Hi Everyone,
Here we are in Sullivan Bay, North Broughton Island at 2:15PM, Monday, August 15th and waiting for the sun to come out. It's a little late today. Usually around 1PM we'll see some sun. Sometimes it's not until 4PM.
When we left Pierre's, we went just a short distance to Echo Bay. We met another couple, Ken and Carol Whitaker, on a Valiant 42, Whisper. Carol was not interested in fishing. So Ken and I went out to catch dinner. We did well with a couple of rock fish and several black cod, plenty for a couple of meals for the four of us.
Meanwhile Bill had several boat chores in mind. Usually each boat chore takes three times as long as expected. Bill completed these in record time, without tripling it. Even the ever popular boat chore: "Rebuilding the Head" (marine toilet). So we had time to check out the neat pictographs on the rock face. It was hard to imagine what they were meant to be but interesting even so. The "Bead Lady" also had a shop with all sorts of beautiful bead work, leather, paintings etc. in Echo Bay at Windsong Sea Village. It was a treat.
Then there is the "Crab Saga". We were still hopeful and placed our trap in a recommended area. No crabs took the bait but we did have a small flounder in the trap. Surprise, surprise! Naturally we reset the trap, 80' deep at high tide with 150' of sinking line and extra floatation. The trap was gone when we returned to retrieve it. It seemed suspicious, since it was not near a ledge or where a boat might snag it accidentally. We decided not to invest any more money in seeking crabs.
That night we did get together with other boats for a pot luck dinner. A couple of boats brought their fresh cooked crabs. So we did have our taste of local crab. It seems the crabs here are not as flavorful as those we buy at home from Northern California. It could be the different diet. Another thought was that most boaters clean the crab before cooking it but that it has more flavor if cooked before cleaning.
We discovered that many boaters in B.C. come prepared with a good sized freezer. Then they fish (salmon and halibut especially) and catch prawn and package and freeze their catch for the winter. Some had a near production line going freezing buckets of prawns.
It was here that we went to visit Bill Proctor and his museum. It was an interesting afternoon. Bill's museum contains all sorts of artifacts, from fishing lures and bottles to large lumber saws, all collected on the beach by him. It was quite an array of "junk". Bill is a local legend and author of some local best sellers, including "Full Moon, Flood Tide" a history of the local folks and folk lore of the area in the last 100 years or so.
The highlight in this area was the humpback whales we saw on three different days. "Show us your white bellies". OK, well it worked in Tonga!
It was time to move onward. we were overdue for some anchorage time. So we continued north to Berry Cove, Cypress Harbor, Broughton Island. We had this lovely little spot to ourselves. We thought we might see some bears but I think we get up after they have gone back to sleep for the day. Also we hoped to see the meteor shower but the sky was completely overcast.
Next Stop was Greenway Sound Marina, Broughton Island. I noticed going in that the water temperature was 64 degrees. Mentioning this to the owner, he said that is why the salmon have gone. They like 52 degree water. Also there is a greater concentration of Atlantic Salmon fish farms in the Broughton Islands than elsewhere in Canada. You all probably know what that means.
The best thing about here was the Greenway Sound Broughton Lakes Park. A dingy dock was right at the trail head. From there we hiked/climbed to the first lake, then continued on a "corduroy road" to the beaver dam and second lake. The corduroy road was very impressive. It is large logs laid horizontal on the long path. Originally it was to help shuttle the cut tree trunks down the hillside. It was a nice work out and we finished the day with a feast of pork Marsala and mushrooms with all the trimmings.
Onward to Sullivan Bay. This used to be a great fishing destination. They still seem to be doing fine as a marina, but the fishing has died out. There have been very few catches reported in the area. We have met some fine folks here. Yesterday Tom (5 years old) and Corey (maybe 10) spent the afternoon aboard with many question and much enthusiasm. They were a joy! We heard of Corey's plan to become a boat designer and Tom's, to become a spy. We had a fine time with their parents too.
We got to know another couple, Travis and Barbara Wills on BAR-T-NA. Travis really took me under his wing and gave me a lot of help on fishing...when to fish, what to fish with, where to fish for what type of fish, how to decide what depth to fish, what music fish like, etc. What a great help to me and he was so enthusiastic. This morning at 8:30 he and I went out fishing with salmon in mind. Barbara was happy to stay behind and continue painting (She is an artist and writer) and Bill was happy to catch a few more ZZZ's. Nope, Salmon weren't biting, no surprise. Pulling in the line, I caught another black cod.
Though the fish weren't biting, when I got back I found Bill byte'n! The public Internet computer in the restaurant was not working so Bill fixed it for another free meal. He also fixed Travis's computer which had a virus.
That's the news as of Monday. Tomorrow we head out to anchor again.
Warmest Regards,
Mary and Bill
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