August 9th through 12th on to Ucluelet

August 9^th through 12^th on to Ucluelet

After a one night stay back in Ritchie Bay to refill our crab pot we head back ‘outside’ and down the coast towards Ucluelet.  We fish for halibut but have no luck although one makes off with Carl’s bait fish.  He does however catch a very nice Copper rockfish.  We see in the distance the 900 foot Ooosterdam Cruise Ship headed back south.  We also watch Wind Gypsy, our Walter’s Cove dock mate, as they mosey along on a very light breeze with their spinnaker and a variety of other sails deployed.

One of the treats along the way is another look at a number of Sunfish.  They wave one short fin as they meander back and forth on the surface, gathering warmth from the sun before they descend back down to the deeps.  We get a few photos which do not do them justice.  One is about eight feet long and gives a flip of its fin before taking its dive.

We call Kevin, the harbour master.  Although he does not take reservations he says he does have a nice easy spot for us on the south side of his new (since we’ve been here) breakwater dock.  With the help of a nice gentleman we tie up in the wind and visit awhile.  He has gone up to Prince Rupert from Vancouver and is now making his way, single handing, to Mexico.  We talk a bit about Astoria and the Columbia River Bar.  Perhaps he will put in there.  We see him off and on as we each wonder through town re-stocking whatever needs re-stocking. 

Each time we pass the main dock we look for Cam and Laura’s boat.  We first met Cam and his wife Laura when we came by land to Ucluelet, perhaps back in 2011 (?) with Pam’s sister Barb and her husband Craig.  We booked a whale watching tour with Cam and then after having a great day and picking his brain we discovered he really liked to take people salmon fishing, even though he did more whale and wildlife tours.  We booked a salmon trip with him for the next day and had a wonderfully successful day.  Since then we have gone back to visit him and Laura everytime we come to Ucluelet.  We stayed in their bed and breakfast one year and have had them to dinner on the boat.  Laura tracked us down on the dock another year to give me a hard copy of her quinoa salad that I really liked.  I now make it every year while on the boat.  We finally find both Cam and Laura at their boat and have a brief hello and visit as Cam unties the boat and takes off with another boat load of customers who will soon to be happily watching whales.  We have a nice, although short, visit with Laura before we all go our separate ways.  Another…..until we meet again, so very common with this type of cruising.

After a leisurely day of playing tourist, doing laundry, taking real showers and enjoying a variety of the small eateries in Ucluelet we untie to lines and head for Barkley Sound.