We took “M” out for a spin around the headland into Ikeda Bay, another area on our list. We were pleased that we had chosen Collison Bay to anchor as the features here were pretty bland. One Sitka Black-tailed deer was grazing on the grass near the ancient fish weir, the seabeds were barren, the odd fish jumped but apart from that the bay was unexciting.
From Collison Bay in Hecate Strait, we motored slowly to Skincuttle Inlet (reputed to be a Geologists dream) so that the Skipper could do a spot of sport fishing. He was successful in catching a 9+ kg Spring Salmon. It’s fight for life ended up with the salmon chomping through the landing net. Each time we scooped the fish it swam back and forth through the tear, entangling everything. Eventually, Skipper, First Mate, rod, net and gaff hook boarded the mighty salmon. Debbie liberally doused it’s gills with coconut rum until it fell into an alcohol induced slumber. The cookery books came out and the look of delight on the Skipper’s face was worth the effort.
The pilot book advised our choice of anchorage, Harriet Harbour, had unpredictable southerly downdrafts. The weather was calm and predicted to stay this way for a few days so we decided to stay and explore this fascinating area. The Haida call the harbour “Gigawai”, translated as “trap for the unwary”.
The abandoned iron ore mine and town of Jedway lie in ruins on the east shore of Harriet Harbour. The loose scree slope is darkened by iron ore deposits - Magnetite. We didn’t notice any magnetic anomalies with our compass but we won’t be making any water here. Landslips are noticeable, possibly due to collapsed mining tunnels and pits due to weather erosion. The tiny wooded island in the entrance of the harbour is known in Haida as “Jiidawaay” meaning lasso with a rope.
The first European prospector here was an English engineer, Francis Poole, who mined for Copper between 1862-1863. This venture was a disaster, with his men threatening his life and becoming mutineers. However, Poole had good relations with a local Chief Klue of T’aanuu who protected him from his marauding men. Poole’s vision of a lucrative working mining town happened a century later between 1961-1968, with iron ore being shipped via the port of Victoria to Japanese steel mills.
We kayaked ashore armed with the bear spray and a whistle! We walked through the forest, following an old overgrown, boggy mining road and railway line. We continuously checked the ground for recent animal tracks but only came across the hoofed and avian varieties. Scats (Faeces) are another way of checking what type of animal passed along the same route. Fresh deer and possible Raccoon scats were noted but no bears in the vicinity. Manmade structures and rusty mining artefacts littered the forest, shoreline and shallows. The remains of Jedway town and the mining facility were gradually being engulfed by the vegetation and the sea. Vibrant Foxgloves swayed in the light breeze, pushing up through the structures; naturally felled timber was rotting but also giving new life to spruce saplings, shrubs, grasses etc. Some of the decaying trunks were torn open, displaying the yellow, soggy, ragged heartwood, no doubt bears scavenging for ants, bugs and beetles. What was obvious was the lack of undergrowth in the forest due to the voracious grazing of the huge population of deer. We walked back to the kayak via the rocky beach, clambering over Magnetite impregnated rocks, lastly sitting on a bleached driftwood trunk and gazed out into the natural harbour in glorious sun. Amelie was being licked by the tiny wavelets and gently riding her anchor….the only noise being the “caw-caw” of the Ravens. Time to pull up the crab-trap baited with the salmon head…..seven good sized Rock Crabs.
Whilst having “Happy Hour” on our last night in this harbour we spotted a huge Bear Sow with her cub, foraging for clams under the rocks on the western shore. They both looked healthy and well fed. The sow’s maternal behaviour towards her cub was warming. This was a special time for us and the wait was totally worth it. Haida black bear are the only species of bear found on these islands and the largest found in Northern America. The Haida hunted bear only for ceremonial purposes.
Further in Skincuttle Inlet we decided to anchor in pretty Slim Inlet which reaches down towards Louscoone Inlet and the low country in-between is great bear habitat, according to one of our books. They were right…..we kayaked within a few metres of a stream mouth and out of the woods ambled a huge glossy black bear. We were so close that we could hear the noise of the rocks he swatted over to get to his supper. He was unaware of us for ages because we stayed downwind of him even though the forest erupted in noise from unidentified birds as we got closer. Bears have poor eyesight but fantastic hearing and prefer to stay away from humans. From the kayak we watched him for 45 minutes turning over rocks and then striding up the rocky beach to the forest shade, snaffling green shoots before disappearing from sight.
Water making for us normally means going out to sea, away from the sediment from the shore and shallows …..and jellyfish; spending the daypottering to our next anchorage, while doing any chores or in Stephen’s case, fishing for salmon. As the sea was extremely calm, Debbie did the laundry en route. Unfortunately the high pressure pump on the watermaker failed after a few hours, but we still had 250 litres in the tank. Stephen also lost his last flasher (fishing term) but as some of you know, he was brought up watching “Blue Peter” and he turned a tonic water can into a flasher. Successfully he caught a salmon soon afterwards and with the help of his expert netter, the salmon was destined for the following day’s supper.
