Cruising British Columbia
Volume III: Rebecca Spit Onward
While Rikki-tikki was three nights at Rebecca Spit, we invited Johnie & Bev over for dinner. As we were sitting around the table, this teeny-weeny, odd-looking boat motored into the harbor. Basically, in a plywood box with a mast, this couple was out there doing it (cruising that is)! Over the fifteen years we were building, we often heard questions like, "How much does it cost to build a boat? How much does it cost to cruise? How can you afford to retire and go cruising?" Looking at little Teeweni here, not much! Then there were those, somewhat wiser folks, who asked, "Wouldn't you have more time on the water if you didn't make it so fancy?" Yes! Turns out the man who built this boat is a naval architect?! His dinghy was another plywood box tipped up and attached to Teeweni's port side. The boarding ladder on the bow was something we'd never seen. One has to admire their adventurousness. He did admit that the boat doesn't go to weather very well. In BC, who cares?
The fleet had reservations at the Heriot Bay Marina around the corner and weighed anchor. We took Darzee over and joined them for dinner on Juniata the last night, getting back to Rikki-tikki just as it began to rain again. Earlier in the day, we'd dinghied into the marina for groceries at the nice store up the hill (always a hill!), and got a load of laundry done at the cute Heriot Bay Inn. An artistic proprietor has painted nearly everything in sight. Even their large propane tanks have bracken fern decoration applied using sagey green spray paints over the fronds as stencils.
We asked about internet access and, surprisingly, they had free wireless! As we waited for our laundry, we picked up some email. Gerta, Clark and I strolled along the roadside picking fresh blackberries before we went back to our boats. Next morning, Rikki-tikki himself was brought into the tiny fuel dock behind the ferry landing, where he backed into place. While Clark filled the tanks, I logged onto the wireless again and was able to accomplish a few things online during that short timespan. Dave was amazed that access was free and we didn't have to have a subscription of some kind. I think we'll be going back on our way south just for the very nice grocery store and the free internet!
Valhalla returned to Campbell River to pick up Wes and Patti, and would meet up with us in a few days. So with Juniata leading the way, Millennium Dragon and Rikki-tikki tagging along, we made our way through a silvery seascape up Sutil Channel toward Von Donop Inlet. The Heriot Bay ferry passing was the only break in the glistening, monochromatic scene.
Clark and I had never seen water this placid since installing our autopilot and so had been unable to calibrate the unit. We steered Rikki-tikki-tavi by hand all the way here from San Francisco! We decided to take advantage of the flat calm and drive the required 400-degree circles– two of them in succession. The computer in the autopilot compares the data it collects while you are executing the maneuvers. If everything matches up, it sets the compass and you are ready to steer by just pushing little buttons on its remote. Wow. It worked the first time! We let it steer for a half-mile, then took to dodging flotsam by hand again.
Von Donop was overcast, but quiet and scenic. Millions of moon jellies wafted by, pulsating through the water. We all hopped into our respective dinghies and "beached" them at the head of three trails leading to Squirrel Cove on the other side of Cortes Island. We took the short one in the middle to the head of the drying lagoon. The group assembled once again for evening cocktails and potluck dinner. Marcia said this was what they did each evening all summer long!
It rained overnight, leaving great piles of cumulus clouds and sun for our trip around the northern tip of Cortes Island, down Lewis Channel, under the south end of West Redonda, to Roscoe Bay. Marcia had timed our arrival to make sure there was enough water over the drying bar midway down the entrance. Rikki-tikki was left to lead as Juniata put down a prawn trap outside in Waddington Channel. We decided on a shore-tie, Juniata and Milly D anchored, tied together, in the middle of the lovely, protected bay.
Dave was at Rikki-tikki before we finished breakfast, anxious to check his prawn trap and show
Clark how to catch fish. He wanted to take Darzee with his more powerful outboard. I wanted to go along– photo-op and all (and I like fishing!). Saying, "There's really not room for three in the boat", Dave relented. I enjoyed taking photos as Dave set up his fishfinder, baited his hook, had Clark set Darzee over the correct depth, and dropped the line. As soon as it reached the bottom, he had a fish! It was a bright orange red snapper, and since you can only keep one, the fishing was over in five minutes flat.
