July 26/00

Shower, breakfast, and check out. Pick up fresh vegetables for the island. Head for the ferry dock and we’re the first RV in the line up. None too early it seems, as the waiting room and parking lot is filling up. We have reservations but must still get in the line-up for our tickets. A return ticket for overweight vehicle under 20’ with two passengers costs $404. We bag things we may want during the six+ hours of the crossing, as access to vehicles is not possible one hour after departure.

Loading begins shortly after 10 a.m. Unlike Tsawassen-Swartz Bay drive-on, this is a meticulous process. Each vehicle is carefully inspected, visually measured and finally shoehorned onto the Queen of Prince Rupert, so that little space is wasted. The two elevated side ramps take regular cars and all over-height and over-length vehicles — campers, motorhomes, trucks and buses — go on the main deck. We get on at 10:45 a.m. and as is our custom down south, rush to get a "good seat" for such a long voyage. However, this roomy ship has ample space, it seems for hundreds of passengers to sprawl in a choice of lounge, cafeteria, forward or side-facing salon seats, video area and gift shop. You can even rent a private stateroom complete with sink and toilet for $32. (About half the sailings to the islands are overnight trips.) We easily find a conformable area and settle in. Scheduled for departure at 11:00 a.m., the Queen is still at the dock at 11:30. It is past noon when the purser explains that the new shift, which flies in every two weeks, has been delayed due to poor weather. At 1:00 p.m. the crew is ferried from the island airport of Prince Rupert and we finally leave at 1:30 p.m.

This turns out to be one of the roughest crossings of the summer season, closer to what is expected in winter. Waves crash and wash over the bows and large windows up on deck five as the ship corkscrews across Hecate Strait. We choose a stateroom for the remaining five hours of the voyage, at the rear, center area of the ferry where the motion is less severe.

We dock in Skidegate in perfectly calm seas at 7:30 p.m. They hold the Alliford Bay ferry, and we drive on quickly for the $27 crossing. By 10:45 are settled in at 501 RV Park on Beach Road, two kms from "downtown" Sandpit. We walk in the light drizzled along Shingle Bay beach. One vehicle passes by during our half-hour walk. What an incredibly peaceful place.

July 27/00

Wonderful sleep to the sound of rain on the roof. Weather heavy overcast changing from drizzle to rain to drizzle. Only one other couple in their trailer in the 15 site campground.

Off to "town" at 10:30 a.m., we drop by an old friend’s place. He isn’t home, but we’re told he can’t be far, we should run into him somewhere. In fact, Sandpit is one main street leading to the airport / tourist info center which is across from the only hotel. The few business and civic buildings are on this street or visible from it. The heart of the community where people gather is the little coffee shop in the airport. Sure enough, our friend walks in within 10 minutes.

The tourist office is exceptional, both from the variety of services offered — gift shop, maps, video viewing area, bookstore — and for its décor. More importantly, it provides up-to-date details as to which logging roads are active, essential information for safe travel. After a great couple of hours reminiscing over coffee and homemade muffins, we get the latest report on road conditions, and follow our new large-scale map of the Misty Isles to Gray Bay. We stop at an intersection, as directed, and observe 16 foot wide loaded trucks "lumbering" by. After a 15-minute wait we are given the go-ahead to travel on to Gray Bay, a three km long crescent of sandy beach facing Hecate Strait. It is perfect for shelling and beachcombing. The large primitive campsites on the edge of the beach are co-managed by forestry and the logging company. By 5:00 p.m. the public can safely access all logging roads.

We head for Moresby Camp for the night, a 90-minute drive, and find a lovely spot right near the water. Much rain again, but clearing skies by 9:00 p.m. with the sun tipping the trees in the San Cristoval chain warming the atmosphere.

And bobbing nearby in Gillatt Arm is our "cruise ship", the 53’ schooner Anvil Cove, a proper vessel, with its kayaks sitting atop the wheelhouse, reflected in the calm waters of the inlet.

This trip on the Anvil Cove is really what we have come all this distance for, to visit the heart of these islands only accessible by water, the very center of the Haida culture. This dream began after reading Neil Carey’s Puffin Cove and his Guide to the Queen Charlotte Islands many years ago. And this afternoon we were vividly reminded of the Careys as we drove in front of their colorful home in Sandpit "decorated" with the flotsam, and jetsam, they have rescued from the oceans over the years. Maybe we will be lucky enough to find "treasure" of our own?

July 28/00

The Charlottes are unique, with different flora and fauna from the mainland. Also different species evolve here differently from other species elsewhere in the world. Thus, these islands, Haida Gwaii, have justly been called the Canadian Galapagos. For more than 10,000 years, the Haida have been an integral part of this remarkable landscape. Today they are the guardians, the Watchmen of this National Park, Gwaii Haanas, considered to be a sacred place.

