Shearwater to Prince Rupert

Greywolf  left Namu  May 31, headed for Shearwater on Denny Island.


Ariel view of Shearwater Marina



 Shortly after we tied up, Oscar-The-Dog’s  sailboat from Namu and To Maraho, (it means To The Sea in Gallic), the TollyCraft,  joined us.  Allie was ecstatic.  Not only could she play (on a leash this time) with Oscar, but she got to see Bob and Bruce again.  Bruce had owned a big white standard Poodle for 14 years and he thought Allie was great.  Bob encouraged her do her crazy running, leaping, and licking routine (that we wish was not a routine), so she was in Dog Heaven.  

One of 73 ways your pet can embarrass you:  Bruce invited us aboard his boat for drinks, welcoming Allie, since he is A Poodle Person.  She wandered around with his blessing and soon trotted up from the aft stateroom with a sock her mouth.  TollyCrafts are too well-built for us to be able to fall through the floor boards from embarrassment.

Allie and I went on An Explore and found the school.  They have 15 students, K-8.  The high school kids either commute to Bella Bella or the families move off-island until the kids are out of school.  The teacher has been there five years and loves it.

After Oscar’s sailboat left, Allie’s playmate at Shearwater was Lilly, a two year old chocolate lab off of Haven, a fishing boat from the Port Hadlock.  Half of the pleasure boats (we use the term intermittently) and about a quarter of the fishing boats have dogs aboard.   Allie is delighted.

The weather became less threatening on June 3rd and we traveled the four miles to the Native village of Bella Bella for water; we wanted to get the of the Dawson’s Landing “tea" out of out tanks.  

The BC g’ment relocated the village a few years ago and put in a huge water treatment plant.  Although Shearwater has a fishing resort and a restaurant, they do not have potable water on the docks.  For what they charge, they should have wine piped to the boats.  
When we tied up at Bella Bella, an attendant  on the dock told Doug that water would not be available until after 1:30 because a funeral was being conducted until then.  No.  Not on the dock.  


About an hour later, most of the population of the nearby islands lined the dock above us and more people than I would have though possible boarded a boat moored across from us, following a handsome coffin on board. 

   I took two pictures, feeling like I was intruding.   Then my camera battery died.  I was intruding.  

These folks are waiting for two scientists to fly into Bella Bella.  They are surveying the green crabs (an invasive species) believed  to have arrived in ships' ballast water from Asia.  They (the green crabs-not the scientists) eat eel grass which is a key habitat for DUNGIES (otherwise known as Dungeness crab). 

Boat Bluff on the way to Butedale.

In 1993, we took this boat (well, not THIS boat) from Port Hardey to Prince Rupert on a car camping trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands.  Someday, maybe we can make this trip in our own boat.  Be careful what you wish for.

Ivory Island Light in Millbank Sound, a.k.a. The Pacific Ocean.  You can see Japan from here.
A three hour transit put us back inside the Inside Passage.
YOU DO NOT WANT TO ABE HERE IN THE WINTER.
(This photo is out of order, but only two people reading 
the blog will know this.)




We had a beautiful day to transit from Grenville Channel to Prince Rupert. This is one of the Lawyer Islands: it might be Bribery  Island...right next to Client Reef.  Really.

A few years ago, Prince Rupert built this container ship dock, hoping to compete with Seattle, Vancouver, and California ports as a major deepwater seaport.   PR is two days closer to Asia than the other ports, and the Canadian Pacific owns railroad tracks from PR to Memphis.  When we visited in 2008,  the dock was empty both times we were here.  It looks like things may be changing.

Most visiting boaters tie up at the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club.  We again met up with To Maraho’s crew.  Allie will be expecting to see them each time she gets off the boat.  We told her they are going to the Queen Charlotte Islands. She couldn't find her set of paper charts, (we think she ate them) so it made no sense to her.


We went for a long walk in town, and made note of the changes since the last time we visited.  The biggest store in the small mall is going out of business.  In fact, it looked like the best business in town would be making SALE!  Going out of business! signs.  Many stores were closed or closing and the ones still in business were marginal.  I found a nice clothing store next to the marine supply store, but the main downtown area is totally depressed. 

  The town felt very sad, like it didn’t have a soul.  I didn’t take any pictures.  It felt like documenting someone’s misfortune.  

We suspect that there is a mall out of town.  There are nice homes on the bluff overlooking the harbor, and that container dock must employ a few people. 

These two murals hidden on a back street next to the bluff wanted  to be shared.

We left Rainy Rupert in the sunshine headed for Dundas Island the next morning.  Fifteen to twenty knot winds on our nose forced us into the shelter of the Harmony Islands where we cruised among lovely hidey places; an area worth exploring on another trip.


Greywolf was back out in the snotty weather for a bit before we turned  to the shelter of Brundige Inlet, reported home of The Black Flies.  A large boat joined us mid-afternoon, and the owners and their dog kayaked over to chat.  Susan and Barry and their dog, Chloe,  are from Bellevue.  


Do you know Sam Smith from Bainbridge?
"No..."
I can’t remember the name of that other couple we know from Bainbridge who have a boat and winter in Maui...
"Heather and Dave who own Gypsy?"
That’s them!
“They’re our dock neighbors at our marina."
***************
How many degrees of separation is that???


THE ARRIVAL OF THE BLACK FLIES squashed Allie’s
hopes of a dinghy launch.