Desolation Sound and The Discovery Islands

T/T, our dinghy, following Greywolf in Desolation Sound

Greywolf’s boat friends, Kittiwake and Herself, and  their crews, had been in Desolation Sound with 1,253 other boats for a few days/weeks when we arrived on August ninth.  Greywolf headed for Melanie Cove to rendezvous with Mark and Pam aboard Kittiwake; there was room to anchor next to them and Mark would help us with our stern-tie.

Stern-tie.  Boaters can skip to the next topic, but non-boaters will need to read on in order to understand why we were relieved to hear that Mark could help.  In deep anchorages with steep walls close by, or in anchorages with Many Many Boats anchored, the skipper, after setting the anchor, takes a line from the stern (square end) of the boat and ties it to a tree on shore. In places with steep rock walls, there are sometimes metal rings in the walls to tie to. This prevents the boat from swinging into a stationery (wall) or not-so-stationery (boat) other object.

The difficulty in completing the stern-tie maneuver increases with age.  The line-bearer has to get in his/her dinghy with the line, land on the beach (“beach” does not actually exist in Desolation Sound), and scramble (that is the age-related verb) up the rocks to the closest substantial tree.  The Helper, on board the mother ship, pays out the line.  Line-bearer takes the line around the substantial tree, scrambles (carefully) back down to the dinghy and returns to the mother ship where the line is “made fast”...tied off.

On Greywolf, our dinghy is safely secured on our boat deck (in contrast to the people deck) when we are traveling in open water.  Once we get to the San Juan Islands or Desolation Sound, T/T (his full name is Tender To Greywolf) bobs around behind us.  When we talked with Mark and Pam, we had not yet launched T/T.

T/T  cannot get from the boat deck to the water on his own. Getting him there involves a carefully orchestrated circus employing two electric winches, snap shackles, pulleys, and numerous guide lines to control the boom that lifts him up, swings him out over the side, and lowers him into the water.  This takes more than a few minutes.  We were delighted to accept Mark’s offer.

Kittiwake anchored in Melanie Cove with dingy still attached.

Pam is wearing her swim suit cover-up.

  Mark was not wearing his swim trunks cover-up.  However, he was wearing his swim trunks, swimming toward Greywolf to take our stern line.
Oh!

The Pacific Ocean waters coming through the Straits of Juan de Fuca and up Vancouver Island via Georgia Strait, and the Pacific Ocean waters coming down Vancouver Island through the Johnstone Strait have to meet somewhere. That somewhere is the Discovery Island/Desolation Sound area. The exchange of water is minimal and the summer water temperature reaches the mid-70’s.  Mark and Pam, as well as the majority of boaters, love to swim in the clear, deep, warm waters of Desolation Sound.

Mark  carefully descending  to the water’s edge.  Note substantial tree in background.

Returning to Greywolf to hand off the “bitter end” of the line.

These boats, all from Gig Harbor, (Pam and Mark, in the dinghy, are not from Gig Harbor.  They’re from  Indianola.) were stern-tied in front of a rope swing. Lots of noise.  Lots of fun.

Rope swing attempt made good

Boats everywhere!

One of the more handsome vessels....

Warm water! Even I went for a swim.  Somehow, my mom’s face got put on my body in this photo.  The white blog in the corner is Allie.

This is what our stern line looks like when we haul it back aboard.  Don, 
Herself’s skipper, has now made us a beautiful ingenious 
spindle roll-up device to control the chaos.


Greywolf, Kittiwake, and Herself anchored the next day in Squirrel Cove. 
 No stern-ties required.  Not pictured in the blog are Lyle and Linda aboard “Puffin”, friends of Carol and Don and Herself.





Mark and Sybil trading affection

As we were leaving in T/T for the Farmers’ Market, we noticed a boat headed out of the anchorage with the anchor deployed...chain hanging down from the deck.  When we returned hours later, the boat was still there, stopped, but not anchored.

"Yes, there is a story here, but I don’t want to talk about it.”  was the gist of the skipper’s terse comment as we stopped to contemplate.  Obviously, we were not qualified to help.

Lyle and Linda came by in their dinghy a few minutes later.  They stopped also; Lyle was qualified to help.  He rigged a line to the anchor and the skipper dumped the unwanted  load into the water.

Headed for SHORE!

Are we there yet?

Last year, Allie and Sibyl played chasechasechase and fetchthestickinthewater on the small island in Squirrel Cove. Since then, Sibyl has become Stick Dependent (she’s still addicted to the water). This year, the good times were more solo-canine centered than shared play-time.  I’m sure the people were the only ones who noticed the difference. 

The dead flowers in the basket tell the story of the summer's weather.
 The bike marks the entrance to Taku Resort and Marina on Quadra Island.  Greywolf had left her friends and was headed north.

Life is somewhat dull since I have stopped making fun of boat names
that don’t meet my high standards.  (Oh.  I did make fun of “Serenity Now”,
didn’t I?)  I’m trying to focus on names I like.  
The story behind this one:
The skipper and his wife were vacationing in Mexico, enjoying cocktails beside a pool at a lovely hotel, and an elegantly dressed elderly woman stopped to say, “It looks like you are suffering terribly.”
I liked the story.

