August 1st – 11th 11 days in Northern Barkley Sound

 August 1^st – 11^th 11 days in Northern Barkley Sound

I will attempt to post from our cell phone hotspot but I will definitely need to wait until we get home to post the photos for this let of the trip.  

After another fairly rough 7-hour trip we tie up to the 52 Steps dock in Ucluelet.  Along the way we saw one whale tale as we were dodging a commercial fishing boat who really did not seem to know what he was doing.  He was not fishing; he was just weaving back and forth and then decided to cross our bow.  You have to wonder sometimes! 

We do our normal Ucluelet “stuff,” laundry, book exchange, showers, and restock the larder.  We had some nice visits on the dock with locals and with another US boat.  Carl gives captain “Tor” some pointers on where to anchor up north for crab and Tor shares stories of his travels.  We enjoy a “night on the town” and come upon a grand opening of what we call the cedar shack.  Carving canoes, awesome wood stove, historic cedar shacks in the back yard and local artist’s wares.  Free popcorn, free fresh from the grill cheeseburger and great music.  Top this off with a single waffle cone from Ukee Scoops and we waddle back to the boat.

On the morning we choose to depart I ask Carl if he want to walk up town for breakfast.  “Nah, we might get wet,” he replies.  The fog has settled in rather thick.  Instead, we head out 3 miles off shore to a place known as “Turtle Head.”  This is because the footprint of the approximately 250’ depth contour kind of looks like a turtle head.  The goal, halibut.  The breeze and slight drizzle stay with us.  We find no halibut so we venture closer to shore at around 108’.  By this time the drizzle is steady, the breeze is a little stiffer, and Carl cannot keep his lure deep enough so we decide to pack it up and head for Pipestem Inlet, about 14 miles north.  The drizzle is constant and now blows SE through the cockpit.  Having to keep a close watch on both sides of the boat for we are in crap pot “heck”, I opt to deploy my umbrella to hide behind so I can actually stay out to starboard enough to dutifully watch for crab pots.  Absolutely soaking wet we pull into Cataract Creek anchorage around 3:00.  Promptly getting rid of wet layers and throwing them into the cockpit we retire to the cabin for hot tea, cocoa and soup!  I comment that next time I will take the chance on getting wet and walk into town for a nice hot breakfast!

Cataract Creek anchorage is a nice spot surrounded by steep mountains, small islands and waterfalls that you cannot see but you can definitely hear as they roar down the mountain after the all-night rain.  The day dawns clear and warms enough so that all the soaking wet clothes can now dry nicely out in the breeze, scattered all along the boat from bow to stern.  We dinghy ashore to harvest oysters and mussels and Carl sets the crab and shrimp pots.  We also dinghy up to the creek and then around the corner into the next bay where we find the tiny waterside camp is still there.  On two wood platforms just above the high tide line we see tents and a new tarp shade cloth.  We mentally picture the campers as they walk out of their tent, take a refreshing solar shower on the rock ledge, then turn and pick up their coffee pot from the tiny pot-bellied stove, sit at the red and white checkered cloth covered table and enjoy their morning coffee.  

No shrimp are harvested but with oysters and crab we head to the Pinkertons.  Years ago, when we first stumbled in here, we had 2 other boats anchored nearby.  One was flying a burgee from the Rose City Yacht Club, where we live as one of two “resident” couples amongst about 150 boats.  We dinghied over and met Dave and Chris Kinzie on Refugee II, their 32’ Nordic Tug, the four of us pondering over having to come hundreds of miles away to the middle of nowhere to meet one another when at home they walk by our house to get to their boat.  

The Pinkertons are also where we have enjoyed watching swimming bears and eagles diving after fish just at the stern of our boat.  This has been done while enjoying Pipestem oysters and with the good comradery of our friends Walt and Odile, rafted to their sailboat B Mondo.  While we don’t get to enjoy their company this trip, we do finally see the swimming bear!  We enjoy a leisurely dinghy ride exploring the small group of islands.  We are joined in the anchorage each evening the Canada Coast Guard work boat “Otter Bay” as they tie up to the only anchor buoy in these parts that we know of.

Next stop, the Alma Russel Islands along the northern edge of the Imperial Eagle Channel.  This anchorage, more so even than the Pinkertons, lets you anchor safely behind small islands while having a wonderful view of the open water.  We have the anchorage to ourselves.  Carl in his trusty ET III dinghy fishes the evening incoming tide.  He returns to the boat and hands Pam the fishing net that has a big hole in it.  “How did that happen,” I ask.  He reaches under the seat and looking happy and excited, he holds up a 25” Coho salmon!  With all of the fishing boats trolling in the larger water nearby he manages to hook and play this beauty for quite some time from his 8’ dinghy on light fishing gear using a jig he had been catching greenling on! He says it was tail hopping and running and jumping but he finally wore her down.  What a treat.  The filets are in the freezer to be enjoyed some time after we get home.  And what does a good fisherfolk do when there is a hole in the net…..she re-knots the net!  Carl also finally finds and lands his Alma Russels lingcod and the freezer is now officially stuffed!

In 2018 we departed this anchorage at 04:30 A.M., untying from Walt and Odile’s B Mondo to start our 30-hour trek to the Columbia River bar.  Today we simply depart for about a 1 hour crossing of the Imperial Eagle Channel under high cloud cover.  The channel is choppy, as it often is.  Mid channel a lightening bolt snaps in front of us and the thunder clap 2 seconds later is very loud!  Out of nowhere has come a full-on squall, the winds double, the waves whip and the rain pounds.  Finding someone already in Tzartis Cove (our preferred anchorage) we seek cover and anchor in Marble Cove.  Time to head inside again and make hot cocoa! 

Over the next day we visit with a nice couple on m/v Night Star from Ladysmith.  They kayak off in one direction and we dinghy off in the other.  We paddle up to Tzartist to see if it is still occupied (it is) and enjoy seeing Oyster Catchers (birds) and river otters along the way.  One otter puts up quite a fuss and then we see why as her pup shyly yet frantically swims towards her.  We are not close but they are both on high alert and promptly climb up over the rocks.  We then circumnavigate the barrier island and Carl catches a variety of rock fish, lingcod, cabezon and a large flounder.  This has definitely been a great fishing trip!

Tomorrow we will head for Bamfield to top off the tanks and restock the cookie supply, hopefully find a book exchange.  Then we will head out towards Dodger Channel and start a weather watch to find our window to head back to the Columbia River.  Most likely I will finish off this year’s blog once we are home and settled in.