A DAY ON THE WATER #3.
Day 274 – There have been more days spent on the water than originally expected, so we’ve begun numbering them to keep them straight. We spent all day in a boat that delivers supplies to outpost locations where roads do not go.
We left from the port at Gold River, a 45-minute drive west and south from our campground at Strathcona Provincial Park. Departure time was scheduled to be 9 a.m. but they waited for the last two passengers to arrive, and we departed at 9:20. This boat was not open like the one we took for mail delivery out of Port Alberni. This boat was covered which kept the sun from baking us. Yes, we had sun – lots of it! A beautiful day. There were 25 passengers on board + a crew. The front of the boat housed a storage area for all the supplies they were delivering. The middle had a small kitchen where they were serving coffee, etc., and muffins in the morning. Beginning at 11:30 a.m. they served Minestrone or Chili and Turkey, Roast Beef, Ham, or Veggie sandwiches and cookies. This was also the dinner offering. The rear ½ of the boat housed the passengers, the life boat, and life vests. There was also some indoor seating near the kitchen.
Gold River’s port was busy with logging activities. Some fishing boats were docked there. It was fascinating to watch a little boat push huge logs around in the water, lining them up for when the bigger boats take them away. Several seaplane exploratory trips left from this dock. The crew on board and at the dock were wonderful and we were sent away on our trip in a blast of good luck bubbles.
We traveled the Muchalat Inlet west towards the Ocean through rough terrain where there were no homes. There had been some logging, but for the most part it was heavily forested with rocky (and sometimes limestone) cliffs. We had long stops at buildings floating on the water at salmon farming and logging companies. We delivered supplies, filled them up with diesel fuel, took their trash and returned their empty trash bins, took cases of empty large water containers and left new ones full of drinking water, took their empty propane containers, filled, and returned them, and off we went. The crews lived in the floating buildings. There were no buildings on shore. This was a different kind of experience from the Port Alberni tour where we visited small villages where people lived.
We reached the end of the Muchalat Inlet when the channel opened up to several islands, large and small. We chugged along heading north into Tupana Inlet. Our next stop was at a remote fishing lodge on the water at Cougar Creek. There were four buildings that housed accommodations for tourists. The only way to get there was by boat or seaplane. It looked like a wonderful way to spend a vacation. We delivered food and supplies. There were also several floating cabins.
We continued on around the Bligh Islands and into Nootka Sound. This was Native American territory. We got pictures of Friendly Cove’s lighthouse, the small Indian town of Yuquot where there was another fishing lodge and a few homes. Nootka Sound was the way to the open Ocean. The wind had picked up (it does that in the afternoon) and there were some small swells – we’re sure at times it’s rough seas here. About the fishing here, from a travel brochure: “Nootka Sound offers great fishing for Salmon and bottomfish, including Halibut, Cod, and Red Snapper. Fishing for salmon is best in July, August, and September, and April to September for halibut, rockfish, and snapper. The Nootka Sound area has seven wild salmon rivers. Halibut are plentiful and generally range from 15 to 50 pounds, although halibut in the 175-pound range have been caught in the area.” Hmmm…. Could this be a “fishy” story?
We turned around and headed east in the Zuctarte Channel traveling by Resolution Cove where we were given a little history lesson about his area. A quote from a brochure follows at the end of this post. We made two more stops at salmon farms, dropping off supplies much like the previous stops. What a different way to live – in a floating building in the middle of nowhere taking care of a salmon farm or logging operation. We wondered if the crew worked like 3 weeks on and 1 week off when they went back to wherever home was; or if they lived there permanently. We headed back on the Muchalat Inlet to the dock at Gold River.
We returned to the dock at almost 7 p.m. Much quieter than this morning, everyone had gone home for the day. We had traveled a long distance, met some interesting people onboard, and got a look at a completely different kind of life. This boat travels this route, and to other similar destinations when needed, once per week.
We returned to the kitties and the RV. We missed them. Tomorrow we’ll stay home with them all day. The high today was 73 degrees, breezy and sunny with some clouds. A gorgeous day for a boat ride.
From Rediscover Historic Nootka Sound, a brochure from the villages of Gold River & Zeballos: “History. In July 1776, aboard the ship Resolution, Captain James Cook, R.N., sailed from England on his third and last voyage of exploration around the world. On March 29, 1778 he entered what is now known as Nootka Sound and anchored in the vicinity of Bligh Island. Two days later, Cook landed at Friendly Cove where he claimed the surrounding territory for Great Britain. He became the first European to set foot on the shores of what is now known as British Columbia Canada.
During his stay, Cook cut new spars for his ships from the tall trees found growing there and became the first European to use British Columbia’s forest resource. Ten years later, in 1788, the vessel “Northwest America” was built from local timber at Yuquot for the maritime fur trade by the American, Captain John Meares. Meares instructed his crew, “when in port, carpenters shall cut spars and saw planks, which bear a good price in China.” These two events saw the beginning of the forest industry in the Province.
Friendly Cove’s official name is Yuquot, derived from the words yuk-witte, wind, and aht, people of the village. Yuquot is the ancestral summer village of Chief Maquinna and the Mowachaht people. Mowachaht means ‘people of the deer’, as deer, mowach, were plentiful in their domain. When Cook arrived, the Mowachahts numbered several thousand. They were the greatest whaling people in North America at the time.
Cook successfully traded sea otter skins and established a fur trade which brought people of the Northwest coast of North America into extensive contact with Europeans. In June 1789, Spain took possession of Nootka Sound and established a settlement named Nootka at Friendly Cove. The subsequent capture of British Vessels almost led to war, which was avoided by the Nootka Convention in 1790. Captain Vancouver representing Great Britain, and Captain Quadra, representing Spain, met at what is now Tahsis in 1792 to supervise the return of the area to British rule. Nootka, both during the occupation of Spaniards and for many years afterwards, was the most important sea port north of Mexico.”