July 29th – August 1st Bunsbys to Rugged Point Not!

July 29^th – August 1^st Bunsbys to Rugged Point Not!

We take another 3 hour tour in our kayaks then head out towards Kyuquot (Ki-YU-kit) Sound.  Paying very close attention to the numerous green and red buoys marking the entrance to Walter’s Cove we are thankful for good descriptions in the guidebooks.  There are a few hairpin turns to make it in and we wonder how in the world the ferry and supply ship the Uchuck III makes it into the cove.  There is no anchoring here but there is a small community dock.  As we approach the dock, the skipper from the  sailboat Wind Gypsy waves us over with an offer to raft up to them.  We take advantage of this offer and safely tie up alongside, meeting Marty and Mae.  Thanking them we agree to meet over dinner to discuss when to untie and allow them off the dock. 

Walter’s Cove is another great example of a small community making it work along these remote and rugged waterways.  There is a bustling recreational fisheries, very nice fishing lodge, well stocked general store and a delightful cafe.  Across the bay there is the First Nations community of the Kyuquot Band. There are small b and b’s and other places for passengers of the Uchuck III to stay when the ship overnights in the tiny cove.  The walk to the café, “Java the Hut,” is along the water front passing in front of small homes.  Friendly conversations back and forth from table to table in the café, Canadians (Wind Gypsy), Americans (us), Kyuquot Nations (beside us) and some of the commercial fishermen make for an interesting meal.  Good food and excellent service just add to the enjoyment.

Over dinner we have determined that we too will head back out and anchor so we untie from Wind Gypsy, wind out way back out through the maze of buoys and head out into Barter Cove.  Wind Gypsy is on their way to the Wooden Boat show in Port Townsend.  Perhaps we will see them again along the way.

We move further up into Kyuquot Sound and the tiny anchorage known locally as “Blue Lips.”  A very narrow entrance leads to a nice snug, private anchorage with no wind, making it a perfect place for showers in the cockpit. 

July 31^st dawns and I attempt, with so-so success to bake bread sticks, a treat for Carl in celebration of his 7 year mark as a stroke survivor.  What a place to celebrate!  The oven is still temperamental but the bread sticks come out OK. 

Overnight Carl’s ‘crabhawk,’ a small net that he fishes for crabs with has become wrapped around the anchor chain.  As he pulls the anchor he finds that, thankfully, it only had one wrap and it comes off just fine.  Anchors aweigh and off to Rugged Point we go.  The plan is to spend a night or two anchored at Rugged Point and hike the trails in the park. 

We have not been able to receive the VHF weather report in our tiny hidey-hole.  Once we are nearly to Rugged Point we finally pick up a weather channel.  Geographically we are on the cusp of the line between Vancouver Island North and Vancouver Island South weather reports.  Weather report for the South Island area is a SE winds gale warning in effect.  Weather for our current location (North Island) is for high northwest winds.  Combine these with the pouring down rain we decide that Rugged Point is best left for another trip and we head south to a known, safe from all winds anchorage, Queen Cove, just inside Esperanza Inlet.

The winds are predicted for late tonight and today’s passage is quite calm.  This allows us to set up for halibut fishing.  We try our luck but do not land any halibut.  Instead we come up with an excellent Cabezon, and one each of Copper and China rockfish.  Then we motor on into Queen Cove and set up for another rainy day, secure from the high winds from all corners.

From the cockpit we see a Bald eagle swoop in and grab one of the fish carcasses from Carl’s fish cleaning.  We watch the eagle circle the anchorage and head back to a tree just behind us.  As he gets closer we hear the screeching of eaglets in a tree nearby.  Sure enough the eagle lands and we realize we have anchored near an active eagle nest.  What a treat!  We thought it was too late in the season for eagles to be on their nests but we have noticed a couple of other pair hanging close to nests over the last couple of weeks.

The next morning while enjoying our coffee in the cockpit we look out through the pouring rain and Carl spots a bear.  We watch as she and her two small cubs traverse the beach behind us.  This goes on for quite some time.  She gets a whiff of us and sends her cubs off to scurry up a tree.  We can see them climbing and having fun going up and down.  Their tree is just to the left of the eagle tree.  The mama bear continues to forage for quite a while, turning over rocks like they were small pebbles.  She forages on salal berries and eventually brings her cubs back down the tree.

Meanwhile the Bald eagle has come into the nest again giving us a better idea of its location.  Sure enough, Carl finds two heads with dark bodies that blend in so well with the tree trunks that you would not know they were there.  We happily watch bears, eagles and divers who have come in beside us and are running some kind of underwater transect.  They set up a couple of places in the cove and then depart, as do we.  Next stop Zeballos as we have decided to take the inside calm route to Nootka Sound instead of foraying out into the high winds.