Clark motored over to the trap float and Dave hauled up 300 feet of poly rope. That took some time! We were excited to see the net box, baited with a punctured can of cat food, when it reached the surface carrying a respectable number of prawns and some little crustaceans Dave called squat lobsters. The had short bodies and two long, skinny arms with pincers. We threw the little squats back, but kept the forty prawns.
Here is a close-up of one of the squat lobsters. Cute, aren't they? Dave baited the trap again and dropped it overboard. Upon returning to Rikki-tikki, he showed us how to clean the fish, which he gave to us for lunch, and the prawns, which Marcia would cook for appetizers later.
The water in Roscoe Bay is quite warm and filled even more thickly than Von Donop with moon jellies. We installed an Offshore Marine Labs watermaker on Rikki-tikki-tavi while he was still under construction. Up until now, the water he'd been sitting in had not been ideal for the initial flush and start-up procedure. Now, we had some time and clean water. While Clark worked on getting it started for the first time, I hung out in Darzee under the wing, watching for water output and trying to photograph jellyfish. The result is fairly pathetic, but perhaps you get some idea of how prolific they were.
Here is our first taste of reverse-osmosis water from the watermaker! I took the photo with this background because there is a very free-flowing freshwater spring just at the point to the right of the glass. Someone has attached a hose far above at the source and you can even drive your "big boat" right up to it at the right tide and fill your tanks! The water is clear, cold and delicious.
The next morning, on a men-only excursion out to the channel, Dave caught another red snapper– fatter than the first! He knows how to catch fish and loves every minute of the hunt.
Later, we took the short, well-worn trail to large Black Lake where the swimming is very accessible off nice flat rocks, though rather slippery ones. The water is comfortably tolerable and we all had a nice rinse. Barry spent the afternoon snorkelling under Milly D to replace zincs and checking damage to Juniata's keel where Dave and Marcia tangled with a rock earlier in the summer. That evening, it was our turn to host cocktails and dinner aboard Rikki-tikki.
Roscoe Bay has pretty much everything one could want; a secure anchorage protected from all weather, scenic surroundings, fishing out in the channel, a swimming lake nearby, and fresh water from a hose! We heard of folks who spend all summer here and of one fellow who spends four months here, four months in Opua, New Zealand– his two favorite places in the world! It takes months for his Pacific Ocean crossings though. We wouldn't mind paying Roscoe Bay an extended visit, but the Fleet is headed for Prideaux Haven, so untie that shoreline! (Rikki-tikki will be back.)
The fleet had reservations at the Heriot Bay Marina around the corner and weighed anchor. We took Darzee over and joined them for dinner on Juniata the last night, getting back to Rikki-tikki just as it began to rain again. Earlier in the day, we'd dinghied into the marina for groceries at the nice store up the hill (always a hill!), and got a load of laundry done at the cute Heriot Bay Inn. An artistic proprietor has painted nearly everything in sight. Even their large propane tanks have bracken fern decoration applied using sagey green spray paints over the fronds as stencils.
We asked about internet access and, surprisingly, they had free wireless! As we waited for our laundry, we picked up some email. Gerta, Clark and I strolled along the roadside picking fresh blackberries before we went back to our boats. Next morning, Rikki-tikki himself was brought into the tiny fuel dock behind the ferry landing, where he backed into place. While Clark filled the tanks, I logged onto the wireless again and was able to accomplish a few things online during that short timespan. Dave was amazed that access was free and we didn't have to have a subscription of some kind. I think we'll be going back on our way south just for the very nice grocery store and the free internet!
Valhalla returned to Campbell River to pick up Wes and Patti, and would meet up with us in a few days. So with Juniata leading the way, Millennium Dragon and Rikki-tikki tagging along, we made our way through a silvery seascape up Sutil Channel toward Von Donop Inlet. The Heriot Bay ferry passing was the only break in the glistening, monochromatic scene.
