July 30 - Forit Bay and the unfortunate pepper spray incident

Today we picked up our dear friends Pam and Lyle in Bella Bella and they will spend a few days with us.  Trying to find great groceries up here has been a challenge.  We keep arriving and departing docks the day before the shelves are re-stocked.  But no worries today; Pam and Lyle have brought the most wonderful assortment of foodstuffs we could imagine.  We don't eat this well at home.  A few examples:  8  bars of very good chocolate, organic cheeses and local fruits and vegetables, fresh wild halibut, artisan bread, homemade galette (made with homegrown fruit) and brownies, homegrown herbs, gourmet candies and chocolates.

With Pam and Lyle onboard, we were on our way to Forit Bay.  It was later than usual when we arrived at the anchorage and getting dark by the time we took Blue "out".  A high tide left the smaller islets too small for him to make his mark.  We would need to take him ashore notwithstanding the attendant risk of wildlife encounters.

I volunteered to accompany Blue so that Rob could man the dinghy and pick us up quickly if we encountered a bear or worse. Rob agreed.  I took my pepper spray with me. Rob knew this. Rob says he told me not to. I was nervous and removed the safety from the pepper spray as I stepped off the boat.  Rob saw me remove the saftey.  Rob says he told me not to remove the safety.  The shore was rocky and very slippery.  Blue was pulling and I was struggling to keep my footing (remember the very slippery rocks).  At some point, I slipped.  I did not actually fall down but in my recovery, I discharged the pepper spray.  Rob saw me do this.  I told him I wanted to get back on the boat.  He claims that I asked him to drive to where I was standing.  In any event, that is what he did...right through an invisible cloud of pepper spray.   Rob was so angry that he apologized to me; all's well that ends well.    The ubiquitous silver lining: I know my pepper spray works. On Rob, anyway.

July 28/29 - Wigham Cove

We met up with Eileen, Bill and Shelagh in Wigham Cove.  It was pouring when we arrived and it never fails to surprise me that we can find each other out here in the middle of nowhere.  As we approached their boat, we could see that the dinghy was out:  Bill and Shelagh were out fishing.  We raised Eileen on the VHF radio and invited her for fresh scones and tea.  No sooner had she accepted our offer than Bill piped up on the radio to say "Did I hear something about scones?".  Soon we were all on our boat having lunch which included cooked crab that Eileen brought with her.  So much for being crabbed out, I ate it and it was really good.  Bill and Shelagh have not caught any fish.  This will not do.  Shelagh is an accomplished outdoors-woman whom Bill credits with igniting his passion for fishing.

The next morning Rob and I went fishing. 

Don't be fooled by the curve in Rob's rod
Once again, no fish were harmed

Remind me what we're doing here

Shelagh succeeded in a big way and caught four salmon today!

Shelagh with one of her catch

We are docked in Shearwater tonight and tomorrow, we are picking up our friends Pam and Lyle in nearby Bella Bella.  We are very excited to welcome them aboard for a few days!  I will post again on (or around) August 2nd.  Have a great long weekend.

July 26/27 - Troup Passage

After spending the night at anchor in a nice spot near Troup Passage, we parted company with Eileen, Bill and Shelagh, to travel through Roscoe Inlet while they went fishing elsewhere.

Eileen took this great photo of our boat at anchor near Troup Passage

The beauty of Roscoe Inlet defies description.  We knew we were in for something special but still we were blown away.  The Inlet wends its way 21 nautical miles, with each turn revealing different and stunning views of beautiful steep rock faces.  The water is so deep that we were able to put the boat right alongside the rock.  We put the boat in neutral so that we could just soak up our surroundings.  We saw only two other boats, both traveling in the opposite direction.

The steep rock walls prevent the use of VHF radio and so we really seemed alone and  it felt great that we were able to do this by ourselves.  In fact, we were sufficiently relaxed on today’s journey that I baked a loaf of (quite good) bread while underway and Rob put the boat through a series of maneuvers to re-set the auto-pilot.  We've come a long way.

