Desolation Sound: Octopus Islands to Home Bay

 

BC Mainland, Forward Harbour
 

On Monday June 30th we left the Octopus Islands, taking the Okisollo Channel, reaching Johnstone Straight at 9am. The wind was 14kn on our nose but we were making 9-10kn over ground on the ebb tide. It was sunny all day. We passed by two large barges and a few sailboats.

 

Cinnamon sleeps through the whale encounter.

I was at the helm that morning, as we passed Port Neville, heading towards Port McNeil. I happened to look to my left and saw a large whale blow along the shore several miles off. Before I knew it, the whale was right off my port side and then directly in front of me. It was huge. My guess is that it was a humpback. I pulled back on the throttle and Greg came topside cursing because he was running the water maker and the drop could have resulted in awful water in our tanks. Cinnamon, who was asleep on his $3,000 spinnaker kitty bed, slept throw the whole thing.

We passed Robson Bight Ecological Reserve, a sanctuary for killer whales, but didn't see any more whales. After arriving in Port McNeil marina that afternoon, we didn't visit the grocery store but we did check out the liquor store and restocked our wine cellar with some fine boxed wine.

 

Tuesday morning, as we prepared to leave Port McNeil, we spotted Let Freedom Ring at the fuel dock. We joined them and filled our tanks. This is one of the perks of living on a sailboat. Even though we didn't sail much, our fuel bill came to $189 while Let Freedom Ring's was over $1,000 for the same distance. After fueling we headed north to Port Alexander on Negei Island.

 

Relaxing in Port Alexander

 

There is nothing at Port Alexander.  We continually wonder about these names; something must have been there at one time.

 

The next morning we set out for Cape Caution, 24 NM away.

 

Cap Caution Light House

 

Cape Caution should be given a wide berth. Being close off  is a particularly bad place for sea against tide effects. West and SW swells are reflected back to sea by the cape and interact with the incoming swells, creating confused seas and standing waves.

 

http://bcmarina.com/Pages/About/Hazards/thumbnails.html gives this advice for rounding Cape Caution:

The solution to transiting this area is "to be there when conditions are right. For example: The 50 mile crossing of Queen Charlotte Strait from Port Hardy to Calvert Island, in summer northwesterly conditions, should generally be made in the early morning and while the tide is flooding to avoid running into ebb currents from Smith and Rivers inlet meeting the westerly swell. The common mistake people make on this crossing is to leave Port Hardy on a big ebb tide figuring to take advantage of the following current on the way north. They then arrive at Egg Island in worse case sea against tide conditions with the westerly swell piling up on a huge ebb current out of Smith Inlet and scare the crap out of everybody on board."

We sailed easily past Cape Caution and arrived in Home Bay, on the BC mainland, at 3:30 that afternoon.  Just another day on Comocean. Winching - but not disturbing Cinnamon, We just work around each other. Approaching Home Bay At anchor in Home Bay, BC Trees in Home Bay draped in Spanish Moss   Home bay was obviously a busy place at one time but I couldn't find any information on line about its history. After we anchored, as the tide went out, we noticed something large coming out of the water. At first we thought it was a reef. A few minutes later I began to think it was a wall, but it sloped at the ends. Eventually we could see that it was a vessel; Greg thought it had masts and I was certain it was a barge. Whatever it was, it was over 60' long.

 

 

 

At the head of Home Bay was a derelict boat and a large tank, possibly for fuel. Along the shore there was a sign saying "Slow" in English and German and a tidal grid.

 



 

 

Once we had anchored and explored we turned the AIS on to watch for Let Freedom Ring's arrival. Our TV viewing on this trip is extremely limited. There isn't much action but the suspense is a killer.



AIS list from the Chart Plotter
 

 

It was just too, too much for Cinnamon.

 

 

Home Bay Panarama

 





 

 

Nanaimo and the Octopus Islands

DODD NARROWS

 

We left Let Freedom Ring (LFR)and Silent Waters in Montaque Harbor Wednesday morning and headed towards Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. There wasn't any wind and LFR caught up to us as we approached Dodd Narrows, just south of Nanaimo.

 

Let Freedom Ring

 

 





Nanaimo is a busy port; we share the water way with tankers and cruise ships. LFR chose to take a slip at one of the yacht clubs while we took a slip at the Newcastle Island Park across the harbour. Newcastle has a wonderful forest and is home to "blond raccoons".

 

 

After a short stroll on the island to get ice cream cones we settled down to a pleasant afternoon on Comocean. That night I awoke to horrible animal screams and a ruckus on the dock. I thought a racoon must be killing some poor bird; it was horrible to listen to. Then I heard a racket in our cockpit. I grabbed a flash light and found a raccoon staring at me through the companion way windows. A rap on the door scared him and he abandoned ship.

 

The next morning Greg discovered that the varmint had crawled thru the tiny aft stateroom port light in the cockpit. There he had dined, making quite a mess in the process, on crackers, cereal and tortilla chips. He sampled the shredded coconut but apparently didn't care for it much. 

