 |
| Ocean Falls harbor mermaid |
On the morning of August 20 we had hoped to head south toward Queen Charlotte Sound and get set up for crossing that corner of the open ocean on August 21, but this was not to be! Our friends, Doug and Jill on “Passages” have an Internet weather service that told them there were gale warnings in Queen Charlotte Sound for several days. Yikes!! Didn’t want to go there! Apparently it wasn't time for us to start the last leg of our cruise. We decided to go instead to a spot only about three hours away…Ocean Falls. We went through Gunboat Passage and Cousins Inlet and, as we turned the final corner could see Ocean Falls in the distance. It looked like a considerable town! We could see the falls coming off the dam, what looked like a sizable hotel and lots of houses. We were even greeted by a mermaid as we came into the harbor!
 |
| Ocean Falls in its declining glory |
When we got closer we could see that hotel windows had no glass, the houses, were falling down and the town was deserted. Ocean Falls began as a paper mill town in 1912 and was eventually owned…yep the whole town…by Crown Zellerbach. In 1970 or so, C-Z decided that the paper mill was no longer profitable and sold it to the Canadian government. The government limped along with the paper mill for a few more years, but by 1980 even the government said it was a losing proposition. They shut down the mill, and since that was the only major employer in the town, shut down the town, too. The government decided to tear down all the buildings, houses, the pool, the theater, the civic center, etc. and return Ocean Falls to nature. The few remaining citizens prevented the total destruction of the town and what we saw were the decrepit remains of a town that once had 3500 people, five apartment buildings and a hotel (that tall tan building that you see) with over 300 rooms!
 |
| Amazing what an inch of rain will do! |
The dam and power plant are still functioning and provide power to Shearwater and Bella Bella. While we were there they were hard at work resurfacing the dam and doing some serious maintenance. We spent four days in Ocean Falls, waiting out the storm in Queen Charlotte Sound and enjoying robust Internet access. This non-town has a direct connection to a satellite for their Internet service. Amazing! Ocean Falls has a handful of residents and about 40 people live just down the road in Martin Valley. We had a great time wandering the crumbling streets, visiting the dam, and talking to the few remaining residents.
 |
| Declining Ocean Fals Co-op |
We met Herb and Lena, the unofficial mayor and first lady of Ocean Falls, even though they live down the road in Martin Valley. Herb is a retired crab fisherman (yep, he was doing “The Deadliest Catch” before it became a TV show!) and Lena runs a little gift shop at the "Marine Way" boat works. She’s there to catch the traffic off the ferry and the occasional tourist that comes to the marina. We met Neil, the marina manager, who had been there about four years and seemed perfectly content with the “small” life to be had there. We met Nearly Normal Norman (Yep, that’s his name!) who has a museum full of scavenged artifacts from the deserted Ocean Falls homes and businesses. Quite an interesting crowd!
 |
| Fresh-caught salmon |
Jerry and Doug from "Passages" went fishing one afternoon. Doug had a Canadian license so he fished and Jerry learned techniques for catching salmon. Doug's freezer was full of salmon...and Doug and Jill are vegans...so we got the filets from three lovely salmon. Sure pays to be in the right place at the right time!
Thursday, August 25, we departed as soon as we had enough light (at 0620, the days are getting shorter!) determined to cross Queen Charlotte Sound and anchor somewhere south of Cape Caution this evening. This body of water provides our second exposure to the Pacific Ocean on the trip south and we were concerned about winds, waves, and swells. Any combination in even modest size can make for a pretty rough trip. We did fairly well…only had about an hour and a half of starboard beam swells that rolled us back and forth. Once again, the cat was not happy, nor was I. Too much coffee on an empty stomach and the rolly seas gave me a touch of seasickness…my first. Fortunately, Jerry has a stomach made of cast iron, I think! We arrived at another pretty little niche of an anchorage, called Miles Inlet, about 1615. This day’s cruise was our longest in quite awhile! This little anchorage had room for three boats and we were the last one in. Sweet!
