Strange Things Done.....: Down the East Coast

04 July - Lots of catching up to do, now that we have wifi access again...I'll post our adventures and trip down the East Side of Moresby Island, and then post separately for the next, west-side leg. Jade – 1 successfully floated off the grid at 2140 in the evening of the 3rd, and we motored back to our dock at the wharf. Two of our lines tied to the tide grid had become stuck on some barnacles, so we were able to walk back and get them on the low morning tide, at 0700. By the way – Happy 4^th of July to our American friends, and a very happy birthday to my niece, Kelsey!

At 0900 we moved over to the fuel dock, where we'd arranged (pre-arrangement is required to have someone attend at the fuel docks) to get some diesel for our tanks. By 1015 we were underway again, eastbound out of Skidegate Channel. By 1200 we were crossing the shallows into Hecate Strait, and then turning south to explore Moresby Island and the myriad other islands of Gwaii Haanas. Although moderate northwest winds were forecast, we experienced very light southeasterlies for most of the sail down the coast, so again found ourselves motorsailing. By 1630 we were off Skedans, and turned in toward Logan Inlet (we'd spent an earlier anchorage in Logan Inlet, at Anna Cove). We had a bit of inflow into the inlet and had a bit of nice sailing to the head of the Inlet, where we entered a long bay which begins inside the Gwaii Haanas park boundaries, but at the end is outside of the park, but still on Moresby Island, in Crescent Inlet. We were happily anchored in Crescent Inlet by 1900, and grilled our salmon for dinner.

05 July – Today we slept in a bit – up at 0900. We also treated ourselves to a slightly bigger breakfast than normal, with eggs and chili. Time then to launch our dinghy and explore a bit. We saw several otters roving around the bay, and drifted past an old float home which used to be used by Moresby Explorers ( a tour company specializing in adventure tours of Gwaii Haanas), but has now been left to nature. Lining the shoreline of the bay was a white lining, which looked like someone had run toilet paper around the bay A La Frat-Party. It turned out to be dried seaweed which we nicknamed “Frat Weed”.

"Frat Weed" lining the bay

We also spotted a very large black bear at the end of the inlet. We'd heard that the bears here are the largest black bears (there are no grizzlies here) in North America, and that they are genetically unique to these islands. I can confirm that this one was indeed very large, and, although not a grizzly, had a bit of a grizzly-like hump on its back.

Our First Bear Sighting

By 1300 we were underway out Logan Inlet in clear skies, and variable winds, from southwest to east to northeast, to northwest – but mostly at a nice 15 knots of windspeed. So sailing east was a bit of work, and we were forever changing the sails and tacking, chasing the wind. By 1500 we were back in Hecate Strait, with northeast winds 15-20, and a bit of a sea running from the north – and we were off Tanu, a historic Haida site with a watchman. A quick call on the radio, and the watchman advised there was a mooring buoy off their site, and the weather was not too bad....so we went in, and caught the buoy, in large rolling seas. Not much wind at this point, but the boat was rolling quite well as we tried to time our leap into the dinghy, and then row to shore. Walter, the watchman, greeted us on the beach, and showed us the old village site. Most of the poles here have been removed by collectors, museums, and entrepreneurs, but there are some interesting remains of old longhouses, some traditional style with two support beams, and a few from post-contact (with Europeans) which had six roof beams instead.

This "pond" area in Tanu was used to capture/raise Octopus

Beams and remains of a longhouse Foundation in Tanu

The Haida grew stinging nettle in gardens, used it for medicine as well as fishing line.

Another Longhouse foundation returning to Nature

From a book, showing old Tanu ca. 1890

This tree grew up a support beam and the root followed a roof beam.

Watchman Walter, pointing out some details on a Longhouse Foundation

Walter took us to his cabin, where we met his wife Mary and their granddaughter Raven. Raven is only 8 months old, and apparently takes to men with beards because of an earlier meeting with Santa Claus. So we entertained her a bit with some Ho-Ho-Ho's, and then continued on our tour with Walter around the back side of the old village. Walter does this watchman thing as a way to give back to his Haida Nation, and is retired from some 25 years with the RCMP. By 1730 we were back out to the boat, and under sail past the south side of Tanu Island, and into Richardson Inlet. At the end of the inlet, we followed Richardson Passage, crossing into Echo Harbour, got our anchor down by 1930.....sharing the anchorage this time with another boat - “Berkana”, the Valiant 40 who had crossed Hecate Strait the same day as we had. We had lots of crab in the freezer, so that was an easy dinner decision. For some unknown reason, my Link 20 battery monitor was showing an error, so I disconnected it, after confirming all of our electrics and batteries were still fine.