The next day we provisioned in Nanaimo in record time and headed back to Newcastle. Gale force winds were forecast for that night so we sat tight. The following afternoon the sails went up in 14 K and we were making 7-8 knots over ground. By 16:30 we were going over 9K as we surfed down the rollers.

A mayday was announced by the BC Coast Guard and we listened as the drama unfolded. The Howe Sound Queen ferry had come upon a catamaran (headed to Salt Spring Island) that had capsized and they were searching for crew. Eventually another boat found the sole crew member and rescued him.







Clam Bay on the east side of Thetis Island



Just North of Thetis Island

We got as far as Jedidiah Island and anchored in Long Bay just before 8pm.

We were underway by 6am the next day with 24K winds from the SE and heavy rain which cleared by 8am. At 8:05 I was hailed by the Island Voyager. The captain, who was towing a barge, informed me that .3 nm was "too close" and he wanted me to move farther away. This guy, I thought, is really cautious. I don't know what he was towing but he thought it might move around a lot.

The winds died and we motored all the way to Savory Island while dreaming of crabs. It rained off and on through out the day (so much for being called the "Sunshine Coast") but we did have our crab dinner.

We awoke the next day to a beautiful morning and after a leisurely breakfast we prepared the sails, retrieved the crab trap and departed at 11:00 heading to Rebbecca Spit, one of our favorite places.

Winds built to 20-23 k, then 25 k and our speed over ground grew to 9 k. We struggled with the sails and after five accidental gibes we gave up on Rebbecca Spit and continued on to Beasley Passage and eventually the Octopus Islands.

An important aspect of sailing in British Columbia is understanding tides and currents and knowing when to attempt going thru narrow passages. You plan to arrive just before slack tide and wait around for the current to drop and then go like hell to get through. You can go through with a little current if its going in the same direction that you are. If it isn't, well....

Some power boaters don't give much thought to passage currents (Wayne for example) and rely on their huge engines to push them through. Sailboats don't have the luxury. Now I don't know if Greg has just spent too much time around power boats lately or if he had a temporary lapse of some kind. We had made a mistake in calculating the tidal change at Beasley and the current was running 8 k against us. I was willing to float around and wait it out but Greg got impatient and sped into the passage. Our progress slowed to a halt and we started drifting backwards. Greg revved the engine higher. We held our ground - for 30 minutes, with the engine screaming, we sat in the middle of the passage - drop offs and whirlpools on each side of us. I worried about blowing the engine to pieces. Since Greg has done that with a few Porche engines when he raced at Sears Pt, I thought it was a valid concern. "I want to see what the engine can do." He forcefully told me that NO, you can not just let the current push you back out. Once you are in you are committed (I thought I might soon be committed to the cemetery). After the thirty minutes the tide dropped slightly and Greg revved the engine once more. Slowly, very slowly, we crawled through. There was very little conversation between us for the rest of the day.

Octopus Islands Marine Park

It rained throughout our first night at anchor in Octopus Islands Marine Park. The next day there were sprinkles off and on but it was nice and warm. I enjoyed watching the Eagles, kingfishers and crows. I saw a very unusual fish that looked like a very small, delicate oarfish. It actually looked like a delicate brown and gold 3-ft ribbon as it swam by the side of our dinghy.

 

Comocean at anchor in the Octopus Islands

We only stayed one night at Octopus and were on our way again to our next anchorage.

 

Panoramic view of the Octopus Islands

 

"When are they going to bring me some crab?"

 

Rivers Inlet, BC - Here We Come

 

 

"Rivers Inlet is a fjord located on the central coast of British Columbia (BC), Canada. It is in the heart of one of the world's largest remaining tracts of temperate rainforest, and it is the traditional territory of the Wuikinuxv (Oweekeno) First Nations. Rivers Inlet epitomises a unique coastal environment, with rich and diverse marine resources that have sustained First Nations people for thousands of years, and that continues to sustain high value commercial and recreational fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, transportation and tourism ..."

source:  http://riversinlet.eos.ubc.ca/about_rivers_inlet.html

 

We first learned of Rivers Inlet three years ago from our friends Marilyn and Wayne, the exceptional photographer and "rabid fisherman". His photos and tales of BIG salmon, halibut and lingcod had us ready to follow him north. Our plans to sail to Rivers Inlet in the summer of 2013 got derailed. This year, despite medical issues, we were determined to go.

 

Wayne and Marilyn, on Let Freedom Ring, planned to leave on Monday, June 23rd. Greg worked like the devil readying Comocean and installing our new water maker. We cast off our lines and finally headed north on the afternoon of Tuesday the 24th.

 

 Semiahmoo Marina, Washington

 

Semiahmoo Resort at the end of Semiahmoo Spit

Good bye to the Great Blue Herons fishing off Birch Bay Point

 

 It rained off and on throughout the day as we motored to Active Pass in the Gulf Islands. Thanks to my beloved AIS, I could see the ferry traffic clear through this very busy, tight passage.  I was hailed  twice on VHF while transiting. First by a ship that was concerned about my position in the channel and wanted to know my intentions and then asked that I stay to his starboard. Then as we exited, I was contacted by the communications officer of a BC ferry that requested that we pass "green to green". Being a little green myself in this business of dancing with the "big boats", it tool me a minute to realize that she wasn't talking about a location but wanted to pass "starboard (green) to starboard" so that she was sure I wouldn't try to run across her bow.

