Chronicle 12....a map of the Adventures and Misadventures...
Wading prior to paddling
Anchored in Windy Bay (which was not windy), the day after we left Butedale, we found something that passed for a beach and launched the dinghy. Allie was delighted.
Draping her life-jacket encased body over the inflatable’s pontoon, Dog inched forward to get closer to a few seagulls, back paws leaving the deck. The dinghy lurched in the waves, and Dog was air-born. For a very short time. Doug hauled her scrawny body out of the water, and we motored back to Greywolf for a bath. Did she learn? The next Dinghy Explore will tell.
Greywolf took us to stunning Fiordland Recreation Area the following day. Although the day was overcast, the black rock walls rising straight up from the narrow channel were as impressive as when we first saw them seven years ago. You don’t see a lot of change is seven years. Maybe seven eons.
No matter how many pictures I took, Mr Panasonic couldn’t capture the feeling of slowing cruising this quiet place near the edge of the continent.
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How do the trees do this??? Don’t they need DIRT? |
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| Headed for Shearwater |
The handsome 58’ wooden seine boat Merry Chase tied up across the dock from us in Shearwater. The recently renovated 1929 vessel was featured in our August issue of Western Mariner. Merry Chase’s new role in life is working as a supply boat for Westwind Charters.
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| We’re assuming the name refers to assaulting fish... |
In addition to the Merry Chase, we met Buttedale’s new owner at Shearwater. A skipper on the dock asked us, You were in Buttedale recently weren’t you? I’m the new owner. We didn’t recognize his boat as being one of the other two boats there. It turns out that Cory, Buttedale’s caretaker, sends Shawn photos and names of the boats that tie up.
This little island, hosting a former tree, protects the shallow entrance to
Beale Bay where we anchored in Gunboat Pass on our way to Ocean Falls.
Allie keeping watch over the “smalls” drying on the lifelines.
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| All-you-can-eat-brunch. These petite Canadian Geese enjoyed the low tide that kept us in Beale Bay until mid-morning. |
We were headed away from the fog....this time.
Ocean Falls.
The white blotch in the middle is the dam at Link Lake,
The white blotch in the middle is the dam at Link Lake,
with water being spilled; a rare event in this dry summer. The dam’s power
plant provides hydro (we’re in Canada) for
Shearwater and Bella Bella.
What can we say about Ocean Falls? About 25 people live in the former Crown Zellerbach paper mill town and its Martin Vally suburb. The area gets more than 170 inches of rain a year, but we had sunshine—and 20 knot winds—during our visit. The scenery is stunning. The people friendly.
Martin Valley
It looks prosperous from a distance.....
When Crown Zellerbach Paper closed its mill here in 1973 (at one time the second largest on the coast), the Province took it over. In 1980, the Province also had to close the mill--and the town. Most of buildings in the substantial town were razed, but a group of residents (including the mother of one of the present residents) stood in front of the bulldozers and saved a few buildings. Some houses are occupied; others decaying.
The 1925 Company House had 6 suites for visiting dignitaries.
On our first evening walkie in Ocean Falls, Allie and I and my bear bell met two gentlemen, who, after they stopped laughing about my bear bell, told me there ARE bears around, but they never bother anyone. Except for that one who malled a dog. But the dog had it coming. She yapped at everyone and really bugged the bear. And the one they had to shoot. But that was the fault of the trashy people who left food all over their house and left the doors open. So, not to worry about the bears.
At breakfast at the Tuna Cafe in the Darke Waters Inn, we met Barry and Clarise, the Inn’s
only guests. Barry had lived in Ocean Falls as a young boy in the 1930’s;
this visit to his home town was on his bucket list.
We joined Barry and Clarise for pasta dinner at the Inn, enjoying the evening with this vibrant couple from Victoria and learning some Canadian history: I didn’t realize that Canada did not become a sovereign nation until the late 1940’s. But I was five
and not that interested in foreign affairs.
When we were here in 2007, St Mary’s Church was still holding
services. It is now abandoned, but I was told that someone
has purchased the building with plans to use it as a home.
Former floating restaurant, now a gathering place and
information cenrer for boaters
In Ocean Falls, Allie faced a new ramp challenge. She started up the steep, smooth wooden ramp (no non-skid) at low tide, made it about 3 feet, and slid back down to the bottom. I picked her up and put her on the side with the cleats where the “slide distance” was shorter. Going down, I had to again coerce her to use the cleat side.
’Need to get her two pair of Brooks.
’Need to get her two pair of Brooks.
Strapping on our bear bells the next day, we started off to explore Martin Valley, a mile and half from town. Earlier in the day A Bear had been eating apples near the Inn. We were headed in the other direction, but bears do walk... A driver taking the mail from the float plane into town, (Wednesday is mail day) stopped to let us know she had seen A Bear about an hour earlier. We were in Bear’s part of the road. But Bear had moved on. We never saw Bear, but we did hear a Bear Voice near the river. We did not go near the river.
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| Red light on top. Is this an emergency vehicle? And the chair...? |
On our way back from our Hot Walk, we were too early for a beer at the Sago’s Saloon,according to the posted hours, but the door was open. Doug inquired. Sure we could buy a beer and enjoy the cool interior. We got a ride back to town with
one the of the hydro plant workers.
Cemetery in Martin Valley
The headstones reflect the ethnicity of the paper mill workers,
with many Asian inscriptions.
View from Martin Valley looking down Cousins Inlet.
We’ll be interested to see what is still here on our next visit.
On Calvert Island, a short walk from Purth Bay takes you to The Ocean
…actually Queen Charlotte Sound.
These little jelly fish with their blue sales, marked the high tide line. I don’t have a
photo of the 3 of us getting sloshed by a larger-than-average wave when I stopped
to take a close-up. Nor do I have the close-up.
A girl can’t have too much fun.
Goose Bay Cannery
The boardwalks and cabins are well-maintained.
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| Commercial-style kitchen with adjoiing dining/social room |
A handful of families were enjoying the cabins and fishing from the dock and their boats the day we stopped. The owners have work parties each spring, carefully prioritizing the many maintenance projects and upgrades that need to be done. Among the group, they have the needed skills to help restore this piece of history.
Ray showed us the former cannery office, piled high with records and supplies.
Ray had grown up fishing with his dad on the coast. Looking through the cannery’s records one day, he was delighted to see his dad’s name and fish catch recorded in meticulous script in one of the old ledgers.
This is not Ray’s dad’s record. I found the
record keeping aspect of the industry interesting...especially the White, Native, Chinese notations.
The entire facility is neat and clean. I’m wondering if each family has to take an extra bag of trash with them when they leave.
They have created a gathering area for boaters who stop by. However, since
Goose Bay is off the beaten path, they generally don’t have more than one boat at a time.
Leaving Goose Bay at dawn to round Cape Caution.
