The Home Front



Cruising along Seattle's Waterfront

After spending nearly two weeks in Anacortes, we departed for Seattle on August 25^th.  It was nice to see our friends Neil and Jessie at Elliott Bay Marina on Red Thread who would be leaving in September for their journey down the West Coast to Mexico and then on to Australia.  The young energetic newlyweds would be seeking new careers in a new country.  We joined others prior to their departure for an emotional and fun bon voyage party.  It has also been great to reconnect with old friends and spend time with family. 


The Great Wheel

We are currently enjoying the fall/winter months bonding with our younger grandchildren while helping out with daycare.  Then there’s catching up on the many fun activities in Seattle, including a ride on “The Great Wheel” along the Seattle waterfront and visiting the expanded Pike Place Market. 

Pike Place Market, Seattle

The new Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) at Lake Union is also a must see. 

Museum of History and Industry, Seattle

The mission of the museum is to inspire others through historical exploration of Seattle’s past and the people who have shaped the Puget Sound region.  The new museum is high-tech with interactive displays so visitors can delve deeper into the events and people that shaped the past, and those who are shaping the future. 

Inside MOHAI Museum

We found the historic photographs and displays to be more interactive than those presented at the previous museum site.  Wanting to take advantage of the remaining warm sunny days we took in several city parks, including Carkeek Park located northwest of the Ballard District. 

Carkeek Park

This 216-acre park is named after Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Carkeek, a once prominent builder and contractor of Seattle.  Morgan Carkeek came to Seattle in 1875, investing in Puget Sound Stone Yards and Builders Masonry.  He built many of the major pioneer stone buildings in Pioneer Square and the barracks at Fort Lawton as well as other building sites.  He also organized the first street railway in Seattle.  

Train Approaching Carkeek Park and Pedestrian Overpass

Carkeek Park overlooks Puget Sound and offers a sandy beach, picnic tables, and trails.  A stairway from the park area passes over the railroad tracks down to the beach.  It’s great fun watching trains pass underneath the pedestrian overpass!  One of the most expansive and intriguing parks in Seattle is Discovery Park. Discovery Park is a 534 acre park on the shores of Puget Sound in the Magnolia neighborhood northwest of Elliott Bay Marina. 

Discovery Park, Fort Lawton

We rode our bicycles through the Park which includes the United Indians Daybreak Star Cultural Center, the West Point Lighthouse, and historic Fort Lawton.  Located along high bluffs overlooking the sea with expansive views of Puget Sound, the site would serve as a strategic fort location over the years.  In 1894, Northwest Brigadier General Elwell Otis reported to the Secretary of War that a fort should be built in Seattle 6 miles northwest of downtown to keep domestic peace.  

Fort Lawton Frozen in Time

The growing population was restless with “exhibitions of lawlessness.”  Washington had been a state for only 5 years and depression was lingering with many still jobless.  From 1899-1908, twenty-eight wood frame Colonial Revival buildings were constructed around an oval parade ground.  During WWI troops at Fort Lawton numbered 428 and during WWII at least 20,000 troops at a time were stationed at the post.   Fort Lawton served as the second-highest Port of Embarkation for troops and material to the Pacific Theater with more than 1 million troops passing through, both before and after the War.  The post was also used as a prisoner-of-war camp with more than 1,000 Germans imprisoned there and approximately 5,000 Italians were passed through en route to Hawaii for imprisonment.  Troops were once again dispatched at Fort Lawton during the Cold War for the Korean conflict.  In 1964, the Army declared 85 percent of Fort Lawton land surplus, and available for a public park.  By the mid 1970’s large portions of land had become parkland.  Smaller parcels were transferred periodically to Seattle Parks during the 1980’s and 1990s through the Federal Lands to Parks program. 

Colonial Style Buildings at Fort Lawton

Today, Discovery Park is enjoyed by thousands of visitors walking the extensive trails and enjoying the peaceful, expansive views.  A few of Fort Lawton’s Colonial buildings serve as private condos while other buildings are boarded up, frozen in time.  There’s a sense of peace and stillness while walking the forested paths and sidewalks of a bygone military fort. 

West Point Lighthouse

The Indian Cultural Center located on the northwest end of the Park is open to the public and visitors can also walk/bike to the 1881 West Point Lighthouse.  We will continue to enjoy the many sights and sounds of Seattle over the coming months while making plans for our next boating adventure. 

Seattle Skyline

Where will we go next and how will the story end?  Should we continue down the West Coast through the Panama Canal and beyond? Or perhaps have the boat shipped to Europe or the Mediterranean?  What about Japan or Australia?  So many choices and logistics to consider.  We hope to share new adventures in a fourth blog in the near future while staying in touch with family and friends.            