 

Safely through Active Pass once again, we turned NW to Montaque Harbour. Montague is my favorite place to check into Canada. As Nexus card holders we can call Canadian Customs just as we cross the invisible line in the water that marks the Canadian border (making sure we still have a cell signal), making our declarations and telling them where we plan to check in. Our chart plotter told us that we would arrive at Montaque Harbour at approx. 18:20. Here's the deal if you haven't done this: Customs agrees to the location and if there isn't an agent there by 5 minutes after our appt. time you are free to go. Montaque is on Galiano Island in the Gulf Islands and I have never seen a Customs agent there - hence the reason it is my favorite place to check in.

Montique Harbour Marina with Customs check in point at the far left.

As we entered Montaque Harbour we had seen Let Freedom Ring on our AIS and we headed over to them after clearing. LFR was rafted to their friends on Silent Waters PS23 and everyone was in the party mood - celebrating Wayne's 70th birthday. After joining them for smoked ribs and Nanaimo Bars with ice cream we were ferried back to our boat for a nice quiet evening.



Let Freedom Ring on the left with their "dinghy" the Proline

I mentioned that Wayne is a "rabid" fisherman and that he was going after the BIG fish. LFR actually has two dinghies - note the little dinghy on top of the Proline fishing boat. In the beginning Wayne had a hell of a time getting the fish into the little dinghy - they were just too big, so he purchased the Proline. It not only is better suited to fishing, it makes a great vehicle for heading off to resupply.

Comocean and LFR said good bye to Silent Waters the next morning and continued on to the big city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. That little adventure is a whole 'nother story.

Boatyard Life Can be a Hazard to Your Health

 

Our retired ambulance may have been an omen.

We worked like dogs on Gitana when we arrived in Fall of 2013. Greg sanded the bottom for four weeks straight - seven days a week - while having an occasional "stop and chat". He then tackled rewiring the boat. I busied myself with removing the head (practicing my human pretzel yoga), making the new V berth mattress and refinishing the saloon bulkhead.

In December I started to have severe backaches. By Jan 2nd I was in agony.  I begged Greg to get a doctor for me on Friday morning the 3rd. He found Dr. Canale in San Carlos. Dr. Canale thought that my back problems were minor, simply a muscle strain, and could be fixed with a steroid injection. Dr. Canale is a cardiologist and gerontologist.

The next day at about 2:30 pm, while strenuously pulling at wiring, Greg suffered a stroke. It was immediately obvious to me (unable to move left arm and leg, unable to talk and excessive drooling), and although I had difficulty walking, I got down the ladder and walked to the boatyard office. When I got back to the boat I called for our neighbor, Frank, to help me. The staff called Rescate, the local EMTs, and within 15 minutes they arrived and were checking Greg's vital signs. He was taken out on a stretcher and lowered on a front loader. The ambulance took him to the Rescate center about a mile away. Frank and his wife Cheryl met us there. When asked if I had a doctor I wanted to meet us, I said Dr. Canale (I didn't know any other doctor). Canale was there within the hour and administered all the necessary drugs to combat the stroke. He was taken to Guaymas for a CT scan and brought back to the Rescate center. By 7:30 Pm he improved greatly, regaining use of his arm, leg and voice, and we were sent off to a motel - no hospital nearby and going back to the boat was not possible. Frank and Cheryl went with us and Frank volunteered to spend the night to help Greg as needed. Greg declined the offer.

After three weeks and three CT scans we finally got the okay to head back to the states. I felt that we needed to go back to the states not because of poor care, but because we had to pay cash for all the medical expenses and medical care for my back was a great distance from Guaymas. Language wasn't an issue in Guaymas. Everyone but the EMTs spoke English. I didn't know about other locations.

All of our medical expenses, including ambulance, medicine and 3 CTs came to a little over $1,000. We have spent well over 10 times that amount since Greg has been back in the US getting care. His last MRI was $9,000.

Greg had gotten a medical checkup before we left for Mexico and was in good physical condition. How could a man with low blood pressure, low cholesterol and normal weight have a stroke? It turned out that Greg had developed an "atrial flutter" (similar to atrial fibrillation) and racing heart beat (150 per minute). What brought this on? Was it the heavy metals he was exposed to while sanding the bottom of the boat? We may never  know. Greg is currently on meds, that the doctor assures us, will prevent another stroke.

I do know what caused my back pain. When I returned to Washington, I had an MRI and it reveled that I had a herniated disc at the L3-4 position. A pre-existing L2 compression fracture contributed to this. All the contortions that I went through while working on the interior of the boat caused the blowout.

Its been 3 months now since my back surgery and I am slowly recovering.

We are currently preparing for a trip to northern British Columbia to fish for the big ones: salmon, halibut and ling cod. If all goes well we will be returning to Mexico in the fall. This time we will be much more careful.