This could be our last night.
It's weird to be going home. Finally. We're both excited and really looking
forward to being closer to friends and family. We're also really looking
forward to seeing our bank account move in a direction that is not so
depressing. And...oh, how we yearn for a real mattress. And a substantial
shower. And endless fresh veggies.
We've been blessed to be able to travel the Pacific. Meet amazing people.
See phenomenal places. Learn about resilient and wonderful cultures. Dig
deep into ourselves. Read. Swim. Fish. Frolic. Truly blessed. A trip of a
lifetime.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Old Posts...New Pictures
We've made a short stop in beautiful Pruth Bay...with FREE INTERNET!! Wahoo!!
In between walking these amazing beaches, and catching up with our friend Frank, who's working up here, I've updated the following posts with a few pictures. I'm not totally caught up yet. But soon...
Haida Gwaii - North Coast
Haida Gwaii - Skedans
Haida Gwaii - Tanu
Haida Gwaii - Windy Bay
Haida Gwaii - New Crew and Hot Springs
We're getting closer to home. We expect to be back in Campbell River in less than a week. Wow. We're shooting for a Friday or Saturday arrival. We're looking forward to it!
Also - We're almost out of sat phone minutes. So we're not checking emails on a daily basis at the moment. Sorry if we've been slow in responding to recent emails.
In between walking these amazing beaches, and catching up with our friend Frank, who's working up here, I've updated the following posts with a few pictures. I'm not totally caught up yet. But soon...
Haida Gwaii - North Coast
Haida Gwaii - Skedans
Haida Gwaii - Tanu
Haida Gwaii - Windy Bay
Haida Gwaii - New Crew and Hot Springs
We're getting closer to home. We expect to be back in Campbell River in less than a week. Wow. We're shooting for a Friday or Saturday arrival. We're looking forward to it!
Also - We're almost out of sat phone minutes. So we're not checking emails on a daily basis at the moment. Sorry if we've been slow in responding to recent emails.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Crossing Hecate...again
Aug 24
Here we go again - crossing the notorious Hecate Strait. And once again, it
is glassy calm and we motor the entire way. We leave after dinner, and
decide to push all the way to Shearwater, arriving in early afternoon. We'd
passed by a couple popular fishing spots, and we resolved to return here and
fish in the next couple of days.
Our two days in Shearwater were a blur. I battled with a snail slow internet
connection. John did a few boat projects - changing oil and zincs, and
repairing the autopilot that quit on the way here.
As we were getting ready to head out...a familiar boat pulled into the
dock...the Great Dane! John's uncle!! What a coincidence! We decide to spend
another night on the dock and have a great time catching up over dinner with
George and Rose, who even agreed to suffer through a few of our trip photos.
But the cruising kitty is empty, and we need to get off this dock, so we
took off looking forward to exploring some areas of the central coast that
we didn't get to the last time we were up here in 2008. Only a week till we
need to be back in Campbell River - so we plan to make good use of our time
here and enjoy every last moment!
Here we go again - crossing the notorious Hecate Strait. And once again, it
is glassy calm and we motor the entire way. We leave after dinner, and
decide to push all the way to Shearwater, arriving in early afternoon. We'd
passed by a couple popular fishing spots, and we resolved to return here and
fish in the next couple of days.
Our two days in Shearwater were a blur. I battled with a snail slow internet
connection. John did a few boat projects - changing oil and zincs, and
repairing the autopilot that quit on the way here.
As we were getting ready to head out...a familiar boat pulled into the
dock...the Great Dane! John's uncle!! What a coincidence! We decide to spend
another night on the dock and have a great time catching up over dinner with
George and Rose, who even agreed to suffer through a few of our trip photos.
But the cruising kitty is empty, and we need to get off this dock, so we
took off looking forward to exploring some areas of the central coast that
we didn't get to the last time we were up here in 2008. Only a week till we
need to be back in Campbell River - so we plan to make good use of our time
here and enjoy every last moment!
A Week in Gwaii Haanas
Aug 21
The southern portion of Moresby Island in Haida Gwaii is Gwaii Haanas, a
Haida Heritage Site, National Park Reserve, and National Marine Conservation
Area Reserve. We had a week to explore with my family. Of course, the first
thing we did when they arrived was head to the Hot Springs (Gandll K'in
Gwaay.yaay). We managed to spend most of the day frolicking in the springs,
testing each of the pools, and some of us even jumped between tide pools on
the beach and the adjacent hot pools. What heaven.
A big highlight was visiting SGang Gwaay on Anthony Island - an ancient
Haida village recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. This site was
amazing with its many long house pits, standing corner posts, poles and
other remains. This site is in much better condition that the others we've
seen, as it was the last village on this island to be occupied on a
full-time basis. All 6 of us were enthralled by the site, snapping away on
our cameras madly, as Elsie toured us through the village and explained this
historic significance of the area. I feel privileged to be able to see this
site, before the landscape takes over and returns the area to it's natural
state.