Clark and I had never seen water this placid since installing our autopilot and so had been unable to calibrate the unit. We steered Rikki-tikki-tavi by hand all the way here from San Francisco! We decided to take advantage of the flat calm and drive the required 400-degree circles– two of them in succession. The computer in the autopilot compares the data it collects while you are executing the maneuvers. If everything matches up, it sets the compass and you are ready to steer by just pushing little buttons on its remote. Wow. It worked the first time! We let it steer for a half-mile, then took to dodging flotsam by hand again.
Von Donop was overcast, but quiet and scenic. Millions of moon jellies wafted by, pulsating through the water. We all hopped into our respective dinghies and "beached" them at the head of three trails leading to Squirrel Cove on the other side of Cortes Island. We took the short one in the middle to the head of the drying lagoon. The group assembled once again for evening cocktails and potluck dinner. Marcia said this was what they did each evening all summer long!
It rained overnight, leaving great piles of cumulus clouds and sun for our trip around the northern tip of Cortes Island, down Lewis Channel, under the south end of West Redonda, to Roscoe Bay. Marcia had timed our arrival to make sure there was enough water over the drying bar midway down the entrance. Rikki-tikki was left to lead as Juniata put down a prawn trap outside in Waddington Channel. We decided on a shore-tie, Juniata and Milly D anchored, tied together, in the middle of the lovely, protected bay.
Dave was at Rikki-tikki before we finished breakfast, anxious to check his prawn trap and show 
Clark how to catch fish. He wanted to take Darzee with his more powerful outboard. I wanted to go along– photo-op and all (and I like fishing!). Saying, "There's really not room for three in the boat", Dave relented. I enjoyed taking photos as Dave set up his fishfinder, baited his hook, had Clark set Darzee over the correct depth, and dropped the line. As soon as it reached the bottom, he had a fish! It was a bright orange red snapper, and since you can only keep one, the fishing was over in five minutes flat.
Clark motored over to the trap float and Dave hauled up 300 feet of poly rope. That took some time! We were excited to see the net box, baited with a punctured can of cat food, when it reached the surface carrying a respectable number of prawns and some little crustaceans Dave called squat lobsters. The had short bodies and two long, skinny arms with pincers. We threw the little squats back, but kept the forty prawns.
Here is a close-up of one of the squat lobsters. Cute, aren't they? Dave baited the trap again and dropped it overboard. Upon returning to Rikki-tikki, he showed us how to clean the fish, which he gave to us for lunch, and the prawns, which Marcia would cook for appetizers later.
The water in Roscoe Bay is quite warm and filled even more thickly than Von Donop with moon jellies. We installed an Offshore Marine Labs watermaker on Rikki-tikki-tavi while he was still under construction. Up until now, the water he'd been sitting in had not been ideal for the initial flush and start-up procedure. Now, we had some time and clean water. While Clark worked on getting it started for the first time, I hung out in Darzee under the wing, watching for water output and trying to photograph jellyfish. The result is fairly pathetic, but perhaps you get some idea of how prolific they were.
Here is our first taste of reverse-osmosis water from the watermaker! I took the photo with this background because there is a very free-flowing freshwater spring just at the point to the right of the glass. Someone has attached a hose far above at the source and you can even drive your "big boat" right up to it at the right tide and fill your tanks! The water is clear, cold and delicious.
The next morning, on a men-only excursion out to the channel, Dave caught another red snapper– fatter than the first! He knows how to catch fish and loves every minute of the hunt.
Later, we took the short, well-worn trail to large Black Lake where the swimming is very accessible off nice flat rocks, though rather slippery ones. The water is comfortably tolerable and we all had a nice rinse. Barry spent the afternoon snorkelling under Milly D to replace zincs and checking damage to Juniata's keel where Dave and Marcia tangled with a rock earlier in the summer. That evening, it was our turn to host cocktails and dinner aboard Rikki-tikki.
Roscoe Bay has pretty much everything one could want; a secure anchorage protected from all weather, scenic surroundings, fishing out in the channel, a swimming lake nearby, and fresh water from a hose! We heard of folks who spend all summer here and of one fellow who spends four months here, four months in Opua, New Zealand– his two favorite places in the world! It takes months for his Pacific Ocean crossings though. We wouldn't mind paying Roscoe Bay an extended visit, but the Fleet is headed for Prideaux Haven, so untie that shoreline! (Rikki-tikki will be back.)
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