Duncaby

JULY 4TH

We woke up about 7:00 AM as the first float plane left. It’s still chilly 55 degrees. The thought of going to an anchorage makes me feel even colder just thinking about it as we’re plugged in here and the heater on.

Duncaby Landing was a welcome sight to see after doing the stressful Queen Charlotte Sound Crossing. It’s a far sight from the dump that used to be here when we came through 4 years ago. (Alaska Log 2002)

We were told a company called Sunshine Coast from Powell River has bought it out and is quickly putting things back together again. The docks are sturdy as opposed to the previous rotten boards, and it’s no longer littered with projecting nails and junk thrown about. Now you actually have power to plug in to and a really fine restaurant considering you are in the middle of no where. The only supplies that come in here are flown in by float plane or by boat once a week. One of the fishermen from another fishing lodge said the only place to get supplies if you don’t want to wait for the plane is Dawson Landing up River’s Inlet.

Some cruisers that we met in Port Hardy said it’s a really funky place. It’s been there since 1954 and has been an important supply depot for these remote fish and logging camps. We were going to go there but were told “Don’t go there! They aren’t friendly, the docks are bad and it’s really junky. Go to Duncaby Landing it’s all new and the restaurant is great!” Well, Duncaby landing used to be what Dawson now sounds like. We still are curious about Dawson Landing because of the history of the place but I guess we need to head move north. It’s about 15 miles out of our way. We want to get north quickly so we will be in a good position to have a good weather window for crossing Hecate Strait to Queen Charlotte Islands.

Duncaby is nothing like it used to be except for the dock layout and the old buildings which they are slowly fixing up. Fishing has suddenly become very big business in these remote areas now, demanding more upscale lodges, etc. It makes me nervous, not because I’m against fishing if there is plenty of fish around but after what we’ve seen elsewhere it makes us very nervous that we’re over fishing.

WHO’S GOING TO PROTECT THE FISH?

Last night at dinner, we got to talking to two guys that work at a nearby by fishing lodge near Hakai Passage. We again listened to more Canadians expressing their disgust for the Canadian bureaucracy in Ottawa (our Washington DC). They said the government does nothing but take our money and do nothing for us with it. The fishermen said they and other fishermen have been for the last couple years on their own initiative been catching the salmon and milking the eggs and then hatching and raising them to release for fishing. To me it’s not quite the same thing as not catching them and letting them run up the river through their rights of passage to deposit the eggs naturally but at least they are putting some back. I guess if they have to catch them for their lively hood this is a positive way to try to maintain the salmon population. I don’t know how that affects the salmon’s sense to come back to where they were born to lay the eggs when they are raised in a fishery. These fishermen don’t like the fish farms. They say they are a threat to the native salmon as they are pumping antibiotics into them and the waters and the raised salmon are a different species and aggressive and are killing of the native salmon.

Besides having a nice place to have a good meal, Duncaby Landing is really getting set up for fishing. They have two metal fish cleaning tables on the docks and a building on the dock set up to clean and package fish to ship home for their guests. It’s a professional looking set up. They will cut and filet your fish and pack it for taking home. Outside the shack are about 50 rods leaning neatly against the shack ready to go. There is a fishing camp across the cove and when we drove by they had about 20-30 fishing skiffs all lined up on the dock ready to go and a modest 10 or so floating motel like rooms. They are supposed to have a small restaurant too. Down further in the cove are the remnants of an old cannery. Our waitress said 15 firemen bought it and are gradually restoring it. The staff only works here 3 months. The busy season they say is August. Amazing they can make enough money here to survive such a short season.

BIG OLE BLACK MONSTER COMES IN

This morning early, as we were sitting in the salon and having some hot cereal to warm us up, I looked out the window and about 20 feet beside us was a huge black scary barge coming into the dock. I jumped up and ran outside in my PJ’s to see what was going on. He was quietly, gently and slowly moving up to the dock. Where in the heck does he think he’s going to put this thing? He got the forward starboard corner of the barge (a ramp to drive cars off) to the dock. One of the crew (all in survival suits) jumped off on to the wooden dock and tied a rope around the cleat and then the captain slowly used it for leverage and brought her around perfectly right alongside the dock. I could have slept through the whole thing as he was so quiet and docked it so perfectly. It was an amazing site to see huge monster of a thing docked here at this little lodge dock.