06 July – This morning we got up again at 0900, had a leisurely breakfast, and then took a row into the lagoon at the south end of the bay. Lots of seals and otters were playing around in the bay and the lagoon, and a pretty little waterfall terminated into the end of the lagoon. We had a pleasant chat with Jim and Barb from “Berkana” who were also rowing around in their dinghy and exploring. By 1100 we had the anchor up, and were underway, and with just the headsail up we tried our hand at trolling. We had partly cloudy skies, a pleasant temperature, and Southeast 15-20 with a 2 foot chop. This was directly opposite to the forecast northwest 20 – we learned later that his entire inside area on the east coast of Moresby tends to come up southeast in late morning, and funnels in the inlets, in spite of whatever the wind is doing a couple of miles east in Hecate Strait. So we had to start motoring again, still trolling. We managed to reel in several nice-looking weeds, but alas – no fish! We pulled into Hoya Pass, into a small bay appropriately named Freshwater Bay. Here the Parks Canada people have put in a float, with a freshwater hose running out to it. We were able to tie onto the float beside Berkana, who'd arrived a few minutes ahead of us, and filled our water tanks with fresh spring water. By 1340 we were underway southbound again, with a strong current and a strong wind against us – so instead of continuing any further we pulled into Koston Inlet, and anchored in the south end at 1600, dropping off our crab traps outside the entrance to the inlet. Berkana had decided to to the same thing, so we invited them over for appies. Barb and Jim rowed over, and we had a very nice chat with them over drinks and appies. We then had a dinner of prawns in a pasta/cheese mix for dinner, and sat back to enjoy the serenity of another beautiful anchorage.

07 July – We had the morning to kill, waiting for a high enough tide to cross the shallow bar at the entrance to the bay, and left on a rising tide at noon. Again, with northwesterly winds forecast, we were getting southeasterlies, so motored across Juan Perez Sound to Hotsprings Island, and tied up to their buoy at 1430. Here we were met by David and Irene, the watchmen we'd earlier met at Skedans....they'd been moved to Hotsprings. David seemed pleased to see us again, and we had a nice visit at their cabin. Then David took us for a walk around the area. There used to be 3 large pools of geothermally heated water here, but the big earthquake of October 2011 shut down the flow into the pools, and they are now dried out memories of the once-popular attraction here. We had a look at the not-so-hot springs, and were shown the gps and satellite relay equipment to monitor for seismic activity. There is still hot water seeping out, but it is not high enough to fill the old pools, and seeps out at a mid-tide level on the beach. We left the mooring buoy here and sailed to Murchison Island, arriving at 1730 (it's the next island to the north of Hotsprings).

David and Ray hiking on Hotsprings (Jade in background)

GPS sensors around the island looking for seismic activity

Solar array and satellite communications for the GPS Sensors

David and Ray inspecting the now dry Not-so-hot-Springs

Watchman's Cabin, Hotsprings Island

We found the recommended anchorage here too deep to comfortably anchor in, with lots of kelp....so we left, and crossed back over Juan Perez Strait to the bay just south of where we'd spent the last night, entering Sac Bay at 1930. It was a bit late, but we had a tasty dinner of pork chops, and still had time to row to the waterfalls at the head of the inlet to fill up our 5 gallon water tank used for showers.

08 July – We had an earlier morning today, getting up at 0800, and finishing off our older bread by having french toast for breakfast. We had the anchor up by 0920, and tried jigging for fish in the bay, with no success. As we motorsailed eastbound out of Sac Bay, the wind started to pick up from the Southwest....so we were able to get in a very lively sail on a broad to beam reach, passing north of Hotsprings again, entering Faraday Passage, and then turning north for a run to Windy Bay. This is another old Haida Village site with a watchman, and is the location where the Haida and local anti-logging people made a stand against the logging practices in the area, gaining their first real victories toward independent control of the area in the 1980's. This is also the site for the new totem being carved in Skidegate, which we'd earlier viewed at the museum/cultural centre. In Windy Bay we were met by watchman Shawn, who led us on a hike through old-growth forest, pointing out some huge Sitka Spruce trees and Cedars, some of which had been modified by earlier Haida people for bark and planks. Shawn was very knowledgeable about the history of the area and peoples (he has several degrees in anthropology and archaeology), and had a background in the logging industry as well....so he was able to provide us with a lot of stories about the people and the area.

