Today satisfied a many years long ambition, but it sure didn’t come easy.  Then again, it could have been a lot worse, too.  Here’s my day………….. 

I launched at the high tech ramp at Coal Harbor, B.C., (an old time Whaling station) about 20 or 30 km southwest of Port Hardy, B.C.  Fairly late getting started due to waffling about the nasty weather.  My long, lucky run of nice weather finally ended with a vengeance today.  It was a chilly 54º F at 10:00 AM, drizzling rain and didn’t look like much fun for a ride in an open boat, but one of the guys at the RV park said that at least the wind wasn’t blowing.  Yah, he’s got a point, so I went for it.  Right next to the boat launch is a float plane charter service, so I stopped in there to ask about weather forecasts.  I don’t have much faith in marine forecasts, but do in aviation forecasts.  The very pleasant young fellas there told me I’d best go today - a front with strong northwesterlies is coming in tomorrow.  OK………away we go.  Here’s the Garmin GPS track for the day.  From Coal Harbor to the Gillam Islands is about 30 miles.  (remember Malcolm Island and the Broughton Archipelago from the Orca trip on 8/9/09 ??)…………….

Remember I said, “high tech” boat launch ??”  Yah, right, and at low tide, too.  This is the top end of an extensive, long system of fjords again and the tides rush in and out twice a day.  I took my day as I got it, and sure enuf, I ran against a flooding tide when I was going out and against an ebbing tide coming back.  The luck o’ Lar.  Here’s Dustbuster ready and waiting.  It was dead calm, but the faint drizzle of rain never stopped……………..

South at the start, across Holberg Inlet and the start of Rupert Inlet to Quatsino Narrows.  I wasn’t fooling about the tide…………..

Best coast rain forest vegetation grows right down to the high tide line and no fooling around.  This is a thick, tangled jungle.  Goes like this for miles…..looks like it’s been pruned…………..

Approaching Drake Island, the rain really cut loose and only pure stub-Bourne-ness kept me going.  That and very good foul weather gear.  It did pour down…………..

Even that can only take you so far, tho’ and I was getting disgusted with it and starting to think about turning back - more concerned about keeping the camera dry - when it started to open up ahead and I could see the Hustad Islands.  This is where a couple of the very nice folks at Pioneer Hotel and Campground had told me to start looking.  My whole focus for the day was to see and hopefully photograph a Sea Otter.  I’ve wanted to do this for years………………

As much as I know about it, (??) I reasoned that, since Sea Otters forage on the bottom, they’d probably prefer reasonably shallow water.  Most of the shorelines along here drop straight down for over 100 feet, so I headed in between the islands.  No dummy Lar……..right away something caught my eye.  I saw paws banging up and down and realized it was a Sea Otter breaking something open against a rock on its’ chest - just like you see on TV.  Didn’t see what he was breaking, but could clearly see his rock “table”………………

I’d no sooner chopped the throttle, grabbed the camera for this quick shot and he rolled over and vanished.  I saw over a dozen of them today and all but one were very spooky.  Local people had told me you can drive right up to them, but not today.  Get within 200 feet, even just easing in at an angle at idle and they’d dive.  Puttered around here for a while, then headed west.  I wanted to hit the open Pacific Ocean while I was at it and it was still a long way.  A few miles farther on, past Koprino Harbor I came to the Monday Rocks and went in between them, too, with no joy………………

Then, on the far side of Monday Rocks, I saw a now familiar silhouette and slowed down, then shut off the motor and let the boat drift.  I believe this to be a female, since her nose was badly torn up and it’s my understanding that it’s typical for the males to grab the female by the nose when mating.  Sounds a little rough to me, but here she is.  The green in the water is reflections from the trees above……………..

She’s gorgeous, but not real cuddly - she’s at least 4 ft long and prob’ly closer to 5 ft.  They have some serious fur - water temp is a chilly 47.5 degrees……………

By now I was less than 100 feet away and she was watching me pretty closely……………

I kept my outline down low - kneeling on the floor - and just let the boat drift.  “No,” she said, “you’re too close,” and put some distance between us……………

Finally, it was too much and she rolled over, dived and vanished.  Thank You, Ma’am………..you just made my day, big time……………..

Heading on west now, and Cape Perkins is visible in the far distance, with Kains Island off the tip.  The entrance to Winter Harbor is just this side of it.  The other side is the open Pacific Ocean - next stop, Japan or The Aleutians.  You can see the effect of the big ocean rollers coming in up the channel here.  Not large today, I’d guess height at maybe 4 ft with a very long period between them.  Lots of power in that water…………….

To the left, off in the distance are the tiny Gillam Island group.  I headed for them……………….

……..and saw another silhouette - a male this time (I think - no torn nose)……………

Another.  I saw many Sea Otters down here, but all were very spooky and there were no more close approaches.  Due to the heavy overcast I was shooting at ISO 640 with a long (450mm equiv) telephoto and had to crop these way in……………..

Whooops - this faked me out.  I was seeing Sea Otters everywhere by now.  …………….

Looking south, the near point isn’t named on the chart, but the far one is Kwakiutl (does anyone know how to pronounce that ??) Point and the huge bay between them is Restless Bight………..

 

 That whole area is another maze of islands and reefs, but they’re not for today, and I really think not for the Dustbuster.  Yes, I have a kicker motor and a VHF radio and so on, but we’re a long, long way from no-where here and there’re no options.  Even Winter Harbor is a long haul north from here at 5 mph with a kicker motor.  So, it’s getting late anyway and time to head back.  Looking east in Quatsino Sound now.  See the little notch just to the right of center here ??  That notch is about ½ way home.

I had just started back when the light and beeper on the console warned me the injection tank was out of 2 stroke oil.  OK, stopped and started pouring oil into the reservoir and heard a giant “Whooooosh” behind me.  Turned real fast, saw the end of a blow and then a Humpback Whale’s distinctive flukes heading down.  Camera was too far away to reach.  Aaaaarrrrggghh….Humpbacks were a hope for today, too……………..

Timing was good.  Lucky.  The weather is closing down behind me at about 2/3 of the way back.  No idea of why the water way out here is so murky.  Gotta be a large, muddy river somewhere near by, but I don’t see it on the chart…………..

Coal Harbor in the distance.  Launch ramp is about ¼ of the way in from the right…………….

I got the boat loaded on the trailer in a light drizzle and on the way back to the campground it started coming down again.  Hear it on the roof of the camper from time to time as I write this.  Good night to not be on the water.  :-)                          Lar.

 P.S.     Next day - in spite of wonderful aviation weather forecasts was scattered clouds and sunny with no wind.  Would’ve been a perfect day for chasing Sea Otters.  Oh well……….how do ya know, eh ??

–
Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: August 14th, 2009 under 09 Vacation, 09-8-11 Quatsino Sound.
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