We talked to the captain and crew of M.V. Belleisle Sound and found out they service all the surrounding areas up to Shearwater, even in the winter. They provide gas, diesel and propane so are a necessary item around here and a welcome sight. They have a couple trucks on the barge and other things that I wonder how these guys manage carrying all that stuff up there in these seas. The crew was extremely nice and we told him. They asked where we were headed. We said we were going as far north as Queen Charlotte Islands. The captain looked surprised. He said make sure you don’t go across to Skidgate when the winds are blowing anymore than 20 knots as it can get nasty out there on the sandspit. We asked about going south to the west side of Vancouver Island. He said don’t go south of Queen Charlotte Islands as it’s too long of a trip and the seas can really rip out there quickly. He recommended leaving from here when and if we go and don’t go when the ebb is going northerly and when there are strong Westerly’s.

DUNCABY LANDING
TO PRUTH BAY, CALVERT ISLAND, HAKAI AREA

We left the docks at 10:30 AM.

We came out Rivers Inlet to the Queen Charlotte Sound and saw WHALES!

THAR SHE BLOWS, ONE, TWO AND THREE!

I hope we can get some good pictures this trip with the new camera. They are feeding between Bilton Island and Joachim Island by Karslake Point. We think there are three humpbacks. We watch them for a long time but can’t seem to get close for some good pictures. A small power work boat goes by between us and the whales and that’s the end of that experience.

We head out and up into Fitz Hugh Sound. The seas are amazingly flat and only about 10 knot winds. Once we get up inside the protection of Calvert Island we shouldn’t feel much of anything from the sound anymore. No more ocean swells as we will be in the protection of the Inside Passage again.

PURE WHITE MIDDEN BEACHES

On Schooner Retreat on the Fitz Hugh Sound we see pure white midden beaches left over by hundreds and thousands of years of Indian debris, being left over feasts of calms, mussels and oysters. There’s a nice little anchorage in there called Fury Cove. We’ve been talking about going in there several times but a dock and power somehow seem more comforting after cruising a long time. Of course in bad weather it would be a great place to duck into. They say you can see the sea conditions out on the Sound from the anchorage and know when to head out.

We pass a huge raft of white-winged scoters. It’s an amazing sight on the unusual flat waters today on the sound.

I’m amazed at the comforts we have in this boat compared to the Grand Banks trip up here four years ago. I’ve got a corned beef brisket on the stove cooking, doing a load of wash in the washer/dryer, we’ve got three computers going, the radar the depth sounder on, we’re monitoring Ch 16 and boat traffic on Ch7, we’ve got the water maker on making pure water, and a tank full of diesel that will require no filling up the whole trip and I’m nice and cozy inside this big pilot house with the heater on. Wow this is such an improvement to the last trip. I’m seeing so much more scenery too because of the wonderful comfortable pilot house. We’re up much higher and can see out so much better.

MORE WHALES OFF FURY COVE!!!

Wow, more whales, just off Fury Cove!!! HUGE, HUGE Humpback whales right by the boat. AMAZING DAY, warm, flat, waters and you can almost breathe the breath from the whale he’s so close but I guess its good we didn’t because I’ve heard it can be putrid. It’s amazing to be so close to them and see the water around us swirl as they dive deep below. They seem to dive under for a duration of about 5 to 6 minutes then surface with a big blow and spray. They stay up a short bit, taking in a few breaths, then down again for another 5 minutes and usually moving down the channel a ways.

We watched for awhile but headed on but during out travels that day we saw more whales. Many were on the East side of Calvert Island. Some were really breaching and splashing but too far away to clearly see. Their splashes were so big that we could see their splashes miles away.

