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| 2010 CRUISE REPORT, WEEK THREE
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June 28, 2010.
It’s Sunday evening. We’re tied up at Pierre’s at Echo Bay in the heart of the Broughtons. The entire Pierre’s staff – Pierre, Jerome, Lucy, Meg, and two helpers – was pretty tired from the effort needed to put on the marina’s first Saturday night pig roast of the season. We’re tired, too, from a week of being on the go. There aren’t many boats at the dock, which might be bad for business, but quiet time is good.
Powell River/Westview. Our first stop after leaving Pender Harbour was the government dock at Westview. Jim Parsons, the dock manager, told us things look positive for the long awaited expansion of the marina. The breakwater will be moved south and new docks added. We’ve learned to be careful about believing change until after it happens, but this one looks pretty good at the moment.
Lund. For a tiny village at the end of the road, Lund has several important changes, with more to come. First, the docks have been lengthened by something like 70 feet. Second, the rock marked by the green buoy was broken up by a hydraulic rock basher and hauled away. The buoy will remain until the authorized federal agency removes it. The rock is gone, however. Third, a lovely plaza has been built with a marker at Mile 0 of Highway 101, a road that doesn’t end until Tierra del Fuego, the south tip of South America. Plans for dock expansion are in the works. Maybe next year?
We bought some tasty supplies at Nancy’s Bakery. A sign by the cash register told us Nancy is now a grandmother.
Gorge Harbour. The marina is stunning. Construction was still under way when we visited last year. This year the work is done. The pool is filled, heated, fenced and popular, especially with the kids. The store is well stocked and the produce is fresh. The washrooms and showers were spotless. The lawn was green; the plantings were healthy. Dinner in the restaurant was excellent, as always.
Washers. You haven’t played Washers? Neither had we until we got to the Refuge Cove store. Colin Robertson, the owner, proudly informed us that Refuge Cove has Canada’s only Outdoor Washers Dome, Hood Canal rules. Washers is played on a pitch that holds two elevated boxes facing each other end to end, 10 feet apart. The upper surfaces of the boxes are covered with conveyor belt rubber. Three 4-inch diameter holes, one behind the other, are set into the rubber belting. The front hole scores one point; the middle hole, two points; the end hole, three points. Steel industrial washers are thrown underhand from one box to the other, the goal being to get to exactly 21 points before your opponent does. It’s sort of a cross between horseshoes and throwing darts. Hood Canal Rules, June 1995 Revision, are fiendishly complex, and allow one side to come from behind and destroy the other. We were told that after 5:00 p.m. the clink of the washers and the pop! of pull-tabs fill the air. Don’t stop at Refuge Cove without trying your hand at Washers.
Inside the store, check out the ceiling. They took the sound-absorbing panels down this year, and lo, the timbers and roof construction are something not seen today.
If it’s noonish, have lunch up at the café. The fries have been replaced with fresh salads. The sandwiches are heroic. You won’t need an early supper.
Yucultas. The Yuculta Rapids, Gillard Passage and Dent Rapids usually are run in succession by boats bound up-island or down-island. We were there at a time of large tides, which narrowed the period of slack water. Dense fog sat in Gillard Passage. The radio crackled with Securite announcements from boats telling where they were. Thank heaven for radar.
Shoal Bay. When we got to Shoal Bay in late afternoon, we found Mark MacDonald up the hill and back in the woods, helping and supervising (mostly supervising with running quips) the final hookup of a new 2,500-U.S. gallon fiberglass tank for the water system. The tank sat on a concrete floor made from sacks upon sacks of cement mix carried up the narrow dirt path, and inside a partly-completed building made expressly for the tank and the forthcoming filtration and UV equipment. Kelly Huggins, a talented blues player and construction expert, was doing much of the heavy work, helped by Nick Humphreys, a first-year architecture student from London, England.
I arrived on scene as industrial hose clamps were tightened to seal the length of wire reinforced flex that connected the outlet at the base of the tank with the piping that led to the facilities below. A valve was opened and a hose poured water into the top of the tank. The level rose and soon water was flowing downhill.
