Active Cove to Satellite Cove

Last night the stars were out, but by morning we were greeted with the customary overcast skies. Although open to some wind, affected by currents and open to swells from passing large ships, Active Cove was very pleasant. We lifted anchor and made our way across to Satellite Cove on Stuart Island. As the sun came out, the wind picked up and opposed the current so we traveled in a bit of disturbed seas that were handled well by Arctic Star.

Karen was expecting to see more cruisers in Prevost Harbor, but I think the count was only four when we arrived. And our planned anchorage in Satellite Cove was empty. We dropped anchor in the middle of the cove and got a firm set of the anchor right away.

Then it was time to launch the dinghy and travel over to the county dock. This gave us access to the county road which leads to the Turn Point Light House. A visit to the lighthouse has been on the list for a few years, but the walk from Reid Harbor, the adjacent and more popular anchorage, starts with a hike up 127 steps. From there it is a three mile hike. Our plan, starting at the county dock, is only a 1.5 mile walk.

The county road would be considered somewhat rustic for vehicles, but for walking it was luxurious. Dry, wide and relatively smooth, it made for a pleasant hike.

"The" county road

Along the way we spotted a Cessna 172, with many ominous DANGER AIRCRAFT NO TRESPASSING signs. Of course, being pilots, we were intrigued. Turns out some of the residents have carved out a grass strip through the trees.

Airport carved out among the trees

One of the locals having lunch

The walk to the lighthouse is populated by deer, abandoned cars, a herd of dairy cattle, homes of some of the forty residents of the island and beautiful views overlooking Turn Point. In fact, we found one overlook we liked so well we noted its latitude and longitude so we may return with a picnic lunch in the future.

Lunch spot

The walk is flanked by a stately forest

The lighthouse is active although unmanned and automated. The original lighthouse caretaker’s house, barn and other structures have been restored and it was fun to peek in the windows. The views from the front porch must have been a fair exchange for the isolation of the assignment.

Karen hangs on to the lighthouse

The lighthouse caretaker's house

The view from the front porch of the caretaker's house

Blacktail deer grazing on the front "lawn"

Karen takes a break of the front porch before we head back

With most of the walk back being downhill, the time passed quickly. Along the way we crossed the path of a herd of wild goats. They were more skittish than the native deer. Karen then tried to call the dairy cows over to see her, but her MOO seemed unconvincing to the bovines that were more interested in munching the green stuff and attending to their calves.

"We are not amused"

Back on the boat it was time for me to make my traditional pot of chili. We pack it in multiple containers and it becomes our “easy” microwave meal when more elaborate culinary undertakings are not of interest.

Small duck at sunset

After our hike and kitchen work, we both collapsed into bed not long after sunset.

Bellingham to Active Cove, Patos Island, USA

As expected, we awoke to cloudy skies and rain showers. Those rain showers that only start when you leave the boat and promptly stop when you back inside. The first mission of the day was to return the rental car. Chara, from our charter company, Northwest Explorations arrived promptly at the designed time. That was 8AM, which meant Karen was still asleep. I felt guilty that Chara was being so kind as to follow me to the airport and give me a ride back to the marina on her “day off”.  My guilt was mitigated when she told me there were two of us utilizing her taxi service. Our departure from Bellingham was uneventful; always nice when you’re on a new boat. Although very similar to Discovery, which we have spent the last two seasons chartering, our boat this year, Arctic Star is nonetheless different. It’s a much newer version of a Grand Banks 46. Having spent the first part of its life “down south” things like an air conditioner and tinted windows signal there will be a transition period for this boat to the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Some of the transition has begun with the installation of diesel hot water heat. A must have in these climes.

I think the biggest change for this boat will be going from private ownership to life in a charter fleet. The owner did a shakedown cruise and some items have been addressed and some deferred and some yet undiscovered. Coming from Discovery, which has many years in a charter fleet and had evolved into the consummate charter vessel, Arctic Star still has some metamorphosis to do.