Island Bay in the Burnaby Strait is a navigational exercise, with islets, shoals, narrows and bare rocks everywhere, but so beautiful. Yatza mountain and rolling hills surrounded us, giving great protection. We shared the bay with a few boats, more than we had anchored with since leaving Victoria, but they all departed the following day. The heavens opened and soon the decks were soaked and the visibility was limited. Stephen was avidly collecting water in our lobster pan for washing up when he sighted a group of sea mammals with “albino” scarred bodies, darkened erect dorsal fins (resembling an Orca) and bulbous heads, around 7-8 in number. We identified them as Risso’s Dolphins (generic name, Grampus - meaning “grand fish”) a type of toothed whale, related to False Killer, Pygmy Killer, Melon-headed and Pilot whales. Their name is derived from a French naturalist, Antoine Risso, who first recorded a description of these mammals around the 1860s. Sightings of these Dolphins was rare, until recently, in these parts as they prefer warmer water temperatures. They feed exclusively on squid, travelling and surfacing slowly whilst hunting. One individual displayed breaching at a distance. We were delighted to have them swimming in the bay during our entire stay, helping to lift our spirits while we tried to fix the high pressure pump.
We took “M” at slack high tide to transit the Dolomite Narrows (also known as Burnaby Narrows and in Haida, Gaaysii Gas K’iidaay) to view the abundance of marine life due to the strong tidal action and high salinity which flushes a steady stream of plankton and nutrients to these creatures and organisms. Remnants of wooden shelters were visible on the shore, while we carefully navigated our way through the narrows using transit marks. A river otter watched our progress while a Bald Eagle swooped overhead. “M” was surrounded by a thick density of Moon and Stinging Cauliflower jellyfish - far larger than we had seen previously.
The Haida Gwaii guide describes the narrows, Island Bay and Bag Harbour as “a biophysical hot spot which supports one of the most abundant, diverse and colourful intertidal communities found in temperate waters anywhere in the world”.
A decision was made, after consulting Seafresh and Eddie from Oyster, that following the detection of a failed electric motor we would leisurely sail north to Sandspit to fill the tanks with fresh water. We would need to order a replacement motor but this wasn’t going to spoil our visit to these beautiful islands.
Under leaden skies we had a fantastic sail towards Echo Harbour, along the Juan Perez strait, gliding between the many islands. Casually reading the pilot book Debbie discovered that there was free flowing fresh water via a hose from lakes on Moresby Island, in Hoya Cove. Uncannily we were passing at that time so we called in to check it out. We were hassled by a couple of squawking Kingfishers who were not amused by our presence in this tiny, gorgeous cove. The cement pontoon has two hoses cascading water into the cove and we went alongside and partially filled our tanks. This facility is central to all our exploring for the next three weeks so we will be returning.
Several miles along the coast we came to Echo Harbour and were greeted by a bunch of Americans buddy boating. Later that evening they came aboard Amelie for “Happy Hour” and plans were made to join up the following day.
Crab trap down and preparations for the evening feast completed, we kayaked around the head of the bay towards the low-lying waterfall. Turning the corner, it was as if we had glided through a portal into another world as described in Philip Pullman’s trilogy. Black Oystercatchers gathered on the shell shore, some bathing in the clear shallows, a few males strutting and prancing, fluffing up their breast feathers and others resting on the warm surface. They were tolerant of our close proximity and didn’t appear threatened. On the opposite rocky shore a large Raccoon was busily searching for food, aware of our presence he posed repeatedly for the camera. Described as vermin and a threat to the seabird nesting populations, he was indescribably cute. Prising ourselves away from this scene we entered the natural harbour on a rising tide. Ravens and Bald Eagles above us, deer grazing on the higher ground and the soporific sound of the gurgling waterfall ahead. The shallows were teeming with life, full of navy blue mussels amongst barnacle encrusted lava rocks. Returning to Amelie we startled a Merganser with five chicks who hopped onto their mother’s back and were ferried to safety at a swift speed.
The evening was great fun, eating Cindy’s crab-cakes, Stephen’s roast beef extravaganza followed by Kat’s Pumpkin pie with cream, liberally washed down with wine. Stephen had caught another haul of Dungeness and Rock crabs, obviously they love salmon heads.
Leaving for Sandspit was a wet, cloudy, cool venture but necessary despite the tempting invitation of S/V Penguin and S/Ys Mentor and Pleasant Moments to join their cruising plans.
