2002_july

Email messages from our summer 2002 trip

July 29, 2002

Last time we were in Effingham Bay, it was pouring rain and blowing the rain sideways. This time, we have a light overcast, and at 9:30 a.m., patches of blue are already showing. We expect to have another gorgeous day, with some salmon fishing and island exploration.

We left St. Helens (on the Columbia River) on Wednesday, July 24. It was a fire drill getting away. Because the house is on the market, we had to leave it in pristine condition, while remembering and assembling all the "stuff" we have to bring on a six week trip. As it was, we forgot some true essentials, like coffee filters and our Scrabble game.

We were joined for the first week by Sid Blachford, who will depart from Ucluelet tomorrow. Sid's wife, Julie, stayed overnight Tuesday night, and helped me with the last minute fresh food shopping. When we arrived at the St. Helens Marina, there was a full size replica of Christopher Columbus's largest ship, the Nina, tied up to the gas dock. They were on their way to Portland, and it was fascinating to look at the primitive conditions those sailors had to endure in 1492. The boat seemed to be not much longer than ours, with sleeping bags and pillows laid out on the deck. We watched three sailors shake out a rigging problem -- hoisting a square rigged sail by jumping up simultaneously and grabbing their line, and pulling with their entire body weight. No five part tackles here! I asked if they were going to sail to Portland -- no, they had to be there at an appointed hour, for some sort of welcoming ceremony, so they couldn't sail. In the morning they fired up their Mercedes diesel engine, turned on their radar (which they had C-clamped to their upper deck), and headed upriver to Portland.

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We spent Wednesday going down the river, past mansions, shacks, tents and canneries, passed by the occasional humongous freighter. We stayed in Astoria, going out to dinner at the Red Lion Inn adjacent to the marina. I'd say the Red Lion has fallen on hard times -- the waitress -- who must have been on her first day of the job -- said that there were no soup spoons because they were all in the dishwasher. We waited more than an hour for dinner.

Thursday we took our seasick medicine and set out for our 27 hour trek to Barkley Sound. We crossed the Columbia Bar about 10:30 a.m., (without incident) and then headed north. We set three hour shifts, and motored forward. Only once during the trip did we have enough wind (from the right direction) to sail. But there were big seas, and a couple of big waves washed over the boat (during my watch). Actually I don't think Craig and Sid would have believed it, except Craig left two hatches open (over the galley, and in the aft head) and there was plenty of salt-water evidence running down the cabin sole.

I must say that the overnight solo watches, and the weird sleep schedule, were not my favorite things. It took me a full 24 hours, and lots of extra sleep, to get back to feeling normal. We tried out our new lee cloths (Craig's design), and they worked great. It really helps in getting a sound sleep to know that you're not going to roll off the berth with the next big wave.

When we arrived in Ucluelet there was plenty of sunshine and lots of boats. We cleared customs and then managed to find a spot on the government wharf. We went to buy fishing licenses, supplies (coffee filters!), and get some lunch. Despite all the warnings about difficulties clearing customs due to enhanced security (post 9-11) did not materialize. The Canadians have us in their database, and since we've been here before, perhaps we're not suspect. We did see a Canadian government patrol plane flying low when we were about 15 miles offshore. I'm sure they'd seen us on radar, and if we hadn't checked in, they would have come looking for us.

We've had a very relaxed time in Barkley Sound, mostly reading books, watching the scenery and wildlife and lazing around. The computer died the day we arrived, so Craig spent the morning yesterday on one of his patented "computer dives." He rues the day he bought that particular computer, because he's been on uncounted computer dives -- I'm sure this was just the first of many for the summer. Nothing specific wrong was found -- he just reseated all the cards and tightened all the connectors, and lo and behold it worked.

Yesterday we stopped at Bamfield, fueled up, got an ice cream cone, and walked the boardwalk. Bamfield is on two sides of a fairly steep inlet, with a water taxi between. The boardwalk runs along the west side, and everyone's front walk opens onto it. At one point it ducks into the thick trees, and you find yourself surrounded by cedar roots, berry bushes, and strings of lighted Christmas tree lights (!).

Sid leaves us tomorrow, taking the bus from Ucluelet. We're pretty much unscheduled from there, although we know we want to make it to the hot springs north of Tofino.

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