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It’s funny that I would consider this place to be home but I strangely did. I was glad to get back to a familiar place, even though the water in the marina seems to be always shockingly atrocious. That is another subject that I won’t go into today. What was nice though now was that we were back on familiar ground and back in a familiar location. We didn’t have much time to sit back though as we had a trip planned to Tofino in just two days. We’ve seen Nootka Sound on the West side and now were going to see the south end. We had a couple days clean the boat and throw away “stuff” that we found ourselves not using. You know, it’s the usual stuff you do at the end of the cruising season. That meant old food and supplies that we knew we didn’t need were chucked. It even meant getting rid of our fairly new, but thoroughly salt rusted bikes that we brought through the Panama Canal, all the way north to Maine and then south to the Bahamas and then back again to the west coast to Victoria on top of Yacht Path. We even took them to Queen Charlottes and back this summer. Imagine those bikes strapped to the top of the boat all those miles and imagine all that salt spray. They were getting pretty corroded but still serviced us well. I hated to see them go but it would’ve cost us more money to restore them than they were worth. So they went to a very appreciative dock hand that snatched them up in a flash. MAINTENANCE AND CLEANING We were going to get some regular maintenance items done and finally address the problem of the batteries and power failures. We also were going to get the boat detailed, thoroughly washed and polished. We would have Van Isle clean and polish her inside and out, top to bottom. So, we had a couple days to go through everything and throw out the old worn stuff, non useful stuff, and get things put in their proper places and in good order so the detailing crew would have a clean slate to work with. It was mind cleansing to do all that. After being on the boat for several months and on the move constantly, things can get pretty dingy, dusty, and dull and things can get misplaced just through exhaustion sometimes. BAD BATTERIES, WAS A SIMPLE FIX, BUT COSTLY We soon found out that our electrical problem was indeed bad batteries and since they cost a small fortune the yard recommended going back into the US to Roche Harbor, checking in at customs and then coming right back checking back in through Canadian customs. This would save us a substantial sum on the cost of replacing the batteries. Van Isle marina has an excellent boat yard and we were totally confident in their ability to get the batteries in and the problem fixed while we were gone to Tofino. The marina also has a great staff that does a fantastic job cleaning and detailing the boat so we felt we were in good hands.
So off we went on their recommended side trip to Roche to check in with US Customs. This side excursion worked out well as it gave us an opportunity to see our friends the Fipps for lunch at Roche before they head home south for the winter months. The day we went to Roche Harbor it was a complete zoo. As we approached Roche Harbor and headed up to the customs dock there soon was a line up of about 10 boats behind us to do the same thing. Fortunately we got there just in time and were first in line. Once we checked in, there were no open spots to dock for lunch so we dropped anchor out in the harbor, got the dinghy down and headed in. It was great seeing Bev and Bernie again and to see all the new additions Roche Harbor is doing. They are building like crazy. I hope they don’t over do it and ruin the old charm. They need to be careful as this place is almost bursting at the seams. And just that fast, we
headed back towards Sidney and were back in Van Isle Marina that very
afternoon. We checked into customs and were ready to leave the next day
for Tofino. This was a big day for me as Larry had me take the boat to
Roche, dock it at customs, anchor it, and then take it back to Van Isle,
dock at the customs dock and then dock again in our slip. Hooray, I
finally did it! All went well but only with clear instructions from Larry
through the headsets. I’m not sure if it would have fared as well without
his voice in my ear but I was pretty pleased about the day.
PORT ALBERNI Next day, we headed out early in our rental car to Port Alberni our first stop along the way to Tofino. We were so excited to see what the Westside looked like and what the little harbors were like. Our first night would be spent in Port Alberni as it’s a long drive to Tofino and we wanted to take our time and see all the sights along the way. GOATS AT COMBS Our first stop was for lunch in Combs at the great country market there. We enjoyed the most delicious hamburger out on their wooden deck under the watchful eye of several goats that live on the roof. Yep, that’s right, right up on top of the market’s roof. It was the craziest thing you’ve ever seen and the market itself is a really fun place to go. The food store was amazing with shelves lined with loads of fresh produce, a divine bakery and lots of interesting dry goods and ethnic items. After the remote places and simple grocery stores we’d seen all summer this was like being a kid in a candy store. It’s was well worth the stop. CATHEDRAL GROVE Soon after filling up on lunch, we were on the road again and heading into the mountains. This highway is much more traveled than Highway 28 to Gold River but it too soon narrows down and becomes less traveled as it heads into the wilderness. Our second stop along the way today will be Cathedral Grove. It’s touted in the guide book as a “no miss stop” and a chance to see a bit of old growth forest. It’s a patch of forest that was protected from logging back in 1944 by surprisingly, a logging company, MacMillan Logging to be specific and since then has become a BC Park. We read this is a place where the public can still get a rare chance to see what some old growth trees look like. Imagine that, how silly does that sound? There are so few left to see that people from all over the world come to this park to see what they actually what they look like. I guess I have to admit that I was already getting a bad attitude about the idea of it before we even got there. As we drove further and further into the wilderness clear cut logging is everywhere. It’s really disturbing and disappointing to us. Isn’t there a stitch of uncut forest left around BC any more? To me it’s sad that to only see what old growth trees look like these days you have to travel miles to this protected patch of land, just a few hectares, to see some. Once you arrive at
Cathedral Grove, park the car and get out and walk among what is a real
old growth forest, well all I can say is that you just can’t believe your
eyes. It’s such an overwhelming sight. You feel like you have entered
another world, a world we certainly don’t know any more. It’s an
environment so foreign to us that it feels somewhat like a prehistoric
forest. Well, I guess that’s actually kind of what it is. You begin to
wonder if some dinosaur is going to poke its nose around the corner or
come out to snatch you from behind one of these huge behemoth trees. It’s
awe inspiring. If you thought I was crazy complaining about the logging
before well now I’m even more enraged and this episode is only going to
get worse so skip it if you can’t take it any more but I hope you will
stay because I think it’s important to know about this. When you see the
beauty and majesty of what these forests used to be, before these logging
companies so mindlessly and carelessly have clear cut you too will soon
realize it is nothing else but criminal. When lay your eyes on these
miracles of nature, you too I hope, will be upset and outraged. You too
will feel the great loss.
I really can’t imagine that man would clear cut these magnificent things. It is monstrous that the over logging has so dastardly denied our generation and future generations of enjoying something so wondrous and beautiful not to mention what it does to the environment. The mess they have left us is shockingly sobering.
OLD GROWTH NOW MERELY A TOURIST ATTRACTION These beautiful magnificent trees that once graced this whole coastal area are all gone now save for the few that have become sadly and ridiculously a tourist attraction. On top of it, many of the trees here are hideously carved with graffiti from visitors and worn down from careless people climbing and chunking things at them. What are people thinking? Well, it’s a sad reminder of what a magnificent tree once looked like. I think now if I had not seen them I would be a happier person. Sometimes ignorance is sublime in a stupid way. What a legacy our century leaves for the next. It’s amazing how much destruction man can do in just a hundred years. “YUK”, is all I can say. Imagine too that this small patch of trees was saved and provided for all to see by a logging company, the very people that go about destroying the wilderness.
