August 8, 2004
North Harbour, Quatsino Sound
(Near Winter Harbour, N 50° 29' W 128° 02')
Over the last two days we have traveled a total of 128 nautical miles. That may not seem like a lot but considering our average speed is around 5.7 kt, 128 nm means we've been underway 22 of the last 48 hours. Linda, on her second watch of the day today, said, "I just want to stop for awhile!"
You may ask how we came to be underway so much. Well let me tell you. Yesterday, August 7, we planned on leaving Fury Cove bound for Cape Scott. Cape Scott is the farthest reach of Vancouver Island and it marks the boundary between Queen Charlotte Sound and the Pacific Ocean. It's often the scene of severe weather and the fact that the tide runs around the Cape at 3 knots makes it even more challenging to round. There are no harbors of refuge within 15 nm of the Cape so once you're there you've got a way to go before you can get out of the weather.
In our case we didn't have much choice for timing. We won't run at night because of the many logs (sometimes entire trees!) that float on the waterways so the best we could do was to wake a half hour before sunrise yesterday and get underway even before we'd had our morning coffee. Cape Scott was 42 nm away (7 hours 20 minutes). When we arrived it wasn't that bad. It wasn't that good either. We were faced with a 20 kt southerly breeze and a 2 kt counter current. The best we could do over the ground was about 4 kts and the only place for us to go south of the Cape is Sea Otter Cove. It sounds nice, but in reality it's a rock infested, shallow anchorage that will turn your hair gray anytime you so much as look at the depth sounder. In plain language, we did NOT want to go there.
So we were faced with doing 4 kts all the way to Winter Harbour and getting in well after dark, or turning around and heading back to Bull Harbour. The only problem with Bull Harbour is that it involves crossing a bar, similar to a river bar. As luck would have it, we were almost perfectly timed to cross at high slack water both on our way to Bull Harbour and on our way back out the next morning. Bull Harbour it was (at the risk of having to pay a "sleeping fee" to the natives) and so we turned away from Cape Scott, the first one to get away.
We awoke this morning at 0615 and departed the dock at 0700 for an 0755 slack (we elected to tie to the free fishermen's float since there were no fishermen currently tied to it). The ocean was drastically different from the night before. We arrived at Cape Scott at 1100 to find a 10 kt breeze behind us and a 1 kt current also with us. Nice! We set the spinnaker and were looking good as we entered the Pacific. Of course Cape Scott doesn't have a reputation for constant wind, so in the course of an hour I: 1) set the spinnaker, 2) took down the spinnaker, 3) started the engine, 4). set the jib (turned off the engine), 5) reefed the main, 6) set the stay sail, and 7) unreefed the main. A good work out, but by the time we were 10 nm from the Cape the wind was more constant and we sailed most of the way to Quatsino Sound.
Nearly all the time Nakia is under way we drag a fishing line. This is because someone once told me that salmon will strike a lure even if it's traveling at almost 6 kts. This tactic has never been successful for us. Nothing has ever been caught on a hoochy dragging behind the boat. That is until today. We had just started the motor after the wind died. I was down below mixing dough for a couple loaves of bread when all of a sudden the reel we use to trail the hoochy starts spinning and clicking. This happens all the time. We catch a piece of seaweed on the hook and have to pull the line in to clear it, then we put it back out. Except this time when I looked astern there was a fish being dragged through the water! Linda quickly stopped the boat and I reeled it in. It was a nice fat salmon and Linda got the net under it. At this point it was apparent what the problem is with this kind of fishing. Not having a rod and reel with which to play the fish (my reel is attached to one of the stainless steel posts that hold up our lifelines), the fish enters the net with nearly all of its energy. It began thrashing like nothing else and tore a huge hole in the net. Back into the sea it went leaving only a few scales behind for us to remember it by. Granted, the net in question is many years old and has seen its fair share of abuse, but I never expected a fish to actually tear it to shreds. Oh well, another one gets away. At least the bread is good.
We arrived in Quatsino Sound a little while later. While doing the dishes Linda noticed a dinghy coming over. A nice man named Gary pulled up next to Nakia and asked if we'd like some fish. Yes, was our answer (we told him our fish tale), and we were presented with a couple of nice Coho fillets. Not all of them get away.
We just talked to Phil. He was, just as we were calling, passing under the Golden Gate Bridge! Home at last. We're so happy to hear that he is home in the Bay safe and sound.
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