The remainder of the week was spend fishing, crabbing, and exploring. We
ventured through the exciting Burnaby Narrows, up Louscoone Inlet, down to
Cape St James, into sandy Woodruff Bay, and all around Kunghit Island. We
saw plenty of whales, a few porpoises, and oddly enough, we even saw a
SHARK! We caught a couple salmon, many rock fish, and some crabs along the
way. We ate like kings!
It all went by so quickly and a very short week later we were in Rose
Harbour awaiting the boat that would pick them up and return them to
Sandspit. What a week - full of sun, fish, crab, and lots of laughs!! Now it
really feels good to be coming home!
The southern portion of Moresby Island in Haida Gwaii is Gwaii Haanas, a
Haida Heritage Site, National Park Reserve, and National Marine Conservation
Area Reserve. We had a week to explore with my family. Of course, the first
thing we did when they arrived was head to the Hot Springs (Gandll K'in
Gwaay.yaay). We managed to spend most of the day frolicking in the springs,
testing each of the pools, and some of us even jumped between tide pools on
the beach and the adjacent hot pools. What heaven.
A big highlight was visiting SGang Gwaay on Anthony Island - an ancient
Haida village recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. This site was
amazing with its many long house pits, standing corner posts, poles and
other remains. This site is in much better condition that the others we've
seen, as it was the last village on this island to be occupied on a
full-time basis. All 6 of us were enthralled by the site, snapping away on
our cameras madly, as Elsie toured us through the village and explained this
historic significance of the area. I feel privileged to be able to see this
site, before the landscape takes over and returns the area to it's natural
state.
The remainder of the week was spend fishing, crabbing, and exploring. We
ventured through the exciting Burnaby Narrows, up Louscoone Inlet, down to
Cape St James, into sandy Woodruff Bay, and all around Kunghit Island. We
saw plenty of whales, a few porpoises, and oddly enough, we even saw a
SHARK! We caught a couple salmon, many rock fish, and some crabs along the
way. We ate like kings!
It all went by so quickly and a very short week later we were in Rose
Harbour awaiting the boat that would pick them up and return them to
Sandspit. What a week - full of sun, fish, crab, and lots of laughs!! Now it
really feels good to be coming home!
Snug as a Bug in a Rug
Aug 15
My family arrived for a week with us at Haida Gwaii. My Mum, Dad, sister Amy
and Strahan all showed up alongside Renova ferried to our location by a
local tour company. If only Mike and Tara were here, we would be complete.
If you've been on Renova, or been following the blog for a while, you're
probably scratching your head wondering where everyone would sleep. We too
puzzled over this difficulty. On paper, Renova has space to sleep 6, but we
use one of her bunks as our 'garage'. The "pull out" berth at the table has
food bins stashed behind, and behind the other settee are three large
windsurf sails. Not exactly four star accommodations. But my family are
pretty laid back so they arrived undeterred and toting sleeping bags and a
tent!
It turned out that we all slept very comfortable. Well, at least I didn't
hear any complaints! Amy and Strahan ventured to the beach and slept with
the bears and deer on a couple of nights. The remaining evenings, they made
use of the cockpit and set up a cozy nest outside. We were so lucky with the
weather, it didn't rain once. Amazing.
It's a common cruising adage that the perfect boat will seat 6 for drinks, 4
for dinner, and sleep 2. We've always thought that was a pretty good
description of Renova. But now we know her true capabilities. She can sleep
six snoring family members with no problems, provided that everyone is
offered complimentary earplugs. We've also learned that she can handle 11
good friends squeezed into the cockpit for cocktails. And just once, we had
8 people cuddled into the cockpit for a yummy birthday dinner. It's no
wonder we have a bad case of two-foot-itis!
My family arrived for a week with us at Haida Gwaii. My Mum, Dad, sister Amy
and Strahan all showed up alongside Renova ferried to our location by a
local tour company. If only Mike and Tara were here, we would be complete.
If you've been on Renova, or been following the blog for a while, you're
probably scratching your head wondering where everyone would sleep. We too
puzzled over this difficulty. On paper, Renova has space to sleep 6, but we
use one of her bunks as our 'garage'. The "pull out" berth at the table has
food bins stashed behind, and behind the other settee are three large
windsurf sails. Not exactly four star accommodations. But my family are
pretty laid back so they arrived undeterred and toting sleeping bags and a
tent!
It turned out that we all slept very comfortable. Well, at least I didn't
hear any complaints! Amy and Strahan ventured to the beach and slept with
the bears and deer on a couple of nights. The remaining evenings, they made
use of the cockpit and set up a cozy nest outside. We were so lucky with the
weather, it didn't rain once. Amazing.
It's a common cruising adage that the perfect boat will seat 6 for drinks, 4
for dinner, and sleep 2. We've always thought that was a pretty good
description of Renova. But now we know her true capabilities. She can sleep
six snoring family members with no problems, provided that everyone is
offered complimentary earplugs. We've also learned that she can handle 11
good friends squeezed into the cockpit for cocktails. And just once, we had
8 people cuddled into the cockpit for a yummy birthday dinner. It's no
wonder we have a bad case of two-foot-itis!
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