August 7th
Namu to Fury Cove
Departed 9:30 57 degrees foggy
Had time this morning while waiting for high tide to take a “nosey cruise” to the site of the old and dilapidated BC Packers cannery buildings. There were signs “Definitely no trespassing”, and I had read that boaters should stay away and not venture on to the dock to explore due to the danger. David agreed (after I wore him down) not to go ashore but just cruise by in our dinghy to take a close look.
Looking at the abandoned and neglected site, you could just imagine what this community was like 50 years ago with such a vibrant enterprise and bustling town. We are anxious to talk with Ron who was captain on a fish packer way back when. He might be able to shed some light on what Namu was like in its heyday.
This looked like it was once a massive operation with several rooftops seen on the hillside of what we believe to be homes of the long ago residents. It is such a shame that another site of such historical significance has been left to decay.
We gave our dinghy a good scrub when we returned from our wonder. It had rust stains from the sawing of the old logging cable. Our little skiff looks 1,000% better!
I did something yesterday that I have not done since the early days of boating (and I used to do it far too often). Before pulling back the lever to haul the anchor up, I forgot to release the “dog” which locks the winch wheel. David saw a squirt of hydraulic fluid caused by the force of the wheel straining to move. We now have stains on David’s newly painted deck from the fluid leak. I feel terrible about it.
The Belle made her way through the rocky entrance to Namu in heavy fog only to find 15 to 20 fishing boats scattered about. We had to keep careful eye out for any fishing nets strung out in the water and boats that were in the process of letting out their nets. You don’t want to get tangled up in anyone’s net. Once on the radio, I heard a fisherman warning a boater that he was about to go through his net. He kept saying, “Go to Port. Go to Port. Go to Port.”
We wove our way through the fishing fleet in the fog which was quite a feat. It remained foggy in varying degrees throughout our four-hour journey today. My eyes were hurting from glaring into the wall of fog on the look-out for obstacles of any sort. We were on high alert the entire journey.
During our trip, a radio call by someone with a raspy grandfather-type voice was made to Victoria Traffic. The boater had rented a fishing boat from a resort, and he and his companion were lost in the fog. He had rented the boat from someone in River’s Inlet very near where we were headed. He just wanted a call to be made to the resort for help but the traffic officer had many more questions for him.
We watched a seal with a fish in its mouth fling it out and birds soared down to see what he had left for them. We have been told that seals just bite off a chunk of the underside of the fish leaving the rest for other diners to enjoy.
As soon as we entered Fury Cove, we were greeted by heavenly sunshine, and the white sandy beaches glistened. We had a view of Queen Charlotte’s Sound and the lingering fog. Hoping that tomorrow the fog will find another place to land…far away from us.
David glanced into our small galley freezer and discovered the ice age. While it defrosted, we sat in the glorious sunshine on the bow and listened to another Sue Grafton book on tape while breathing in the stillness and soaking up the warmth. We watched two whales cavorting out in the strait.
Tomorrow we hit the open waters once again and round Cape
Caution pass Egg Island. From all reports, the winds should behave themselves.
The only question is the fog. That blanket of thick clouds unnerves me. Doesn’t
seem to rattle David and that’s what counts.
We still had some crab left to crack and enjoy last night even after making crab cakes and crab bisque. Those were some hefty crabs!
Two photos just for fun
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