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Tom Sewid in traditional dress for tours of Mamalilaculla. |
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Wide docks and cute float homes at Sullivan Bay Marine Resort. |
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The end of the Rainbow on Namu. |
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Bob Hale takes photos of Francis Robinson in front of Klemtu's bighouse. |
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Looking up from the head of Khutze Inlet. |
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Bob Hale tests the water temperature at Bishop Bay Hot Springs. |
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The wreck of the Ohio sticks up at the head of Carter Bay, Sheep Passage. |
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Marilynn Hale keeps a lookout while Bob Hale brings Surprise up for a better look at the old powerhouse at the head of Surf Inlet. |
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A beautiful sunset from the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club docks. |
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UPDATES FOR CENTRAL & NORTHERN B.C. COAST
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Art from Butedale
December 4, 2007. Lou Simoneau has amazed us again. Last summer he showed us some of the paintings, inlays and carvings he works on during the dark days of winter at Butedale, far up on the northern B.C. coast. We set aside his offer to send an example after the summer rush was over, but in today’s mail came an envelope from Butedale, and in it were the two small paintings shown here.
The paintings are on thin pieces of wood, probably salvaged from one of the buildings that had collapsed. They are compact, measuring 4 inches high by 6 inches wide. The style, I suppose, could be called Rustic or even Primitive. The colors are rich and confident, and the forms are sure. The wood grain adds texture. What must be a lacquer coating creates a shine that makes the colors even more intense. Art is in the mind of the beholder, but I think they are marvelous.
Especially since they come from Lou Simoneau, who lives alone year-round at Butedale, an abandoned north coast cannery that is doing its best to fall into the sea. Lou, still rock-hard in his 60s, is the caretaker there. He’s a handsome man, with what could be called a rubber face. Below that face is a powerful body, the result of a lifetime of hard work. He has a low voice, almost gravelly, and he speaks slowly, with a French accent. We heard him once on the radio, chastising a BC Ferries skipper who had gone past Butedale too fast.
“You need to slow down a little,” he said. “Your wake is tearing up our floats.”
“Lou, we were down to ten knots,” came the reply.
“Well, it’s not enough.”
Lou can do darned near anything. For electricity, he brought water to the old powerhouse via a flume that leads to a waterfall back in the forest. He built the flume from lumber salvaged from the now-gone warehouse building, and installed it down the mountainside along a treacherous stream bed. He did this alone, in the winter. The water from the flume slowly turns a long-unused turbine in the powerhouse. The turbine drives an alternator. The alternator sends 12-volt electricity through wire Lou found and spliced together, ending at his cabin near the dock. The electricity is stored in batteries and run through an inverter to make 120-volt AC power for the cabin’s lights and refrigerator. You can see it when you visit.
Like his art, Lou Simoneau is a north coast original. He’s not the only original up there. Most of the people we meet in the wilderness are imaginative and capable, and able to do what is needed to survive a long way from the city. If you haven’t already done so, perhaps this is the year to discover the coast yourself. Don’t hurry through. Stop all along the way. Stop at Butedale. Stop before it’s gone.
--Bob Hale
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Electronic Chart for Milbanke Sound Faulty
August 13, 2007. We found this item in Notices to Shipping:
Activated:1118 08 Aug 2007
HECATE STRAIT TO PORTLAND CANAL BSB
RASTER CHART CD - 3728 MILBANKE SOUND AND APPROACHES
ET LES APPROCHES
Some copies of this product have been found to be offset from the correct position by 2.59 km along a grid or true bearing of 188 degrees. It is recommended that this BSB chart "not be used" until a corrected copy can be obtained. The Canadian Hydrographic Service will contact all registered owners to arrange for a replacement.
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So Much for Bomb-proof Anchorages
September 19, 2005. Even the most protected-appearing anchorages can have a surprise or two. Moncton Inlet is just off Principe Channel, on the west side of Pitt Island, near the south end of the island. This particular anchorage in Moncton Inlet is a tiny 4-fathom hole surrounded by high, steep hills. The entrance to the hole is quite shallow—we backed away rather than risk our props and rudders at low tide. —Bob Hale
Bob,
We are very impressed with the 2005 Cruising Guide that we purchased this year.
With information from yours and other cruising guides we have felt comfortable going into small places that most other cruising boaters bypass. One of our favourites has been the inner cove at Moncton Inlet. After spending the night there many times and sometimes waiting for a low tide to rise considerably in order to leave (our 35 foot trawler had a 5 1/2 foot draft), we considered it to be a very safe anchorage. One day a few years ago, upon notice of expected storm force winds from the northwest, we chose to anchor there in the most bomb-proof shelter we could think of. In the night we were hit with winds from every which direction. Thank goodness for our Bruce anchor which we credit for keeping us in the middle of that small cove. It took us the better part of an hour to pull that anchor out of the mud as it was dug in so deep.
This taught us that you may still get surprised in what are considered to be the most sheltered spots.
Phyllis and George Davidson
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Less Space at Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club
May 16, 2005. Reader Linda Lewis wrote from Prince Rupert there will be less space at Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club (Cow Bay) for visiting yachties. More locals are tying up at PRRYC so space will be limited. The harbormaster strongly suggests calling ahead (even several days) for reservations. She also notes there there is good WiFi access and internet access at the office for a minimal charge.