Not all mechanical issues have yet surfaced. We discovered that the forward bilge pump wants to run continuously when left to its own devices. The port stabilizers fin is content to do nothing, leaving its brethren on the starboard side to do all the work. While problems like those may sound major to the uninitiated, they are not unexpected on a “real world” shakedown cruise. Other items that seem trivial can have a great impact on life aboard. For example, this boat must have thirty occasional throw pillows; leaving very little room for the crew and their gear. We have exiled most of ne’er-do-well soft stowaways to the forward berth. Since Karen and I are the only crew, that will do for a two week solution. If we have another couple on board we will all be rearranging the pillows constantly looking for a place to sit or sleep.

So it goes in the life of a charter. We’re making a list for the new owners of things that don’t work and things that will make the stay aboard more pleasant for future charters, of which we count ourselves.

Back to our journey. As we progress out of Bellingham Bay the once foreboding clouds retreated giving way to a glorious day of sun. With unexpected but welcomed weather, we leisurely made our way to Patos Island. A small distinctly shaped island near the U.S. and Canadian border. Karen was worried that we would find the only two mooring balls in Active Cove taken, given that it was the beginning of the weekend. While there were two boats in the Cove when we arrived, neither had opted for either of the mooring balls. So we took the one in deeper water given that a minus two foot tide was predicted for today.

Active Cove, panorama view

After hooking up and settling in, we launched the dinghy and went exploring on the island.

Pebble beach at the end of Active Cove

Our goal was to visit the historic lighthouse at the north end of the island. It was an easy hike with wide and flat trails and the last 600 yards on a paved sidewalk, a remnant of the days when the station was manned by the Coast Guard.

Lighthouse on Patos Island

Karen stands at the northern most part of the U.S. in the San Juan islands

Survey marker from the Boundry Commission, the U.S.-Canadian border is just north of here in the water

Dinner was simple and after sunset, around 9:15, we fell into bed for a well deserved rest.

Laura Visits the Ponies

It was a beautiful Saturday. Cool yet sunny, not a drop of rain in sight. I had been searching for interesting things to do with Mom, and I came across the Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines in Pottstown, PA. This non-profit organization, founded in 1888, cares for elderly and abused horses. Knowing that Mom grew up on a ranch in Montana and rode horses to school, Bob and I thought a trip to Ryerss might be entertaining for her.

Mom was in great spirits when we picked her up after lunch. I made her bring along an old pair of shoes, knowing that we might be traipsing in muddy areas. She was so curious about why she had to bring those shoes along. We told her we were going somewhere new that was a surprise. She couldn't wait to learn where we were going!

After a nice drive through the countryside, punctuated by commentary from Laura about how pretty and green everything was, we arrived at Ryerss Farm. There were numerous pastures and many horses were plainly in view. As we drove down the winding lane to the main barn, Mom kept saying "Wow!".

Not really knowing what to expect, we got out of the car and entered the barn. Some of the 80+ horses were in their stalls, awaiting some fancy "footwork" by the farrier.

As soon as the horses saw visitors, they started to stick their heads out looking for treats. Mom had absolutely no fear of the horses, knowing exactly how to "pet" them and what to say. She was certainly in her element.

One of the volunteers spent a lot of time with us, walking us out to a nearby paddock and calling over a bunch of horses, introducing each horse and giving us each one's "backstory".

He gave Mom carrots and apples to feed the horses, so she made a lot of equine friends. She was so excited -- she held my hand the whole time but definitely determined where we went (a polite way of saying she was actually dragging me from place to place, she was so excited) and which horses were to get the most attention. She was amazed the horses were so old and yet in such good shape. Each one received detailed scrutiny and commentary. I wasn't sure how much she'd enjoy this trip, but it was a clear winner.

After about an hour on her feet walking on uneven pasture land, she started to get a little tired, so we decided to leave. The most rewarding thing? She looked at us and said "That made me feel young."  I guess you can't ask for higher praise than that!