Despite reserving a berth with 50 amp power in Sandspit marina, we arrived damp and looking forward to a cocktail and then supper, to be told our berth had been taken. We were allowed to fill our water tank and dispose of three weeks worth of rubbish before executing plan B and anchoring in Bearskin Bay, Queen Charlotte City, further up the Skidegate Inlet.
Queen Charlotte City is an overstatement, more like a large village with shops, restaurants, ATM, internet in some establishments and liquor stores. It is the administrative centre of the islands. The visitors centre where we hoped to get local information was a glorified gift shop. The main purpose of this visit was to get a decent internet service to correspond with Seafresh regarding our issues and details of a replacement part. Homemade food was enjoyed at Queen B’s cafe and the important email was sent. We managed to buy some fresh provisions from one of the supermarkets and Stephen bought cigars from a convenience store. Matthew the manager of the supermarket drove us and our supplies to the dock explaining that his father was Devonian. He also recommended a Sushi bar for supper…..the Tempura prawns were the best we’ve ever tasted. Afterwards we walked towards the waterfront to seek out ice cream. The ice cream parlour had only been opened a few weeks and what a treat. We sat on a stone bench while listening to a mother and daughter duet on the “Open Mic” stage followed by a gentleman on the clarinet who needed more practice and a local lady enthusiastically pumping out a rendition of one of Avril Lavigne’s hits. Quickly we returned to Amelie and planned to leave at dawn the following morning, back into Gwaii Haanas.
Along the way and because of calm weather, we temporarily anchored in Skedans Bay and kayaked to the site of the ancient Haida village of K’uuna Llnagaay (Skedans), Louise Island. The village was also known as “the village at the edge” or “Grizzly Bear Town”. The name Skedans was given by the early fur traders who mispronounced the Chief’s name, Gida’nsta. This is the largest village site in the islands, a winter camp with a population of 500-700 at one stage in history, by 1888 only 12 people survived. This abandoned village is the busiest of the historical sites due to it’s proximity to Queen Charlotte City.
We followed a winding path through the ancient village startling a Raccoon who balanced on his hind legs and held up his front paws in a protective way, as if we had caught him robbing a bank. A very comical sight. Several long house sites were visible with moss clad supporting beams lying horizontally across the pits. Natasha, our watchman for the guided tour was from the Eagle clan and extremely knowledgeable of her history and culture. She explained that the house pits were dug out within a day otherwise the spirits from the earth would haunt the occupants of the house. The frontal poles, which exist only in museums, were used as an address, allowing visitors to locate their hosts by the family crest carved on the pole. The pit that was originally the village chief’s house was cited in Francis Poole’s notes as hosting 700 people at a potlatch……this was a measure of a very wealthy chief.
The poles were in varying stages of decay and the carvings were quite difficult to interpret. A double mortuary pole, slowly decaying on the forest floor, is a rare sight, signifies wealth of the deceased and this one depicted the Dogfish clan crest. Haida believe that when the human remains are interred in their bent-boxes and stored in the tree cavity, their spirit enters the pole. When the pole decays, the spirit returns to the earth. The Haida people who visited Victoria were taken with the Roman style architecture and this influence they took back to Haida Gwaii creating some Roman style poles. Natasha went on to describe that shallow carving was generally made by stone tools and deeper carving by metal tools. This was questioned at another site. One of the decaying poles illustrated a human form upside down in a bear’s mouth……this suggested shaming of an individual who may have been in debt to the deceased at the time of his demise. A memorial pole had 13 distinct rings scored into it’s shaft, suggesting the deceased had died elsewhere and had hosted that many potlatches in his lifetime, this indicated great wealth.
Before leaving, Natasha explained that she had a 13 month old son with her at the site called Elijah. Debbie asked if he had a Haida name and she replied that would be determined within his first few years and in Haida culture, an individual could change their names several times during their lifetime. After signing the visitors’ book and handing over books, magazines and chocolate, we said our goodbyes and kayaked back to Amelie. Next overnight anchorage was Thurston Harbour on Talunkwan Island in the rain. Well protected but an uninspiring anchorage, due to past heavy logging activity and regimental second growth forest.
A leisurely start to the day with blue skies, fluffy clouds and sun, we headed towards Crescent Inlet at a snail’s pace. The inlet twists and turns for about 3.5nm, past a floating cabin (which is a base for holiday adventurers) until we reached the grassy head. The history of the islands suggest that there is an old Haida summer village site at the NW end of the inlet where the three branches of a creek congregate draining a small lake up in the hills…..we never found it. We shared the anchorage with S/Y Mom (a great story behind this boat’s name), who had heard on the SSB net that the British boat was famous for Yorkshire Puddings! Kate and Karl joined us for drinks and we watched a bear amble along the shore searching for food. A giant book swap kept both ladies happy.
A month in and we’re having a magical time.
The finale of our trip to follow.