(7 am July 10, using Wi-Fi from Westview Marine, Tahsis)
July 5 Day 20 Walter’s Cove A restless night for Dave & I as the boat fenders rubbed between us and Rhapsody (who heard nothing!) – once the squeal was so loud we were both concerned about damage but nothing in the am – Yola (not Vola as we first thought) on another finger of the dock had a quiet night – so we were just catching the brunt of the action from the gale outside the harbour. Found out later that a 35’ Hunter (Capt. was 82 plus younger wife) dragged anchor in the night or anchor chain broke at a new connection or ??) , woke them up when they ended up 12’ on the rocks but stayed upright. They called a Mayday and RCMP boat responded at request of Coast Guard and brought the couple to Walter’s Cove where they were put up at a B&B – all ok. The boat was later taken into the cove to wait for an inspection by an insurance adjuster. They were from Schooner Cove marina. (There also was talk they didn’t have charts but it’s all talk so far.)
MaryLou’s foot (big toe side) ached and throbbed in the night and was bright red and swollen in am. They took the dinghy and crossed the bay to the Red Cross station – were impressed by the care given by the nurse (2 months on, 2 months off) and got the info on the Mayday from her husband. Nurse said it was good she had got immediate attention as her foot was infected (maybe a bite, but don’t know) and gave her an extra strong dose of antibiotic to start off with and pills for the next 6 days (now she is almost fully recovered). So MaryLou had to stay off her foot for an entire day, soak it and keep it elevated – (it slowly became better each day.) So the 3 of us did a low tide hike to enjoy a rock formation and tidal pools. Rhapsody gave us a package of organic Italian sausage as they had to be used. They were great – sliced in pasta dishes, etc.
2:40 pm Anchored in Hankin Cove with Yola – baked bread. Rains came and we “vegged”, lazy and cozy.
Day 21 Peaceful night. Spent morning sitting on hull of boat watching a black bear lifting huge rocks and eating clams? Dinghied in our bay and saw 2 more black bears.
Went on the outside where our first bear had gone and watched her some more. A baby was kept hidden in the trees but ran along the Mom when she decided to move. Yola said they actually saw 2 cubs – we only saw one (at a time, at least). A merganser duck and her 2 ducklings slowly swam past us then went faster once they were away from our boats.
At noon, we pulled anchor and sailed and fished our way to Fair Harbour. Mainly a boat launching spot, but we got gas, diesel and propane. So far our watermaker has kept up with all our water needs. Friendly first nation’s gals at the “store” complaining about the new carbon tax. 4 pm Anchored in Dixie Cove with Yola, First Morning and Clam. Yola’s crew came over and had a pleasant evening. Each of the 3 guys (from lower mainland) has their own sailboat but decided to go in one (they had planned 2, but another fellow had to back out). They’re all experienced in all aspects of boating so, unlike us, any one of them could carry on if one became disabled!
Day 22 Got 6 red rock crab in crab traps – best we’ve seen – and gave 2 to Yola. At 10 am anchored in Cachalot Bay. MaryLou stayed on board and baked (to protect her foot) while we dinghied ashore to this former whale station (they processed 4,765 whales here) where there is a whale monument in the woods, made of Ferro cement, placed there by an unknown person in memory of the whales .
The beach was loaded with beach glass, old pottery and remains of timbers, etc., from activity up to 1926, now mostly all overgrown with trees and shrubs. Fun for Marg!! At 11:30 am, anchored in McLean Cove and dinghied around to Rugged Point Marine Park – pulled our dinghy up through light surf to sandy beach and hiked trail across to ocean beach side. It was a tropical scene to the eyes and ears – soft breezes, clean sandy beaches and clear blue skies. Mary Lou’s foot was good enough for the hike. The boardwalk trail across the point was full of scat – it was peculiar in shape, like a huge fat dark green slug – maybe from a big bear – would a cougar leave scat on a trail?
Cats don’t. There are cougars in the area and bears abound. Hard to leave the beach but the tide was coming in and by the time we got back, Dave had to climb the rocks to get to our dinghy line without getting wet (which we had put up high – so had a little foresight!) We were going to stay the night in McLean Cove, but the ocean was so calm that we decided to head around the point to Nootka Sound. Still haven’t been able to sail a lot. Either the winds are the wrong way, coming from the Southeast still, or too calm. At 7 pm, we anchored inside Esperanza Inlet, up Port Eliza in Queen Cove. (found out later, Yola was ahead of us at another anchorage). Cooked our crab for dinner then watched “Flawless” which Bill from Yola had given us – good entertainment. A bear graced our bay – probably more than the one we saw.