PARK PLAQUES STIRRED OTHER FEELINGS Even the plaques along the park trail explaining the attributes of an old growth forest got me going. They were almost an insult to our intelligence. I can’t help but making my own commentary about them below. They were so contradictory to the real picture. Really, who do they think they are fooling? Do they think we are all this stupid? Really! Here’s what the plaque says…
And the plaque continues….
It went on to say…
And finally they say…..
Once you have the opportunity to get up into these remote places, beautiful places, and see what is going on, it is worse than maddening, it becomes criminal in our minds. So, maybe a little ranting here will spark something somewhere out there with other boaters who may read this. Boaters I have found on the whole come for the beauty and surroundings and care about the environment and protecting it. They should be appalled at what is going on around here. Maybe it will make at least a few people care, and the more people aware and appalled, and hopefully will make more stand up and say “enough”.
WE WONDERED ALL SUMMER WHAT AN OLD GROWTH TREE LOOKED LIKE Several times as we went on our journey this summer, the cruising guide would mention the possibility of seeing a few “old growth trees” at this or that anchorage. It actually became some what of a mystery, an anomaly to us. I know it sounds so silly and stupid but we wondered what an old growth tree really looked like. We wondered if we would know for sure if we saw one. We were becoming so accustomed to seeing the same monotonous forests up each inlet that we felt a bit numb. Now, we know, those were the logged forests all new growth. They are monotonous and uniform very unlike the growth and beauty of an untouched forest. Now, we realize what we were looking at all those weeks were as we suspected, new growth forests, some even replanted. Even Herb the fisherman, that I met in Dent Lodge, who grew up and has lived his whole life up here, asked if we were going to Blind Channel. I asked him why. He said, “If you go you can see a real old growth tree there, they have saved one”. How pitiful really is that comment on what they’ve done up here? When we traveled to the remote and beautiful Queen Charlotte Islands which I thought would be untouchable from things like logging, we learned that it too had been terribly logged and it wasn’t until the Haida Nation in the 70’s along with environmentalists made an impressive and brave stand to finally stop the cutting of their last old growth forests in the southern half of the island which is so much a part of their heritage. They made the first courageous step even though they knew making their stand against the logging of old growth forest could economic disaster for them. I really respect them for that. Still though, logging has left an indelible mark there, and only a few areas have survived the wrath of clear cutting. Still though, the northern parts of the islands are still being shockingly logged. We saw it clearly as we drove to the west side.
So….ironically this side trip to Tofino in some respects turned out to be a sad side trip as it showed us what we no longer have. Ironically even this little protected patch of old growth though, may not be here for long as it is like a small oasis in an open desert, vulnerable and unprotected by what would normally be surrounding forests, and the frequent powerful rain and wind storms constantly threaten their survival because of it. Winds up to 200 mph can whipped through this valley breaking these old trees. It’s also sadly vulnerable to forest fires and one in particular that we saw the charred remains of that recently burned out thousands and thousands of acres nearby. They surely can’t think that this little patch of protected acreage will be safe here forever, our one last reminder or image of what a forest really was? I guess though, I have to admit I was grateful to see this little patch of impressive forest and maddening though it was, it made me wonder why we’ve allowed them to be cut so mercifully.
SPIRIT BEARS AND GRIZZLIES AND THE PATCH WORK HANDY WORK We were so shocked this summer, even in the remote areas where we cruised, where not many eyes are able to see, places where you think the loggers couldn’t get to, there was massive clear cut. We would see whole hillsides mercifully stripped. No place was safe. No place has managed to escape their patchwork handy work. Even Princess Royal Island where the Spirit Bears live has been scared and threatened to the brink of the Spirit Bear’s extinction. “There are fewer than 100 of these rare animals (spirit bears) alive today. Princess Royal Island is covered with temperate rain forests, streams full of salmon and enormous cedar trees which the bears use for their hibernation dens during the winter. But in recent years, the north western tip of the island and surrounding areas, have begun to be logged by the timber companies even though they know it threatens the very survival of this species. Spirit bear advocates say the silt run-off from logging will destroy the bears' primary food source: salmon. If the salmon runs get silted out, say good-bye to the bears. It’s just that simple!" Matt Reid Fortunately, people massed together in a united voice and their cry was heard as an announcement on February 7, 2006 was made: “The forces that be came to an agreement. The Canadian Province and First Nations people came to an agreement to triple the size of the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary and to create a new Spirit Bear Conservancy”. “The government’s scientific panel recommended that 44-50% of themed- and north-coasts must be fully protected or grizzly bears will disappear over the long term. Once protected, this remote rainforest archipelago will be cherished by generations to come as a world-class natural treasure.” Wayne Mc Crory It’s just a start and just to get to that point was a tremendous amount of work. Still the lumber companies continue without regard to log the ancient rainforests, cutting trees up to 1000 years old. The small step towards the protection of the grizzlies and spirit bears is proof that someone out there is listening and things can change. Even though they gained a small patch of preservation, it’s a start, and it only comes from support from everyone. It’s amazing that we have something so beautiful that has literally has survived the Ice Age, but that now in our short little speck of a life time on this earth, man is coming so close to completely wiping these old growth forests off the face of the earth. Think about it, it will take a thousand years to grow back what they so quickly and thoughtlessly cut down in a nano second. So much is at stake of extinction because of careless and greedy logging. Somehow when we cruised this area in 2000 we either had a blind eye to it or either, which is even more scary, they have cut so much in the span of 6 years that we were effected.
DON’T THEY REALIZE WHAT THEY’VE GOT? In the British Columbia Magazine, summer 2006, there’s an article that caught our eye called:
It was an interesting article that caught our attention first because we had been considering cruising the West side of Vancouver Island and it was about a patch of coast that we would have seen from the our boat. But really what struck me most about the article was how hard we all have to search for land that truly represents what it originally was. Here’s a quote from the article: “The peninsula’s remote location will discourage all but the most determined to get here. Can we hope that others might pause over these words and pictures to consider what has been lost on Vancouver Island already? We hope that our story might move them to conserve other “lost worlds”. “Dr. Richard Hebda (botanist and archaeologist who had visited this cape in 1975 as part of a small botanical field trip initiated by University of British Columbia scientists W.B. Schofield and W.H. Matthews) is still struck by British Columbians’ lack of knowledge and appreciation for the “global significance” of their landscapes and wilderness. It is this lack of awareness that puts such places in great peril.” Need I say more?
“GIANT’S GRAVE” We continued along the man made path through Cathedral Cove and again came across another plaque. They all just seemed so contradictory of what the real picture is:
“This giant red cedar once stood 71m (233 feet) tall and 4.5m (15 feet) in diameter. Vandals set it aflame in 1972, ending its 700-year life. It was cut down because the flames were so intense it was feared the fire would spread throughout the park. This tree is an example of our often careless attitude to our forests.” (Yes, this was an act of insensitive vandalism but it seems an incident so miniscule compared to the massive swath destruction the timber companies have done. I find it a quite incredulous and ridiculous statement.) “It now lies in a self dug grave created by the force of impact…a grim reminder of vandalism.” (Yes, it was amazing that someone would actually burn our last reminder of an old growth but what about the logging vandalism?)
