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| RESEARCH CRUISE 2008, WEEK THREE
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July 1, 2008.
We survive a crisis. This crisis actually occurred in Week Two, but it could happen even more easily as the surroundings grow increasingly remote. We got through okay, but there were some harrowing moments.
The crisis was – a mouse. It came aboard at one of our several stops in Desolation Sound, and hid quietly. One morning Marilynn noticed the distinctive little dots of mouse droppings on the galley counter. Further investigation revealed more droppings where crackers and such are kept. A sleeve of Ritz crackers with peanut butter had been chewed into and one of the cracker-and-peanut butter snacks partly eaten. Some cookies were compromised. Paper napkins were disturbed, as if to be makings for a nest.
Marilynn was horrified. She was also very tentative about moving things around in the cupboard to see what else had been gotten into. What if the fearsome mouse were there? Then she got mad. Not only had the mouse gone after the crackers, it had opened the end of one of Marilynn’s chocolate bars! Little parallel tooth marks scored the end of the precious chocolate, one of life’s essential food groups. Scraps of foil from the wrapper lay nearby. War was declared.
Everything the mouse had gotten into, of course, went directly to the garbage. Everything not affected but available for attack was put into plastic containers and sealed shut. Then we got out the artillery. Two mouse traps were removed from their cellophane wrapper. One went into the cracker cupboard. The other went to the apples-and-bananas area.
We waited. No loud snap. That was okay; it was midday, and mice are nocturnal. We probably would have a victim (maybe two victims) in the morning. Next morning, very carefully, Marilynn opened the cupboard doors. The traps were empty. Furthermore, no mouse droppings were to be seen. Nor has any evidence of a mouse been found since then. The mouse came, it fed, and apparently it left. Marilynn once more trusts her chocolate.
Bears. In contrast with last year, when we didn’t see many bears, this year we’ve seen quite a few. Our best day so far is seven: six black bears and one grizzly. The grizzly was in a berry patch just up from the beach. It stood on its hind legs and stared in the direction of the dinghy I was in, showing its massive head. When it dropped down and turned I could see the defining hump at the base of its neck, so it was a grizzly for sure, not a brown-colored black bear.
Dancing dolphins. This has been the year of the Pacific white sided dolphins. They’re in pods, and they leap happily along, splashing in the channels. At one point several of them altered course and ran to our boat, where they zoomed up beside us and jumped clear of the water. One in particular hung just off the cockpit in our wake. Again and again it jumped clear, landed nose first, and slapped its tail into the wave. I wondered if it were trying to communicate something to me, or if slapping its tail just felt good.
We haven’t seen any whales yet, although when Pierre’s huge lodge was being towed from Pierre’s Bay to its new home at Echo Bay, a humpback whale went under the lodge, rolled and dove, showing its tail flukes. A photo is here.
Weather. We who live in the Northwest know the first weeks of June were cold, the coldest on record both in Seattle and Vancouver. “Junuary,” those weeks have been called. Now it’s warming up. Not much rain, either. In the first six weeks of our research cruise last year, we had something like five days when rain didn’t fall. This year, rain hasn’t been much of a problem. As I write this on June 29 tied to the dock in Port McNeill, the morning fog has burned off, the sky is blue, and the doors to the cockpit are open. The woman on the next dock is wearing a little black top with bare shoulders.
Fuel prices and boating.It’s no secret that fuel prices have gone up, and gone up fast. Fuel prices notwithstanding, boats are out cruising. Not many of them are going fast, however. It doesn’t take much power to move a boat through the water at speeds below hull speed, so it doesn’t take much fuel, either. Theoretical hull speed is 1.33 times the square root of the waterline length. If a boat’s waterline length is 36 feet, the square root is 6 and 1.33 times 6 is 8, or 8 knots. A much larger boat with a waterline length of 49 feet has a theoretical hull speed of 9.3 knots, which is faster, but not that much faster. A fleet of boats of varying lengths usually will be running 8 to 8.5 knots, with some a little slower and some a little faster.
Slippery hull forms take less power to attain hull speed than fat hull forms. If fuel prices remain in the $5.00-$6.00/U.S. gallon range, I wouldn’t be surprised to see new boat designs with finer entries and a little less beam, compared to the spacious but bluff-bowed and less efficient “push-waters,” as naval architect Bill Garden calls them.
Dynamite. At Squirrel Cove we were sort of forced to buy a copy of Judith Williams’ book, Dynamite Tales, which, we were assured, we would love. The book is a rambling history of Desolation Sound, held together by blasting. One of the chapters is titled “If two sticks are good, four are better.” Another chapter is titled “There is no problem a suitable amount of high explosive will not solve.” We love the book. It’s personal and funny (really funny), and honest and unaffected. When you’re up here, get a copy. You won’t be disappointed. $16.00.
P.S. We were warned that the copy editing is awful, which it is. Periods appear in the middle of sentences, things get repeated, tenses change, all sorts of errors and oversights your prudish high school English teacher would snip at. Somehow they don’t matter. If anything the book is richer because of them.