 |
| Crossing Queen Charlotte Strait |
Friday we planned to cruise across Queen Charlotte Strait to Port McNeill for some Internet time and to catch up with Jill and Doug on “Passages”. Queen Charlotte Strait can be a nasty crossing, too, and we did see some swells and fog as we exited our anchorage, but they soon disappeared and we had an uneventful crossing. As we pulled in to our moorage, there was our friend Jill waiting for us. So nice to be greeted! We had dinner and breakfast with Jill and Doug and then we were off again to some of the anchorages in the Broughton's that they had recommended. On our way north last May we did very little sightseeing in Canada. We were determined to get to Ketchikan ASAP and bypassed many lovely spots. On our way south we planned to correct that oversight! So, first on our list to explore was the Broughton’s. Saturday morning, we cruised northeast across Queen Charlotte Strait, through Wells Passage and into the beautiful Broughton’s. There are lots of tucked away anchorages, a few resort-type marinas, but no towns. Sweet cruising! Our first destination was Jennis Bay in Drury Inlet. This little bay also has a resort marina, but we chose to anchor behind the little island further into the bay. We’ve become big fans of anchoring, rather than mooring at a marina and choose these quiet little out of the way spots every time. As you can see from the photo, we had a bright, sunny, warm afternoon and could even sit outside in the cockpit and enjoy the scenery.
 |
| Whirlpool in Stuart Narrows |
Sunday morning we were off again...but just a short distance to Claydon Bay, basically just around the corner. We’re gradually making our way east, as we have a reservation at “Pierre’s at Echo Bay” on Friday and Saturday. This resort marina is famous for their pig roasts and the last one is Saturday, September 3. We thought this would be a great way to celebrate Jerry’s birthday and our anniversary. We should have checked the tide tables a little closer when we decided to through Stuart Narrows at the head of Drury Inlet. Unfortunately, we crossed the narrows at half flood…maximum current! These narrows were every bit as bad as those we saw in Canada on our way up. Although we weren’t in any danger, we throttled up to gain steerage to get through the swirly water. My picture doesn’t do the agitated water justice…you’ll have to see the photos in the 8-hour slide show!
 |
| Claydon Bay as the skies clear |
 |
| Smokey on lookout! |
Claydon Bay in Grappler Sound was yet another pretty, quiet anchorage and we spent two nights there. We did the usual chores…laundry, baking bread, and tending Smokey. She really enjoys being the center of attention…when she’s not on guard duty!
 |
| Sullivan Bay Marina Resort |
Tuesday morning we were off again. This time we decided to try a resort marina and enjoy some Internet access. Every few days we simply need to touch base with family and friends to see what’s new. This marina was really something. It’s all on floats…the restaurant, the laundry, the store, and many fancy floating homes. Soon after we arrived a Bell Ranger helicopter landed on the roof of one of the houses. What a way to commute! We had a delicious, sunny afternoon and wandered the docks to see the houses. We spoke with an older lady that I assumed as one of the owners of the resort. She told us that their busy months are July and August and they shut down and leave the first of September. She was from San Francisco and had a very pretty little “float home” with lots of flowers and a glassed in gazebo. She said they have 600-700 boats moored in their marina during the two months and have seen more large cruisers…the 100 + foot ones…this year. While we were there we saw “Crescendo” come in. We’d seen this “large cruiser” in Ocean Falls while we were there.
 |
| Jan at Sullivan Bay Marina signpost |
I thought this signpost was kind of fun. We really aren’t that far from home! Anacortes is only 265 miles away. There was a sign at the very top pointing straight up…”1,500,000,000 km to the sun”. Hmmm, do you suppose that’s right?
 |
| Cohorts in crime? |
Anyway, it was an enjoyable afternoon wandering around this funny little place. Of course, Jerry had a hard time staying out of trouble… Wonder what the other guy in the brig did? Looked like he’d been there awhile.