NURSE LOGS They even have signs pointing out what they call “nurse logs” and the importance of nurse logs for the survival and health of the forest. In case you don’t know what a nurse log is, as we didn’t, it’s a naturally fallen tree that has been allowed to decay back into the earth. Its decay naturally provides nourishment for the life system around it. It’s an important element of enrichment for the forest, and provides food and protection for the animals, guaranteeing the continuing life cycle. When they clear cut there are no “nurse logs” left, there is nothing left for decay or nourishment back to the land and forest. A TRIP TAINTED We left Cathedral Grove realizing that all this forest land we’ve seen this summer could’ve looked like, rich with life, history and amazing beauty. This small miniscule example of protected old growth forest made us realize what should have been left in so many other places for all to see, what should have been left to continue its miraculous growth and life cycle that has taken thousands of years before us to develop and nurture and what should have been left to continue its role as a working supporting life system.
Ahhh, you can tell my trip to the West Coast is being tainted. INTERESTED IN THE AREAS YOU WILL BE CRUISING? CHECK IT OUT If you are at all interested in what’s happening in these areas that you will be cruising and want to cruise, you would be doing yourself a favor and all of us a favor by checking out the following websites and helping out however you feel you can. Just becoming knowledgeable about it is the first step. http://www.savespiritbear.org/
BACK IN THE CAR We continue on still heading west. The road has thinned to a two lane winding road, cut into solid rocky mountainous cliffs many that hover precariously over the highway above your head as they aren’t cut perfectly vertical. The road swerves and turns as it follows the river’s path alongside us. We see the remnants of a huge forest fire, mile after mile of it. Still the majesty of the trees is there, their strong trunks now nothing more than what looks like masses of gigantic toothpicks pricking the mountainside but again the scale and enormity of the pacific northwest, diminishes their real size in this mirage of a shrunken landscape. We know logically we are but a speck on this landscape but still it’s hard to get grips on it with no familiar man made objects to get comparable proportion. We stop several places along the roadside, just to get a better look at the amazing landscape we are passing and we see just how big this space and wonderland is. It’s truly a magnificent place on earth.
Soon, still early in the day, we reach the outskirts of Port Alberni, our stop for the night. It’s a factory town more than anything and located at the upper reaches of Alberni Inlet that flows in from the Pacific Ocean and anchored by what else? Yep, it’s another pulp mill. I actually think I have developed the distinct ability to identify the smell of a pulp mill within several miles of one now. I’m becoming a bit like a hound dog as my olfactory nerve is becoming keenly sensitive to its specific smell. I think it’s because we’ve smelled so many lately. It’s not a terrible smell but just has a slight distinct odor and the first sight of smoke billowing and streaking across the sky is a dead give away. Of course once you set eyes on those identifiable red and white smoke stacks identity is confirmed. DOG ROOM AT THE BEST WESTERN Our best bet for an overnight stay was just up the road from the pulp mill in the Best Western. The most important criteria was that they allowed dogs and so we made our reservations several days ago because of it. We walked through the lobby doors and began the check in process, going through all the usual paperwork and then given a room key and suddenly when Larry reminded her that we had a little dog she immediately took the key back and said she had no record of that. Larry assured her that we made the reservations specifically telling them about Ziggy. She immediately reassigned us to another room. We know we told them up front when making the reservations that we had Zig because it was a primary concern for us. She just kept repeating, over and over, that she had “no record of it” and assigned us to what I guessed and imagined was going to be the typical stinking dog room. We have been through this so many times that it’s tiring. It’s the woes of traveling across country with your pals, the little furry kinds. We immediately assumed we’re going to get “the dog room”, you know, the one with all sorts of dog odors and dog stains. Zig, by the way, is about the cleanest dog you are ever going to meet, (I think he’s even cleaner than most humans sometimes), and I can almost honestly say I can read his little mind as he thinks some of these “dog rooms” are beneath him. I hate these dog room too as you always feel like you are sleeping where other bad mannered dogs have pissed or poo’d. What we put up with for this dog is amazing! SURPRISE! IT WAS A NICE ROOM Today though I can say were happily surprised as it was a very nice room and Zig didn’t do the usual sniff test letting us know where all the messes from other dogs had been and a brief description of who stayed in the room before us. Ziggy usually gives it all immediately away by the disgusted look he gets on his face the minute he walks through the dog and gets a whiff of something that shouldn’t be there and then he aristocratically lifts his paws up as if to tip tow away letting us know that this place is too stinky or dirty for his fancy self. Today though, it turned out to be a fine room with all the usual comforts except for the view which looked straight out over the trees to the cumulous clouds, which weren’t the Mother’s Nature kind but the kind billowing up into the sky from nearby pulp mill. Fortunately the wind was blowing a strong clip in the right direction which was away from us.
This obviously is a working town but it seems like they are being to experience a bit of a tourist boom as evidenced by all the kayak tours, “authentic” Indian canoe tours, fishing excursions and most notably the chance to take a ride on the local ferry service that works year round, delivering supplies to the remote little villages and what is to some their only easy access and in some cases their only access to supplies and travel.
MV LADY ROSE This local ferry is called MV Lady Rose and yes, it is run by the same company that runs the MV Uchuck III out of Gold River. She does the same thing here that Uchuck does in Nootka Sound. We didn’t think she looked quite as cute as MV Uchuck nor quite as comfortable although I’m sure a trip on her would be really just as fun. I just don’t think it might be as easy as Uchuck when you’ve got a dog tagging along as there doesn’t seem to be as many outside seating options. We happened to get a close up look at her as she sat at dock waiting to go out the next morning. I’d love to go on her though because the idea of riding her down Port Alberni Inlet. stopping at the small village of Bamfield and to ride her while she weaved her way through the beautiful Broken Group Islands to Ucluelet would be a fantastic trip but it might be a bit much with Zig. Actually, I’m not even sure they take dogs. You better check first if you have that in mind.
We walked around what they call the Quay which is their waterfront. It’s a cute little area with a few restaurants, a little marine park, some coffee and gift shops and a few galleries. The most interesting part though for us was looking down the inlet and watching the little fishing skiffs coming back from a day out fishing. It was a bouncy rough ride back up the inlet over the rough water stirred up by some strong afternoon winds. The wind was blowing a good 30 knots and the waves had built up in the inlet considerably. It caught our attention for quite awhile as we wondered what it would be like to bring our boat up here.
We decided to check out the Lighthouse Museum by the marina. It’s about a ½ from the Quay but an easy walk. This is where Knotty Dog and other cruisers like us would dock if we made the trip to the west side and up the inlet here to Port Alberni. There were no other cruisers in the marina today except maybe on trawler from Vancouver.
The gallery and the light house museum on the docks are worth stopping in to learn about the local history and see some local artistic talent. Dinner that night was at the Crab Bucket which was bustling the night we were there. The service is friendly and they put out a good meal for both tourists and locals alike. Fresh fish is their specialty of course and it was delicious. That night I had sort of a fitful night’s sleep. The wind had died down to nothing and the air was filled with smoke from the pulp mill. It had drifted right up to the Best Western and when I looked out to see what woke me up, the parking lot looked like it was fogged in but it was smoke. I counted the hours until daylight when we could leave and breathe in some fresh clean air again.
NEXT STOP, UCLUELET The next leg of the journey would be finally heading down the west side of the mountains to the west coast. This is the area I’ve heard so much about and read so much about. It is supposed to be rugged and beautiful and it all is true.
