| August 4, 2002 Three days ago we came up the coast from Ucluelet, passing Tofino, and heading into Clayoquot Sound. Years ago when we came out here in a car (David was an infant), there were massive groups of protestors, camped out in clear cuts, and waving signs at every turn of the road: "Save Clayoquot Sound." Evidently they did, because there is less evidence of logging here than most places along the coast. The trip up the coast from Ucluelet was no-wind-urky-swells of the sort that makes you wish you were back on land. We've tried several different seasick remedies so far, including a prescription cocktail recommended by the US Navy, but perhaps the best so far is the elastic wrist band that exerts acupressure on a magic spot inside your wrist. The center of Clayoquot Sound is Meares Island, which has several peaks, each of several thousand feet. The channels surrounding the island form an interesting loop for exploration, with several side inlets and fjords. Meares Island is split by another inlet, Lemmons Inlet, and we decided to find an anchorage there, in a side cove named "God's Pocket." (The name is not found on any chart, but that's what the locals call it). Lemmons Inlet is quite shallow in places, and there is a virtual minefield of crabpots. We remember this from last year, when we came here in pouring rain, and even seeing the floats to avoid them was a major accomplishment. More about crabpots later. God's Pocket is very secluded, with a big oyster farm at the entrance and two float houses at the end. Each float house is powered by solar power, and takes its water from a creek that flows into the inlet there. Apparently these float houses are absolute squatters, and the government hasn't yet figured out a way to license them or charge a tax, or require a permit. The people in B.C. (that we've met) seem to detest government regulation, so they're very pleased to be getting "free rent" for their float houses. The oyster farms seem to be everywhere, and apparently the government does collect a hefty fee for allowing these. They consist of rows of black barrels strung out over a football-field sized area. They have colored floats, and sometimes lights at the edges, and apparently create a good income for their owners (perhaps the float house people?) We left God's Pocket this morning, intending to head out into the ocean for a bit of salmon fishing. Negotiating the mine field of crab traps, we werent' so lucky this time. Craig decided to fish underway -- a mistake -- and soon snagged a float from a crab trap. While attempting to become disentangled, the line from that trap -- or perhaps another -- wrapped around our prop shaft. The engine promptly made the wrong sort of noise, and Craig took it out of gear. We were rapidly drifting into shallow water, so I threw down the anchor. We were too shallow, so Craig put it in reverse, and wrapped more of the trap line around the shaft (but did manage to back us out of the shallow area before the engine stopped altogether). We got the anchor down again, and contemplated our options. Craig got out the wet suit, fins, mask, we found a suitable knife, and he started diving. (Water temperature: 65 degrees...) Not only was there substantial line wrapped around the shaft, there was also a crab trap -- complete with four crabs -- sucked right up to the shaft. Craig started hacking away with the knife, ten seconds at a time, with slow progress. Finally after about an hour, we called the Coast Guard, and they sent a commercial diver "Marcel" to us. Marcel was accompanied by a friendly black lab, who became mighty distressed when it was obvious Marcel was going to go in over the side. Marcel with his dry suit and tanks took 1/2 hour to free the shaft, at a cost of $220 Canadian. He said we should keep the two legal-sized crabs, and he'd return the pot to its owner in Tofino. So tonight we'll have the world's most expensive crab dinner. |
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| August 5, 2002 The crab dinner was great -- really yummy. We imagined a setting where we actually could be paying $220 Cndn (about $150 US) for the crab dinner. Teak panelled private dining room, palace slaves serving us and doing the dishes afterwards, private chamber music performance, gorgeous remote wilderness harbor view out the windows... We came pretty close, all except for the palace slaves and live performers.... |
| Left: Craig prepares to dive with his serrated kitchen knife. Right: Marcel's dog is worried about Marcel's imminent dive off the boat. |
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