Not all the water, unfortunately. Some of the water was leaking from the flex connection and onto the concrete floor. Damn! They must have split the thick plastic of the flex when they were pounding it onto the barbs at each end. There was no way to patch the split, and they didn’t have any more flex material. The only answer was to cut the flex hose at the split and reconnect it with the tank. Except the tank now contained several hundred pounds of water, and would resist being moved. Various proposals were considered and rejected. Finally, it was decided to drive wedges between the base of the tank and the bottom of the back wall of the shed. Wood was found and put into place. Hammer blows rang. And rang. And rang. The tank didn’t budge. Another hammer blow. The tank moved an eighth of an inch. More wedge material. More hammering. More slow movement. Eventually, the nipple on the tank outlet slid into the shortened flex. The hose clamp was tightened once more. Water poured in the top and out the bottom, and none leaked. High fives all around.
Nick Humphreys, the young architecture student from London, was at Shoal Bay at his own expense, working for a few weeks in exchange for room and board. He told me he wanted practical experience to back up the book knowledge from college. In the mud, water and woods of remote Shoal Bay, Nick was getting a lot of practical experience. He said he enjoyed it immensely. Some girl who wants to live in England should make a prompt pilgrimage to Shoal Bay before Nick leaves. He’s handsome, intelligent, hardworking and fun to be with.
I could go on and on about Shoal Bay.
Blind Channel. Blind Channel has a new chef this year. His name is Anatoli Belov, and he lives for food, its preparation and presentation. Our suppers began with delicate portions of sorbet made from strawberries Anatoli had picked that afternoon. The flavors were crisp and intense, and not overly sweet like a dessert sorbet. Sorbet before the meal could not have been more unexpected, yet more appropriate. My salmon supper was unsurpassed. Marilynn said her supper was terrific, as did our table partner Jim Robey (Monk-McQueen Anchor).
When we arrived at Blind Channel, great-grandpa Edgar Richter was running a power saw as grandson Eliot Richter pounded away on a new structure above the beach. Edgar, in his eighties now, was slightly bent and moved with deliberation. Eliot is in his late twenties, and simply flowed up and down ladders. Then we saw Edgar on a ladder, something men over fifty should not be doing. Edgar and Annemarie Richter bought Blind Channel exactly 40 years ago. Their spirit and effort built it. Annemarie was lost to cancer, but spirit and effort are alive and prospering in Edgar.
Later that day, Eliot brought his and Laura’s two-year-old son Jonah down for a photo op. Jonah is the fourth generation of Richters at Blind Channel.
Port Neville. Every year, I urge boaters to cruise up the coast, because things are changing and will inevitably be lost. Now it’s happened at Port Neville. Lorna (Hansen) Chesluk, granddaughter of Hans Hansen, who established the post office in Port Neville in the 1890s, retired as postmaster in January, when the government closed the post office there. It was the longest continuously-running post office in B.C. Lorna has moved to her apartment in Campbell River, to be close to family.
Port Harvey. George and Gail Cambridge keep improving their new Port Harvey Marina. The store is well stocked, and a gift shop is open, featuring local offerings. Upstairs, the café is now fully licensed. The docks have been added to, and connection with shore is improved. Located just off Johnstone Strait, Port Harvey is becoming a popular stop for boats heading up or down.
While there, we met friends Dave and Eddylee Scott, having pizza for lunch. They decided to make golf a theme of this year’s cruise, and have played courses at Bowen Island, Pender Island, Pender Harbour, and Campbell River. In Pender Harbour, they stayed at Sunshine Coast Resort, where owner Ralph Linnmann provided transportation to and from the course.
Lagoon Cove. Early season makes little difference at Lagoon Cove. The marina was full, as usual. Jean Barber dug a donated salmon out of the freezer and a 6:00 p.m. barbecued salmon potluck replaced the customary 5:00 p.m. Happy Hour get-together. Jean went around the docks in search of a barbecue expert for the salmon, with no takers. Eventually, Dave Pope (1979 Tolly40 R Time, from Olympia), and I (1979 Tolly 37 Surprise) volunteered. Tolly chefs on parade! Actually, most cooking in lidded propane barbecues is pretty simple. The base time is 11 minutes, a minute or two less for rarer results, a minute or two more for ruined. Base time for thick lamb chops is around nine minutes. We checked the thicker salmon at 10 minutes, hesitated, and overdid it by 15-30 seconds. Still good, just not perfect. The thinner pieces came off at seven minutes or so, and were about right.