We couldn’t help stopping several places along the way just to take in the views and walk along the beautiful river that the road followed. At one stop there we saw amazing naturally carved wading pools that were perfect for swimming and wading. The rush of the water from the mountains has magically carved the rocks into a wonderland of swimming holes and water falls. It was spectacular. Once you reach the bottom of the mountains, you come to the end of the road or at least where the roads split. You have to make the choice of turning left to Ucluelet or right to Tofino. I think most people just turn right and head to Tofino but we turned left to spend a day and night in Ucluelet. I’m glad we did because we had a great time in this beautiful little fishing village.
First off we checked in to Snug Harbour Inn which was the only place that we found that a vacancy that would again allow Ziggy. It turned out to be the great place to stay. We couldn’t have asked for a more comfortable and hospitable place to stay. It’s much like a B&B and the views and accommodations were perfect. The owners make you feel right at home and don’t bother you. Their only concern to for you to have everything you need and to enjoy your stay. They are located in a beautiful secluded spot atop cliffs over looking a rocky cove and off in the distance you see the light house, the West Coast Trail and the Pacific Ocean. There’s a neighborhood bear that walks through the property in the early evening and he’s the highlight of the cocktail hour conversation as sometimes he comes right across the deck out back. It couldn’t have been better.
The little harbor of Ucluelet is quiet and picturesque. It’s filled with fishing boats and the center of the harbor is anchored by the grand old Canadian Princess. Ucluelet means “safe harbor” and you truly feel it is a place of refuge from what can be some violent seas just a short trip outside the harbor. The town is small and quaint and the grand old Canadian Princess, previously the William J. Stewart does the town well as a scenic point of interest. She is a beautiful old boat built in 1932 and has spent some 40 years in service providing safety to mariners as a hydrographic survey ship. Interestingly, during her career she struck Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows and only through diligent recovery efforts by the locals was she repaired and refloated again. She’s a wonderful ship and we enjoyed sitting inside her bar area for lunch just getting a taste of what she used to be like. She is part of the Oak Bay Marine Group that has several fishing lodges and ships in the BC area.
DROUGHT IN TOFINO After a really relaxing and wonderful time in Ucluelet, it was time to head to our final destination, Tofino. We had been looking forward to this for months and well actually had wanted to come here for years just to stay in the famed Wickaninnish Inn. It’s an upscale hotel, one of the Relais & Chateau group. It touts fabulous views of the Pacific Ocean, storm watching views, and the rooms are supposed to be elegantly comfortable, each with a Jacuzzi where you can soak and enjoy the storm watching. Of course, this was summer and not the season for storm watching but still after being on a boat for an entire summer, soaking in a Jacuzzi was primary on my mind, especially with the grand Pacific Ocean out my window. They also offer world class dining at their Pointe Restaurant. So, let’s go. SOME APPREHENSION We had a bit of apprehension about going though as last week the Canadian news media reported that “Due to the severe drought, Tofino was running out of water and the mayor of the town declared that there was going to be a forced shut down of all the hotels and restaurants due to the lack of water.” We called Wickaninnish Inn the day before we were to arrive and inquired about their status. We asked if we should cancel and they said “No, no problem, don’t worry we are operating as normal and have plenty of water on reserve to handle your stay”. They assured us that they weren’t closing and we should not change our plans. They said that “all will be fine and that if they have to close it wouldn’t be until the following week and that will only happen if they are required to by the city.” Well, that sounded pretty reassuring to us and we trusted the Relais & Chateau group as they have a great reputation, so we decided to come ahead. HOT NEWS STORY The news media was going wild though because Tofino is such a hot destination and would be a big news story if this popular destination had to turn tourists away, travelers that come from all over the world to stay here. That would really be a hot news story. Ucluelet on the other hand, had plenty of water in their reservoir, having planned years ago for this type of situation. They said they have planned for the growth and the increased demands. Tofino though, we were told, just keeps expanding and over using the water supply. They said it wasn’t the first time they’ve had problems either but this is the first time the crisis has come up so suddenly and unexpectedly without prior warning or rationing to avoid it. That was a big item in the news as it was going to strand many people. We felt confident though but a bit nervous hoping that the hotel hadn’t misguided us. We had trust in them. Still though, we really didn’t know what to expect. We kept telling each other that they are a reputable hotel and people from all over the world come to stay here so surely they wouldn’t steer us wrong. Actually all I cared about was getting into that tub to soak with a glass of wine anyway and to just relax. NEWS MEDIA FRENZY We got to the Wickaninnish an hour or two before our check-in time so we decided to drive on a few more miles to the little town of Tofino and get some lunch. Once we got there we were shocked to see the streets swamped with news media trucks, cameras and reporters. Crowds of people too were gathered in the streets and many were gathering outside the town hall building, waiting to hear what the latest verdict was on the water shortage. It was the biggest news story in all of Vancouver Island I imagine and in many more far reaching areas I’m sure. The big question of the day was whether the town actually was going to force the hotels and restaurants to close. We’re still wondering even more if everything is going to be okay at the Wickaninnish and getting a little more nervous by the minute.
We soon found out that trying to get some lunch was no easy task. Several places were already closed because of the water shortage. We were lucky to get in one place that was still serving lunch but not serving water. We were told that today was the last day they would be serving lunch and dinner. What? What the heck? The Wickaninnish assured us there was not going to be a problem. If we can’t come to the town to have some meals that means all our meals will have to be at the Wickaninnish which has only one very posh upscale restaurant. In fact, when we made room reservations, they wanted to know if we wanted to make dinner reservations at their Point Restaurant as they said “It gets booked months ahead and if you don’t make the reservations now then you might miss out on the opportunity to eat when you come for your visit.” She said people book dinner reservations months in advance. So of course we wanted to eat there, at least one night, and so made a reservation at the time of booking our room. We still though wanted to be free to eat elsewhere the rest of our stay. I’m now hoping this is not going to be a problem. After a hectic lunch and watching people acting in a somewhat panicked fashion around town we scurried back to the Wickaninnish to get checked in and see what was going on there. I was convinced though that all was going to be OK. All I could think of was that nice soak in the tub over looking the ocean from our hotel room away from all this stress and chaos.
Check-in seemed pretty low key and normal. Nothing was mentioned of the town closing or the water shortage. There was no air of panic. We were greeted as you would normally expect. The atmosphere was calm and there was no mention of any problems that might come up in the next few days. So see, I thought, they do have it all under control. How could I have doubted them even in the slightest way? This is Relais & Chateau after all. How silly to worry. The rooms I must say are very expensive but very nice and since we had to plan this trip at the last minute, because of our boating schedule, there were no package deals or even many rooms that were available. We passed on the $1500 a night suite for Pete’s Sake. Can you imagine? We settled on an available room which I think we paid in excess of $400 which still seemed really expensive even though that price was the about the bottom of the ladder price wise, but with Ziggy with us, that was fine. Our room offered everything we wanted except for one thing…. WATER ROOM AMENITIES OR LACK THERE OF: After we checked in, we were then escorted to our room by one of “the management staff”. He graciously pointed out all the amenities of our room and most importantly the Jacuzzi tub that I so looked forward to soaking in while enjoying our spectacular view out our window. Well, this was when the shocker came. This is when he told us about the one thing the room would be missing and that was…. Water! Well, I’m sorry, we had water, but there were “certain complications with the water”.
