Friday, May 23, 2014

Tenedos Bay

     So, let's see, it was Mother's Day when we fueled up at Westview Harbour in Powell River.  We were underway at 10:34, course overground was 296 degrees, and we were motoring at 2200 RPM making a pretty nice 6.4 knots with the current in our favor.  We hadn't taken the sail cover off for a couple of days.  We noticed that most sail boats in this area had their sail covers on.  We were the hopeful ones they were the seasoned ones.  The current and wind that we have experienced so far in the inside passage are limiting, and make it difficult  to get much use out of the sail.  We have motored nearly every day.  This was one of the last days that our hope of using the wind to fuel Velvet Sky prevailed and I removed the sail cover while Scott was at the helm.  We were oblivious that another human being existed.  Oh, they did exist, and they took a couple of photos and posted them on marinetraffic.com.  The awareness of these photos did not come to light until May 21st.  Scott was online searching through some sights; shipfinder.com, and aislive.com just to see what he could see.  And there we are.  I am removing the sail cover, Bucket is sitting safely at base of the mast, and Scott at the helm.  The first photo we have seen with the three of us onboard and underway and have no idea who, how, or why it is on this site.

     Unaware that we had just been paparazzi-ed, put the sail up for about 10 minutes, dropped it again, raised the RPM on the engine to the average 2200.  We entered Desolation Sound at 13:34, and dropped our prawn trap for the first time at 14:30.  We left it in 276 feet depth about 2 and a half miles from where we anchored and stern tied that day (which was another first).  Things seemed to go well.  Scott put the line in his mouth and rowed to shore about 100 feet from the boat.  He found that he had to utilize his rock climbing experience to get the line to the tree.



          It was pretty successful, not too bad for first timers, I suppose.  He learned that there is a better way to transport the line than by mouth.  Maybe tie it something in the dinghy?  He also got a pretty good work out.  We slept well that night.  Awoke early in the morning (as usual) and loaded ourselves into FRESH, she was now equipped with a 2.5 hp motor, and with great excitement and anticipation motored our way to our prawn trap.  We could hardly wait to retrieve our tasty treats.  We were half way to our goal, the bright orange float, that held the line, that held the trap, that held our bounty.


   

      Problem.  The outboard began to sputter.  And here is another good lesson:  Always check that your outboard has plenty of fuel to get you to your destination and back to home base.  Scott rowed to 3 Fathom Cove, a short cut to where we had anchored in Tenedos Bay.  The tide was out and the short cut was no longer a passage of water but a tombolo of fresh oysters.  At this point our option was to portage FRESH home to Velvet Sky along with the gas-less outboard, and Bucket....oh my.  I could feel the oysters crush and squish beneath my step, all I could think was, "What a waste."  The bottoms of our shoes went through quite the test and we saved the animals the hassle of shucking their dinner that day.




     So, that all turned out alright.  We fueled the outboard and set out once again to retrieve our treasure.


     

     We earned a meal.  Today it was NOT prawns.  And the bar bell is just the weight to bring the trap down (see, Unk, I knew those weights would be useful).  We set the little guy free and had something along the lines of peanut butter sandwiches instead.

     Tenedos Bay is one of my favorite visits so far. Although I truly, truly fell in love with Princess Louisa Inlet, Tenedos Bay was our haven.  It was just nature and the Smith family.  This was the beginning of feeling as though we were the only humans existing for the week.  There was no other people or vehicles to be heard or seen for miles and miles.  It was quiet and peaceful beyond imagination.  

     We did end up re-anchoring the next day in a different spot in the bay.  The boat was swinging dangerously close to the rock wall, we noticed about 15:00 the following day.  We pulled in the stern line, pulled up the anchor, and repositioned ourselves in a more experienced sort of way.  We discovered that you run the stern line first, set the anchor in line with the stern tie then pull yourself toward the shore with the stern tie.  It sounds more complicated than it is, however being the newbies that we are we did not do any of this the first time.  Every day.....something new.

    






Wednesday, May 21, 2014

All in a week's play

Ahoy!

     We are in a place called Port McNeil.  I am at the laundry and am kind of kicking myself for not bring along the log book.  There is so much activity every day that sometimes it all starts blending together.  I guess that might be a sign that this is not a vacation but rather becoming a way of life.  We left Alert Bay yesterday morning.  We will spend a couple of days here provisioning, cleaning the cabin, and doing laundry (yay! clean sheets!).  We have learned a couple of good lessons this week.  Rinse and save milk jugs (we have for empties on board).  Buy powdered milk for the times that fresh milk is not available.  We learned that we like milk and toilet paper.  Yep, we ran out of toilet paper.  Luckily, we had paper towels that we cut up into little squares and wipes.  We (well, I) ran out of beer. We got diesel at Lagoon Cove and Scott overfilled the tank.  For those of you who like to learn from the errors of others, this is a "don't do."  The boat smelled terribly of diesel for a day and was not fun to clean out of the bilge or from the top of the tank.  Here are a few photos from the week and then I am going to return to boat to get the log book, as I am relying on it to report some of the details.