The Way Home




Seals say Goodbye at Comox

Class in Session, Young Sailors at Comox

We departed Comox around 10:30am with overcast skies and light rain.  A group of day sailors were out in the harbour once again for their summer lessons in sailing, it’s always heartwarming to see children spending their time learning to sail, no doubt a maturing experience that instills responsibility.  We exited the harbour via Baynes Sound which leads into the Strait of Georgia. 

Clouds over Union Bay, Vancouver Island

As we motored along Baynes Sound, we could smell the fresh rain and feel the muggy air; soon we saw lightning strikes over the communities of Union Bay, Buckley, and Fanny Bay.  We shut down one of our computers as a precaution and ran with minimal electronics until the lightening finished its short-lived show.  

Chrome Island Lighthouse

We soon passed picturesque Chrome Island Lighthouse, partially shrouded in fog south of Denman Island.  

Chrome Island Lighthouse

After nearly seven hours of motoring, we arrived in Nanaimo and anchored off Newcastle Island among the numerous boats that filled the Nanaimo Harbour anchorage zone.  The following morning we departed around 11am in order to arrive at Dodd Narrows around slack water.  Leaving the Harbour proved to be adventuresome with lots of boat traffic, including a ferry and a barge as well as pleasure boats all heading towards Dodd Narrows.  

Dodd Narrows #37, Waggoner Cruising Guide

As we approached the Narrows, there were at least a dozen boats lined up to proceed through the cut, some with different angles of attack creating a rather hectic scene.  After passing southbound through the Narrows, the wind picked up to 20 knots with opposing current, creating choppy seas.  The winds had subsided by the afternoon, ranging from 10-12 knots through Navy Channel.  

Winter Cove, Saturna Island

We pulled into Winter Cove on Saturna Island at 4pm after 5-hours of motoring and anchored for the night; we would leave the following morning for our final leg into home waters.  We awoke to a solid blanket of fog, hoping that it would clear later in the morning but no such luck.  We departed around 9am, keeping a sharp eye out for crab pots and logs with another eye on the radar for other boats.  We headed south down Plumper Sound, making ready to cross Boundary Pass.  As we approached the Canada/U.S. Boundary Pass, we detected a boat on radar coming straight at us, it veered off to port and passed along our mid-ships then turned and followed behind us; yes it was the Canadian Coast Guard who came along our starboard side to speak to us.  They gave us a friendly greeting, asked a few questions, and we continued on our way.  The fog was still thick as pea soup, no more than an eighth of a mile visibility.  We continued to see more blips on the radar, adjusting our course as needed while listening to commercial traffic on the radio.  As we progressed southward down San Juan Channel, the boat traffic increased in numbers; at one point we came to a complete stop to allow a boat to cross in front of us as detected on radar.  It wasn’t until we reached Friday Harbor on San Juan Island that we had visibility, another busy scene where a stream of sailboats and power boats were exiting the harbor.  Friday Harbor is a port of entry for clearing customs but the custom’s dock was completely full; we would have to wait until there was space at the dock.  Seeing that it was going to be a long wait, we continued to Anacortes, another port of entry, arriving around 3pm.  We were told during our phone call to customs that we should get an assigned slip at Anacortes and then call again when we arrived to clear customs.  The customs office would be open from 8am to 8pm but closed between 1:30pm and 3:30pm in order to meet and process the Sydney B.C. to Anacortes ferry.  As it turned out, the ferry was two hours late due to limited visibility.  We were finally able to clear customs at 4:30pm, happy to be back in home waters after three arduous days of motoring.

A Sporting Character



Mountain Backdrop, Comox

Nautical Theme at Comox

Continuing south, we motored along the eastern shore of Vancouver Island, the Strait of Georgia was flat, calm for the entire four and half-hour cruise to Comox.  Good weather meant an easy crossing over the Comox Bar and made locating the buoys that mark the shoals an easy task.  We made our way through the shallow entrance with only 10 feet of water under the keel and found Comox Harbour filled with day sailors practicing their skills and runabouts heading out to fish.   

Cute Condos and Shops in Comox

The Beaufort Mountains and Comox Glacier could clearly be seen, providing a beautiful backdrop to the harbour.  The summer scene certainly is differernt from the stormy off season when the bar is often closed and the local Coast Guard is practicing helicopter rescue maneuvers.  Once tied up at the docks, we took our bikes into town.   


Hover-round Traffic

We always enjoy this small community with its nautical theme, cute cafes, and the adventure of dodging hover-rounds racing along the sidewalks.  Comox is a retirement community with medical services and other conveniences but put more bluntly, it seems to be home to a club of bold seniors who speed along the sidewalks expecting you to get out of their way.  

