Haida Gwaii

Keenly aware of the perils of Hecate Strait,  deemed to be Canada's most dangerous water with shallow depths, shoaling, rapidly changing conditions and a nasty temper  we staged for our ten-hour crossing at and waited for a weather window.  

After days of gale force conditions, a window opened and we left at dawn.  

Eight hours into the crossing the weather got spiteful but we safely limped into Thurston Harbour where we were pinned down by gale force winds for five days with little company but a family of mergansers and 

How many babies are there?

 an army of racoons who came at each low tide to feast.   

We found no crab, no prawns and no fish but did find there  was an unusual dwelling.

The carefully constructed rock foundation apparently did not include tie downs.  Although unverified, we believe that the upset was caused by one of Haida Gwaii's many earthquakes.  On August 22, 1949, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck Haida Gwaii and is the worst quake in Canadian recorded history.  

After being pinned down for four days, we got a weather window for the seven hour trip to Sandspit which is in Skidegate Inlet where we planned to transit Skidegate Channel which links the Pacific Ocean to Hecate Strait.  

This is not a challenge to be taken lightly with the winding narrow fairways shallow depths and strong currents.   Our first venture in the fishing boat aborted at the East Narrows with depths less than two feet.

Crabbing seemed a better plan so we set four traps.

Four traps was a bit yielding about 100 crab. With a possession limit of 24 that is TOO much crab.  

We took the biggest and released the rest.

And then back to our task at hand - getting through Skidegate Channel.  It is very difficult to time slack water to transit two sets of rapids.  Being resourceful and depending on local knowledge, we tagged along with the guided fishing trips and made it through safely.

We explored possible anchorages for the big boat, set prawn traps and fished.  That day the seas were rough, the fish were nowhere and we got three prawns in eight traps.  Not a good day except for the Harlequin ducks sighting.

On our next trip through the channel, we did catch two reasonable salmon - 19lbs and 13 lbs.  

The cranky Captain and the whiny First Mate made a command decision  to wait for a weather window and exit Haida Gwaii.  It is beautiful but overwhelming.  I have nothing but respect for the Haida people who are exemplary mariners.  At the first weather window we headed back to the Great Bear Rain Forest.

 

Kudos to our first guests, Pete and Linda who rerouted their trip to Prince Rupert and caught a small ferry to Hartley Bay where we picked them up and rebooted our trip.  

Fast Forward

A strange quirk of physics teaches us a life lesson as we age.  When I was eight, it was forever to my next birthday.  Now it is but a moment. 

I got caught in such a time warp  last year.  Hence,  the "Fast Forward" blog to catch up while in Gillen Harbour waiting for a weather window to our next  great adventure.

LAST SUMMER

Great Fishing

 

Beautiful pair of  sea wolves in Higgins Passage

ITALY

 Flight to Rome with a points upgrade to Business Class

ROME

Found Italy over run by tourists in October

 

Romulus and Remus, twins, mythologically raised by wolves are credited with naming Rome

Sculpture and  art in every nook.

SIENA

We loved Siena the rival of Florence during the Renassiance

Siena has 17 contrade (neighborhoods) each with their own distinct identity, flag, name and traditions.  The rivalry culminates in the Palacio di Siena which is a 90 second horse race which celebrates the best of the best.

Siena's magnificent cathedral

The stunning interior of Siena's cathedral

FLORENCE

A Tuscan Beauty 

Florence Duomo which is one of the 10 largest churches in the world

VENICE

No Italy trip would be complete without Venice

TRIESTE

Trieste on the border with Croatia is enchanting and reflective of Vienna

PADUA

The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua is considered the best of Giotti's works and was built to atone for usury by Enrico of Padova

GILLEN HARBOUR

Which brings us full circle to patiently waiting for a weather window to cross Hecate Strait to Hiada Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands)

Baby Shower in Mexico

A Whale Whisper Onboard

 Family

First, we welcomed our family, Deb and Ralph, to the boat.  They are experienced visitors to the Great Bear Rainforest and we always enjoy the time together.  They came a little earlier than usual and found that the fish were smaller and more difficult to find.  

But all went well until....

After absconding with Ralph's very big salmon, he and five of his friends surround the boat hopefully waiting! Not a chance!!!

As is traditional, we enjoyed our crab and salad dinner!

Friends

Our next guests were our friends from Chicago Stacy and George.  It was a whirlwind, first trip to the Great Bear Rainforest and a unique experience for Chicagoans.

The first day at Purple Bluff was wonderful  They were hearty souls, enjoying salmon fishing and the scenery.

Eagle nests are always impressive but this one particularly so.  Like all eagle nests, it is builtwith an eye toward predators.  Nests are about 5 feet wide, several feet deep and can weigh up to 3 tons.  Eagles sit in their nest and watch carefully for discarded scrap fish to feed their young.  It is spectacular to have them sweep down a few feet behind the boat and snatch up lunch for the kids.

Although new to downrigger fishing, they proved to be adept learners catching 3 Chinook salmon and a coho.  The coho are very late this year.

