Ocean Falls

We departed from Shearwater the following morning, eastbound through Gunboat Pass, and then across Dean Channel and up Cousins Inlet, with a brisk outflow wind against us, visibility increasingly deteriorating to less than 2 miles in haze and smoke. Otherwise, it was a beautiful sunny day.....apparently much of the interior of BC is burning in forest fires, and the smoke was filling the Central Coast with the outflow. We arrived at Ocean Falls in the early afternoon, to be greeted by Neil, the wharfinger, who welcomed us warmly.







Approaching Ocean Falls










Ocean Falls is a town in transition. It was built at the site of the Link River pouring into Cousins Inlet, with a hydro-electric dam being built in the early 1900's. This provided power and water for a pulp/paper mill and Ocean Falls became a bustling and thriving one-industry town, owned by paper company. In its heyday the community was very busy, with some 4,000 people, a busy deepwater port, hotel, swimming pool, bowling alley, etc......until the company pulled out. The provincial government bought the town out and kept it running until the early 1980's, but it became an uneconomic proposition, and the mill and the town shut down. It became a ghost town, with only a few dozen people remaining. There are now about 30 full-time residents, and in the summer about 80 more. BC Ferries operates into here twice weekly, and the dam still provides electric power for here, as well as Bella Bella and Shearwater. Although Bella Bella is running low on water, Ocean Falls has plenty of very good water....in fact, we were encouraged to use it to wash our boats and fill our tanks (there is a dam renovation happening, and they want to lower the water levels).
The docks are well maintained, internet wifi is available for free, and the remaining people are very friendly. We walked around the remaining townsite where many of the buildings are beyond restoration, and then up to Link Lake (created by the dam) where we enjoyed a warm, freshwater swim.







A refreshing dip in the lake










Back to the boat for dinner and some internet, and meeting a few of the other boaters who'd arrived.....4 other sailboats and several powerboats.
Sunday morning was another bright sunny day, albeit still quite smoky. We utilized the plentiful fresh water to scrub the decks and clean the boat. Then a few of our fellow boaters and ourselves joined a local fellow, Norman, in a tour of Norman's hobby.....creation of a museum, where he's collected things from all over town and organized them into a historical collection of the town's history.












Norman is presenting Kelcy with a "California Raisin" figure.










Back to the boats, we all decided it was time for a dock party. Dave, from the sailboat ahead of us, had collected/caught quite a few crabs, and a few of the others also had some...so it became a crab-fest. Of course, we hadn't caught any, so we and a few others supplied appies and dessert. I was also able to introduce many of our new friends to Pyrat Rum!
The party rocked on until the ferry arrived at midnight, and we all called it a night.
Monday morning, due to the night before, was a lot slower and quieter. I managed to wash off the hull of the boat before Shane and Kelcy were stirring. Then a slow walk into the other part of town, about a mile down the road from the marina end of things. There, I watched a Grumman Goose taxi down a ramp and depart, and picked some blueberries and huckleberries from along the roadway and beside the Martin River.











These blueberries are fresh!












We'll likely head out of here tomorrow morning, and if weather permits, we'll head up Dean Channel to view Alexander Mackenzie's cairn, and visit the Eucott Hot Springs. The smoke has mostly dissipated with a strong inflow breeze, but if this breeze continues, it may make it hard to get to the Hot Springs or the cairn....we shall see.