From Quadra Island, Greywolf headed northwest through the other Discovery Islands. In the book Tidal Passages, A History of the Discovery Islands, Jeanette Taylor provides insights into early white settlements in the Islands.  In the 1920’s and 30’s 110 people lived on Read Island.  They were served by three stores, two schools, daily passenger and freight service from Vancouver landing at two docks, as well as twice weekly steamboat mail service.  None of these services exist for today’s much smaller population.

Dock and former store at Surge Narrow on Read Island.
The store closed in 1997.  In a photo in Jeanette Taylor’s book, the
settlement looks almost the same.

Each of the islands has its own distinct culture.  Doug and I caught a glimpse of Read Island’s “willingness to embrace an alternative life style removed from consumerism and mainstream society” in the early 80’s when we walked the island roads.  We were told that Read had become home to many US draft dodgers during the Viet Nam era who had stayed to farm.  Marijuana.  We saw many fields off in the distance, always giving them a wide berth.  

Quiet anchorage in the Octopus Islands, part of the Discovery Island group.

Allie’s morning walkie territory.

Allie was considering wandering off into the woods until she  saw the kayakers.  ‘Had to come investigate.

From “The Octopus”  (the preferred name for the islands), Greywolf headed for the Johnstone Straits.

"A GOOD TRAVELER HAS NO FIXED PLANS AND IS NOT INTENT ON ARRIVING"

Greywolf, ready to go, at O’dark hundred on August 6, 2013

Quietly leaving Winslow Wharf.

The people on this boat are probably not leaving on vacation.

Greywolf and her crew were excited to catch the strong outgoing tide that would enhance our fuel-miserly pace.  Usually we stop in Port Townsend for our first night, but we passed PT long before noon.  On to Cattle Pass and then Friday Harbor for the night.  In the fog.  Let’s skip Friday Harbor and spend the night anchored at Stuart Island.  That will give us a straight shot to Sidney the next day to clear Customs.  

I took a short nap in the main cabin and when I woke up, we were approaching Sidney where we were once again deemed fit to enter the Canada and spend money.  So much for Stuart Island.

After 40-some years of marriage (‘No wonder they sometimes look so dour, Edith.) we have nicknames for each other.  One of Doug’s nicknames for me is “The Card Lady”.

The Card Lady found the card pictured above shortly before we left on our summer explore; we agreed that the quote was an appropriate motto for Greywolf and her crew.  (Greywolf liked the quote, but took exception to the the photo. She thought it should be a schooner.)  We violated the intent of the quote the first day out. How did it happen that we DID have fixed plans and WERE intent on arriving?  Boating friends (both human and canine) had been bobbing around in Desolation Sound for days, possibly weeks, and we wanted to join them before they headed south and Greywolf continued north.

No, this is not one of the Desolation Sound friends.

Leaving Sidney the next day, on our way up Trincomali Channel (I love that name and had to use it even though only two of you reading the blog know what I’m talking about), Allie and Doug spotted this denizen of one of the Gulf Islands hailing us.  Eddie had run out of gas.  He and the out-going tide and Greywolf were all headed for Gabriola Pass.  Only Eddie didn’t want to go. He needed a tow to a friend’s house a mile or two south; rowing wasn’t going to work. We had plenty of time before slack water and were happy to oblige.

Eddie happily heading for friend’s house, below.

The house looks a little rough for year-round habitation, but from what Eddie said, it’s fairly spiffy compared to his digs.  Eddie has lived off the grid on Galliano for forty years; he seemed very content with his island life.  

Silva Bay Marina 

We hadn’t stayed in Silva Bay, just outside of Gabriola Pass, since Jolie was a puppy.  The two marinas are still struggling.  The little store has closed, as has the swimming pool.  Friendly staff, locals and boaters.  And good dog walkies.  No ice cream.

I’m not sure the pool looked much better when we used it years ago.
 No vegetation then.

This pretty little church used to have Catholic services two Sundays a month and Protestant services two Sundays. I don’t know what happened if there were five Sundays in a month.  Maybe wiccens got to use it?  And what would happen if... 

BOTH CONGREGATIONS TRIED TO WORSHIP TOGETHER????  

Ack.

We had a “room with a view” when we anchored in Pender Harbor on Thursday night.  At the Thrify store in Madera Park, we bought California produce that we were not allowed to bring into Canada.  But their rules are no more stringent than ours. I got busted by US Customs on a red pepper rap coming into Anacortes 

The following day, we made a right turn at Sarah Point and, once again, were  in awe of  the magnificence of Desolation Sound. And, once again, I took a picture. Every hear we have made that turn, I have taken a picture.  We have lots of pictures.  The pictures all look the same.  Sometimes sun.  Sometimes rain.  

When Captain Vancouver and his crew viewed this body of water in June of 1792, he wrote in his log, “there was not a single prospect that was pleasing to the eye.” Wet wether, fleas, shellfish poisoning and depths too deep for anchoring resulted in the name Desolation Sound for this stunning area that is now considered one of the Northwest’s premier boating destinations.

