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.
No comments:
Post a Comment