The Essence of Remote



Klaskino Inlet



Klaskino Anchorage



We left Winter Harbour at 4pm to head south for Klaskino Inlet and position ourselves for rounding Brooks Peninsula early the next morning.  The ever present westerly ocean swells greeted us once again with 4-5 foot waves.  One large wave hit us broadside and slammed closed the heavy Portuguese Bridge door!  After a couple hours motoring, we entered the sheltered waters of Klaskino Inlet and anchored in “Klaskino Anchorage” behind “Anchorage Island,” appropriate names indeed.  We spotted an old cabin as we entered the bay and saw Sea Otters playing about while a Black Bear walked along the shore.  The northwest end of Vancouver Island is definitely remote territory and it even felt more remote than Southeast Alaska.  There are no phones, roads, vehicles, or villages to be found here, we didn’t even see another boat pass by.  We anchored in the bay and motored the dinghy towards shore, passing several Sea Otters who looked at us curiously.  Within a few yards from shore, we shut the motor off and watched the bear forage among the grasses and the Eagles sore overhead.  The bear sat down from time to time and we could see his round fuzzy ears just above the underbrush.  We watched him for about 20 minutes until he eventually departed back into the forest.  As we motored away, the Sea Otters returned to reclaim their space after making their own observations.  We then journeyed further down the shore, this time to investigate the old cabin near the creek.  We wondered what possessed someone to build in such a remote location, perhaps to escape civilization and live among the wild of a different sort.  We motored back to the boat as the sun began to set.  The cabin builder was right about one thing, it’s a wondrous and beautiful world.

A Creek-side Visit



Black Bear's Departure



Old Cabin Complete with Stairs



If Only This Cabin Could Speak



Sun Setting Over the Ocean

Cape Scott - Rugged West Coast



Cape Scott



Our Sailing Buddies



We left Hope Island at 7:50am – destination, Quatsino Sound on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, but first we needed to cross over the Nahwitti Bar and then round notorious Cape Scott.  Conditions for passing over the bar consisted of 8 knot winds and 4 to 5 foot ocean swells.  The rolling seas continued all the way to Cape Scott, where the winds subsided to 1 knot.  As it turned out, the most challenging seas were between the Bar and the Cape.  The seas increased to 6 feet and then steepened to 7 feet further out at sea.  Three sailboats were headed south on the same route, it didn’t seem to matter what kind of boat was out at sea, everyone was rocking and rolling.  We later caught up to the sailboats and passed them even though we were taking somewhat of a “zigzag” course or angled approach to the steep waves – indeed, our most challenging seas to-date.  After rounding Cape Scott, we entered the beautiful, rugged bay of Sea Otter Cove and tied-up at one of four storm buoys provided for boaters and took a lunch break.  The entrance to the cove is rocky, narrow, and shallow; but once inside, it opens up, revealing pebble beach’s backed by forested mountains.  We took the dinghy to shore thinking we might find flotsam from China; indeed we found a can marked in both Chinese and English letters, indicating the contents as cigarettes from China.  After lunch, we headed back out to sea and reached the entrance to Quatsino Sound, arriving at the small community of Winter Harbour around 6pm, totally exhausted.



Sea Otter Cove



Sea Otter Cove



Pacific Ocean Beach

We departed Port Hardy at 10:25am and cruised west toward the Pacific Ocean on Goletas Channel, arriving at Bull Harbour on Hope Island just inside the Nahwitti Bar.  We anchored in the Harbour to position ourselves for the next leg of our journey and perhaps the most challenging to-date - down the west side of Vancouver Island, exposed to the Pacific Ocean.  We arrived at Hope Bay in the afternoon with time to enjoy the beautiful sandy beach.  We went ashore via dinghy and hiked a short trail out to the ocean.  The vivid blue colors and the big rollers crashing on shore reminded us of Hawaii but with Evergreens instead of Palm trees; Java, of course, had a great time running on the beach and digging in the sand.  Back at the boat, she had a soapy, warm bath on the swim step then curled up for a nap after dinner.  Hope Island was once a Coast Guard Station, which was later closed and the property, including Bull Harbour, given to the Tlatalsikwala Native Band.  There are only seven homes in Bull Harbour located along a sidewalk left from the old Coast Guard days; and surprisingly, the gravel road even has a few street lights.  When we arrived, only one Native couple was “in town.”



Java Playing on the Beach



Buildings left by the Coast Guard



Bull Harbour on Hope Island

Exposing Our Props



Checking Underneath



Kelp and Debris on Props



While at Port Hardy, we took advantage of the “haul-out” service to inspect the props on “Got d’ Fever.”  Getting the straps in the right place to lift the boat was a little un-nerving; but after several adjustments, she was gently lifted above the water for inspection.  We found large chunks of kelp and other debris wrapped around both props, which accounted for the unwanted vibration.  The attendant at the boatlift helped us free the debris from the props and we were “good to go.”  While “Got d’ Fever” was out of the water we also checked the zincs which protect the boat from electrolysis.  The zincs appeared to be sufficient for the rest of our summer cruise.  Back at the dock, other maintenance projects included an oil change for the main engines, cleaning the sea strainers, taking on fuel and water; and of course, Lorena’s cleaning and laundry chores plus defrosting the refrigerator, ugh.  Because of energy requirements, it's almost unhead of for boats to have frost-free refrigertors.  Another interesting maintenance issue that needed to be addressed arose over a week ago.  While out in the middle of “nowhere,” Leonard discovered one of the two engine blowers had seized up and was overheating.  Leonard was able to disconnect the bad blower which was shorting things out so we could continue operating with the remaining blower.  Several days later when we had cell phone coverage, Leonard phoned ahead to Port Hardy knowing that we would be there in a few days and ordered the part to be shipped to the Marina.  It’s all about self-reliance and being able to solve the issue of logistics when traveling in unpopulated areas.  Leonard seems to enjoy discovering what’s needed and enjoys this on-going learning experience.