Vancouver and his men did NOT see the mega yachts you’ll see in the next Chronicle.  I wonder what he would name it today?  

Greywolf’s Trip South August 2012

For some reason that has  left the confines of this Officially Old Mind, the pictures and the stories from Greywolf’s trip south in 2012 never made it to the internet.  So, to make it official that we did, indeed, bring the boat back I’m posting pictures and snippets.  Greywolf  left on an adventure closer home this August. She’s bugging me to share.  Will do!

 August 14, 2012. 
Auke Bay, the large boat harbor near Juneau, with Mendenhall Glacier looking over it.
I’m sure it looks almost the same this year.

Greywolf left Auke Bay in the sunshine, headed south for Bainbridge Island.

About an hour out, we smelled the easily identified and very unwelcomed odor of burning electrical wiring.  As we sniffed our way through our not-all-that-large boat, we were stymied. We put the temperature gun to work looking for hot spots.  We turned off everything but the computer/chart plotter and the engine.  We made a U-turn in the middle of Stephens Passage and headed for Auke Bay for the fourth time this summer.  The smell went away.  No smoke.  No flames. Nothing obviously melted and fused.

Back at the dock in Auke Bay, we switched on electrical equipment, one instrument at a time.  No smell. What to do?  Nothing.  We enjoyed the day and the sunshine.

While mussing around on the boat that day we learned that canine desire to meet-and-greet can sometimes over-ride canine need for safety.  The skipper from Alaskan Dream, a handsome pocket cruise ship home-ported on Bainbridge, stopped to talk. Duke, the skipper’s small dog sat quietly while we talked.  Allie leaped wildly around the cockpit, jumping onto the locker seat and peering over the side of the boat to get a closer look at Duke.  As the skipper and Duke walked away, Allie decided she needed face (bum?) time with this Bainbridge Island dog.  

“Wait!  Don’t go before I have a chance to....”

I don’t know if Allie jumped or simply lost track of her center of gravity.  Over the side she went, missing the dock and landing safely in the water. Duke’s owner scooped her up and set her skinny little body on the dock.  

Although Allie doesn’t like to swim, she does love the water, and was totally energized by her adventure.  Bummer.  We would have preferred that she had “learned her lesson” and been chastised by the experience. In our dreams. 

View from U of A campus, a short walk from the marina.  
That is Mendenhall in the middle.

Sunset at Snug Harbor.   

Leaving Sung Harbor at sunrise.  Yes, some days are long!

No, it really did look like this.

Don’t know who put that rock there.  Oh, yes I do.  The same glacier that created Snug Harbor.

Glaciers as you approach Petersburg

Ingenious reminder to CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DOG.  These buckets 
were tied to the bull rail along the docks in Petersburg.

Boat reapair ad.  Picturesque Petersburg in the background.

            The Union Trading Company hasn’t had--or needed--many make-overs in its lifetime.  It suits

the Petersburg’s waterfront fine.  There is another market near the airport with Costco-type   merchandise.

Allie searched for a critter under this log at Meyers Chuck for the longest time. 
 You can’t see the tail wagging, but it was.

The Safeway store in Ketchikan got tired of people walking off with the shopping carts.  There is a wire buried in the asphalt.  When the cart gets within range, the wheels lock and cart stops.  If you have much speed and weight in the cart, I’m sure it all topples over.

In Ketchikan, we decided to top off our fuel tanks because the price was good.
We use Allie to soak up an diesel that spills in the bay.  Greywolf  is slow and stingy with
fuel consumption;  she can actually can make it from B.I. to AK and back on a single
(really humongous) tank of fuel.

The skipper of the Miss Tammy from Seattle was concerned that we were still in in Alaska 
this time of year.  TIME TO HEAD SOUTH!!!   Yes, sir.

Sunset at Prince Rupert.

The sky tells you why they call it Rainy Rupert.

I love this land formation.  The grey didn’t look depressing in person.

Helicopter logging!  We hung out--at a safe distance--for a long time.

The splash is the log hitting the water.  I think there is a person in that pusher tug.
 It looks like a precarious job.

The sign is old, but you really are welcome in Klemtu.

Nice people and dogs!

Johnstone Straits on a calm day.

The lettering didn’t have an exclamation point, but it certainly looked like it was a demand.
And we liked the fact that it was the second try at serenity.
Doug and I are far beyond the second attempt....

Campbell River

Nanaimo.  Great way to make a space for the kids.  Do they wear with life jackets, 
or do you just attach tethers?

The race to be first entering Dodd Narrows south of Nanaimo.  

Greywolf sister ship entering Dodd Narrows.  Far behind the pack.

Back in the US of A

What was the best part of the trip?  SitkaRedBluffwhalesJoileandBobvisitingthesunsetsPelicansettigtheparavnesintheGulfofAlaskaNative

carvingPenderHarborNamu....

If you tried to read that, you’ll get the idea.  There were so many "The Best” moments.  

We are fortunate to have had the experience.  All of it.