Wednesday, Jerry’s birthday we took off once again to anchor in Berry Cove in Cypress Harbor, about an hour east of Sullivan Bay Marina Resort in Sutlej Channel. Yep, we’re taking our time! This anchorage was one of the places Jill and Doug recommended and they weren’t wrong. It’s a pretty little spot and across the bay we saw a log ramp and evidence of tree harvesting. We hopped in the dinghy and parked at the ramp so we could go exploring. We followed the rough road that had been built to bring the trees out…about 1.5 miles or so. What a lot of hard work!
 |
| Beautiful scenery in Sutlej Chanel |
There’s also a fish farm here, and we’ve seen lots of them since we’ve been in Canada. These enterprises are fairly controversial in Alaska, since they raise Atlantic salmon for release. The other concern is that parasites grow around the fish pens and essentially kill off the other marine life.
 |
| Overgrown logging road |
Our anniversary, Thursday, started off foggy and rainy and we decided to stay put in Berry Cove for another day. Pierre’s is about an hour away, so it won’t be too much of a cruise to get there sometime tomorrow. We caught up on chores again. Jerry vacuumed and ran the watermaker, while I baked a new bread recipe (crusty Italian that I’ll slice and freeze for bruschetta) and did a couple of loads of laundry. The sun finally came out in the afternoon and we had another lovely, quiet evening.
 |
Cosmo Place at Echo Bay Marina
|
Friday, September 2, it was time to pull the anchor and head to Echo Bay and Pierre’s Marina. This stay will be our last big “event” of this trip. It was a short 2 hours to Echo Bay and as we approached we could hear and see two other big boats pulling into their slips. Looks like a good crowd for the weekend!
Obviously, the number one recreational activity here is fishing. Most folks put their dinghies in the water and go search for the elusive Coho. Also in this little Bay is a Canadian Marine Park, with hiking trails and some primitive campgrounds. We thought about exploring the park until someone told us about the wildlife. The bears and the cougars also find the trails a convenient way to get from point A to point B. We decided against that hike!
 |
| Billy at his museum |
We awoke on Saturday, to some serious fog but hope it will burn off before the day progresses. We put the dinghy in the water and explored the island a little bit. We saw several small cabins scattered along the shoreline. It would take a special person to live so remotely and be so independent. We saw evidence of serious logging here, too. I know the lumber is needed, but the harvesting process sure scares these beautiful mountainsides. Instead, after lunch we took a short hike through the forest to “Billy’s Museum. This place reminded me of Nearly Normal Norman’s museum back in Ocean Falls. Billy has lived here for all his life and has picked up quite a collection of bottles, lures, old logging equipment, etc., etc. He’s even built a logger’s cabin (as he remembered them from his childhood) out of a single cedar log. Billy is 77 years old and going strong!
Finally it was time for the famous pig roast! We sat with a couple and their adult daughter from Nanaimo. He works for the BC ferry system, she's a dressage trainer, and the daughter is a medical student at the Royal Dublin University's satellite campus in Dubai. Wow! They had some great stories. Some pictures:
 |
| Jerry, Jan, and Pierre, the pig chef |
You will notice that Pierre has an official Pig-roasting apron and a can of Budweiser!
I'm sure each is necessary for the pig perfection that he achieved. The roast pork was amazing!
 |
| The pig, Pierre, and Mad Dog |
Can you tell that the pig is wrapped in chicken wire? He cooks the pig in a "weber 8 million" over charcoal and starts it about 4:30 AM. The pig comes off the fire at 6:00 PM. That's a lot of cooking!
 |
| Pierre, the pig on the Weber and Mad Dog |
Yep, that Weber 8 million is quite a barbecue!
We hope to leave Echo Bay Marina around noon today, Sunday, 9/4. Hopefully the fog should be gone by then. We'll make a direct run down Johnstone Strait and, if all goes well, we'll anchor in Blenkenship Bay or somewhere near there. We should be back in the US and cell phone coverage on Friday or Saturday.
As always, we wish you could be with us as we enjoy this beautiful country!
No comments:
Post a Comment