Yes, we had a nice Jacuzzi tub in the room but we were requested not to use it. All guests were requested to help with their water crisis or “situation” and not to use the Jacuzzis in their rooms! DON’T DRINK THE WATER FROM THE TAP Next, we were told that the water coming from the spout was undrinkable as they had to merge the hotel’s purified water storage tank with water from nearby Ginnard Creek. The water now was “possibly not potable” and he advised us not to drink from the spout or brush our teeth with the water from the spout, but if we decided we needed to, we should use the “precautionary boil water treatment” method before drinking any. What? He said that like I was supposed to know what that meant. “Do you mean we’re going to have to boil our own water to drink and brush our teeth with here in this luxury room? I ask dumbfounded. He said “Only if you need to although we will provide you with three bottles of water a day at “turn down”. If you need more water you can request it. He said they figure one bottle of water for each person and one for the dog would be sufficient! That’s not the end of it…. MINIMIZE SHOWERS The next shocker was being told that we should minimize our showers and when we do take a shower they should be short ones. That wasn’t the clincher though…. THE CLINCHER! The clincher to me was that he requested that we minimize flushes in all commodes! What did he say? Yes, I heard it right. Without being too descriptive, that means they are requesting that we store up a couple sessions on the toilet before flushing. I just couldn’t believe it! ZIGGY DOESN’T ESCAPE EITHER And, Ziggy doesn’t escape the rationing either, as we were also told “to reduce any pet showers to an absolute minimum”. Well, we certainly weren’t planning on giving Zig any spa baths while on this little vacation but since the beach is the main draw here, he’ll certainly have to get the sand and salt water rinsed off each time before we come back to the room or this nice room was going to be a total mess. Oh, and there’s still more. It continues… “ENHANCING” THEIR PROGRAM Almost the final straw for this fancy Relais & Chateau Inn, was the little card they left on the bath counter and night table which said they will be “enhancing their linen conservation program” but I say they will be “un-enhancing” our linen program as they said they will be “reducing the number of linen exchanges to every 3rd day unless something has been specifically soiled or specifically requested from house keeping”. Well, I’ve got to say, we’re all for helping out in a time of need but we specifically called them a week ago to ask about the problem so we could avoid this type of thing. We had only made the reservations a few days ago so it wasn’t like they were depending on us coming for months like most people who book here months ahead. In other words it wasn’t a long term commitment. We could have easily changed our plans and done something else. We could have stayed in Ucluelet where they have managed their water appropriately but NO, they assured us that they had their own back up water supply and that all would be as normal. So, it was shocking to find out there would be: 1) No tub soaking from our room looking out over the Pacific, well, no tub soaking period. 2) No drinking or brushing teeth from water from the tap. 3) Would be a chance that we would have to boil our water before drinking. 4) Would be less linen changes. 5) Would be combined toilet flushes. 6) Would be NO eating outside of the hotel restaurant because the town was completely closed to tourists. That meant no eating at other hotels either, as we tried, and they also were restricted from serving anyone other than their own guests.
WE WERE TRAPPED! NO APOLOGIES OR COMPENSATION FOR THE INCONVENIENCE! It was a bit maddening only because we felt we were misled and also because the hotel staff seemed to have an attitude of indifference about the whole situation though we didn’t complain. There was no “thank you” or “sorry for the inconvenience.” We were just expected to comply with all these restrictions and inconveniences and still pay the big price. Because you are in such a remote area, there’s nothing you could do, you were just stuck. It just really bugged us that they: (1) Misrepresented to us that things would be as normal. (2) That they never apologized. (3) That they didn’t even offer a complementary bottle of wine for the inconvenience. It was ridiculous! MEAL AFTER MEAL, IN THE SAME RESTAURANT We ended up having to eat all our meals in the one restaurant, well the only other choice was their coffee and snack counter, whether we wanted to or not. We felt a bit like we were trapped on a remote island. Even though The Pointe is a great restaurant and the food was excellent, it was pricey and there was again an attitude about the service, kind of snooty and aloof even though all the guests were accommodating all these inconveniences. One night they put us right next to the bus station and we asked for another table. The hostess said that people have made reservations months ahead to eat here and reserve tables. We said we didn’t care that we weren’t going to sit there. When she saw that we weren’t going to budge, some how it wasn’t a problem to find us a better table. It’s not fun to have to play those games especially which you are forced to be there. The last night of our stay there were there only about three other tables being served that evening because by now they had stopped taking anymore guests and had cancelled those who had reservations. We literally were the last few people in the hotel as they were now forced to tell guests not to come. It was weird and strange wandering around this place, which was looking more and more like a morgue. It was becoming more and more empty and the employees were becoming more and more distracted all wondering what was going to happen to them in a few days when they no longer had a job here when the Inn closed. They were all busy figuring out where they could go to fulfill their summer job requirements, and to many of them, that meant having to move out of Tofino. But the only funny thing was that last night I ordered the bouillabaisse for dinner and I think the chef put everything they had but the kitchen sink in my dish. It was so full of lobster, crab, scallops, and whatever else they had. It was way beyond what you would have expected, and much more than you could eat. I just think they had all this food leftover in the kitchen and didn’t know what else to do with it. They just served it rather than let it get spoiled and go to waste.
So, though the area is absolutely beautiful with all this natural beauty surrounding you, it turned out to be a really a weird trip. We still enjoyed our trip but can’t say we enjoyed the hotel attitude though we were grateful that they do welcome dogs. We think Tofino is a wonderful destination under any other circumstances. Truly they should have foreseen the problems ahead and if they mistakenly didn’t, they should have been a little apologetic and appreciative for the inconveniences they forced upon their guests.
Though we didn’t ask them I think they should have done something nice in appreciation for the sacrifices the guests had to make. But instead, we found they had quite a lack of compassion for their guests. We left feeling very taken advantage of. WE UNDERSTAND CONSERVING, BUT… I have to add that we do understand conservation for Pete’s sake and we understand more than most people how to deal with a lack of abundance of water, after all, when you are a boater you are an expert in these areas where water and comforts are hard to come by. That was why we were so looking forward to coming here and luxuriating in all we thought they had to offer.
The area is spectacular though and we would come back again to Tofino but we don’t think we would come to the Wickaninnish again because of the treatment we experienced. I wish that our visit had been at a different time when the town wasn’t suffering from this unfortunate predicament because there is so much to see and experience here. It’s a beautiful place. It’s a shame after all these years of looking forward to coming and staying at this place that we were so disappointed with the Wickaninnish Inn and their uncaring attitude.
We’re back in the boat again and back from our strange trip to Tofino. No more rationing water here like we had to at the luxury Wickaninnish Resort in Tofino. This baby (our boat) makes its own water; we’re self sufficient (except I wouldn’t want to make any water from the likes around here). We arrived back just as most Canadians and Americans were heading out to celebrate their last holiday weekend of the season. It’s the official End of the Season weekend as the kids go back to school and seasonal things start to shut down or open for shorter hours.
