June 21, 22 & 23 - Jedediah Island and Powell River

Unfortunately, I somehow lost my photos for Jedediah Island. This is particularly disappointing since I featured in several daring actions shots.  So, here is a description of what happened on these dates, followed by some other photos that you haven’t seen yet.  If I find the missing photos, I will post them later.

June 21, 2012

Jedediah Island

This morning we departed Gibsons for a very small bay at Jedediah Island.   We are now traveling in a convoy with another boat very similar to ours; the M.V. Ceilidh I.  Aboard Ceilidh I are our friends, Eileen and Bill, their very outdoorsy yellow lab, Casca and and for the next few days, their charming friends, Marg and Mike.  At Jedediah Island, we put both of our boats in a lovely bay.  It is a small spot, best suited for one boat but happily shared, in this case, by our two boats.   In close quarters, surrounded by rock faces and with Bill’s deft direction, we completed a delicate anchorage which included tying the stern (back of boat) to a point on shore, to prevent the boat from swinging sideways.  In this instance, the “shore” was a steep climb up brush-covered rock.  I volunteered to be the climber.  Going ashore by dinghy, I completed my assignment with minimal blood loss; hope it doesn't scar.

With the boats secured, we went for a long hike on the island.   Jedediah Island is a visually stunning and unusual place.  Accessible only by boat, it was previously homesteaded and then privately owned but is now a provincial marine park with beautiful bays that provide shelter to marine travelers.   In the orchard and old growth forest we encountered feral sheep that roam free without natural predators.  There are also feral goats on the island but we did not see them. 

The original homestead remains perched high with an expansive view of the water.   A lone horse, "Will" was reportedly left to live out his remaining years on the island and died at an advanced age a few years ago.  What appears to be the burial site of "Will" is discovered on one of our hikes. 

The enormous driftwood deposit on one beach evidences brutal winters that constantly change the landscape.  The challenges that faced homesteaders here are unimaginable but their attraction to this place is understandable.

June 22, 2011

Still at Jedediah Island

We weren’t ready to leave this wonderful spot and decided to stay another night.  So, today we had our first leisurely day at anchor, doing chores on the boat; there is always something to be done.  This afternoon we let out our prawn trap for the first time.  Prawns live in very deep water and so the weighted traps are attached to a lot of leaded (i.e. sinking) line.  At the surface, we leave a large orange buoy, inscribed with our boat’s name.  Will let you know what we catch…

June 23, 2011

We awoke to the sound of Bill’s outboard engine as he fired up his Boston Whaler (dinghy) for the morning’s chores which included taking the dogs ashore and hauling up the prawn traps.  We hurriedly dressed and piled into our Whaler with Blue.  First to shore for a quick pit stop for Blue, then we followed Bill out into the strait to check our prawn traps.  Pulling up 300 feet of leaded line is hard on the hands and the back.  Rob did that part.  And voila!  Nine prawns!  A small catch, apparently but we were amazed to see any prawns in our trap.  I feel conflicted seeing the prawns moving in our trap; I'll admit that "District 9" comes to mind.  As trite as it sounds, catching (read: killing) the food that we will eat is sobering.   I've never done this before and it definitely evokes different emotions than say, ordering Thai Curry Prawns in a restaurant.    We are so new at all of this, we are like visitors from another planet, stunned by the sheer novelty of every minute of every day.

Back to the boat, we prepared to depart.  First we wrestled with the Whaler – to put it back up top of the big boat (sometimes we tow it, sometimes we don’t, today we needed to stow it), then we wrestled with the stern line to yank it off the shore and lastly we wrestled with the anchor.  Bill et al were ready and waiting for us to finish and catch up.  In our haste, we didn’t do all of our usual pre-departure chores, like putting a cover on the Whaler or wrapping the stern line on its reel. Instead, we just threw everything into the back of the boat and went.  A very full morning.

And then we were on our way to Powell River.  The journey was smooth and allowed Rob and I to spell each other off at the helm and do some of the chores we had skipped this morning.  Shortly after we got going, our engine alarm started ringing intermittently.  Normally, this indicates a loss of oil pressure and if that were true, it could have been catastrophic.  Rob repeatedly climbed down into the engine room, which is a very unpleasant and noisy place to be when the boat is under power.  No oil leaks and good oil pressure, so we stayed cool and assumed (with Bill’s concurrence via VHF radio) that the problem was the alarm and not the engine.  In fact, we stayed so cool that I fried our nine prawns and we ate them for lunch while underway.  They were delicious.

Pulling into Beach Gardens Marina at Powell River, we found able assistance at the dock and in short order, with Rob borrowing a truck and rushing off to the local Napa Auto Parts, we were able to have the engine alarm issue (and a few others) resolved at warp speed.

We have been “at sea” for a week now and it has not exactly been relaxing but it has been absolutely wonderful.  We are exhausted and exhilarated at the same time.  We are now off to the Copeland Islands and Desolation Sound so may be out of touch for a little while...

Here are a few photos:

"Anvil Island"  Obviously

From the outside looking in, Rob at the helm