Tonight, still on our own, we anchored back near Troup Passage.  We really like this spot and we are the only boat here.  We had hot dogs and potato chips for dinner.  I am crabbed out.  I am also prawned and salmoned out.  It won't last but for now I am craving spaghetti and tomato sauce and maybe even some canned salmon.  Also, I realize that I am not a hunter and gatherer.  I struggle with seeing my food struggle before I eat it. Can't do it.

July 25-26 Ocean Falls!

Ocean Falls is our northernmost destination on this trip and on July 25th, we arrived!  

Ocean Falls has an interesting and bittersweet history.  Home to Heiltsuk speaking first nations for thousands of years, this area saw its first sawmill in the early 1900's and soon after, had a dam and a pulp and paper mill.  By the 1950's Ocean Falls was a single employer (Crown Zellerbach) mill town, booming with a population of about 3,500 and the construction of new homes and enviable community infrastructure.  Photos and recollections from that era suggest a bucolic small-town lifestyle including what was once of B.C's largest hotels, an Olympic size swimming pool where several Olympians trained, a kindergarten to grade 12 school,  a hospital and a courthouse.  In nearby Martin Valley, mill employees could buy nice, reasonably priced homes.  Sadly, by 1973, Crown Zellerbach had shut down the mill and its town properties.  The provincial government purchased the town and its assets for a song but by 1980, it too had given up.  The town died rapidly.  These days the winter population is reportedly around 40 people (although one local told us it is closer to 25).  The public buildings and many of the remaining homes (Crown Zellerbach bulldozed a number of them in the 70's) are abandoned and crumbling.  There is a very nice and well serviced dock though and many boaters come here in the summer to take a walk around this fascinating place and talk to the friendly people who now live here.  The Rain General Store is open for two hours, three days a week and  a lodge serves dinner and provides rooms to non-local workers (e.g. loggers and dam workers).

Walking around Ocean Falls feels strange.  Soon after we docked, Jessica and I took a walk with Blue.  Almost immediately, a large black bear lumbered across the road in front of us.  An eccentric seeming fellow walking near us (who we had not previously noticed) told us not to worry, the bear would not bother us.  One of us observed that it was "kind of a big bear".  He shrugged, said "big enough" and kept walking.  We wanted to see the bear again but decided not to tempt fate and turned back toward the boat.

Later, a group of us, with the dogs, walked through town, past the dam to Link Lake.  The dam is very impressive and Link Lake is beautiful; however, the town resembles a post-apocalyptic movie set (Jessica's idea).   The degree of desertion and disintegration makes it difficult to believe that people were living here and still hoping for a good outcome as recently as the 1980's.  It is amazing to see how fast prosperity and good fortune can unwind. 


Photos from our walk through town:

The Martin Inn, once one of the biggest hotels in the province

Even the steps leading up to the Martin Inn are impassable

A strange collection of fitness equipment and a swing set in front of the Martin Inn

This looks like it was most recently a Co-Op store

The Ocean Falls Fire Department and Ambulance bay

A lovely and well-maintained old house
The porch light was on, someone must be living here

A not-so-well maintained house

The dam is impressive and now seems out of place here

 In the nearby residential area, Martin Valley:

The Rain Country Store where we stocked up

The cemetery is now closed but is home to over 500 departed souls 

Saggos Saloon - it opened for business at 4 p.m. the day we were there

We enjoyed a hearty camp-style dinner at the lodge.  The next day, Jessica took off in a six-seater Grumman Goose; an amazing amphibious airplane that seems to do a belly flop in the water before it climbs onto land. Jessica's visit flew by too quickly but it was wonderful.  The strange looking plane may have been a bit unnerving but Jess was all smiles as she climbed aboard.  

Taking Jessica to catch her plane

The plane arrives

And climbs ashore

Jessica bravely boards

And back down the ramp.... 

it splashes back into the water and off she goes

Bill's sister, Shelagh had just disembarked from the same plane that Jessica was boarding and vouched for its airworthiness.

Ocean Falls has made an impression on us.  A sad and beautiful place; we'll be back.

