwater Breakwater to Pruth Bay via
the islands. Feeling refreshed and unburdened by having now fixed and tested
our fuel line and engine we depart at 0700 and head towards the Spider
Islands. Along the way we find
“Endurance” rafted to another sailboat in Sans Peur Passage. When last we heard from “Endurance” he had
reported a whale in distress, an anchorage destination (he never arrived) and
the Coast Guard and wildlife staff had never heard back from him. We are glad to see that he did not go down
while tangling with a whale and that he was yet again safely wandering.
 |
| Tea Cup towing ExTerra |
We go through Spider Passage with Spider Island
to starboard in honor of our tow boat benefactor Paul Lutus. He has a wonderful website at arachnoid.com where you can find out all about him and his endeavors. While travelling today we fished and released
all but one nice Yellowtail rockfish.
Our anchorage this evening is in Brydon Cove, Northwest Arm. We set the hook and then reset it further out
after watching our swing for awhile.
Safely anchored we strike out in our dinghy,
Carl fishing and Pam reading. Odile
kayaks nearby. Carl of course catches
and releases numerous small fish. He did
catch on Cabazon which are supposed to be excellent eating but we have plenty
of fish so he also releases it. The
landscape here is rugged, short, windswept treescape overhanging rocky shores.
The next day we head from Brydon to explore more
of these island groups. The entire area
is collectively known as the Hakai Luxvbalis (pronounced hack-eye looks-bal-ease)
Conservancy Area. There are numerous
small island groups with nearly a tropical, white sand beach feel in some
places. We search for one of these and
are happy with the North Cove of Triquet Island. With winds building outside we feel just a
little fetch and wind but overall, a delightful anchorage. Pam, Carl and Walt head ashore in various
small craft and Odile stays behind canning fish and drying fish. We offer fish to the kayaker who pulls up on
shore just before us. He says, thanks,
but no, someone had already given them fish.
The group of four kayakers had just come across
the choppy open water one a five and one half hour paddle from the Goose Island
group. They highly recommend the Goose
group, as does Walt but our weather (increasingly building winds) did not suit
us well for trying to spend a night there this trip.
Carl and Pam hike a short trail from an old (and
unfortunately) falling down cabin. It
takes us straight across a narrow part of Triquet Island to the far steep
shore. Walt visits with the kayakers and
explores the white sand beach. Pam finds
a few trinkets in the shell category to stick aside for our grandkids.
Today was a stellar day for fish with Walt and
Odile landing two nice ling cod and both boats keeping jumbo sized black rock
fish (thus the canning and drying and begging folks to take some fish,
please!). For dinner Odile has cut the
larger ling cod into nice thick steaks and cooked them superbly. We definitely do not need our fish oil
capsules this month!
Our pre-dinner toast is from Pam to Carl. Happy 5th anniversary as a stroke
survivor! The only thing that would make
it more special than sitting on the hook with Walt and Odile in a fabulous
ocean setting would be if we could have the kids, grands and other close friends
and family with us. We close the evening
with a beautiful sunset over a small islet, the only thing between us and the
open Queen Charlotte Sound.
August dawns and finds us with Odile leading us
on a scenic tour enroute to Pruth Bay.
We wind our way around Triquet, around Kidney, through the Serpent group
and over into Nalau Passage. From Nalau
to and through Edward Channel, past the Planet Island group. This puts us out onto Hakai Passage which is
quite lumpy with a brisk wind. The books
say this area can definitely get quite nasty.
We then round Rattenbury Island and into Meay Inlet. We begin to see more boats and a whole
mosquito fleet of small fishing boats from the Hakai Fishing lodge. It is a quaint series of floating homes tied
together just before the turn to Pruth Bay.
Pruth Bay is large, open and has a great variety
of boats already anchored. What was once
a high end fish resort is now home to the Hakai Beach Institute, a research and
conference center. They welcome boaters as
well. We tie our dinghy up to their dock
and hike across the island. The Center
itself is amazing, with architecture reminiscent of some of the lodges at some
of our national parks. Massive flower
gardens show a preference for native species.
The boardwalk to the beach is understated and blends well with the
surrounding vegetation. The center is an
active research center, fully privately funded that also offers university
students opportunities for fellowships and research funds.
Our reward for taking the hike to the beach is a
stunning white sand beach. We happily
become beach bums, tossing off our shoes and sandals and heading different
directions to comb the beach and simply enjoy this treat for the senses. What a truly diverse set of environments we
have found on this trip!
Tonight Pam will make fish chowder and we will
cook up some filets for fish tacos tomorrow.
 |
| Walt's Ship's Stores of cookie mixes |
 |
| Beach Bums |
No comments:
Post a Comment