Port Neville. Port Neville is an inlet extending into the mainland, a short distance up Johnstone Strait from Sunderland Channel. Lorna Chesluk lives there, tending the post office at the government dock and serving as a social center for the few neighbors in the inlet. How much longer she will remain is a question. Her daughter Erica got married last March, and is living in Campbell River, where much of Lorna’s family is located. If you’re heading up the coast, don’t miss a chance to stop and meet Lorna and tour the old store. Lorna’s family has been there since the 1890s. It’s coastal history before your eyes. .
Lagoon Cove. As always, Bill and Jean Barber are packing them in at Lagoon Cove. Don’t pass up the happy hour get-togethers. Bill provides the fresh prawns, and people bring snacks up from their boats. The highlight is when Bill Barber starts one of his tall tales, usually involving a bear or two. Several times over the years, I’ve heard the one he told the night we were there, and I still had tears from laughter streaming down my cheeks.
As reported in the 2008 Waggoner, 15 and 30 amp power is available 24 hours a day, not only in the morning and evening, as before.
Kwatsi Bay. Daughter Marieke had gone out to Victoria so we missed her, but Anca, Max and son Russell were there. The docks have been expanded to hold a few more boats. A potluck got organized that evening, which gave the ships’ cooks a little break (they still had to come up with something, but not a whole meal), and encouraged us to meet one another. The gift shop is stocked up with interesting offerings. We bought a jar of vegetarian antipasto that is delicious on crackers. We should have bought two or three.
Echo Bay. As reported elsewhere, Bob and Nancy Richter finally sold Echo Bay and have retired. I’m sure the entire coast shares Bob and Nancy’s happiness at the change. With the change, Pierre and Tove (pronounced “Tova”) Landry have moved the Pierre’s Bay operation down to Echo Bay, which they will manage. New docks were being finished when we were there, and neighbor Bill Proctor has cut a trail through the woods so people can tie up at Echo Bay and walk over the Bill’s remarkable museum. There’s a completely new fuel dock, and the store was just getting under way.
Across the way at Windsong Sea Village, new owners are making improvements. Carol is still running her gallery, with its unique offerings. She and husband Jerry remain as managers.
Shawl Bay. The docks are good, and 30 amp power is available. The outlets are down low, next to the bull rails. We didn’t think power was available until Lorne pointed it out to us. Pancakes are served in the mornings. We ate too many, but what the heck. Auntie Jo no longer collects the moorage. Now in her 80s, she’s cutting back a little.
Greenway Sound. The doctors say that Tom Taylor has made an unprecedented 100 percent recovery from the heart infection he suffered last year. Tom agrees that it’s all due to his feisty nature. Ann isn’t doing well, however, and can’t stand for more than about an hour before she must lie down. A former employee called and asked if she could have a job for the summer, and Tom is excited about it. She was excellent before, and he hopes the same will be true this year. The store is well stocked, especially with fresh produce, and ice cream cones are going out the door.
Sullivan Bay. Chris and Deb, the managers, are friendly and welcoming. New owners have improved the docks and the electric power. The store is running. The restaurant has a new chef, replacing a couple who didn’t work out. Lots of visiting boats were at the docks.
Jennis Bay. The idea at Jennis Bay is to get off the boat and go for a walk on the logging roads. The dog loves to serve as guide. Allyson and Tom Allo and their kids Orion and Charlie Marie are excited about what they’re doing. Allyson grew up in Jennis Bay, where her father ran a shake mill. One boater told us the Tuesday evening gumbo is “to die for,” and they looked like the kind of people whose opinions can be trusted.
Sointula. The Sointula harbor is one of the prettiest and most relaxing stops around. The moorage is a working harbor, with fish boats coming and going and interesting people on the docks. The showers were spotlessly clean, and the laundry room has doubled to four washers and four dryers. The Burger Barn up next to the harbor office serves hearty hamburgers, wraps and french fries. It was so popular that my order, placed a little after 1:00 p.m., took nearly 30 minutes (they told me it would take that long, so it was okay).
Sointula water is fabulous. Our tanks are full. Alert Bay water is just as good, but I saw Alert Bay by car in May. We didn’t visit by boat.
One unfortunate note: Much of the charming two-lane road between the harbor and the village was recently resurfaced. Apparently in an effort to save a buck, the work was done not by a machine designed for the job, but by smoothing the new asphalt with a road grader, which did not work well at all. The residents are NOT HAPPY with the result, nor should they be.
Port McNeill. The boats still pour into Port McNeill for fuel, shopping, repairs and crew changes, although today the docks are somewhat empty. I guess I’m not surprised. It’s Sunday, and many of the stores are closed. The weather is summerlike and predicted to stay that way for a few days at least. I’ll bet the Broughtons are busy.
We went shopping yesterday, and I got in a wretched nine holes at Seven Hills golf course. If you’d like some barely-used Noodle golf balls, you can find several in the Seven Hills woods and tall grass.
Ray Rosback finally has his new Shoprite Marine, Fishing and Logging store. It’s been a year in the finishing, and the stock is impressive. Bruce Jackman has new docks and moorage at the fuel dock, with more moorage planned when the $7 million harbor expansion is completed. The laundry is clean and in excellent condition. Complimentary computer for internet and e-mail.
Tomorrow’s weather forecast is encouraging, and the tides shouldn’t be a problem. We’ve filled the fuel tanks. The water tanks will be topped off with good Port McNeill water. Tomorrow we round Cape Caution for Rivers Inlet and points north.v
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