July 24 - Forit Bay

Tonight we anchored in Forit Bay.  The trip here via Gunboat Passage was interesting.  Gunboat Passage is studded with rocks and also very narrow.  So narrow that boats need to announce their presence by VHF radio before entering the passage and then coordinate with other boats so that they will be alone as they go through.  All the boats we encountered seemed to be taking their turn, except for a commercial fishing boat that cut into the queue and entered the passage without warning to whoever might have been coming from the opposite direction.  At Forit Bay we set our anchors in a picturesque and small space.  Later, when our boats seemed to be getting a little too close for comfort, we decided to prevent them from going bump in the night by rafting together.  This made it easier for Eileen and Bill to step aboard for dessert.  It is great to have Jessica onboard; she is wonderful company, loves the natural beauty and takes even more photos than I do.  Rob and Jessica went fishing with Blue and at the end of the day, she retired happily to her lair in the pilothouse with a flannelette sleeping bag, lots of pillows and a book.

This ain't no fashion show but Jess rocks these rubber overalls

Jess is going fishing for the first time

And away they go...

Post-script:  No fish were harmed in this fishing expedition.

July 23 - Shearwater

Today, we took the water taxi to Bella Bella to meet Jessica.  While we waited for her to arrive, we had coffee at the Koeye Cafe/Thistalalh Library and took a stroll around town.

Rob having coffee in the coffee shop while also reading in the library

An amazing totem pole 

A close up of a bear on the totem

Tomorrow we head north with Jessica.  It will be great to show her the sights!

June 22 - To Shearwater via Bella Bella

Today, we moved on to Shearwater Resort & Marina.  But the day started with a bang. Before we left Fancy Cove, Rob caught his first Coho Salmon, a beautiful eight pound fish.

 Both Bill and Rob caught one of these

Rob sharpens his fillet knife to clean the salmon

Bill doing the dirty work: a demonstration on fish cleaning 

These two herrings were in our salmon's stomach

Bill also caught 14 Dunegeness crabs
He gave us two, kept two and threw the rest back

Shearwater has many services but potable water is not one of them.  So we decided to stop in at the Campbell Island village of Bella Bella, also known as "Waglisla" and home to the Heiltsuk First Nation, to fill up with water and buy some groceries.  We received a friendly reception at the grocery store and we were encouraged to top up our water supply at the fuel dock.

Rob walks into town from the public dock

The Waglisla Band Grocery Store

A view of the town from the docks

At Shearwater Resort & Marina, we ate fish and chips at the pub and a took walk through the woods with Eileen, Bill and Casca.  We are looking forward to seeing Jessica tomorrow.  We will meet her in Bella Bella and she will spend a few days with us.

July 21 - Our third and last day in Fancy Cove

Tomorrow we will move on to the metropolis that is Shearwater where there will be shopping, laundry, wi-fi and even a restaurant!  I found these three days in Fancy Cove to be restorative and peaceful and I have not suffered from cabin fever.  Maybe it’s because I knew we were only here for three days but I have managed to luxuriate in being unplugged and isolated.

When we are at anchor (and without access to an electrical plug-in) for days at a time, we need to recharge our “house batteries” almost daily. We do that by turning on the generator for an hour or so.  When the house batteries are charged, we can use the lights, coffee maker, dvd player, radio, iPod dock etc.  However, we cannot use certain appliances that generate heat, such as a hairdryer, toaster or microwave unless we are plugged into shore power or have the generator running.    As a result, we have developed the strange habit of always making toast while the generator runs.  Although we do not often eat toast at home, it has become a forbidden fruit onboard.  Last night Rob said, “I’m going to run the generator in the morning and we can have toast”.  And I said, “Yay, I love toast”.  What can I say, we are simple folk.  Admit it though, you want some toast now.  Lately, we have been enjoying ours with marmalade. 

Post-script:  We pulled our crab trap to find only this magnificent Sea Star, which was gently returned to the water after posing for these photos.

The Sea Star's magnificent underbelly

Post post-script

Bill did catch crab.  And a Coho Salmon.  He cooked the crabs and we cooked the salmon and then we convened at our boat for dinner.