Haida Gwaii - Skedans

We left Sandspit following SV Piraeus over the bar and south along the coast of Moresby. After a beautiful sail south, we rafted to Pireaus in front of the ancient Haida village of Skedans or K'uuna Llnagaay.

Mary and Walter, the on-site Haida Watchmen, welcomed us on the beach, and
gave us a tour of the site. We were in awe at the old longhouse pits and
felt fortunate to see memorial poles, mortuary poles, and even house corner
posts. Their tour was excellent, and we were able to compare the current
artifacts with pictures taken in the early 1900s. Very cool.

Our hosts were quick to forgive John's comment about the tasty looking deer
on the beach (which turned out to be Mary's pet) and they were kind and
generous hosts, teaching us about this site and the Haida culture.

Mary was filleting a halibut when we arrived, and generously shared some
with Bill and his guests aboard Piraeus. He invited us to join them for
dinner, and we gladly pulled together some appies and chocolate cupcakes to
celebrate George's birthday aboard. What a feast we had!

We followed s/v Piraeus out of the inlet and over the bar.

Mary's 'tasty-looking' pet.

Mary filleting a nice halibut behind John

This is a horizontal memorial pole. Look closely at the pic below.

Yep - one and the same.

A memorial pole for an important member of the Eagle Clan - whose wealth and importance must have been great, as evidenced by the number of potlatch rings on the pole.

This pole is slowly returning to the earth, yet markings of a whale fin are still visible.