Greywolf’s Chronicles: Chronicle 12 Dog Can Paddle and More Adventures

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.

Back in the dinghy after the beach romp, we decided to to not teather the critter-seeking dog. After three summers of restraining her, it was time for Allie learn-by-doing. Just where is my center of gravity, and why do I need to know that?

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.

How do the trees do this??? Don’t they need DIRT?

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.

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.

Shawn’s dreamed-of marina at Butedale is more of a dream than a marina at this time. The financing has not actually gone south. Maybe southeast. And negotiations with the numerous First Nations bands, that have various claims to the land, have yet to be resolved. But thank God for visionaries like Shawn. He may never be able to do anything with the property, but I do love the contribution of his positive creative energy to our universe.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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

We’d heard that a group of firefighters had purchased a former cannery-turned-fishing-lodge in Rivers Inlet with moorage for visitng boaters. When we tied up at Goose Bay in the early afternoon Ray, a retired Burnaby firefighter, gave us a tour.

The owners (not all firefighters) had originally intended to tear down the cannery building and maintain the small houses for the owners’ families to use. Upon discovering what good shape the cannery building was in (and all of the Cool Tools), they decided to restore it also. It makes a great place to store their sports fishing boats.

The boardwalks and cabins are well-maintained.

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.