The Whale Whisperer

When the whales heard their Puerto Vallarta friend, Stacy, was coming to their Northern grounds, they greeted her (and us) with a spectacular show.  She knows them well and they have a unique bond.  But such a show we did not expect.

The announcement of their presence was a humpback-shaped double blow letting us know that we were watching at least two whales and one was a calf.  We came to a stop at a respectful and safe distance.

Whale calves, at birth, are about 18 feet long and weigh nearly 100 lbs.  They drink blubber milk twice a dayeach.  Each feeding is about 50 gallons and they gain up to 100 lbs a day.  At a few months they start eating "adult food" such as bait fish and krill.  This cow and calf appear to be lunge feeding where they stun their prey to strain through the baleen (toothlike structures) in the mouth.

The cow appears to have a mouthful of bait fish that she has scooped and is straining.  Note her pink tongue which is the size of a small car and fits in a mouth that is 10 feet wide.

Here she goes again stunning the bait fish by lunging backward.  Note the barnacles on her rostrum (knobby head bumps).

Adult whales weigh up to 40 tons and have flukes as much as 18 feet across.  This calf had flukes of about 7 feet.  The calf will gain up to 100 lbs per day and will, as an adult, be 55 feet long.  The calf will stay with its mother for about a year and will quit growing after 10 years.  Life expectacy is up to 90 years.

What a treat for all of us!

Thank you, Stacy, for your whale whispering talents.  Sorry, George, we didn't even get a photo of your two halibut...

But we did have a nice crab dinner...

Traditional crab dinner!

Once again we are reminded of our blessings, one of which is sharing those blessings to include our time in the Great Bear Rainforest.

Beautiful Nova Scotia

People flock to Puerto Vallarta to escape cold or dreary winters in the north.   Playing Bridge has given us the gift of friends from all over the world.

A special gift is our Canadian friends, to include a lovely woman, JoAnne. Her family has lived in the Halifax area since 1750.  I was fortunate to be invited as her guest.  Who could ask for a more knowledgeable tour guide?  JoAnne is a wonderful hostess.  Please join us.

JoAnne and a pink container ship in Halifax Harbour

The sunrise from JoAnne's condo

A lovely dinner hosted by our dear friend, David!

Tidal bore in the Bay of Fundy

Nova Scotia has many galleries and talented artists

Our trip on the iconic and startlingly beautiful Cabot Trail  

Spectacular Mountain Vista on Cape Breton

The Seas of Cape Breton from the Cabot Trail

The rugged coast of Cape Breton

Lobster and Digby scallops are the best

No trip to Nova Scotia would be complete without a trip to Peggy's Cove with its iconic lighthouse

Peggy's Cove Harbour 

At the age of 70 in 1977, William deGarte, began carving a 30 metre granite relief with 30 figures.  The artist featured Work, Bounty and Grace in the work of art.  deGarte worked on it for six years and the work was finished following his death.

And a last evening at JoAnne's lovely home following a visit to a flower farm.

Meanwhile on the other North American Coast, Doug returned to a broken pipe that flooded, among other areas, my yarn stash.  Gallently, he saved all of my yarn and most of my patterns while I ate lobster and scallops and enjoyed my trip.  

You are a hero, Doug!

How Time Flies

 This morning Doug casually ask when I had last done a blog.   I promptly responded with my go to "I have no idea".  A little research led me to the answer - nearly six months ago.  Much has happened and much fun was had.  Take the quick tour...

At Thanksgiving we made a quick trip to Phoenix and on to San Francisco visit with friends.  My apologies to Jim and Masa for not taking a single photo of our time together.  I guess Mila just stole the show.  We stayed with the Mossadeghi family and were greeted by Mila in a sweater I knitted several years ago.  The sleeves were short and buttons a stretch but a quick trip to the yarn store and time remedied that problem.

Pattern and yarnselected by Mila. Knit by Aunt Jan.

Knitting with my two dear friends, Kathryn and Kathryn at our twicey-early gathering

Dan Patrick with our son-in-law, Ryan, sending greetings to Doug in Mexico!

Shari, Ryan, Jude and Taryn spent a month in Mexico.  Great fun!

Jude with a new Kiwi Project (Nana and Papa's Christmas gift)

I never imagined I had a green thumb, but these are the orchids that I got to rebloom this winter!

Meanwhile Ehryanna is polar bearing it in Manson where she practices writing her name in the sand!

Part way through the visit, we were joined by Ron, Tammy, Eleanor and Tammy's mama, Joni.  The three cousins met in real time for their first visit.  

One of life's greatest gifts is the love of a family.  We are gifted!

Mother and Daughter Pool Time!

Fishy kisses from Daddy

Taryn chose the pattern and Nana knit the hat!  From the National Park Collection - The Virgin Islands.

And Annalee meets her Arizona cousins who just got home from Mexico.  Very much fun!

And disaster strikes, Doug drops Jan off to fly to Halifax but when he returns to the boat, a pipe on the bridge had burst and dumped 230 gallons of water into the salon.  So, while Jan ate lobster and scallops, Doug heroically drives and saves the yarn stash.  What a man!