Before we head into Pruth Channel another big humpback crosses in front of us. They are just everywhere today. I’m so glad to see so many. We pass over a lot of crap in the water nearby where the whales are feeding. Someone big is dumping. Could it be a ferry or cruise ship?

PRUTH BAY

We head West up Kwakshua Channel. It’s a long boring channel, almost has the feeling of the Intracoastal Waterway, except no variation to look at. It’s almost like it was a man made dredged channel but it’s not. It’s boringly straight on each side until it reaches the end which opens up into an anchorage cove to the left and another arm heading out to the Pacific on the right. We continued to the very end and dropped anchor right in front of the Pruth Bay Lodge. There’s an upscale fishing lodge there that is supposed to be pretty nice, somewhat like Dent Rapids. We also read they have a good restaurant for their guests. Cruisers passing through can dine there if there is space and you make reservations. We tried to call them on the radio and cell phone but no answer.

Dogs supposedly were off bounds. There’s supposed to be a nice path or trail that takes you to a beach behind the lodge that faces the Pacific. The lodge is located on somewhat of an isthmus between two masses of land separating where we were anchored and the Pacific Ocean. Surrounding them is a marine park for the Hakai area.

We put the dinghy down and thought we’d find out about dinner at the lodge and see if we could hike to the beach with Ziggy. Just as we were getting ready to leave a guy went by our boat in his dinghy. He had just come from the lodge’s dock. We asked him about the lodge. He said the lodge isn’t open yet and normally you can’t dock your dinghy at their dock but if you tie it over under the ramp, they don’t mind. He told us where the path was to get to the beach.

PRUTH LODGE

So off we went. When we reached the dock there was a work man there. We asked him, just in case the other guy had the info wrong, if the restaurant was open for dinner tonight. He confirmed what the man said. The guy on the dock said the season will officially start in two days. Too bad we missed having dinner here. We asked about the path to the beach. He pointed to where it was and said we could walk through the lodge grounds to get to it. He said it was OK to tie the dinghy up at their dock but keep it out of the way of the main dock in case the lodge boats needed it or bigger boats as he needs to keep that area clear.

The lodge is a beautiful place out here in the middle of no where. If you want an isolated place this is it. Its bright red metal roofs and wooden structure were nicely designed and nestled in the woods with manicured lawns and plantings surrounding the rooms and central lodge. The staff was busy cleaning and getting the rooms ready and very friendly waving to us with friendly smiles. I bet it would be a nice experience to stay here.

PATH TO THE PACIFIC

We found the well maintained path and took a walk through the beautiful forest. It was about a mile walk and lovely. It’s so nice to have a good path like this to allow you to get off the boat, get some exercise and see inside the forest and all that grows there. It’s an amazing view of moss covered trees and forest floor with interesting little mushrooms and things like fungus and lichen, wild flowers, ferns, different sounding birds and bugs the size of helicopters buzzing your head. It’s a whole other universe in here. Ziggy loved all the smells and sounds the opportunity to stretch those little muscular legs. He could smell the beach ahead and kept our pace brisk with anticipation of it as he pulled heavily on the leash in that direction.

AMAZING BEACH

At the end of the path it opened up onto the most amazing beach. What an amazing reward at the end of the walk through the forest. It was a huge crescent shaped sandy beach, strewn with beached weathered logs, shells and other seascape that has washed ashore. There are beautiful rock formations and bonsai like landscapes on the rocky ledges and cliffs that project out on the point at each end of the beach. It was fantastic surreal environment and we had it all to ourselves. There were interesting tide pools by the rocks filled with sea anemones and starfish in beautiful colors. There were strange and surreal rock formations with science fiction like cuts through the tall rock cliffs that created narrow tall paths that lead out to some little isolated coves. It was amazingly beautiful. The Pacific Ocean was calm today with small wavelets breaking on shore but the clues left on shore here tell you that this is a patch of land that experiences the forces of the sea as the shore is littered with huge heavy weathered logs piled upon each other like toothpicks. The trees are raggedly shaped having the ability to withstand storm winds and the cliffs shaped with concave surfaces etched and formed like putty by the force of waves over thousands of years. It was beautiful, beyond beautiful.