Enjoy the photos and be sure to visit the link to Ryerss Farm if you want to learn more about the organization and the residents. http://www.ryerss.com/index.htm

Joe Cove to Waddington Bay

Joe Cove turned out to be a nice little anchorage. Our neighbors were gone when I awoke at 7:15 and we hung around till almost eleven before we weighed anchor for a short hop over to Waddington Bay.

During our travels we weaved our way around many small islands and through little passages to get to the entrance to Waddington Bay. That reflects the character of the Broughton Archipelago. It’s peppered with innumerable islands, tree covered to the waterline, steep and falling right into the water. That makes for picturesque travels but not many spots to anchor.   

So Waddington Bay is welcomed. It’s large, well protected and has many nooks and crannies to explore. We arrived shortly after noon expecting to see some boats already anchored. But we had the Bay to ourselves. So off we went in the dinghy to determine what areas would be best to explore in the kayaks at low tide.  

It wasn’t till we had the kayaks in the water and were climbing in, that one sailboat made its way into Waddington Bay. It was indeed a great place to explore with the kayaks. Karen was able to find some starfish (now properly known as sea stars, since they are not technically fish). I spotted a crab at the waters edge, a rare sight. But the most exciting was a drying passage loaded with Geoducks. The bi-valves spout jets of water into the air making it seems like you’re at the grand fountain at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.  

 Before returning to Discovery, we paddled over to the sailboat to check it out. It was a classic hull but was painted a bright green with a yellow waterline stripe; unusual, but very attractive. We struck up a conversation with the crew, Stephen and Elsie Hulsizer. They left Philadelphia in the seventies and sailed to Seattle via Boston and have made Seattle their home ever since. It turns out that Elsie is the author of Voyages to Windward, a book about sailings on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The book, it turns out, was one I gave Karen for Christmas last year. We had a pleasant chat with Stephen and Elsie and their cat Jigger, before paddling back to Discovery to settle in for a quite night in Waddington Bay.

Little Nimmo Bay to Greenway Sound

We awoke in Little Nimmo Bay to big gusty SE winds and intermittent rain. Our nice calm bay now had some wavelets and even a few mini-white caps. The weather was about a 180 from the day before, something to be expected up here.

We had breakfast and waited for the helicopters from the resort to depart. One even flew low by the boat and the passengers waved.

As previously planned, we weighed anchor (and BOY was it dirty – by the time I got it washed down I was covered in mud) and then headed to the small dock in front of the lodge. It was really blowing and I wondered how we would get in there safely. Fenders out and lines at the ready, Bob greased the boat into the dock perfectly, and Nimmo Bay Resort’s owner (Craig Murphy) and another man were there to take our lines. As soon as we were secure, we were handed a hose with precious clean water to fill our tanks.

Once done, Craig boarded, took a look around and chatted with us a while. He offered the dock to us for the night, given the winds, but we decided it was time to head on to Greenway Sound. We backtracked through the narrow and rock strewn entrance to the bay and headed off, having some chili for lunch along the way. 

We had winds and some rain, but nothing penetrated our snug little boat and on we went.  We were surprised when Sullivan Bay Marina appeared – it looked like Manhattan in this wilderness area. We did a quick “drive by” in the rain but kept on going. We had been having a challenge with pumping our holding tanks – and so we called the charter operator to get some trouble shooting advice. Told us to put some liquid laundry detergent down the head with the hope being that if the pump was working we’d see bubbles next time we tried to pump it out. The thought was that the holding tank warning lights were stuck “on” and that the macerator pump had been working per usual.

We had planned to anchor in the east end of Carter Passage in Greenway Sound, but when we went in to look around, the winds were howling and there was no protection from the SE. So we decided the better part of valor was to head for Greenway Sound Marina (a large, U-shaped totally floating marina – not connected to land at all) and tie up for the night.

