We left Olympia on June 21 on Balder, our Ericson 38, bound north for the Queen Charlotte Islands. It took till July 1 to sail and motor the 360 miles to Port Hardy, on the northern most point of Vancouver Island. We have traveled this route several times in the past and were anxious to get this leg of the journey behind us.
We were joined in Port Hardy by our son, John, and daughter-in-law, Donna. They would be with us for the next ten days.
At 0500 on July 3 we headed out for the Queen Charlottes. The southern most tip of the chain lies 130 miles northwest of Vancouver Island. Light winds gave to a brisk wind in the afternoon. We enjoyed a spectacular sunset around 2300. True darkness is short this time of year and we sailed merrily along. By 0300 dawn was breaking. At 0700 we made landfall at Rose Harbor, Moseby Island.
We spent the whole month of July exploring the bays and inlets of this beautiful remote area. There were many days when we would see only one or two other boats. Eagles are more common than seagulls. One day we saw three different species of whales : gray, orca, and mincke’s.
We did not fish for salmon because they are too much meat for two people. But bottom fish, such as rockfish and ling cod, were another matter. Catching them was just a matter of stopping at a kelp patch. Within a few minutes we would have our dinner.
The Haida Indians were the original inhabitants of the Islands. We visited several of their deserted village sites. [About 100 years ago the Haida were almost wiped out by disease, leaving the Islands mostly uninhabited with many abandoned villages]. We awed by the silent remains of totem poles and long houses.
One of the old village sites is on tiny Hot Springs Island. Here one could soak in the same hot springs fed pools used by the Haida. Boy did it feel good to tired bones and achey muscles.
It seems that each year we have a mishap that provides some exciting moments. This year, while attempting to navigate through a narrow winding channel, the current pushed us onto a gravel bar. In my frantic attempts to back the boat off, the gear shift cable broke. It was then impossible to shift gears from the cockpit! After a few exciting moments we solved the problem. Joanne was shifting by hand from deep in the engine compartment.
On August 1 we headed back to the mainland, arriving in Bella Bella the next morning. For the next nineteen days it rained, all or part of the day. A little rain must fall in everyone’s life, but this was ridiculous. As we slowly made our way south through the inside passage and Desolation Sound the weather slowly improved. By the time we arrive in Sidney, on Labor Day weekend, it was warm and sunny.
There we met our daughter, Linda, son-in-law, Kevin, and granddaughter, Kristi. We took them to several islands around Sidney/Victoria over the holiday weekend. They were introduced to the art of catching Dungeness crab. Just at dark one evening, they pulled up a trap with fourteen lively crabs. The law allows you to keep four. In the effort to find the four largest, they dumped the whole lot into the bottom of the dinghy. Things were very exciting as the little critters scurried around feet and ankles in the dark.
The day after Labor Day they left for home, San Jose, CA. We returned to the US. at Roche Harbor. From there we continued south over the next several days, under sunny skies. We finally arrived home in Olympia on September 13.
John DeMeyer, Balder