Day 23 Woke up to light, high fog so have good visibility. Water is warmer as we’re further south -- around 14 – 17 C – depending on where we are. At 2 pm we tied up at the public dock at Zeballos. Once this town had a life, but now it’s clinging on, with a bit of mining, logging and fishing with many buildings closed or on restricted hours. MaryLou spent most of the afternoon trying to get 2 loads of washing done. I hung my one load all over the safety lines (mostly Dave’s socks) and the warm winds did a pretty good drying job. We hiked the town and visited with locals – got some groceries. This town is 50 miles or so by logging road to Port McNeill. The buildings are fronted to look like the old days. While we were shopping, Dave entertained himself by trying to burn down the boat. He accidentally shorted the alternator against the motor frame and black smoke ensued. The positive terminal was jammed against the motor so he reached back to the Nav table and turned off all the battery supply. When I came back to the boat, he was still “in shock” from the trauma of it all. He replaced the burnt insulation around the connector somehow with a plastic knife. Super Captain Dave???. After all these trying events for Dave and MaryLou, we decided to eat out at a local restaurant. I felt as if we were surrounded by men from a pirate ship (the cook, etc.) with big stained yellow teeth, etc. (not true locals, more like new locals). The waiter was a Mexican from Mazatlan who was just visiting in Canada. He had met the owner of this café in Mexico as the owner stayed at his place down there. MaryLou instinctively wanted to take him home and show him the real BC – trip to Victoria, etc., but didn’t offer as his few weeks were already “planned” – MaryLou and Norman were familiar with the area where he lives in Mexico. After discussing the meal the next day, both MaryLou and I felt that our buffalo burger meat was “just turning” but neither had mentioned it in the café! No wonder they were trying to get us to buy the steak instead!!
Day 24 10 am – Sunny and warm -- visited Esperanza (2 hours by sailboat) after peaceful night on docks in Zeballos. This is a Christian camp for native and white kids in July, a work camp for volunteers all year round, and a rehab centre from Sept. to Jun (all for folks on the west coast and extends a bit to certain areas on the east coast). Single persons to entire families come here for various reasons (rehab from prisons, abuse issues, etc.) An enormous amount of work ongoing – we toured their power plant and new buildings. There’s a big gym and cafeteria – would love to go back sometime and spend a few work weeks. Nancy (a professor) and her husband Tom visited with us on our boat for a few minutes.
Left Esperanza at 11:40 – by 1 pm, just before arriving at Tahsis, our motor alarm started whining. We had passed Yola heading out from Tahsis earlier. Dave talked to Paul (Yola) on the VHF and talked over the possible reasons). The inflow winds were starting to build up as we approached the public dock (a temporary loading dock) and Martha Anne was tied up - a power yacht we had anchored with in Queen’s Cove and visited with also at Zeballos. It took all 3 of us pushing with all our strength to keep from ramming into her as we pulled in front of her in the narrow space. Normally we wouldn’t have pulled in but the whining was increasing. Gave Martha Anne our card in case there had been any damage but we didn’t see any signs other than our BBQ got pushed around. Dave talked some more to Yola and they decided to turn around and sail back to help us (they were at least 1 ½ hours away). After Martha Anne pulled out we contacted Westview Marina, just around the end of the inlet, and pulled into a dock there – while the engine alarm squealed mercilessly the whole way. Dave talked to the marine mechanic and we were later joined by Yola (what friends – Paul says one of them didn’t want to turn around, but he said it was the law of the sea and they had to!) So the guys investigated possible causes while MaryLou, Norm and Marg hiked the mile or so to town and bought a huge pie, whipping cream and some veggies – to treat our buddies. Watched a James Bond movie, Casino Royale, with everyone last night. Not my type of movie but I think the guys enjoyed it and Mary Lou and I persevered to the “bitter end”.
Day 25, Thurs. Jul 10 - This Marina is beautiful – board walks, café areas, laundromat, mechanic. Clean and inviting. Dave’s waiting to see if a part can be brought in but not sure if it’s the problem. So here we sit, a bit of whistling wind – lots of fluffy clouds and sunshine – could have happened in a worse place by far!! Yola is standing by.