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New Rock in Fish Egg Inlet
February 23, 2005. Notice to Mariners advises of an uncharted rock in Fish Egg Inlet, on the Central B.C. Coast. The rock is located at 51°37'00.7"N / 127°41'25.2"W, with a depth of 0.3 meters at zero tide. The rock should be marked on your Chart 3921 with the legend R, and legend Rep(2004). In general terms, the rock is located at the east end of Fish Egg Inlet, between the south tip of the 74-meter island and the mainland.
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New Rock on Northern B.C. Coast
January 7, 2005. Notices to Mariners has this change: On Chart 3747, Browning Entrance, at 53°45'45.0"N/130°25'30.0"W, change the depth of 3 fathoms 4 feet to Rock that covers and uncovers with a drying height of 3 feet. This is in Totem Inlet on Dolphin Island.
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West Sea Otter Report
July 17, 2003. Waggoner Author Bob Hale sent this report about rounding Cape Caution, as outlined on p. 283 of the 2003 Waggoner.
West Sea Otter was 1.2 meters when we reached the Jeanette Islands and steered a course for Cape Caution. Marilynn Hale, as usual, was anxious about seas that would make her uncomfortable, but the weather report sounded all right and the seas were only in the 3-4-foot range. That would change, but for the moment it looked like a go. The last of the ebb was still running as we set out, and as we worked farther into Queen Charlotte Sound the swells built to around 5 feet. In the Strait of Georgia 5-foot seas would be a mess, but 5-foot ocean swells are farther apart and all you do is ride up and down, not crash up and down. There’s a big difference.
The flood finally began about the time we reached Cape Caution. No longer did the outflowing ebb current run into the prevailing westerly swells. The seas flattened and grew farther apart. We were still going up and down, but much more smoothly.
Our objective was Smith Sound, which we had not visited for several years. Smith Sound is entered shortly before Egg Island is reached (Egg Island’s rocks loom large as Smith Sound is entered, showing just how closely Egg Island must be left to port). We had to steer aggressively in the quartering seas, but it wasn’t bad. Marilynn agreed it had been a satisfactory crossing.
Next morning, we waited until about an hour after Bella Bella low tide, then set out from Millbrook Cove in Smith Sound to go around the corner into Rivers Inlet. West Sea Otter reported in at 0.8 meters. Our departure and brief passage in Queen Charlotte Sound and into Rivers Inlet was a cakewalk
Based on this very early and incomplete data, I have the feeling that the advice we got last year from a towboat operator is a good predictor for Cape Caution roundings: If West Sea Otter Ocean Buoy reports 1 meter or less, you could tow a raft of logs across Queen Charlotte Sound.
At 1.2 meters we had a satisfactory rounding. At 0.8 meters Queen Charlotte Sound was a snap. You have to consider, of course, whether you’re in a flood or an ebb. Far from shore it may not matter, but off the mouths of the inlets an outflowing ebb current could create seas not found at West Sea Otter buoy.
The 2003 Waggoner says 2 meters at West Sea Otter might still be okay, but now I’m not so sure. For an easy crossing I’m going to change my preliminary thinking to 1.5 meters maximum. I await reports from this summer’s cruisers.
-- Bob Hale
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Important Correction for Emily Carr Cove
April 4, 2003. Emily Carr Inlet lies at the mouth of Surf Inlet, on the northwest corner of Princess Royal Island, on the northern B.C. coast. We were running late when we explored the inlet, so we didn't go into what Douglass, in his excellent guide, Exploring the North Coast of British Columbia, 2nd Ed., calls "Emily Carr Cove." If you're thinking about exploring those waters yourself, by all means go to the Douglass web site www.fineedge.com and read an important update about the entrance to the cove. A large, drying rock lies exactly where you are tempted to go, and the path around it isn't obvious. Waggoner (and Douglass) reader David Stapells found that rock with his keel last summer, and has forwarded complete instructions, with photos of the rock, to Douglass. Once at the fineedge.com web site, click on "Errata Sheets," then on the updates for the northern B.C. coast book.
Many thanks to David Stapells for providing the cruising community with such thorough research, and the obvious good will in his update.
-- Bob Hale
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It's a Rock!
November 1, 2002. Canadian Notices to Mariners dated Sept. 27 (just arrived) locates a new rock in Rivers Inlet, Chart 3934. Replace the 5.5 meter sounding at 51°31.40'N/127°40.50'W with the asterisk symbol for rock which covers and covers, with a drying height of 0.4 meters.
This rock is in the mouth of the little bay directly east of Welch Island, near the west entrance to Darby Channel.
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New Rock Charted at Pierce Bay, Fitz Hugh Sound
March 26, 1999. New Rock. Canadian Notices to Mariners reports a previously uncharted rock. It affects chart 3934 (NAD 83). Add to chart 3934:
Rock which covers and uncovers with a drying height of 1 metre 5 decimetres and legend Rep (1998)
The location is 51° 31´ 47´´N 127° 45´ 40´´W.
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For more updates:
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• U.S. Customs Updates
• Canada Customs Updates
• General Updates
• Puget Sound & San Juan Islands
• Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia, including B.C.'s Gulf Islands
• Desolation Sound to top of Vancouver Island
• Central & Northern B.C. Coast
• West Coast of Vancouver Island
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