GenesisIII Adventures

GenesisIII Adventures
AHOY

Wednesday 9 May 2012

TURNBULL COVE

We put crab pots out in Turnbull Cove and also decided to try out our prawn trap.
When we pulled the crab pots the next morning we were thrilled to find one trap had 26 crab. Paul said he could taste the 'crab cakes'!! Here in BC you can only keep the male species of crab so there is a "catch", 25 of the crab were female.  No crab cakes today but better luck tomorrow maybe.  We checked the prawn trap and had 7 prawn.  So steak and prawns for dinner, that's not a bad combination.  We have to get to Port McNeil to buy the steak though.  No provisions here on this part of the coast.  The marinas are open but not yet stocked for summer.  Their season starts June 1.
Heading back to Port McNeil today.


Viner Sound

 This is the black bear that we watched for over an hour while we were on the hook in Viner Sound.  He was eating the grass and moss and was oblivious to our presence.                                     
Black Bear
  This is our first prawn catch. We were excited and hope there will be more in the trap tomorrow.                                                        
Our first Prawn

  Genesis in the background as we are headed out the Sound to try our hand at ground fishing.  The scenery around this Broughton Archipelago is breathtaking.                                                            
Heading out in the dinghy

  This location was very good for crab and we had more than enough to keep us fed!  The starfish are plentiful and usually always end up with one or more in the pot.                                                     
Crab and starfish


                                                                                                                                 


    We took a dinghy ride up to the mouth of the creek and there were several spots where air bubbles were coming to surface.  It was something to see and we will have to do some research to find out what it is all about.                                                                              
Mysterious bubbles
                                                                                                                       
Under sail

                                                                                                                      



                                                                                                                           
View from our anchorage

                                                                                                                  
First Mate on the job!

Bill Proctor and Echo Bay



Mary and Bill
We tied up at the marina in Echo bay May 5th and decided to look for a guy whom we had heard had a little museum. After a fifteeen minute walk through some hilly country we came upon old homestead. We were first greeted by hens and then a very playful dog who enjoyed keeping the hens in line. Sure enough over the door of a small building was a sign that said BILLY'S MUSEUM. No one around so we went in for a look. What a surprise, this little building would be the envy of some very expensive public museums. A few minutes and an older gentleman appeared and introduced himself as Bill Proctor. He explained to us that all this "junk'' as he called it he had collected over his lifetime. We learned that Bill had spent his lifetime in this part of BC fishing,hunting, logging,and anything that helped him eke out a living. He is 77 years old and still working. He had been doing repairs to his boat when we arrived. He explained to us he had a beachcomber license that allowed him to take trees that slid off the mountains to the beach. They have to have the roots attached. He tows them back to his property where he has to paint a number on it, take a picture and buck the root off cutting through the number. He told me he had one last winter that measured 5 foot at the butt 80 feet long and 4 foot at the top.                                                                                                                                                                      
Story of a spoon
The cedar shake cabin
Bill has no formal education but has written a book ''Full Moon Flood Tides'' with the help of his friend Yvonne Maximchuk and has another to be published in June. There is also a book of his life by Alexandra Morton. We purchased both books from from his little gift shop. He told us he sold 14 thousand dollars worth of books from his shop last year. 4000 people visited him, keep in mind this is in the middle of nowhere.  We had to travel 24 miles a few days later to get groceries.
He has constructed a typical loggers cabin next to the museum. It is built of cedar shakes, the whole cabin is built from one log including the floor all split by Bill himself. He told us he would go in there light the fire and nap but he put sand from the beach in the bottom of the stove and it has rusted out. He has ordered a new one.
His latest project that he calls his craziest is the rebuild of an old sled some Japanese used to haul 56 inch cedar chunks out of the forest 75 years ago. Apparently he went to Broughton Island, found the old camps and sleighs. He packed the cast iron runners and bolts out on his back and rebuilt a replica near his museum. The sleigh was towed by horse on the higher fir logs while the horse walked on the cedar in between. A greaser greased the logs to help prevent wear and to make slippery. He said there used to be 12 miles of this on the island.
Bill's craziest project !

After our three hour visit and chat with Bill, we came away enriched in the history of this beautiful coast.  Bill is for sure a encyclopedia of knowledge about fishing, logging, beachcombing and all aspects of coastal living.  It was a pleasure to sit and listen to his stories!

Wednesday 2 May 2012

April 27/2012



We left Kanish Bay at 8:30 am. We had an ebb tide and a 15-20 kt SE wind. For five hours we sailed at between 7 and 8 kts. We motored the last two hours arriving in Port Neville around 2:30 pm. We tied up at the public dock where we were greeted by Chet McArthum of the Coastal Mission. They are a group preaching the bible up and down the coast from Washington to Alaska.They are based out of Chemanis on Vancouver Island.Their boat is called Coastal Messenger. They have leased the property near the public dock formely owned by the Hansans, orginally from Norway, who have lived here since 1891. They opened a store when the wharf was built in 1928.The lease was effective April 1 and they are preparing to settle in. Chet told us the site would be used as a training site for some of the helpers to become accustomed  to coastal living. There are a few other inhabitants around the bay but it is a really secluded place. You can view the Coastal Messenger at
www.coastalmissions.ca.


The old general store
Waiting for some TLC

The Mission vessel
Looking out into Johnstone Strait









Uh Oh!!!!




After leaving Squirell Cove on April 13(it was Friday!) heading north up Calm Channel about 11:30 in the morning, we hit a log that went directly under the boat.  As a result we ended up with the rudder being a little stiff. We decided to go to Campbell River to have the boat hauled out to assess the extent of the damage. The boatyard was busy so we waited at the marina until the following Wednesday. April 18. The rudder post was slightly bent so the yard ordered a new rudder assembly from Catalina in Florida with a four week delivery schedule. The Yard is busy so we waited until April 25 to be lifted back in the water. Luckily we could stay on the boat at the yard. We left Campbell river the next morning with plans to stay in Kanish Bay. The tide was in our favor through Seymore Narrows which made for a fast passage. We arrived at Kanish Bay at low water and went ashore to dig clams. Clam chowder!!

Mary has decided to leave!