It’s a mad house at the marina and harbor here as people are loading their boats up with supplies for the weekend and heading out. It was one big traffic jam out in the harbor for the start of their last holiday weekend. The usually busy city streets of Sidney seemed deserted. We came back to a beautifully cleaned and polished Knotty Dog after three months of non-stop cruising. That was big relief for me. If I could just keep it this way but with the dirt Ziggy brings in it just seems to get dusty almost immediately. SOUTHERN CAL WEATHER The weather is still hot and dry, much like a southern California summer. Grasses and lawns are light brown and feel crunchy under your feet. Flowers are done blooming and in general the landscapes everywhere look stressed from lack of rain. The skies and horizon are smoky, grey and brown, whether it’s smog from the pulp mills, or smoke from the Washington fires, we don’t know for sure, but it looks somewhat like we are in an industrial area. We don’t see that familiar face of Mount Baker as it’s hidden behind a brown smear across the sky. We know she’s there under it all but not lately. We again are appalled at the filthy disgusting water in the marina. It’s so awful in places that I can’t stomach to look at it as we make the long frequent walk up and down the dock to the car and back. It’s really disgraceful and the worst I’ve seen anywhere except for one place in Maine. I don’t know whether it’s from the town sewage or whether it’s local boats in the marina that are discharging right in their slips but it’s is AWFUL. No one seems to care, notice or comment about it, they just walk by and never say anything about it. NOT ON SCHEDULE We soon discover that everything hasn’t been done according to schedule. The toilet is still pumping, the gel coat guys haven’t finished repainting the door that the sailboat hit in the Abacos, and the hatch door over the electrical input station that was damaged during hurricane Wilma in Fort Lauderdale wasn’t repainted (the color match conspicuously didn’t match after a couple months of “expert expensive work” done at the boat yard in Fort Lauderdale). And, the new expensive batteries were in but Larry wasn’t happy with the way they secured them compared to the original ones. These are a different size and the clamps didn’t secure them as well and in rough seas that wouldn’t work. Oh well, guess we’ll be spending a few more days than planned here. What else is new in the world of maintenance?
You may ask and many have, what’s the plan? Yes it’s true, I haven’t mentioned it. We keep going back and forth about the plan. Larry wants to take the boat south and keeps fluctuating between selling her in Dana Point at the Nordhavn dealership and taking her to Mexico for the winter. Sometimes he even talks about heading farther south. But, I think really we are nearing the end of this mad constant cruising that we’ve been doing the last three years. It’s been a wonderful ride but is very demanding lifestyle. We are somewhat disconnected from the real world of friends, family and life on the home front. But, I wonder what we would do without the boat. It’s been a wonderful ride and things I’m afraid will seem boring an unchallenging. At our age and time in life, it’s nice to have a challenge. I hope that when we hang up our hat, we will fill it with other kinds of adventures, maybe a little less taxing on Larry. Many this summer we would talk about what we would do if we were home especially when we were having a particularly difficult day cruising and too when we were having a particularly beautiful perfect day cruising. The discussion would always bring us back to reality, as we’d say, well, we’d be down at the bakery having coffee everyday, doing the same old thing day after day. Or as the people we met on another Nordhavn, Mach Zero, who is a retired jet test pilot, said it perfectly, “It’s better to be here traveling and seeing things on our boat than being at home drooling on ourselves”. That has become a favorite saying of mine now. We’d try to imagine what else we could be doing but no satisfying answer ever surfaced. So…back to the plan…though it’s not set in concrete… because it seems every time we get home we always seem to be anxious to get back on the boat again no matter how many times we’ve said we wanted to get off it just weeks earlier. We always seem to be ready to go back for another adventure after a few monotonous weeks at home. So here’s the plan of the “day”. Larry has crew scheduled to come on the boat in mid September which is only about a week and a half away from now as I write this. We’ll take the boat before hand to Friday Harbor or Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. We’ll see our old friends Susan and Reiner, who have MV Raven (I’ve mentioned them many times in our travels) as we cruised with them on our first big adventure to Alaska. We have a soft spot in our hearts for them and we want to see them on before we head home. Larry will then fly to Seattle, get a rental car and bring it back to the island for Zig and I to use to drive home to Santa Barbara while Larry and the crew take the boat south to Santa Barbara. It will be a long hard trip south I imagine, or maybe not, but Zig and I just aren’t up for it. I’m anxious to get home in a way and don’t feel like battling the Pacific Coast all the way down to do it. We also think poor little Ziggy would be a wreck bouncing around out there on the seas for several days. So that’s the plan. ALL QUIET UNTIL… So, this weekend we are just sitting back, waiting for Tuesday to get the final work done on the boat and then head to the San Juan Island as soon as it is done. It’s quiet here and not a mad house like it is everywhere else this holiday weekend. We are enjoying the quiet and looking out over the breakwater to Haro Strait watching the boats coming and going, when all of a sudden late afternoon on Saturday we are stirred from our pilot house by the sound of all sorts of loud voices yelling and screaming at each other. I go down the stairs to the salon and can see two boats heading dead on towards the stern of our boat. One is a tow service boat and the other is a Bayliner. The two boats are lashed together, like you would raft together at an anchorage. The tow boat is trying to bring the disabled boat to the dock with it rafted to its side….where are they going? The boat in distress is a 35 foot Bayliner and there are a gazillion people on it, some on the bow, some up on the fly bridge and some leaning out hanging out over the side. The two guys on the tow boat are quite a sight, as they look rough around the edges. They are sloppy and unshaven and the whole bunch is yelling at each other all at once. It’s quite a sight and for a moment you can’t believe what you are seeing. Larry quickly comes down see what all the commotion is about. It looks like they are going to put the Bayliner in the slip next to us….. somehow!! Yes, that’s what they are going to do. They are heading straight for our boat though and Larry heads out the salon door in a flash to see if he needs to fend them off. I look over across the empty slip to the captain in the boat on the other side of it. He, like us, will be right next to them but he has no side dock to act as a buffer. He too comes out of his pilot house and quickly unties a fender to use to protect his boat from them as they seem very out of control. Somehow the tow guy had dropped one of his helpers off on another dock because he suddenly appears by our salon window, ready to take a line as his partner brings this Bayliner in precariously close to crashing her on the dock and our boat and then a few seconds late almost into the other captain’s boat. The people on the Bayliner don’t seem to have a clue as to what to do or how to handle their lines. The dad or captain on the Bayliner is yelling loudly and out of control at everyone with several choice swear words. It’s not a pretty scene. As the tow boat brings the Bayliner precariously close to the dock he begins to release her from the rafted position and lets her glide in and now it’s all up to the other tow guy on the dock to get the boat in. Someone finally throws him the bow line and he starts to pull the boat into the slip but nothing is holding the boat from sliding over and hitting the yacht to the other side. I step out to help as it looks like no one is there to get the stern line but what they really needed was a mid ship line. Larry immediately sized up the chaos of the situation and yelled at me to get back on the boat. Once I stepped back I realized why he said that. It was just a disaster ready to happen and it was better we weren’t considered part of the reason for disaster I guess. They finally got the boat into the slip which was way too big for them. Well, too big until two teenage sons followed in behind in their flat fiberglass fishing skiff and then sufficiently took up enough space for a 60 yacht. I did finally help a bit with the stern line when it was safe. I caught it before they almost threw it the water. Meanwhile the captain on the yacht on the other side of them gave me a look. It was one of those roll-your-eyes-back-in-your-head looks as he prepared to fend them off as they drifted his way again. OH MY GOSH Once they finally were tied up to the dock it was non stop yelling and arguing amongst themselves. Oh and I forget to mention that the father had a cocktail in hand that he was drinking throughout the entire episode. Actually, he drank cocktail continuously until the time he finally went to bed about 10 or 11 that night. We immediately stepped back into our boat