Haida Gwaii - North Coast

[I'm desperately behind on blogging about this amazing place. I'll try to
get back on track. Haida Gwaii is an amazing place...I look forward to being
able to add pictures to these posts.]

Finally...after an aborted attempt to reach Haida Gwaii 5 years ago, John
and I are now exploring the wonders of these islands. And we feel fortunate
- blessed - to have the opportunity to do so.

We planned to cross Hecate Strait from Prince Rupert, travel west along the
north coast, then turn south and travel the remote, and poorly charted, west
coast of these islands. We thoroughly enjoyed the North Coast. John
recognized these places from his teenage years as a commercial salmon
fisherman. We stayed at Refuge Cove, and tucked in amidst fishing boats on
Langara Island. As we pushed south on the west coast, we were fighting wind
and waves, and our speed of 2 knots wasn't going to cut it. We weren't going
to make a secure anchorage at this speed. So we made the decision to turn
around. Back to Refuge Cove. And the following day, we made the long trip
down the east coast of the islands to Sandspit.

Although we abandoned the dream of the west coast, we are still excited.
There are lots of great reasons to travel the east side: showers in
Sandspit(!), more ancient village sites to visit, heritage centre, shopping,
fuel opportunities, and so on. And... We could drop our crab traps right
outside the breakwater...California rolls galore!!

Alone at Refuge Cove, but not for long. We were soon joined by several fishing boats...and gifted with salmon and halibut!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This boat, the fish master at Queen Charlotte Lodge, came alongside to say hello, and drop off this...

A yummy lunch! 3 burgers, 4 subs, plus cookies and brownies! Then...he invited us aboard the DRIFTWOOD, their floating outpost for a visit!

 

We visited the ancient Haida village of Kiusta. This triple mortuary pole is very unusual.

 

John's Fishin'

August 1

I was pretty smug about my fishing success in Prince Rupert. Our host Marty
deserves the credit, but I still feel pretty good about it.

But today at Refuge Cove, John had some good fish luck too. He managed to
bring in a halibut and a coho. WITHOUT the use of a rod. The fish even came
cleaned and filleted. He's MR. CHATTY on the docks, and that's what happens.
I was happy to be able to offer up a few banana muffins in thanks for the
coho. The halibut was a gift from a fellow Campbell Riverite. I'll have to
keep a batch of cookie dough on hand, just in case he gets lucky again!
Yippee...fish for dinner!

Prince Rupert Photos

We sail by Marty and his crew as we enter Prince Rupert Harbour

The Magnificent Skeena River

My catch - minus the ling cod

Marty gives us a tour of the North Pacific Cannery

Prince Rupert

We had a fabulous 5 days enjoying Prince Rupert. Last time we were there, we
met Marty and Mae as we limped into the harbour with a blown out rear engine
seal. We became instant friends and we were looking forward to returning and
visiting with them again.

Unfortunately, Mae was stuck in Kelowna with the flu, but Marty met us on
the docks, fed us dinner, invited us to a dock party, and offered us his
truck to allow us to get our errands done around town.

Marty even took us out for a day of fishing where I caught a halibut, a ling
cod, two pink salmon and a herring. All on the same rig. Amazing.

Another day, he took us on a sightseeing tour of the magnificent Skeena
River and the North Pacific Cannery. Very cool.

We had a great time and met lots of great people. We've now dragged
ourselves away, and we've got our sights set on the west coast of Haida
Qwaii.

(Sadly, we did not have an internet connection at the docks, and we aren't
likely to have internet for some time...so I'm not likely to upload photos
for a while).