Day 30 - Blind Channel to Walsh Cove (West Redonda)

Another hot and sunny morning. We hoisted the anchor, and set out south through the Discovery Islands. The “Discovery Islands” are the group of islands at the north end of the Georgia Strait, so nick-named because of the major waterway (Discovery Passage) between them and Vancouver Island. Cortes, Quadra, East & West Redonda, Read, Maurelle, Sonora, Stuart, Raza, and East & West Thurlow are the biggest of them. Like most of the coastal communities, their populations are dwindling as society shifts to more urban centres. But because they are so much closer to the major centres of Vancouver & Victoria, the amount of boating traffic increases quite dramatically when compared to the Broughtons and what are referred to by the locals as the “mainland islands” (Hardwick, the Cracrofts, and the smaller islands nestled amidst the coastal mainland). We are no longer in the remote wilderness.

Our original destination was going to be Big Bay on Stuart Island. But as we passed through the tidal rapids in Cordero Channel, the water was so whirly and fast that all Cap’n Adam could do was barely keep out of the back eddies while trying to avoid the huge logs which were being thrown around like toothpicks. Forget about trying to cross the channel and stop in the bay on the other side. At one point, our net speed was 13 knots, which means that the current was carrying us at more than twice the speed that Thunderpussy can travel on her own volition. On flat water with no current, she can travel about 6 knots. If we had been trying to go north instead of south today, we would have been going at -1 knot (ie backwards). This was the limits of Cap’n Adam’s comfort level – as always he handled it like a pro, but we both breathed a sigh of relief when we got to the other side.

Our revised destination became March Cove Provincial Marine Park on West Redonda Island. A lovely spot with about 6 other boats already anchored in it, we threw down the hook and tied a stern line to the shore. Our Wagoneer guide told us that there were pictographs to be found, so we went exploring in the dinghy and were not disappointed. Pictographs – old, OLD skool tagging before tagging was Hip-Hop. These ones were great – an image of the Spiritman, fish, dolphins, stick men. Some we were able to climb to and see up close, others were high enough that some sort of ladder must have been used to place them. There is something so haunting about viewing ancient street art. Love it.

The Spiritman. When we saw the native dancing at Alert Bay, they told us about his legend, and they even dedicated a dance to him. He is thought of as the spirit often seen on the beach, nervous of humans and best left to himself. Some think he represents the spirits of those who have crossed to the other side, some think he is the spirit of the medicine man. Others believe he may be an actual human or a medicine man, on a vision quest and on their own in nature. Others think it refers to what we know as Sasquatch, a real or spirit form two-legged creature that lives in the forest. Whatever he represents, he is one of the major spirits revered, together with the bear, the eagle, the orca, and the salmon. His image is made into masks, carved into totems, and as we saw today, painted in pictographs.

Day 29 - Port Neville to Blind Channel

We woke to a peaceful morning, with blue skies already visible through waffled clouds. Not sure if the weather system has simply changed, but I think more likely we have returned to the climate of southern British Columbia. We felt a change at about this same latitude on our trip up to the Broughtons – mornings became chilly, and we had to wait until noon for the clouds to burn off when we were “up north”. We definitely welcome the return of the sun. And the horseflies have turned back into mosquitos, too. Still undecided as to whether they are welcome or not.

We hit a bit of a snag when we tried to get going nice and early to take advantage of the current and tide for our second leg of the Johnstone Strait. Although Cap’n Adam had made a mental note of the GPS coordinates when we dropped the prawn trap, it was not where we had left it. Perhaps the current had dragged it, perhaps it got pulled out with the tide. We spent about an hour searching and cursing, hampered by the sun which was low in the sky creating a blinding (but lovely) reflection off of the water. We really did not want to abandon it since they are not cheap, and we had just bought it before we left. As we were beginning to discuss moving on, Cap’n Eagle Eye spied the small yellow float about 200 yards off of our bow. Thrilled, we raced toward it before we lost it again, and didn’t even care that there were no prawns in it when we hauled it back up.

With the wind at our backs we hoisted the geniker again, and travelled all the way to the end of the Johnstone Strait, where it turns into Discovery Passage. From there we headed east between East and West Thurlow Islands, and found a spot to drop the anchor just outside of Blind Channel Resort. Although this is a nice resort with a well stocked store and a fancy looking restaurant, there were plenty of pre-teens on loud sugar highs running around, which culture-shocked the heck out of us. So, back into the dingy and back to the catamaran to enjoy the last rays of the sun in peace.

As the sun dipped behind the mountains, we briefly witnessed one of the most special things I’ve ever seen out here on the coast. A momma harbour seal, so small she barely looked full-grown herself, hopped her way out of the water and onto a rock a few hundred feet from us. And then behind her, a tiny baby seal also flopped just far enough out of the water to reach her, and began nursing. It felt like the whole world just stopped, and we were privy to one of the most intimate moments I’ve ever seen. After a bit of time I snapped one picture, barely having time to focus, but my movement must have scared momma because she slid back into the water. I included that picture in this blog (the last pic), although it is not very clear, the light was not great, and I had to crop the picture, you can kind of make it out. But it doesn’t do the moment justice, which I felt more in my heart than I saw with my eyes. You’re right, Shannon, I need a better camera with a much better lens. :)

Day 28 - Kwatsi Bay to Port Neville

For the first time in a while, we were out of bed at the crack of dawn. Time has brought us to the place where we need to think about our journey back home, and we want to maintain this year’s agenda of not being rushed. We want to take our time getting home so that we’re not all flustered by the time we get there.