Checking the Straps



Engine Blower



Fury Cove to Port Hardy



Cape Caution on a Calm Day



Flat Seas - Queen Charlotte Strait



We left Fury Cove at 8:45 in the morning and passed Cape Caution around 11:15 with calm seas and light wind - a different Cape Caution this time around!  Smooth, glassy waters lay before us as we crossed Queen Charlotte Strait and we savored the sweet smell of fresh sea air.  It was an uneventful crossing except for a convoy of cruise ships that passed us by.  We also spotted a whale off Scarlette Point Lighthouse as we neared Port Hardy in Christie Passage.  We arrived at Port Hardy on the north end of Vancouver Island around 3pm and found moorage at the “City Dock” for the evening and then moved to Fisherman’s Wharf the next day.  After working on some boat maintenance items and other chores, we got out the bicycles and rode along Port Hardy’s seaside promenade and park.  The park itself is considered a historic site represented by a carrot sculpture that marks the end of the Island Highway.  The carrot symbolizes the promise of a road dangled in front of the settlers since 1897.  It wasn’t until the late 1970’s that the “Carrot Campaign” was successful in making the Government keep its promise to complete the Island Highway.



Lighthouse - Christie Passage



Port Hardy



Seaside Promenade



Waterfront Park - The Carrot



Switch to Summer

Koeye Cove - Heilsuk & Owikeeno Nation



Beach at Fury Cove



We awoke to clear blue skies and a bright sunny day.  It was as if someone had flipped a switch for the summer weather to begin on August 1^st.  The aroma of morning coffee and home-baked bread added to the day’s pleasant beginning.  Leonard had prepared bread dough the night before and baked cinnamon rolls in the morning, quite tasty for his first attempt!  But then I must admit I did pretty well on my first docking with “Got d’ Fever” earlier in the week at Butedale.  After breakfast we departed Namu, which is recognized as the earliest carbon-dated site on the BC Coast establishing the record of aboriginal occupation as being over 9,000 years old.  As we cruised south, we spotted a Native Longhouse tucked behind Koeye Point near the Koeye River.  We read in one of our guidebooks that the property was purchased by the Rainforest Conservation Society, Ecotrust Canada, and the Land Conservancy of BC.  The property was later given to its original inhabitants, the Heilsuk and Owikeeno First Nations, who celebrated the transfer of ownership in August of 2001.  The Koeye area is now protected from logging and the Longhouse/lodge is used as a research center for natural and cultural studies.  We continued our cruise south along Fisher Channel which becomes Fitz Hugh Sound, and arrived 14:00 at Fury Cove located between Fury Island and Penrose Island.  This lovely anchorage is a great place for bird watching and has several white shell beaches, which we explored by kayak.  The cove is a popular stop over for both northbound and southbound boaters rounding Cape Caution.



Beach - Fury Cove



Kayaking - Fury Cove



Bird Watching - Fury Cove



Magical Namu



Namu



Gardens around Cannery Buildings





Cannery Buildings



Departed Shearwater and cruised southeast through Lama Passage, crossing Fisher Channel to Codville Lagoon on King Island, another BC Marine Park.  The large lagoon is very scenic, a nice place to anchor for lunch or overnight.  After our tour of the lagoon we continued south along Fisher Channel reaching Namu Harbour and docked at the old cannery site.  Robert Draney founded the Namu Canning Co. in 1893 at the mouth of Namu River.  Between the 1930’s and 1980’s, Namu was owned by BC Packers, an important hub for commercial fishermen.  Namu supported up to 400 cannery workers, fish processors, and maintenance personnel along with their families.  The cannery included an ice plant, café, laundry, general store, bunkhouses, and office buildings.  A fire in 1961 destroyed many of the buildings and a new plant was built in 1962.  BC Packers sold the site in the early 1990’s and Namu was operated for a while as a fishing lodge.  Today most of the buildings are in decay but there is a certain charm about Namu.  The husband and wife caretakers of the guest dock have planted extensive flower gardens and built hot-houses among the cannery buildings, creating a certain magical touch.  This ghost town/cannery reminded us of Ocean Falls with its buildings from the 1960’s frozen in time.  We saw empty cans for packing shrimp still stacked along a wall, and we saw hourly time reports that had been placed above a desk.  Even the desk chair appeared to swivel as if someone had just sat there.  BC Packers simply up and left a complete machine shop, the company equipment, and even stock in the store.  The current caretakers restored the 1951 tractor that the company had left behind and they also restored one of three forklifts that were abandoned.  No one knows what will become of Namu; but one thing is for certain, things WILL change as they always do – one of life’s important lessons.



Packing Cans - Namu



Air Filters - Processing Building



A Look at the Past



Abandoned House - Namu



Namu Frozen in Time



Ghost Ship - Namu