Daring Hover-round Driver

One lady looked like a deer in headlights as if to say, I don’t know how to stop this thing!  One cute guy, looking like a race car driver, was climbing one of the steeper hills in town quite proud of his accomplishment.  Perhaps it’s the senior version of “heading out on the highway, looking for adventure.”  

The Filberg Lodge

After dodging all the hover-rounds, we made our way (on two wheels) to the Filberg Heritage Lodge & Park located on the southeast end of town.  The lodge was built on a 9-acre estate in the 1930’s by logging Baron R.J. Filberg.  

The Grape Arbor, Filberg Park

The grounds contain lovely gardens and other buildings, including a root cellar, dairy barn, and chicken coop.  Robert Filberg came to the Comox Valley from Denver, Colorado at the age of 17 and began his career in the Comox Logging & Railway Company.  

Filberg Lodge, Comox

In 1916 he married Florence McCormick, daughter of Sir James McCormick president of Canadian Western Lumber and Comox Logging, which no doubt was beneficial.  

Dairy Building, Filberg Park

Nevertheless, he earned his way over the years and eventually became president.  He and Florence established the R. Filberg General Fund with over $10 million which provided grants for many worthy causes.  Today, the property is owned and managed by the town of Comox which designated the Filbert Lodge in 1979 as a heritage site.

Lovely Grounds, Filberg Park

        

More Potlatch Treasures




Cape Mudge Village, Quadra Island

 

After our stay at Gorge Harbour on Cortes Island, we crossed the Strait of Georgia in calm seas.  We rounded Cape Mudge on the south tip of Quadra Island, motoring through the usual maze of fishing boats off the Cape, and headed for Campbell River on Vancouver Island.  

Ferry Landing at Quathiaski Cove, Quadra Island

The following day we took our bicycles on the small car ferry that runs between Campbell River and Quathiaski Cove on Quadra Island.  Once on the Island, we rode southward to the Native village of Cape Mudge, home of the We Wai Kai Nation to visit the Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre & Museum.  The museum first opened in 1979 as the Kwagiulth Museum then closed in 2001 for renovations, reopening in May 2007 as the Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre.  

Quathiaski Cove, Quadra Island

Canoe at Cape Mudge Village

The Nuyumbalees Society was founded in 1975 to complete the negotiations for the return of their Potlatch ceremonial items and regalia, which the Government of Canada had confiscated in 1921 during the time of the Anti-Potlatch Law.  Like the museum in Alert Bay on Cormorant Island, the museum at Cape Mudge houses and preserves repatriated potlatch artifacts.  

Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre & Museum

The purpose of a potlatch was to acknowledge a marriage, mourn a death, or transfer rights or crests etc. through the acceptance of gifts celebrated through song, dance, and storytelling.  The potlatch host provided entertainment and gave his guests gifts according to their recognized position in society and were fed a large feast.  The excellent museum at the Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre in Cape Mudge provides close up views of exquisitely carved masks and head dresses as well as other pieces like rattles, whistles, and cedar bark ceremonial clothing. 

Whistle (photo from internet)

Whistles represented a variety of animal sounds each with a different tone constructed of two pieces of wood lashed together.  Before lashing the pieces together, the inside was shaped for each unique sound. 

Rattle (photo from internet)

Rattles were used to announce the beginning of a chant or song and masks represented different animals or beings.  The museum also had a nice collection of historic photos of various Native villages and provided explanations about the series of dances, their purpose, and how the regalia was used in each ceremony.  As in all cultures, there seems to be a common thread in mankind’s imagination.  Native American and First Nations story telling seem to be a combination of operas, fairy tales, and religious beliefs.  For example, the Bakas is said to be half man, half animal with a hair covered body and lives in the forest.  Another dance (with canoe costume pieces) tells of the first ancestor Weqe, who was told by the Great Spirit to put himself and his family into four canoes before the great flood came.  Weqe and his family survived the deluge but the two canoes at the end broke away.  One drifted northward, one drifted southward, becoming the ancestors of different bands.  The museum at Cape Mudge also had a nice collection of coppers, like those at Alert Bay. 

Coppers at U'mista Centre, Alert Bay

Coppers were used as an economic tool, similar in function to the way bonds are used today.  When an investor bought a copper he would buy it with mountain goat fur, the mode of currency on the coast prior to European contact.  If he liquidated his assets a year later by reselling his copper, he would receive the same amount of goat furs for his copper plus profit from the sale.  The Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre is definitely worth a visit, unfortunately, not many people seem to know about this museum due to the lack of promotional efforts and lack of photos since photography is not allowed inside the museum.                   

Gorge Harbour Visit






Walsh Cove Marine Park

We departed Toba Wildernest at 10am and made our way south down Waddington Channel for a side trip into Walsh Cove, the site of another pictograph.  Walsh Cove on W. Redonda Island was crowded with boats, an indication that we were in the busy season and popular boating area of Desolation Sound.  

