We left Beaver Harbour ( adjacent to Port Hardy) a bit later
hoping that fog will have cleared, but the day started out the same as the last
4 days ( shades of GroundHog Day
movie!). The phantom traffic being discovered on the radar picked up as
we neared Port McNeil. Finally, as we closed in on Malcolm Island ( where
Sointula is located) the sky’s cleared, some wind came up and we were able to
sail for about 2 hours.
We had hoped to make it to Telegraph Cove, but the marina
only had one potential slip available, currently occupied by a sailboat under
repair. Alas, their repair was not complete and we had to divert to Alert Bay
on Cormorant Island [ this is home of ‘Namgis first nation].
After showers and a walkabout, we went to have dinner at the
consistently recommended restaurant. The wharfinger had told me “if you want
fancy and don’t mind waiting….”. We waited about 1.5 hrs to get our meal!
The cultural centre was closed, but will open in the
morning; I am looking forward to seeing it; there are artifacts that are quite
unique; many are items that had been confiscated by the government in the 50’s
and 60’s during “illegal” potlaches which have now been returned.
There is a coffee stall run by the Nation that says “ best
coffee on the island’; I had a latte and it is the best I’ve had since leaving
Calgary.
The photo’s attached include the old cemetery with the
burial poles in various states of deterioration; that is the tradition, to leave
the poles to return to the earth.
Observation:
When we were in bull harbour 2 nights ago, we were at a latitude that was more north than the tip of Vancouver Island. When you are in the gulf islands, talking about sailing up there seem like you going so far north. To then think about going as "far" north as Prince Rupert, is almost like adventuring to the end of civilization as we know it. To put this in perspective: the latitude of bull harbour is about the same as Okotoks, just south of Calgary and Prince Rupert is about as 'far north" as Edmonton.
Having said that, I bet no one "just south of Okotoks" was wearing a neck warmer, wool fingerless gloves, shirt, vest and jacket, wind pants and togue ( albeit no socks!) on July 14th.
Observation:
When we were in bull harbour 2 nights ago, we were at a latitude that was more north than the tip of Vancouver Island. When you are in the gulf islands, talking about sailing up there seem like you going so far north. To then think about going as "far" north as Prince Rupert, is almost like adventuring to the end of civilization as we know it. To put this in perspective: the latitude of bull harbour is about the same as Okotoks, just south of Calgary and Prince Rupert is about as 'far north" as Edmonton.
Having said that, I bet no one "just south of Okotoks" was wearing a neck warmer, wool fingerless gloves, shirt, vest and jacket, wind pants and togue ( albeit no socks!) on July 14th.
Re photos: i don't get a chance to edit or review most of these, I'm just happy to get a connection and upload something! I promise to either upload some better ones or put together a collection of photos of the trip up on Flickr when I get a decent WiFi connection ( as opposed to doing this by cell phone...which is not ideal).
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