Ray at an old growth Cedar Tree, Windy Bay

Old Growth Spruce

Shawn showing off a modified cedar (where the Haida took cedar bark/planks from a living tree)

Recreation of a Longhouse, in Windy Bay

By 1545 we'd arrived back at the watchman cabin and met Shawn's wife Helen, and signed the guestbook. We also had a look at a traditional style longhouse built here a few decades ago, and now used as guest quarters for kayakers and other visitors to the site. At 1630 we'd dropped the mooring and had to motor back southbound against the southerly we'd sailed on earlier. But it wasn't far to the little bay 5 miles south, in Ramsay Passage, with 3 convenient mooring buoys for people to wait for Hotsprings (1.25 miles west of the bay). With the winds easing, and clear skies, it was a very beautiful evening in yet another pleasant site. After a bit of stir-fry for dinner, we rowed ashore to explore, and to burn our garbage. When we'd visited Hotsprings, David (the watchman) had pointed out the remains of turban snails on the beach, which had been dropped on the rocks by the ravens for the snail meat inside. The snails hang on to a small piece of shell operculum to root themselves in their shells....but after the ravens have had their way, these small pieces lie around on the beach, and are used by the Haida carvers as teeth on their masks, and apparently pay about $1.00 apiece to children to gather them up. We found some of these on the beach here at Ramsay, so collected a few as keepsakes. Back at the boat, we played a bit of cribbage before calling it a night at 2300.

Turban Snail Shell, and 4 "teeth"

Old sea urchin found on beach

Tuesday 09 July – We woke up at 0900 to a nearly windless day, with only a few clouds in the sky. With a forecast for Northwest 10 knots, and our intended course southeast, we pulled out the spinnaker (big, colourful, balloon-shaped sail for downwind sailing) intending to have a bit of fun on a downwind run. But as we motored out of the cove, we were struck by southwest winds of 15 knots, so the spinnaker was out of the question....so we continued motoring out of Ramsay Passage, and stopped to jig for fish on a pinnacle of rock (no fish). The wind then started coming up westerly 20, so we sailed off, trolling all the way to our next anchorage site at Matheson Inlet. We motored into the inlet against strong headwinds and anchored in 40 feet of water, in time for a late lunch at 1430. We then had a bit of time to check out the anchorage, spotting several deer. The wind continued to build to 25-30 knots, gusting....so we let out a lot more anchor rode to improve our holding power. We barbecued some pork chops for dinner and settled down to a rainy night in gale force winds.

Wed 10 July – This ended up being a lay-day for us, with the wind still holding Southwest 25 – 30 and gusting. The entrance to the inlet again has a low bar which requires a rising, higher tide before it's safe to cross out (or in), so we stayed put, working on the Link battery monitor, tracking down a leak on a deck hatch, and reading.

Thurs. 11 July – We got up at 0900, and had the morning to kill before leaving on the rising tide later in the day. So we dinghied ashore for another garbage fire, and to do our laundry in the freshwater creek at the head of the bay. The day had cleared nicely, with only occasional rainshowers passing by, so we raised the anchor at 1400 (tide on the way up, and high enough to get out), and in variable winds had a good sail southbound to Island Bay. On the way in, we'd planned on dropping our prawn traps in Skaat Harbour, but very strong gusty winds prevented our going in there, and we just continued the extra mile to anchor just inside Dolomite Point in Island Bay. This is just north of the entrance to Burnaby Narrows, also called Dolomite Narrows, and is a shallow link of water ( it dries out on a low tide) between Moresby and Burnaby Island. Many boats go the extra 20 miles around Burnaby Island on their way North or South in this area, but many also use the narrows as a shortcut.....which was our plan. We had a breezy, sunny afternoon in our anchorage, so hung out our laundry all over the boat's lifelines, and on makeshift clotheslines, and barbecued some steak for dinner (running low on green veggies, but still had squash and baked potatoes). We watched a black bear scrounging along the shoreline at low tide, munching on crabs and shellfish he found.

Friday 12 July – Today it was up at 0830, have a pancake breakfast, and then launch the dinghy for some serious explorations. We ran the dinghy south through Burnaby Narrows, on a falling and almost low tide, and paying very close attention to the depths, and navigational transits. These transits are privately placed by fishermen or charter groups to guide people through the turns and doglegs in the narrows, and are particularly important to keep from going aground on a passage through the narrows.

