Whale Breath

This is the second of two new posts - please read "Seabird Sans Sam" first

Oh Deer - Echo Bay, BC

Houseboats - Echo Bay, BC

Echo Bay BC

Another salmon - Phillips Inlet, BC

Dinner?

Pacific white-sided dolphins - Queen Charlotte Straits, BC

Ahhhhhh - Eucott Hot Springs, BC

Seabird @ anchor - Eucott Hot Springs, BC

Sue driving the boat - Queen Charlotte Straits

Beautiful Eucott Hot Springs, BC

Eucott Hot Springs BC

August 30

Greetings from Queen Charlotte Straits. I’m writing this as we’re on our way to Echo Bay. We are hoping there will be internet access there. We had internet at Ocean Falls but unfortunately it was so slow we couldn’t post the blog.

 We left rainy Ocean Falls (they average three times as much rain as Seattle) on the 26^th of August, and headed to Eucott Hot Springs. We arrived there in the early evening. It was chilly and (still) rainy and we eagerly headed over to the hot springs. It was a really neat place. Some people from Ocean Falls had built it up with a very nice soaking pool at the waters edge. The setting was very wild & the temp was just right…HOT! We ended up spending two days and had long soaks morning, afternoon and night each day. One night in the tub, while chatting with Dwight from Edmonton, we spotted a black bear across the harbor in the meadow. There were three other boats in the harbor & we ended up meeting everyone at the springs sooner or later. It’s the first time we were at an anchorage and met everyone. They were all super nice, friendly and Canadian. Not a lot of Americans head up to this hot springs as its way off the typical route if you’re just headed north to Alaska.  It’s been nice to discover these out-of-the way, quiet places. We’re also grateful to Dwight who helped get us out of a jam one afternoon. We had taken our 13ft whaler over to the springs. When it was time to leave we realized the tide had gone way down & the whaler was becoming grounded. We pushed and rocked and dug out the sand behind the boat but we weren’t making much progress as it’s a pretty heavy little boat. The more time we took, the lower the tide got. Just when it looked like we were going to have spend the next five hours in the tub (not an altogether unpleasant thought) Dwight kayaked over & with his extra muscle, we were able to push the whaler into deeper water. We also caught some prawns at the entrance to the anchorage and made some tasty coconut shrimp for dinner – yummy!

The next morning we left the hot springs & headed toward Queen Charlotte Sound. On the way we stopped & trolled for salmon & Pete caught a 13-pounder! This was very exciting as it’s the first salmon we caught without Sam’s expertise and help. Pete reeled it in and I netted it. We grilled it for dinner that night and it was some of the best tasting salmon we’ve had so far. Not sure what makes one better than another but there does seem to be a difference. Pete also caught a monster rock cod which makes for tasty fish and chips and fish sandwiches. Our bounty from the sea has been good!  As for me, I’m getting better about looking into the eyes of my dinner a few hours before I eat it though I still can’t help with the cleaning & gutting part. That is all Pete.

We spent one night in Fury Cove – our only repeat visit so far. It has a nice beach with lots of diverse clam shells, muscles, driftwood etc on it. Unfortunately you are unable to eat anything due to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) warnings for the area. We’ve seen that in a few places so, though we have come across abundant shellfish, we are unable to eat any of it. That night as we ate dinner, we listened to Obama’s acceptance speech. It’s been great to have satellite radio on this trip. As we haven’t seen a national newspaper in some time, or watched any TV, it’s been nice to forget about the outside world. Though it is nice to tune-in when you want. And to rock out while your underway is fun.

Last night we stayed at Blunden Harbor. We expected a lot of boats to be there, as it was the first day of the long holiday weekend & it’s a large anchorage with many coves. We were pleased to see only one other boat & it was very quiet. During dinner I thought I heard a strange noise. I opened the window but didn’t hear anything further. A few moments later I noticed a flock of birds on the nearby rock all flew away. I decided to look around. Suddenly a large blow came from near the rock & a good sized minke whale surfaced. We were really surprised as this was quite a shallow anchorage – less than 30 feet deep in most places. The whale was feeding & continued cruising around the harbor. At one point, it came up about 75ft from the boat. It was amazing. He also made a strange bellowing roar when he fed that echoed off the rocks. A few moments later there was a horrible, fishy smell in the air. Pete informed me that it was whale breath. Phew, it stinks! He explained that it depends on what they’ve been eating as it will smell bad when they’re feeding on fish. Later that night, you could hear the fish jumping all around the boat. When I shined a flashlight into the water you could see thousands of them. This morning elephant seals came in & were feeding. Must be a tough life for a bait fish.

As I write this, something else exciting happened. A school of Pacific white-sided dolphins swam by. They were going in the opposite direction and there were just a bunch of them – must have been over a 100. Looks like they were feeding & a few minutes after they passed us by two more whales went by. It’s a very cool feeling to be on the boat, perhaps writing a blog, or doing the morning dishes when suddenly wildlife pops up around you. I love it!

So now we head to Echo Bay. Yesterday was the first day in eight that we had good a break in the rain. We were actually able to air out the boat & dry some very damp things. We’re hoping to hit a laundry & grocery while in town. LC is lying next to me all happy & warm in the few rays of sunshine she can find. Haven’t written much about her lately because she’s doing fine. She hates mornings (have to physically remove her from the bedroom) when we start up the engine. But once we are under way, she comes out and spends the rest of the day lying on our laps or on the couch. Her favorite time is dinner time when we are having either salmon, cod or prawns. She just can’t get enough of any of those. Now if only we could teach her to clean dishes…

Until next time…