Once again, Bob made a perfect docking approach and Tom Taylor, the owner of the marina, grabbed our lines and told us the winds had really been howling all day. We were one of 5 boats in total, as the season was well winding down.  Tom and his wife Ann were really welcoming, and though their restaurant had closed for the season, we were able to snag some leftover desserts (cheesecake for Bob and a Nanaimo bar for me). There was also great internet service and some goodies in their store. We had tested the “bubbles” only to know that the head was still not working, so it was time to call Brian at Northwest Explorations again.

He had Bob do some trouble shooting (to no avail), so a mechanic was to arrive here on Monday afternoon to fix the issue. We had delicious pork tenderloin and rice pilaf for dinner and took some time to relax. Greenway Sound Marina is up for sale, and we surely hope the new owners are as nice as Tom and his wife Ann. This is a truly lovely spot.

Monday dawned without the SE winds – the area became so calm vs. the day before! After doing laundry, dumping garbage, and buying some provisions, we launched the dinghy and went over to the dinghy dock at the base of the trail to Broughton Lake. This trail is managed by the BC parks service, and Tom had told us it was a great hike up to the lake. Bob had all his photo gear in his backpack, grabbed a walking stick and off we went. The trail was lovely and well-marked, but narrow and slippery in many places. We saw one super-huge Pacific slug, a tree frog and a snake, but no bears. That was fine with me. We took some nice photos at the lake, and started to walk to the next lake along “corduroy” logging roads, but they were so slick we were afraid of injury and turned back. We were gone about 3 hours total. The rainforest is so dense, it’s like you are in a cathedral of trees. The moss formations are amazing.  

Karen and Bob at the Head of the Logging Trail (The nice bear took the picture)

  

Nice Rainforest Trail

The mechanic wasn’t able to make it (long story), so Brian, our charter company owner, arranged to be here Tuesday morning via float plane from Campbell River to address the head issue. We decided to just relax and have a peaceful night.

Tuesday dawns to…FOG. We knew Brian’s plane would likely be late, so we took it easy and got a tour of another boat docked at Greenway, a 54’ Bracewell Pacesetter. Very nice boat, with a “dinghy garage” so the dinghy is actually stored inside what would normally be the lazarette area in the stern of the boat. Three staterooms and even an exercise bike on the flybridge. What fun!!

We saw the resident blue heron as well as a very inquisitive seal that kept eyeing us as we sat on the bench at the end of the U-shaped dock and looked out over the water, awaiting the sound of a seaplane’s engine.

11:15 – Brian’s plane arrives!! Apparently they had to work hard to find a way into Greenway due to the fog, they actually touched down on the water near Minstrel Island and waited an hour for the fog to dissipate. Boy, were we happy to see him!

 To the Rescue

While Bob and Brian worked on the (smelly) head, I sat outside in the sun a while reading and then went over to chat with Ann at the marina office. We had a nice chat, but then the boys arrived looking glum and using Tom’s phone to call for more “head” advice.

Brian (a.k.a. Dr. Poop hard at work)

To make a long story short, about 2pm they found the issue – the “culprit” was the brass thru-fitting on the standpipe and vent pipe – it was corroded. There were several holes in each pipe. So the pump sucked in air instead of drawing from the holding tank. Bob and Brian gingerly cleaned it (it was fragile) and sealed the holes with sealant and self-fusing repair tape…and after cleaning out the bilge areas to clear out any remaining detritus, we were up and running again. Yea!

Tom helped Brian get a flight out, and Ken Smith, the owner of the 54’ Pacesetter we had toured earlier in the morning, asked us if we wanted to go fishing. He had been awaiting guests from Seattle via floatplane but the fog kept them away. We had planned to leave for Laura Cove, but the idea of going out fishing (in his 22’ fishing boat) was too good to pass up. We left around 5pm and had a blast, setting crab pots and fishing, though we only caught four small rockfish that we tossed back. We returned to Greenway Sound Marina about 8:30 as it was getting dark, and I bought another yummy Nanaimo Bar from Tom before heading to Discovery for the night.