We enjoyed beach combing for shells and looking at interesting things that have washed in from wherever and whatever the Pacific may bring to you. The beach was so huge. Again the scale up here is so deceptive. You don’t realize until it until you see someone way off in the distance and what you thought was very close, is very far as the person is like the size of a spec of sand. Ziggy would run along the beach and too quickly would disappear in the distance becoming like a white dot in the distance. It was a little frightening the massive size of everything and how quickly he could disappear. Ziggy loves the beach and loved swimming in the calm ocean, even though it is very cold. It was uncharacteristically flat calm today. He thinks he's a hunter, or fisherman, or rather I guess fisherdog and is entertained endlessly and tirelessly hunting for fish or whatever moves in the water and tide pools, including little itsy bitsy crabs no bigger than a fingernail and funny little fish the size of your finger that hang out in groups and flutter and flick across the water when Ziggy approaches which gave him endless joy.

Of course Zig liked the walk through the forest too and anyone else coming this way, please keep your dog on the leash through the forest and clean up after them, because the resort warns that your privileges to walk on the path to this beautiful place can and will be denied if you don’t pick up after the dog and keep him under control. It may seem silly because you’re in the wilderness and no one is around but since they do such a nice job of maintaining the path and you have such a wonderful reward at the end, it’s the least we can do. Right? And it’s just a short path.

It was one of the most beautiful isolated beaches that we’ve ever seen except for the Bahamas. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to see it.

STILL WORKIN’

It’s late and we head back to the boat and have dinner. What a day to sit back and contemplate. We saw all those amazing whales breaching and diving and spouting and because of the unbelievably calm waters today were able to linger around to see them in action. This was really unique opportunity for an area that can really heave the sea up. It’s been really special. We sit on the boat and though getting late in the evening the sun is still up working as is also, the lonely little crab boat. The long days of daylight allow these people up north to get in long days of work to take advantage of their short season. We watch as the crab man goes from one crab marker to the next, pulling up the heavy traps, getting his catch, measuring and taking the big ones and throwing the little ones back for another season, loading the traps again with bait, dropping it back in the water, and then heading to the next one to do the same thing all over again over and over. And amazingly this will all be repeated again the next day until they have crabbed out this location and move on to another area. These guys work long hard days.

BELLEISLE SOUND AGAIN

And speaking of that, here comes MV Belleisle Sound, the barge we saw at Duncaby! It’s about 8:00 PM and they are still out and about! They head by us and give us a friendly wave which we return. We watch as they quietly and courteously make their way up to the lodge’s dock without a wake. Again he swings that big thing around nice and gently and ties up her up at the little dock. We’re so amazed watching this guy maneuver that big monster and cuddling it up to these little docks and turning in these little spaces. They begin unloading supplies and whatever else the lodge has ordered. We’re getting tired just watching them and the crab guy working. Now imagine, the barge guys arrived at Duncaby that morning about 6:00 AM (and they started from Dawson’s landing another 15 miles up River’s Inlet) and it’s 8:00 PM now and they are still at it. I’m sure the crab guy must start at the break of daylight too (which is really early up here) and work until the sun goes down.

We finally went to bed but they were all still working. I couldn’t help but get up later that night as I heard the barge go by about 10:30 PM. There still was a little day light out. I watched them finally end their day as they parked the barge over at the little dock at the marine park float. That was their final stop for the day. That’s where they spent the night. (They were gone in the morning by the time we got up and we never heard them go.) The crab pot guy was still working when I finally gave up watching last night and went to bed!!!! You can’t say these people don’t work hard up here. I’m sure he must have anchored nearby finally for the night.

We weren’t alone in the cover that night.

On to OCEAN FALLS