A beautifully sunny it was, waking up at the Tofino government dock. Fishing boats, both commercial and tourist, began their daily quests shortly after dawn. A shirtless, tanned, sinewy, salty old dog in a small wooden boat with peeling paint cruised quietly by. The chocolate lab wharf dog and his stocky human pal who lives in the tiny house boat with the pirate flag stood at the end of their dock, contemplating the calm morning waters. Feeling like we were back in the big city, we headed out for breakfast and provisions. We stocked up on candied salmon jerky, found our token souvenir shot glass, hit the bakery and got more beer, then untied at noon, heading for Barkley Sound. After leaving Duffin Passage and entering Templar Channel, we rounded Cox Point then were back into the Pacific Ocean. The seas were calm, blue and inviting, with a small steady swell but very little chop. We passed Chesterman Beach, then met a pod of Orcas before we reached Long Beach, which together with the West Coast Trail and the Broken Group form Pacific Rim National Park. Man, Long Beach is a really long beach. South from there we passed Ucluelet and into Barkley Sound. If you look at a map, this section of water looks quite large, and it is. However, sprinkled throughout this stretch are many small islands, some only large enough to support a few trees, some are just big rocks supporting barking sea lions. They are beautiful and fascinating to sail or motor through. We headed for Effingham Island, the largest of the Broken Islands and on the Pacific side, which means it has been particularly molded and shaped by the crashing waves of the sea against it. And it has a trail to the remains of an ancient village. Sharing the big bay with about 4 other boats, we dropped our anchor at 18:00, then had dinner on the bow while we watched the sun go down over Coaster Channel and the small rocks and islands around us. Tomorrow we will explore on foot, and by dinghy.
No comments:
Post a Comment