Bill Barber regaled the crowd with some of his bear stories. A woman seated near me spoke up to say she was a school teacher, and that Bill was part of a nearly-lost breed of old-time story tellers. She was exactly right.
Tidal currents and landings. This week’s travels have been around the time of full moon, with large tides – spring tides, they’re called. With large tides we get strong currents. The currents have played important roles in our activities. We departed Dent Island Lodge on the afternoon slack and ran through Dent Rapids a few minutes too early (the actual slack may have been a little late, too). By too early I mean we saw more swirls and little whirlpools than we want, and once had to add power to get through. We weren’t in danger, but we prefer to be more conservative.
We had to abort our landing at Cordero Lodge, where we usually stop for a visit with Reinhardt and Doris Kuppers, and Doris’s fabulous cooking for lunch. A strong flood current swirling through the bay would have banged us against one dock, and it pulled us off a second dock. After three tries we gave up. We plan to stop on our way south.
At Blind Channel I made my best landing so far. The current flowed from south to north a short distance off the docks, then abruptly changed to north to south at the docks. My first approach compensated for the current farther out, but was negated by the new current at the dock. I was too far away, and much too close to the other boat in the slip. Emergency reverse saved the situation. The second try appeared to put the bow into the end of our finger float, but the new current lined us up just right – if I wasn’t timid with the throttles. I added throttle when I usually would be pulling back. The boat moved smartly into the slip, Marilynn handed two spring lines to helpers, and I banged the shifters into reverse. The boys on the dock congratulated us on a great landing. The skipper from a neighboring boat added his approval, saying he had suffered a hard time getting in.
We planned to depart Blind Channel the next morning in time to be a little early at Greene Point Rapids and a little late at Whirlpool Rapids, 11 miles away. That’s how we always do it. Have for years. When I saw other boats leave a couple hours earlier and head the other direction, the “Duh” light went on in my head. Johnstone Strait was reporting calm winds, with a light southeasterly predicted for later in the day. The last of the ebb would flush us down Mayne Passage and out Johnstone Strait. The only problem would be the run through Current Passage, on the east side of Helmcken Island in Johnstone Strait, where conditions could be brutal. Since we would get there near the end of the ebb, however, maybe we’d be okay. It was worth a try. And it worked. There was ample evidence of current in Mayne Passage, especially at the mouth where it emptied into Johnstone Strait, and more swirls all the way through Current Passage. Swirls are not boils, overfalls and whirlpools, however. They’re easily managed, particularly if GPS shows the boat’s 8.5-knot throttle setting as 10-11 knots over the bottom. Even after the tide changed from ebb to flood, the surface ebb current in Johnstone Strait pushed us along. We had an excellent run to Havannah Channel, where we got off the strait.
The new flood current was running in Chatham Channel. The lower part of Chatham Channel is narrow and shallow on both sides. Ranges at each end keep a boat on course. We fought 4-5 knots of current there, fortunately without swirls. The water just runs through.
The last current experience occurred at Lagoon Cove. Bill Barber directed us to a finger float at the south end of the marina, but each time we got close we were pushed off by current and an unhelpful crosswind. We couldn’t approach fast because a boat was tied across the area where our bow would end up, and we couldn’t chance something going wrong. Twice I tried to land, and twice I had to go into aggressive – not emergency – reverse to get away. Bill put us in a different spot at the other end of the docks. We had no problem there.
I tell these experiences not to frighten the reader or make me sound good (or bad). Tidal currents are a part of coastal cruising. It’s amazing how dealing with them focuses the attention, and how agile the mind becomes when working with them. Especially at close quarters. It’s important, too, that the deck crew be ready with lines and know when to throw them and when not to throw them. Marilynn is wonderful in those situations. She makes all the difference.
The little note at the bottom of the screen says this report has passed the 2,500-word mark, and these are only highlights of Week 3. It’s been a busy time. Every day has been filled with experiences. v
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