Too Close, Stern Aground

We could only image how hectic it must be this time of year at Desolation Sound Marine Park, located further south.  The small cove and marine park of Walsh was lined with boats stern tied to shore; one boat got a little too close for comfort and found their stern aground, they would have to wait for the tide to raise them off the shoal.  

Pictograph at Walsh Cove

Unable to find suitable anchorage nearby, we motored around with Got d’ Fever looking for the pictograph, we finally found it on a point at the north side of the cove.  We motored as close as we dared and snapped a couple of pictures, then headed out.  We retraced our steps going north then west around the north side of W. Redonda Island and then south down Sutil Channel between Read Island and Cortes Island.  We were bound for Gorge Harbour on Cortes Island where we planned to meet up with our friends Susan and Chris, but first we would need to negotiate Uganda Pass between Cortes and Marina Islands.  The normal rule on colored buoys is “red right returning” with the red buoy to starboard and the green buoy to port.  

Red to Port, Opposite Standard Rule

But  islands can be a different story, you have to ask yourself from which direction are you returning?  In this particular case the charts indicate that you are returning to Gorge Harbour from the south, not from the north so the buoys are viewed backwards from the standard rule – red to port and green to starboard in this case. 

Green to Starboard, Opposite Standard Rule

It can look strange and feel uncomfortable with rocks and shoals scatter about, but you have to trust the rules.  A long sand bar extends eastward from Marina Island so safe passage winds between rocks close to shore along Cortes Island.  We came out on the other side unscathed and headed around the corner into Gorge Harbour.  

Entrance to Gorge Harbour, Cortes Island

The entrance to George Harbour is quite dramatic with its narrow opening and tall rock face to port, where yet another pictograph is located.  Leonard negotiated the entrance which had some small whirlpools, while I snapped a couple of pictures; another pictograph checked off our list.  

Pictograph, Gorge Harbour on Cortes Island

Gorge Harbour proved to be another busy spot with the docks already full and many boats anchored in the bay.  We motored around for a while searching for a good spot, then decided to head to the northeast end of the bay, our secret spot where we had anchored in previous years.  The anchor was down and we had settled in around 4pm.  Time to prepare dinner and then head over to see our friends on their beautiful Selene, named C Otter, moored at the docks in front of the marina resort. 

Friends on C Otter, Gorge Marina

Yes, we remembered to turn on our anchor light as it would be evening by the time we returned, we then headed over in our dinghy to see Susan and Chris with dessert in-hand.  We had a wonderful visit as always with lots of laughs and enjoyed seeing their friends again, Tammy and Gary, whom we had met in Mexico on another get-together with Susan and Chris.  

Restaurant at Gorge Resort & Marina 

Gorge Harbour Marina has all of the amenities that boaters and families could want, including a swimming pool, store, restaurant, and play areas.  

Gorge Marina, Cortes Island

Serenaded by African-style Music

The weather was perfect and we could hear the band playing African themed music from shore, adding to the ambiance of our group visit.             

Toba Wildernest Resort



View from our Boat at Wildernest Resort & Marina

Trail to the Waterfall above Wildernest Resort

A Cup of Refreshing Cold Water

We thanked Kyle for his hospitality and said our goodbye’s, but not before hiking the trail on the property to a waterfall, the source of water and electricity for the Resort.  Water from the falls is captured at a collection point 600-700 feet above the resort and delivered through a 1-foot diameter pipe resulting in water pressure for domestic use.  A shed along the trail houses a turbine, powered by water falling from a natural shelf which runs the generator creating electricity for his home and guest cabins.  Hikers can stop at the overflow system along the trail and make use of the stainless steel cup hanging from a rope.  

The Falls, a Source of Power and Electricity

The Falls above Wildernest Resort

The remaining portion of trail is steep but easily accomplished with the help of ropes attached to trees for that extra boost.  

A Rope at the top for Assistance

We highly recommend a stop at Toba Wildernest Resort & Marina, it has that Girl Scout, Boy Scout appeal with neat, tidy grounds; the cabins are adorable and you can’t beat the views. 

Office Cabin and Showers at Wildernest Resort

Kyle leases the property and lives on the grounds year-round, always ready and willing to provide helpful information. 

Tidy Grounds at Wildernest Resort

We had one last question for Kyle before leaving.  To our astonishment, we had spotted some power lines in Toba Inlet along a hillside through the trees - where in the heck were these lines going?  He explained that there are a number of generating plants in Toba Inlet, similar to his system only on a larger scale, that create power from falling water sent to turbines to create electricity.  These micro hydro-electric systems work well without the more invasive use of dams, leaving rivers in their natural state.  Of course there aren’t any communities in Toba Inlet so the power lines extend through the valleys to the community of Powell River, British Columbia.