and shut the doors in shock at the sight and sounds beside us. Larry had asked him what was wrong with his boat and the dad said he had a bad fan belt that burned up the engine and one of the teenage boys added that the boat caught on fire too. I looked out our salon window and into theirs and there was so much junk and loose “stuff” on the counters and tables. It looked like a junk yard inside. They were barely settled and tied to the dock when they began unloading folded dog cages onto the dock. The sons began unfolding them and putting them together for three, yes three dogs they had on aboard. There was one large black retriever and two non-stop barking Yorkshire terriers. HOW MANY? We still couldn’t quite get a full count on the number of people that were traveling on the boat. Finally after an hour or so we figured there were 5 teenagers and 2 adults, 3 dogs, and junk everywhere. These people began to just take over the dock besides us, and were in and out of the boat, yelling and arguing non-stop with each other. It went on all afternoon. We finally tried to leave for dinner but couldn’t get down the side dock because they had chairs, dog cages, ice chests, and more on it. It had become an extension of their living space. They had to move some things over so we could get by. The dogs were just as noisy as the people were and would start barking and carrying on every time anyone walked down past us on the main dock. It was incredible. PEEING OVER THE SIDE The last straw for me though was after dinner when I was sitting in the pilot house reading. I heard the dad yelling about something and I looked over to see what the commotion was this time and saw the dad peeing over the side through an open slot in the plastic enclosure of the upper cockpit! DRUNK AS SKUNKS Later that night we heard a commotion on the yacht next to us on the other side. I thought it odd because the owners had gone home for the season. So I got up and went up to the pilothouse to see what was going on. As I turned the outside lights on, one of the drunken teenagers was peeing off the bow of the boat and several others were on the boat, climbing all over it. When we turned the lights on they staggered off. Larry got up to see what was going on and went outside to look. He said one of them, looked like he was passed out on the dock drunk and one of the girls looked like she was barfing over the side. We realized it was the teenagers off the Bayliner docked on the other side of us. The parents had gone to bed, probably passed out from drinking all day and the kids were on their own exploring the docks and other empty boats in the marina. We tried to call the marina office but at this late hour it was closed. So we decided to stay up and wait for them to come back as we didn’t feel at all comfortable about them getting on other people’s boats especially boats that have been left for the season in the safety of the marina’s care. About an hour and a half later, they finally came back and began to carouse around again by the bow of our boat. Larry decided to turn the outer lights on and it only highlighted another one of them again peeing again this time off the dock who wasn’t even the least bit embarrassed by the spot light. Of course, the peeing out in the open was just a regular course of events with these people. No one even seemed to consider going inside to use the privacy of the head. 2:30 AM, TIME TO TAKE THE DOGS OUT Finally, about 2:30 AM, just when we thought they had finally settled for the evening, one of the drunken kids thought it was a good time to take the dogs out for a pee and poo which started them all barking in excitement again. Of course the favorite spot to do their “dooty” was (Where else?) right on the surrounding docks, boat lines, and electrical cords of everyone else’s boats. SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS At the first the dogs were to sleep in their wire cages outside. The big one was put in the cage on the dock beside us and the other two were put in open skiff, but that didn’t seem to work because of the constant barking, so they finally took them inside. Where all seven of these people and three dogs slept on that 35 foot Bayliner was a mystery to us. We have no idea but did see a few on the floor of the cockpit in the morning. THE FURNACE FROM HELL Oh, and if all this wasn’t bad enough, that night early evening, they turned on what they called “their furnace.” We asked what the heck it was because it made so much noise and the fumes practically asphyxiated us. I had to completely seal off and close all our windows but still it crept through as their exhaust outlet was directly across from our boat and somehow the fumes were getting in no matter what I did. I ended up spending the night in the forward guest room to escape most of the fumes. ONE LAST LAUGH I had one final exasperated laugh though. When they finally put their lights out for the night, they then turned on their running lights on. These people were a piece of cake. GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE The next day we were totally exhausted from lack of sleep the night before and we both decided they’ve got to go or we’re going to go. We couldn’t spend another night next to these people. We also were very disturbed that these kids were roaming the docks at all hours of the night and boarding other people’s boats when they were gone. I began to wonder about the safety of the marina and leaving our boat here if there is no security to handle a situation like this. There was no one or no number for us to call last night. There are no security gates to the docks and the outer docks we’re near the customs check in so all day long boats are coming and going and no one seems to pay much attention to unfamiliar boats that come and go. So it could be easy for a boat to come in and dock late in the evening on a holiday weekend without the marina even being aware of it. After breakfast, we told Dana the girl that seems to be in charge of the docks about what was going on with these people. She apologized and said she would look into the situation. We told her we couldn’t take another day or night being next to them, so either they have to move them or we need to move. We weren’t back to the boat only a few minutes and here comes Dana down the dock with a policeman. The policeman questioned the parents and the kids and told them that their behavior was in appropriate for a marina and boarding other boats is consider trespassing, etc. MY FELLOW AMERICANS Afterwards, Dana told us about the conversation they had with them. She said the parents claimed they didn’t know what the kids were doing because they had gone to bed. Dana said they probably didn’t know what the kids were doing because they were hung over from drinking all day. What kind of excuse is that anyway? She said one of the girls lost her driver’s license last night and while the policeman was there she reported it. She was concerned about clearing customs back into Washington State without it. Yes, my friends these were Americans acting like complete A… H….s in a foreign country. It was embarrassing to find out they were “fellow Americans”. Anyway, they were told they had to get their gear and dogs off the docks, and all the other stuff they were piling up. Dana said unfortunately they couldn’t move them because their boat was incapacitated. She said the only space they had was for a 50 foot boat but we could hang the bow out so we gladly chose to move. I really couldn’t stand the thought of going through another night beside them. As we prepared to move Knotty Dog, the dad was just beginning to yell at the kids again. He was yelling at them to get everything out of the boat and pile it on the bow of the boat to weigh the boat down in the front so he could tilt the boat up in the back to remove the muffler. So as we started engines, everything under the sun was coming out of their boat. It was a parade of family members carrying everything they owned and piling it on the front of the boat all the while the dad and sons were yelling and swearing at each other about anything and everything on the universe. Of course when we got ready to pull out and remove the lines they were all over the side dock and in the way and Larry had to step around them and over their junk trying to get the lines off. Larry discovered they had dumped their BBQ on the dock when they moved it and he had tracked soot from it all over our boat. Oh my gosh, what a nightmare! We backed out of the slip, dogs barking and people yelling, what a crazy place! We didn’t care where we went we just wanted to get away from these people. ALL STRESSED AND IN A FLUSTER! In all the fluster, as we came into our next slip, Larry forgot to engage the steering station just outside the pilot house and couldn’t get the boat back into reverse soon enough as we were backing into our other slip and hit the bow on the creosote pillars at the docks across from our new slip. It was embarrassing but if the new neighbors surrounding knew the lack of sleep and stress from our last stop I think they’d understand. No damage was done only to our pride. Whew, we were finally snug in again and though in more crowded quarters we were back with the regular sane world again of considerate boaters. I WANT OUTTA HERE! For the next couple days things are slowly getting finished on the boat and we’re getting very anxious to leave. The 30 amp power at the 50 foot slip is not working well and we’re having to watch what we turn on, etc. The breakers keep going out on the dock and Larry has to keep going down the dock to find out and fix the problem.