When we had noted the locations of the various markers, it was just coming up on low tide....so we explored the passage again, this time northbound. We stopped midway to hike a trail through some old-growth forest, Saw a black bear cruising for food along the shore, admired the masses of sealife on the floor of the passage (starfish of many kinds, sea cucumbers, anemones, crabs, etc), and searched for a rumoured trapper's cabin, which is apparently gone now (at least we couldn't find it!). We were back to our boat at the anchorage at noon, had a light lunch, and by 1430 our laundry was dry, and put away. By 1500 the tide was high enough to venture out to try the narrows in the big boat. We motored through the narrows, with a minimum depth of 8 – 10 feet (we only needed 5.5). Our reconnoiter in the dinghy had paid dividends, as it was clear where and when we needed to make our turns (some of them had to be led a bit due to a bit of current).

Another gnarly old-growth cedar, on our hike at Burnaby Narrows

This bear was scrounging along the shoreline at Burnaby Narrows

Examining a Cedar with a test-hole drilled into it.

By 1600 we'd entered a very secure bay/anchorage at the south end of the narrows, at Bag Harbour, anchored in 35 feet, with a good mud bottom to hold us. We celebrated our successful and safe transit with appies and drinks, and sent off our spot message to Linda and Kathy. At 1800 we were having a dinner of Morroccan stew with couscous and freshly baked rolls (managed to bake some fresh bread and rolls during our transit). Another sailboat, “Kinetic”, entered the bay at 1900 and anchored nearby. We 'd seen them earlier at the north end of the narrows, but they'd gone around Burnaby Island instead of transiting the narrows, with some of their crew kayaking through and then meeting the “mother-ship” here in Bag Harbour.

Saturday 13 July – We were up at 0800, had a healthy (I think) breakfast of fruit cocktail, granola, and home-made yoghurt. By 1030 the dinghy was back on deck for a slow troll (motoring slow to charge the batteries) for fish. An hour later we were hailed on the radio by our friends in “Berkana” who saw our sails....and we caught up on our latest news/positions. Just off our destination, Harriett Harbour (where the old mining town of Jedway is located), we caught a dinner-sized rockfish. By 1400 we were anchored in Harriett Harbour in 45 feet of water, with a trip line/buoy to the anchor in case of old mining equipment on the bottom. The abandoned mining town was in its heyday in the early 1900's, and was the site of a sawmill, copper mine, dance hall, hotel, and a fishing fleet....but by 1909 had been abandoned. In 1961 it saw a revival in the form of a company iron mining operation, and boomed for about 6 years....then was abandoned again. Now there are a few old iron pieces of machinery, some slabs of concrete, and a big area of alder trees growing over the site....there are no buildings, and just a bit of a trail, which we hiked. By 1700 we finished exploring the shore and made it back onboard for a meal of fish and yam chips for dinner. We had a relaxing evening reading, and watching a scrounging bear ashore.

Sun 14 July – We were up by 0830, had an omelet for breakfast, cleaned up a bit, and got underway by 1045. We motored out to a rock pinnacle 1.5 miles away, and caught a rockfish on a jig. We continued southeast to another pinnacle, where we caught another rockfish – we had enough for a good dinner now. The overcast skies and rainshowers we'd gotten up to had now cleared up, and we had a nice northwesterly wind of 15-20 knots....so we decided to use the favourable winds to sail the last 20 miles down the east coast to Rose Harbour on the south end of Moresby Island. We had great sailing conditions, sailing at 6-7 knots on a broad reach to a run, then back onto a broad reach. By early afternoon the winds were picking up to 25 knots as we gybed onto a westerly heading into Houston-Stewart Channel, passing a colony of sealions in our wake.

Sealions in Hecate Strait

There was a strong counter-current in the channel, but we had lots of wind on the beam to help us drive through it. By 1600 we were off the settlement of Rose Harbour (3 or 4 homes at the site of an old whaling station). There we saw “Berkana” tied to a mooring buoy, another Swiss sailboat tied to a Parks Canada buoy, and “Kinetic” anchored off. We tried our anchor but caught up on kelp, so had to lift the anchor for another go. That's when Jim and Barb on “Berkana” offered to have us raft onto them. They advised that they were on a private mooring buoy, but hat to leave later on, and would be taking up the Parks buoy when the Swiss boat left in a couple of hours, and that we were welcome to join them on a raft-up....something we were happy to do. So rafted up, we had appies and drinks, a rockfish dinner, and a visit with Jim and Barb. This gets the blog to the south end of Gwaii Hanaas, down the east side. I'll get this posted, and continue with the west side on the next entry.