Sunday June 22, 2014

 Sun June 22 Only one boat in this WONDER bay/ next night a flotilla arrives from Cooper Yacht Charter, mixed power and sail must be nine in all. We spoke with “Dreamspeaker's” Anne who is on one of the charter boats as tour guide.  Nice to meet famous people, especially people that write and know all about our Coast.

GUNK HOLE TIME (a time when you jump into the dingy, a few apies, and take a tour of the moored yachts and small bays).  This ritual is usefully performed later in the day and we definitely DO NOT take ROAD POPS "huh" with us, as that would be against the law. Some gunks can be up to 40 miles or more. We gunked over to Health Bay a native Indian reservation.

Health Bay Longhouse

We were very fortunate to arrive at a special time. A deep chanting can be heard at first muffled but now easily heard above the idling outboard, around the corner a long canoe with 8 to 10 person dipping there paddles deep in the aqua green water to arrive to meet the Village Elders coming down the ramp to greet them, they are in full west coast native regalia. Red capes buttons, west coast head dress, they are trailed with the remainder of the group one wearing a T shirt and printed on its reads, “I TRAIN SASQUWATCHS” (I guess that is probably is true) .

Tribal Greetings
 

There is long greetings and introductions.  A lot of inter tribe words about protection of the environment and there mission to visit coastal tribes on their way to Waglisla (Bella Bella). When the greetings are terminated the canoe along with camera boat are invited to tie along the wharf.  There are invites to take meals and share lodgings till their departure to a new destination, perhaps Kingcome Inlet. We too are invited by a wave, but silly us were too shy to accept. We will email the pictures we have taken.

Lost in Bootlegger Cove

We finish are gunk with Bootlegger Cove (where we see an abandoned wreck on the beach) and again and again we reminisce about long ago and putting our shiny new black Lab ashore for last pee and him in hot hot pursuit of a deer happenstance to be there. We called all night long, tooted the horn and called again and again. Wolf bait for sure or a tasty snack for a cougar. Up at first light, coffee in hand, close aboard at tide level to the impenetrable low scrub, dark and dank salal bush (The Kwakwakawakw ate there ripe berries dipped in oolichan grease at large feasts), black firs and cedars, rain smearing my specs. After it is time to give up, I make one last sweep of a bay far south and there he was. Head down at beach edge mud to his shoulders, eyes blood shot, and totally aware of his transgressions. He wanted aboard the dingy so desperately but he knew he could not board without permission. After a long scolding I broke down and permission granted .We raced back to “Castle Rock” (last boat) at the speed of light.  His paws never touched the deck that I saw, up on to his pilot house bed, never left it for several days and never never did this very bad thing again.

Back at are sea home I locate the winch problem in a deck switch. Moisture has invaded the switch and corroded the contacts, clean up re and re. I was the one that installed and sealed it up, I will have to monitor to make the sure the fix is fixed.