Bamfield BC

22 - 28 August 2010

Bamfield has been my favorite village that we have happened across on our journey. It is touted as the Venice of Vancouver Island, and for good reason. The towns "main street" is the inlet waterway that divides the east and west sides of the village. There are no roads connecting the two halves, everyone putts back and forth across the waterway in every conceivable floating contraption imaginable. We tied up at the public dock for most of our stay in Bamfield. A couple floated their dock over to the wharf to load it with lumber to bring across the waterway. A young firl peddled her hydrobike up alongside of us. A bicycle that floats! The water taxi ferried backpackers, lodgers, packages and pets, back and forth across the main street. A sight to watch.

The houses and shops on the west side use a boardwalk along the waterfront as the main roadway, although there were gravel roads leading to homes on the hillside, but these roads were more of a suggestion of a road. Any vehicles on that side of the town had to be floated over by a car hauler - we saw several going back and forth during our stay.

Matilda and I hiked to Brady Beach one morning while Dave went out fishing. We followed the boardwalk up to one of the gravel roads and just followed the sign posts. It wasn't a long hike but meandered over the hill to the west side which faced the Trevor Channel. We packed a picnic breakfast for our trek. It was a wonderful spot, full of seashells and sea glass. It was a morning well spent. We med a local couple on our outing - the resident nurse that has worked at the medical clinic for 25 years. On our way back to the dock, where Dave was to pick us up, we walked along the boardwalk where there stood quaint shops, cottages and even the local cat house! A small village for cats! Matilda enjoyed that immensely!


The salmon hadn't really started their run into Port Alberni yet. A few folks snagged a few, but most had been caught off the oast in the ocean and not in the Sound. On our trip back to Ucluelet we ventured approximately 32 miles offshore where Dave was able to catch 2 very nice King Salmon in short order!

To Poetts Nook

12 - 21 August 2010

On our first day out, we traveled leisurely to the Pinkertons (inside the Barkley). We motored around the islands insearch of the perfect anchorage, however the ones that piqued our interest were taken. We crossed the passage to Nettle Island, which is a "U" shaped island and found a comfy anchorage within the "U" of the island. Dave crabbed, while I gathered oysters from the shore and rowed around the small islets. A couple of curious racoons eyed me from the rock ledge that they were sitting on.

We had the cove to ourselves until nightfall, when another trawler joined us. They left at first light. We left shortly afterwards...Dave was anxious to hit fishing territory and to do more exploring.

From Nettle Island we traveled the Imperial Eagle Channel towards Fleming Island. Fleming Island (and Tzartus Island, which is adjacent) are known for their sea caves. Some of the caves can be accessed by small boat or kayaks, others are higher up on the shore. Some of these caves are burial grounds for the native people who lived on the islands in an earlier age. Stories tell of spelunkers exploring caves and finding the remains of these earlier people. After finding a sevure anchorage at Poetts Nook, we took the AquaSport through Robbers Passage and explored the sea caves on the southwestern side of Tzartus Island and the western side of Fleming Island. The caves that I had wished to explore by land were difficult to reach by the AquaSort, so I had to accept the view from the water's edge. Dave dropped Matilda and I off at a secluded beach to get some "land time" while he went fishing. We collected shells and looked for moon snails. We had the beach, and perhaps the whole island to ourselves...there was not a single footprint to be found, save our own.

Poetts Nook is a haven for the boaters that travel from around Vancouver Island (and the States). It caters to small fishing boats and RVers that trailer their vehicles from Port Alberni over 50 miles of gravel logging road. It is a destination spot for sports fishermen (and women). We anchored at the head of the bay and called Poetts Nook home for about a week.

Tilly and I made several excursions to shore where we found a plethora of pickleweed growing in the salt marsh. I collected several batches, some to eat fresh and the rest I canned. Dave went fishing on several occasions, bringing home ling cod, bass, spotted shrimp and crab. We have eatten quite well on our little adventure.

Ucluelet - Part II

5 - 11 August 2010

Our journey to Ucluelet was simple and straight forward. We followed the northwest shore of Vancouver Island southwest to Ucluelet inlet. We originally anchored in the same location as before, however after several days at anchor we were sitting in our salon, listening to an audiobook (an Agatha Christie mystery, I believe), when I happened to look up and notice that objects on shore (as well as, other boats) didn't seem to be where I had last seen them. We were dragging anchor and the winds and current were carrying us farther into the inlet and closer to a dock and other boats. We started up the engines, pulled up the anchor, and found a solitary location on the norhtern shore of the inlet. It was a much better anchorage, boat traffic in and out of the marina and across the inlet was minimized here. We also had an enjoyabley entertaining neighbor...BooBoo, a black bear that typically would grace us with his presence several times a day. Wildlife tour groups would motor by in boats when BooBoo was out, and a few crab fishermen would putt by to check their pots, but otherwise it was a very private anchorage with a good muddy bottom.

Dave took the AquaSport out to the ocean to go fishing. Matilda and I held down the fort, keeping BooBoo company. Dave arrived early in the afternoon with a very nice halibut for my birthday dinner. What a delicious treat! We had also been quite successful in the crab department, so enjoyed several meals of that, as well. Our next stop was the Pinkertons and the inner islands that make up the group of islands known as The Broken Group.

The Pipestem Revisited

3 - 5 August 2010

We spent the month of August exploring the Barkley Sound. Unfortunately, wifi was not available (or was terribly expensive) at most of the locations that we visited, so I am finally playing "catch up".

After our time at Effingham Bay we trekked back to the Pipestem in a light fog. Regardless of the fog, we were able to spot whales as we left Effingham Bay. Our hope was to find sunshine the further inland that we traveled...and we did! We also found that our delightful anchorage that we had on our last visit was awating our return. We quickly set anchor and stern tied to shore to relax in the sunshine for the remainder of the day. The following morning, at low tide, I rowed the tender to the point at the head of our anchorage and collected oysters and pickleweed (my new favorite wild veggie). I felt like I was being watched as I worked, and I was...a bald eagle, perched on a limb above me - scrutinized my every move. In the afternoon, at high tide, Dave and I took the AquaSport up to Lucky Creek to view the waterfalls. This time I had my camera with me so was able to take photos. The next day, Dave made a scuba dive - for fun. He was hoping to find sea cucumbers and urchins, but alas, there wer none to be found in our little cove.