I’ve got to say, I’m sick of the filthy disgusting water in this marina. The last two straws for me was seeing a cute little seal in the marina that swam right up beside the dock and surface through this slimy sewage junk and looked me in right in the eyes with his big round sad eyes. The second straw was the next morning as I was taking Zig for his morning walk and as usual trying not to look at the filthy water, I heard some geese sounds. I looked up and saw four of the most beautiful and graceful swans timidly swimming into the marina. I just couldn’t stand the thought of these beautiful things swimming in this human filth. It still makes me sickenly nauseated as I write this. This place is a mess. There is shit everywhere in the water from boats that are too lazy to get their dam tanks pumped out. There is oil and diesel swirling and floating on top of the water with its tail tale rainbow colors. There is so much crap floating in the water from another boat that is getting its hull sanded and painted and all the “toxic stuff” is just allowed to go right into the water! They just sanded the hell out of it and the finish paint has been floating around the marina for three days now! There’s no excuse for this!
Larry asked one of the workmen if they have a pump out here and he said it’s on the fuel dock, “that is when it works” when it works and he chuckled. And in case you don’t know it, Victoria the largest city on Vancouver Island, has no sewage treatment plant and they just dump right into the Strait. Imagine that!
BOATERS, FYI: From a speech to the Sound Waste Water Solutions Conference By ---Laurie MacBride, Georgia Strait Alliance
For more information on this and related subjects: http://www.georgiastrait.org/dgssearch/search.php?q=sewage&r=10
I think it’s time for me to go home!
But first let go to the Victoria Boat show !! For those of you who have been to Victoria, remember the little tour boats . Ever seen them do a ballet?
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Gallery of Boat Show Photos
Enough! Enough of this
complaining! I don’t know what’s come over me up here, or maybe
I've been on the boat too long, seeing things that many others don’t but
suddenly I’m thinking like what I used to think were those crazy
extremists, you know those environmentalists. What do they call them?
Eco-Nazis or something like that? Even though I was able to get it off my chest in the log it surprisingly has taken a toll on me. When you put these thoughts down on these computer keys and see it all on the screen, you solidify it. You also want to be sure about what you’re ranting on about, so you read more about it and that leads to more and more stuff that you don’t want to think about in your “happy little daily life”. Putting it all there on the screen, it becomes so much more real because you can’t just put the thoughts there and forget about it, it forces you to look at it and really focus on it. It makes me respect real writers and what they go through, exposing their inner most being for all to see and maybe criticize. How do they do it? I do hope others feel the same way I do about some of these things I've ranted about as they can change for the better. But sadly, I'll warn you ahead of time, it takes its toll. Sometimes you get up each morning and you feel like the world is coming to an end through man’s stupid carelessness and greed. Let’s hope things will change for the better but I’m done with the complaining. At least for today! That Victoria Old Wooden Boat Show is a sure trick to get you out of a funk any day.
OFF TO FRIDAY HARBOR So, finally, we’re out
of the mucky water and heading to my final destination on the boat this
summer and that is Friday Harbor. Larry has crew flying in
from Florida and tey will be taking the boat south to Santa Barbara.
We’ve got a few fun days to fill in Friday Harbor, one of our favorite
places on earth as we wait for them to get here. One of the days, Larry is going to fly to Seattle in the small float plane to pick up a rental car and bring it back on the ferry for Zig and I. We’ll then, Zig and I, make the drive home on hard surface while Larry and the crew take her south on the wet.
We love Friday Harbor and enjoyed our time seeing some old cruising pals from our first trip to Alaska who live there, Susan and Reiner, on Raven and Joy and Bill, on Patience. We also did all our favorite things while we were here and that was going to their great and wonderful Farmer’s Market, eating in their great little restaurants, shopping, and just enjoying the harbor activity, watching the ferries and wonderful boats coming and going. We made a trip out to Roche Harbor to see what was happening there too. Hope they don't over do it with all the new development. ZIG AND I HEAD HOME ON THE FIRST FERRY Soon, though, the crew was due to arrive. John McConaghy and Sue were going to be Larry’s mates for the next 4 days and 18 hours. The boat was provisioned with supplies and ready to go. Zig and I headed out the morning of their arrival on the first ferry and began our two day drive home to Santa Barbara. The weather was a bit iffy for Larry and the crew to leave the next morning so it was uncertain exactly when I left if they would be leaving the next morning or not. It felt so strange to leave Larry and Knotty Dog for their next journey.
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OFF FOR A QUICK TRIP TO
ROCHE
THIS
OLD GROWTH IS VULNERABLE TOO
What
right do we have in this short life span that we are here on earth to
destroy so much, to destroy something that has been here for a millennium
and will take another millennium to replace what we so carelessly
destroyed? What right do we have to destroy something like this so
selfishly and thoughtlessly so no future generations will be able to see
except by making a maddening journey like this, walking on man made paths,
reading silly plaques, looking at cigarette butts and trash left along the
trails and seeing ridiculous graffiti carved into these magnificent
trees, silly graffiti of people’s names and worthless statements, carved
into the wounded sides of these magnificent trees, and to see the damage
left by inconsiderate visitors who have so disrespectfully used these old
growth trees, their limbs and hollowed insides as if they were schoolyard
gym and playground equipment. 
PORT
ALBERNI
WE
LIKED THE TOWN, IT’S THE REAL THING
THE
WATERFRONT
THE
MARINA
There
was a huge barge at the freight dock a few hundred yards away. It over
powered the little town and looked much like a monster cruise ship
invading a little inlet. She was there waiting to pick up a parking lot
full of neatly stacked and plastic wrapped lumber products produced by the
local pulp and lumber mill. 
AMAZING
WADING POOLS AND WATERFALLS
SNUG
HARBOR INN
That
night we had a fabulous meal in the Boat Basin restaurant at the Tauca Lea
Resort. It too was fabulous. 
RESTAURANTS
WERE CLOSING
CHECK
IN AT THE WICKANNISH
DON’T
USE THE JACUZZI TUB
BAD
ATTITUDE
DISSAPPOINTING
LAST HOLIDAY WEEKEND
WHAT’S THE PLAN
WHEN AND IF IT WORKS!
I’ve never been that way before and I don’t know really what’s come over
me but boating has certainly changed my outlook on things. Its made me
more aware of certain things, diesel fumes, sewage, sea life and lack
there of, over logging, and many times, and you know them, those crazy
inconsiderate boaters, etc. I guess this log was a way to vent and at
times I was glad to get it all off my chest but then though I’d hate
myself afterwards and sadly anyone reading it had to
go through the whole process with me or maybe they just took their
little mouse clicked the little “X” up in the right hand corner of their
screen and said “Whew, what a crazy broad!”. 