Today’s journey took us back into the Johnstone Strait. Because the current and the winds are so strong through here, we ensured that we got to our destination before high tide at 3:00 PM. We hauled up the prawn trap just outside of Kwatsi Bay, and were pleased to see a small cache of about 10 shrimp and about 5 small tiger prawns. These tiger prawns were nothing like the lobster-sized ones we were served in Singapore, but they were tiger prawns nonetheless. We enjoyed them in a creamy pasta sauce for dinner.

We made our way through Tribune channel between Gilford Island and the coastal mainland, then crossed Knight Inlet to Chatham Channel. Once we passed through there we were back into Johnstone Strait. The winds were a-blowing, and we were able to hoist the geniker again and kill the motors for a while to coast along on nature’s power alone. This is such a satisfying feeling; to move at a decent pace while burning no fossil fuels at all.

We dropped the prawn trap again just outside of the entrance to Port Neville, then continued along looking for a place to drop the hook. The wind was quite strong at this point, and we needed to find a secure place where we wouldn’t get blown to shore. Our guide book suggested anchoring around a point of land called Robber’s Knob, but when we got there it seemed to have almost no protection at all. Robber’s Knob just wasn’t big enough to get the job done. So we turned the boat around and headed back out, and tucked ourselves into a small cove which seemed to have some decent protection from the winds and chop, despite what our guide book said. With anchor down and anchor bridle securing it in place, we hopped into the dingy to visit the old site.

Port Neville was named by Captain George Vancouver back in 1792. It was the site of the first post office on the west coast of Canada, opening in 1891. The public wharf dates back to the days of the Union Steamship. Once the hub of a bustling community, the land has always been privately owned. Today it is used primarily as a summer cottage for the family that owns it. They have kept the original store as it was (complete with stock from the shelves that is decades old), and have opened it as a museum for folks who come and visit. A full-time caretaker lives there with his cat Bungy, and they gave us a brief tour of the building. Port Neville also hosts some impromptu potluck dinners for boaters, but there were not many folks around when we visited.

Back into the dinghy, and we were pleased to see that the catamaran was exactly where we had left it.

Day 27 - Echo Bay to Kwatsi Bay (coastal mainland)

We said good-bye to Echo Bay and started heading up Tribune Channel in the late morning. The sun was shining again, which helped to warm and dry our bones.

Our first stop was at the Burdwood Group of islands. A beautiful mini-archipelago within the bigger Broughton Archipelago, it was inhabited by the Kwakiutl people for about 8,000 years. The area has a very special feel to it – broken shell beaches, evidence of villages, breath-taking natural surroundings. A wonderland teeming with energy, for sure. This group of 17 islands, islets and grassy rocks housed at least 6 village sites, and one island was used for defensive purposes only. Strategically situated and difficult to climb onto (we found out), villagers would bring food and supplies to the warriors who stayed on this small islet on-watch for attacks from other tribes.

Preserved in the trees and marked by a subtle trail, an ancient cedar which was culturally modified hundreds of years ago still stands. Natives would remove long boards from trees, without causing the tree to fall or even die. This particular tree was special, in that boards had been removed from 2 sides.

Aboriginal people lived all along this coast for thousands of years. That is, until the smallpox epidemic, brought by European fur traders, essentially wiped out the native population in all of British Columbia about 150 years ago. This is a very sad chapter of BC history. People who had been living here since before recorded history, in harmony and balance with nature, could not defend themselves against this virulent disease which they had never been exposed to before. One year (ONE year, from 1862-1863) is all it took for this well established population to be drastically reduced, almost to extinction. And with their decline we lost the profound wisdom that can only come from thousands of years of experience. Perhaps we don’t always realize how fragile we all are – our way of life could change forever in the blink of an eye. Natural disaster, man-made disaster, climate change, pollution, nuclear accident, economic Armageddon, famine, disease – all of these things could bring about the end of the world as we know it, and very quickly. It has happened before, in the not too distant past, it can (and, probably will) happen again. Life is precious, but humans are fragile.

Sorry to leave this magical place after only a few hours, we continued on our way up Tribune Channel. There we found the Lacy Waterfalls running down the wall of the rocky mountainside. We dropped our prawn trap just outside of Kwatsi Bay, which houses a very small marina frequented by the cruisers. Again we opted to anchor instead of pay for moorage, and had to get very close to the shore to find a spot shallow enough for us to have the hook catch. With running streams on the shore, we knew bears were close by, so we made sure to close and lock all the hatches before we went to sleep.