What A Grand Way to Start September

It’s a get up late, lazy start to the day. One of the captains from the trio of boats rafted up in the cove with us came over in his dingy. “Hand me your camera, I’ll take a picture of your boat with the fog in the background”, he said. So I did and off he went. Either he was a very kind soul, or a clever camera thief.

Our Canadian Photographer Friend Composes his next Shot

Five minutes later he returned with some nice photos of Discovery in Turnbull Cove, our first overnight anchorage.

Discovery in Turnbull Cove as the Fog Lifts

We planned a short trip over to Little Nimmo Bay, home of the Little Nimmo Bay Resort. They specialize in helicopter fishing, hiking and adventures. A seven day “adventure” costs about $14,000. On our way, we saw several seals playing and a few hauled out on a low-tide rocky patch or two. The entrance to Little Nimmo Bay looks wide and clear, but the charts make it very evident that it is fraught with underwater bugaboos. Thanks to Nobeltec (our computer based, GPS navigation system) and a good eye, we made it inside the bay without incident. After anchoring and enjoying a delicious Karen lunch, I call the resort to see if we could visit the facility. They welcomed us and we got a tour of the facility. It was indeed one of the nicest wilderness resorts we have been to so far. Next year is starting to book up fast so go to www.nimmobay.com/ and book your trip.

Little Nimmo Bay Resort

The pictures do not do it justice. The waterfall, which you cannot see in the photos, is the lifeblood of the facility. It provides fresh water and hydro-power for nine months of the year. In fact, they had just turned on the generator a few days ago. The resort is into “Sustainability” and leaving a minimal impact on the land. During our walk around, the owner arrived, via ‘copter. We later met him and spent an hour talking about the history of the facility, boating in the Northwest and all manner of other topics. He’s interested is getting a boat for he and his wife to enjoy in the area, so we invited him onboard Discovery to check out a GrandBanks 46. We set up a rendezvous for the next morning after the helicopters leave with the guests for a day of fishing and what not. In exchange, he offered to let us fill up our water tanks from his waterfall. Good deal for all. We explored little Nimmo Bay and the adjacent Big Nimmo Bay by dinghy.

Guests Return in the Last of the Three 'Copters After a Day of Adventure

It was a perfect day, the clouds retreated and the sun made an appearance. The jackets came off and it was grand. The owner of the resort said that everything this year is three weeks late, so we might be enjoying some mid-August-like weather today.

Karen with Discovery in the background, Little Nimmo Bay

It continued to get nicer as the hours passed and we were able to enjoy dinner up on the aft fly-deck, sans jackets; something we can never remember doing up here in the Northwest. We even had the opportunity to do some stargazing after the sun set. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but whatever it is, we know the weather will change.

Our Travels Begin

After two days in route, we have arrived at the gateway to the Broughton Archipelago, Port McNeill. Our trip started with a 13-hour marathon from Washington’s Reagan Airport through Toronto on to Vancouver an then a jump over to Nanaimo. Air Canada, with the help of Mother Nature, did a great job. No delays, courteous service, no lost bags and comfortable seats. Still 13 hours and crossing three time zones makes for an exhausting day.

Nanaimo Harbor (Make that Harbour)

We spent the night in Nanaimo, before beginning our trek up the East coast of Vancouver Island to Port McNeill. Our travels North began with a provisioning mission. First, to the Chandlery to pick up some deodorizer for the boat’s head, then to local grocery store stock up on non-perishables and finally the mandatory visit to the liquor store. Our reasoning was that we would have the best selection and lower prices if we did most of our shopping in the “big city”, leaving the perishables and frozen purchases to just before we board the boat at Port McNeill.

 There is one road north and it’s a four hour drive. We broke it up with a lunch stop at the Laughing Gul pub at Schooner Cove located at Nanoose Bay. And two more hours up the road we did a slight sojourn over to The Old Country Market in Coombs. Best known for the “Goats on the Roof”, they also have the most remarkable selections of gourmet and specialty foods from all over the world. So we stocked up some more. However, we were heart broken that we could not take advantage of the awesome selection of cheeses, fresh baked breads, and one-of-a-kind meats.

Now back to those “Goats on the Roof”. Yes the store is covered with a green grass roof populated by a small family of goats. Why, I have no idea, but it is certainly memorable and all the signs by the side of the road direct you to the “Goats on the Roof” with no mention of the store’s “real” name. If you ever find yourself in the area, it’s a must do. For more information visit: http://www.oldcountrymarket.com/history.html.

All the guidebooks talk about our route as being a road that gets smaller and “more rugged” as you go north. They also remind you to look for deer and bear along the way. Well, having spent some time in the area, we did not expect to see either. The animals tend to stay away from man, and highways are not their favorite. There were signs for deer crossing and lots of signs for elk crossing. But none of the named critters made an appearance. Imagine our surprise when traveling along the four lane, divided highway portion of route 19, a very large black bear bounded across our two lanes, jumped over the concrete-divided median like an Olympic hurdler, and continued with great speed across the oncoming two lanes. Fortunately for all, we and the trucker in the right lane saw him in time to slow down and the opposing traffic also had time to slow and let the bear pass. And that’s pretty much what you can expect up here whether on land or water. You always find the unexpected, the delightful surprise and that’s why we like it so much.

Karen at Port McNeil

 We’re staying at the Black Bear “resort” in Port McNeill. It is by no means a resort, but it is a new 2 story motel that has clean rooms and a comfy king size bed for us, which is all we need. After checking in around 6:30pm, we drove to the harbor, which is really more of a walk (the town is small). We saw some interesting boats and had fun walking the docks. Karen’s eyes lit up and, spying a red tabby cat on a sailboat, she yelled “KITTY!”  The cat sprang to life, leaving the cozy cockpit to run out of the boat, jump on the dock, and demand serious petting by us both. The cat’s owner, who lives on the boat in Port McNeill year-round, told us the cat was 9 years old and named Rusty.

Then, off to dinner at the Sportsman’s Steak House, overlooking the harbor. We saw a nice sunset through breaks in the clouds and had a great meal.

2007 British Columbia

The Broughtons are our target for this year.

Hang'em High

Or how I spent my New Years Holiday.

What do you do when you have the head of a very large animal to hang "in the house"? Spousal distress is high, but the team of Bob and Larry was not to be distracted from the mission at hand. With ladders under us, and a determination to welcome the newest member of the family into the household, we tried all cardinal points of the compass to find the optimal location for the trophy. East wall, then West, then North and South; each was a candidate. We would climb, head in hand, and hold the proud mount while the females would stand back and move about studying the proposal from all angles before pronouncing their verdict. A decision was made and now when you enter the home of Pris and Larry. The prize of the mighty hunter greets you, its welcoming message left to the imagination of the guest.

Reid Harbor to Friday Harbor

Reid Harbor to Friday Harbor: 12.1 NM

With the boat due back by noon, we left at 9:30 in the rain for our trip back to Friday Harbor. It rained pretty much the entire way, though not too heavily. It was kind of windy and cold…an omen? Of course.

Just as we get ready to enter the harbor, Bob took a potty break and when he came back, the starboard engine throttle cable had cut loose again. He jumped into the engine room and got the engine into idle while I manned the helm.

After a quick (but very expensive) fuel up, we put Best of Times back into her slip and started to get all our stuff off the boat. We had to buy a Styrofoam container and ice for all the frozen salmon we had left over. A quick lunch at Herb’s (great burgers) and then off on our charter flight to Boeing Field, where we caught ground transportation to Redmond to see some friends.

It was a fabulous vacation, one that hopefully will linger in our minds as winter approaches and the days grow shorter on the East Coast.