Seeking the Inside



Pine Island, Queen Charlotte Strait

Pine Island Lighthouse

We departed Nigei Island at 5:50am hoping the seas were settled from the earlier winds for an acceptable crossing of Queen Charlotte Strait.  Even after several day’s wait, we encountered 5 foot swells with occasional 6 footer’s at 6-8 second intervals.  With little to no wind, the journey was manageable.  We soon passed Pine Island Lighthouse, a manned lighthouse providing weather observations important to mariners in addition to readings from the West Sea Otter Buoy located northwest of Cape Caution.  After passing Pine Island, the period between swells widened to 10 seconds, but turning due north for Cape Caution put us broadside to the swell necessitating the need to tack (a zig zag maneuver) a couple of times for a more comfortable ride.  

Curious Sea Otter

As we neared Egg Island just north of Cape Caution, the seas became more settled with 4 foot swells.  A group of Sea Otters welcomed our arrival, and one curious guy popped back up to take another peek at us as we passed by.  Around 11am we entered Fitz Hugh Sound, the beginning of the “Inside Passage” of protected waters in Central and Northern B.C. which continues through Southeast Alaska.  A left turn into Lama Passage and the Hours Meter turned to 4,000 hours, a birthday of sorts for Got d’ Fever.  

Our Passenger The Raven

Rounding Denny Island, we arrived at 5:30pm in Shearwater, having picked up a passenger, a Raven who rode on the bow-rail for the longest time.  I always see Ravens near Native villages, maybe there really is a connection to those myths and legends.  After finishing dinner and before the engines cooled, Leonard changed the oil (3 gallons per engine), a routine job after every 200 hours of motoring, best done while the engines are warm.  The following morning we enjoyed a latte at the new coffee bar inside the gift shop at Shearwater.  

The Village of Shearwater

Shearwater is like an oasis for the central coast of British Columbia and serves the needs of mariners traveling the Inside Passage.  The gift shop now has a new owner, who has added a coffee/bakery bar which opened in May; we are happy to report that the lattes are excellent and the in-house bakery items are tasty.  Conversation in the shop soon turned to the area’s history. 

Enjoying Latte's and Muffins

The shop keeper’s mother used to work at the original hotel located at that time across the bay which eventually burned down, she no doubt has many stories to share at age 81.  Other stories from the past are too painful to share; of Dutch descent, she was a prisoner of war at the age of 9 in Indonesia.  As with many painful stories from WWII, they will be lost to time.  Shearwater also has a connection with WWII, having served as a base for 1,000 men of the RCAF flying patrols along British Columbia's central coast.