Day 25, cont’d   Tahsis – Westview Marina

11 am – Left dock and winds died as soon as sails were up.  Engine alarm started squealing soon after engine was running.  Capt. decided to sail to Bodega Cove – rafted up with Yola and the guys made a new gasket to replace one they had wrecked in their investigations.  Have decided that the problem is probably electrical and connected with the “near fire” –  Dave disconnected the alarm buzzer and we’re just keeping an eye on the panel.  Nothing’s overheating – and all systems (except this alarm system) seem fine.

Day 26  Bodega Cove -  beautiful quiet starry night.  Besides Yola, we’re also joined by a twin-masted sailboat.  The young mom carries a 5 week baby in a front sling as she’s at the wheel, etc.  Apparently they were sailing up from the States (Americans) and had hoped to have the baby in Canada but came while they were still in the US -  went to a hospital and then back on board and they decided to keep on sailing (she was supposed to rest and they figured the sailboat would be as good as place as any).  They’re also going counter-clockwise around the island.  Yola headed straight to Friendly Cove but we fished around the backside of Strange Island and on towards our anchorage site at Bligh Cove (Ewin Inlet). 

The guys used fishing lines on a downrigger.  Dave caught a small salmon and we put it in a pail.  Next thing Norm caught a big salmon using 16 oz weight.  It was about 12 lb. and was still being held in the net on one side of the boat when Dave caught another small salmon.  It ended up flippin’ and floppin’ all over the bottom of the boat and in the middle of this when Norm was bringing up the lead ball for Dave’s line, he noticed that our dinghy had broken away!   (Marg’s stuck at the helm.)

We, at this time, were out in the open waters, rounding Resolution Point (our name) getting ready to head up Ewin Inlet.   The seas were a little choppy and our dinghy was going in the direction of the rocky point.  Still the fish is floppin’ in the bottom of the boat.  I backed the boat (luckily the sails had been put down) slowly towards the dinghy while Dave tries to jump into it from our starboard side and Norm tries to gather up the dinghy line that had pulled right out of the pipe in the dinghy (the knot was too small -  hindsight!) so it doesn’t get sucked up into the motor.  Dave can’t get into the dinghy from the side of the boat – hurries to the back while I’m still trying to back up towards the dinghy, slowly.  He jumps into the dinghy -  which does have oars and a motor – and tries to row in our direction while I’m slowly backing up and Norm is getting Dave’s fishing rod out of the way (and the big salmon is still in the net lashed over the side of the boat.

My adrenalin is pumping – Dave looks like everything’s normal  (except I notice him doing up the snaps on his PFD)  enjoying it all – and I call MaryLou to get pictures of him in the dinghy.  We get close enough to Dave & Dinghy for Norm to toss him the dinghy line.  Dave’s signaling me to go faster and away from the rocks (forwards now) continuing towards the inlet.  Once into the quieter inlet, Norm pulled the line (dinghy & Dave) to the sailboat -  Dave tied the dinghy back to the sailboat and climbed aboard.  Even Norm was good and put on his lifejacket for all of this!  I think during Dave’s ride, Norm got the small salmon into the pail so we didn’t lose it but I was stuck at the helm.   Usually we have the dinghy up in the davit but knew we only had  little open waters so hadn’t bothered!  The upside is that we found out the knot was too small in a place where it didn’t cause a major problem and this has been corrected.  Just the night before Paul (Yola) told us that on his trip to Alaska, he lost a dinghy he was pulling when it got hit by 2 extra large waves that flipped it and broke his line – it went racing off one way and it was too rough for him to try to go after it.

I went below and had a cup of tea! 

Yola joined us in the bay after their trip to Friendship Cove – we gave them the 2 small salmon and packaged ours up for 4 meals – ate the first that night with MaryLou’s homemade tartar sauce – yum.

Day 27  No keepers in crab pot -  headed for Friendly Cove.  Spent the day at the dock and paid First Nations’ landing fee ($10 ea for seniors plus $10 for tying up at the dock).  It was money well-spent and we enjoyed walking trails through woods and returning along the beach (facing the ocean).  The beach is covered with shiny small pebbles – for a mile or more.  Sunny and gorgeous.  We visited Sanford Williams, a master carver, whose family has the only house left at Yuquot – all the rest of the First Nations families moved to Gold River.  He does fantastic work and gets half his work from tourists visiting the cove over the summer (Sanford lives in Nanaimo).  Two items on display were priced $2500 and $3000.  Isaiah Williams (4 years old) joined me on the beach and picked up “diamonds” for me (beach glass).  He told me there was a boy and girl crab down the beach (no, not male and female!  -  when I suggested this). 

 The coastal freighter, Uchuck III, came in while we were tied up.  She stops by twice a week on her regular route and guests get about 3 hours to enjoy the cove.  The manned Nootka Lighthouse is at the same site but is on Federal land. We went up and talked to one of the lighthouse keepers, climbing up stairs over the rocks.

 Also visited a RC church that is now mostly an assembly place for First Nations with the most colorful native carvings I’ve seen.  The church has 2 beautiful lead glass windows depicting scenes from the 1700’s -  donated by Spain in the 1970’s.

 Anchored with pleasure fishing boats in the cove for the night -  hope to have an early start, if the seas are calm. To go around Estevan Point towards Hot Springs Cove -  our destination for tomorrow.

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