Eagles seem to find the coolest places to perch

Below lies a plethora of prawns

Is this a plethora?
First time to stern tie....how are you going to get up that wall?

He did it 

Safe and secure (for a day)

We ran our of gas while dinghy-ing to our prawn trap...we ported the outboard and FRESH over a tombolo  of solid oysters


less than half way across
Second day, new stern tie

Let's go on an adventure.....

.....and see what we can find

They found Harry's Rock at Tenedos Bay

We also found a rushing stream....

Scott finds the stream a great place to wash his pants

Now...this is a plethora! At least to us.....17 prawns and one tiny crab....the crab goes back 

The prawns.....well....sweet and delicious

A pair of Ravens....little did we know that we would be venturing into the land of Ravens soon (also known as Alert Bay).   

And now....crab for dinner....8 of them equals

Four cups of meat after two hours of cleaning.....
We had crab and cream cheese on crackers, crab cakes, and buttery farfalle pasta topped with grated gouda and loaded with crab 

Octopus Islands welcoming committee, three happily waving seals

Welcoming committee at Port Harvey

Going on an adventure

Pictographs

And, now....the masterpiece, art made from driftwood, rope, and rocks gathered while exploring


Bucket had a "Great idea, let's use purple ink to write our initials on our feet."  And it was made so....

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Next....Desolation Sound

Ahoy!

     We are in a town called Powell River at Westview Harbour.  We made the trip from Princess Louisa Inlet in one day.  It was a wet, wet, rainy, day.  Scott was at the helm for 10 hours.  Zayden and I were below, keeping ourselves entertained with books, pens, and toys.  Every now and then one of us would pop our heads out to check on the Captain.  He seemed to be enjoying every minute of the drippy weather.  Never a complain or a groan, just an occasional request for hot drink or water proofed snack. Hot mocha and an apple was his special request.  I relieved him twice in the 10 hours for a pee break, Although I would have been more than happy to have taken the wheel more, he said he was content and it showed.

    There have been days when I find myself just complaining about this being my new lifestyle.  Oh...the inconveniences of not having hot water on demand, the confined living space, the lack of ice cubes and a freezer, no television or internet, making three meals a day in small galley and the constant doing of dishes, not having a personal washer and dryer, no daily shower....sometimes the list goes on and I find myself dwelling on the 'lack of."  Then we experience something as miraculous as Princess Louisa Inlet.  I have everything I could possibly need or want.  This place can only be visited by boat or sea plane.  The waterfalls flowing from the rocky hills that seem to reach to the highest point of the Earth are countless.  The serenity and sounds of nature unsurpassable.  My Uncle Bub once described the air in heaven so pure that it never had to be exhaled.  I believe I have came as to breathing the air of heaven that I ever will as a human being.  Only by experience can this wonderment be absorbed into the soul.  I took photo after photo in hopes of capturing the work of God so that I may share it with my loved ones.  Malibu Falls is the gateway to Princess Louisa.
The Gateway to a heavenly place
Our first view of Chatterbox Falls


The air is cool crisp and wet at the base of the falls


What the Falls sees....happy boys

Just as I thought.....ICY! I should be numb enough soon to shave my legs....

He's going in!

He agrees....ICY!

We dined lunch in the dinghy while Mama Bear and her 2 cubs dined on the bank.
We enjoyed left over pancakes topped with peanut butter and cinnamon and sugar along with cheese sticks and a shared bottle of water, while the bears crunched on mussels from the branches.....A delightful show!
(Uncle Craig....we thought of you....these guys were so darn cute!)


     Little did we know that within the same 24 hours we would view a Killer Whale and cub traveling through the Jervis Inlet.

     I am here doing laundry and the dryer is in cool down.  I have to cut this short, and I have so much to share.  We gathered mussels and oysters and ate them fresh while in the inlet.  We have met a lot of nice nice people.  Garden Bay, I know, has the friendliest people on the planet.  like I said, I am keeping a handwritten journal and will hopefully pass along some of the entries.  For now....I will fold the laundry, the fuel dock opens in a half an hour when we will fill up and make our way to Desolation Sound.  Maybe I can get a few more photos downloaded while I fold....
We did some fantasy real estate shopping....we though we could live here in Garden bay

or Here

Fishing for crab bait in Egmont.....will this work?

Pull it up, Bucket...let's see if we got any
(Yes, Shawn  =)    we purchased a crab/prawn trap.  I will let you know of the deliciousness when we get some.)

Sewing machine broken :(   (clutch washer needed)

In transit via Canadian Post...

Minor repair...less expensive to hire a diver than to haul out.  Bucket is in awe....he may be a diver someday.

Replacing the sacrificial zinc on the prop shaft....fell off somewhere around Egmont


The guys....ready for yet another hiking adventure....life is good!


     I am 3 minutes late to the set off for the fuel dock.....TTFN


Until next time....
Fair Winds and Oceans of Love