The beached Zodiac tender and its skipper/owner Keith "Flash" Rowsell, taxis us to the little ship where we meet five guests and our wonderful Haida cook, Sherri. Anvil Cove’s design is such that at first we doubt that nine people, all strangers, can comfortably live aboard in its "open plan" for the next six days. But by the time we tour the vessel, bump into various low beams, learn to use the head, and are allocated our sleeping quarters — ours are two very narrow singles in the forecastle (forward stateroom) — the coziness of the décor and the congeniality of the other "adventurers" calm any fears we have about the hardships of the voyage ahead.

Keith reassures us about the seaworthiness of his ship, which he has sailed to Vancouver and off the West Coast of the islands on numerous occasions. Indeed, the Anvil Cove’s gallery becomes an oasis of warmth, comfort and laughter where Sherri prepares delicious meals on the small diesel stove which also warms the central cabin and dinette, and keeps the ever-present coffee pot steaming. Keith proves to be a superb mariner who has built his steel boat from the keel up. He is also an endless and entertaining source of information about the environment, the islands and the Haida. Thus, the protected wheelhouse, which offers a 360-degree view of our surroundings, becomes the other gathering place while on board.

We raise anchor at 10:30 a.m. Our first destination is the village of Tanu where we gain an understanding of how Haida villages were oriented. Though the logs are in advanced state of decay, and now can only support a thick blanket of moss, the still-standing corner posts and central pit/living areas give an idea of the vast size of these buildings. The Watchman is courteous and provides a small handbook designed to complement the orientation, which every visitor to the site must attend. At each of the five sites, the book will be stamped to record the visit. Our first night is spent at the dock off Shuttle Island, where we replenished our water supply.

July 29/00

By 7:00 a.m., Sherri puts fresh bannock on the breakfast table along with the usual plentiful fruit salad. The misty isles live up to their reputation as early morning fog drifts in and out of the valleys and into the bay. Tomorrows forecast calls for 25 knot southeasterly winds beginning this afternoon. In this part of the world, weather dictates when and where to go. Keith decides to make a dash (at 9 knots) for Skaang Gwaii, Anthony Island, the southernmost and most anticipated site. UNESCO declared this island a World Heritage Site in 1981. The diesel performs reliably and guests get to know each other during the long day of high overcast skies and light drizzle. Our passage takes us through renowned Burnaby Narrows on a 21’ tide that allows us to clear the bottom even with our six-foot draft.

We anchor at Skaang Gwaii (also known as Nunstints) at 4:00 p.m. in a bay behind the island. The first view of the poles is more impressive than any observed in a photograph. These graying, learning, weathered totems face a beautiful bay, a favourite location for situating Haida villages. The timelessness of the moment is emphasized as the tide ebbs to reveal the area cleared of rocks a century ago that allowed the great canoes to be dragged up the beach. Our return path takes us through the island’s rugged forest trail, between 900-year-old spruce over a carpet of moss. With the weather deteriorating, we anchor behind two small islets in Louscome Inlet. The winds rise to surprising pitch while all night Anvil Cove attempts to sail away from her mooring.

July 20/00

Leisurely breakfast on a rainy morning, pancakes and fruit salad. (There was a fresh salmon last night, the leftovers to become part of Keith’s great chowder.)

We head out into the remains of yesterday’s blow through Houston Strait, past Rose Harbour then out into Hecate Strait. We need the help of the stabilizer to improve the ride as we head for Skincuttle Inlet and anchor just north of Burnaby Narrows.

In the afternoon we walk through the rainforest in Bag Harbour and onto the beaches, accompanied by six deer and a raccoon.

July 31/00

This morning’s fruit salad and fresh croissants – Sherri proves to be a fabulous baker — is followed by kayaking in the crystal clear waters of the Narrows. Cecile and I share the double kayak. The total absence of wind allows us a remarkable view of the bottom just inches below our hull, with its multicolored bat stars, scallops, moon snails, crabs, mussels, urchins and giant diaphanous medusa. A healthy black bear digging crabs out from beneath the rocks on shore seems oblivious to our presence a few meters away.

Just as rewarding is the afternoon visit to Gandle K’In or Hotspring Island. Sitting in its three hot pools, we can observe the Anvil Cove reflected in a bay of small islands. These pools traditionally provide a place to heal and nourish the body and soul. After the brief, cramped shower on board, they offer sybaritic comfort.

As we cruise on in the late afternoon, a few sea lions are sitting where we expected them to be on Reef Island, on our way to our final anchorage behind Limestone Island.

August 1/00

A greyish but peaceful morning.

During our second kayaking experience off Murchison Island, we surprise a pair of river otters in their watery cave. Sherri introduces the more adventurous among us to the unique taste of raw sea urchin, a Haida delicacy.

Our August 1^st destination is Windy Bay on Lyell Island, Hikyah, where in 1985, the Haida made the stand that led to the stopping of logging and the protection of Gwaii Haanas. Keith, who was a logger at the time, assures us that the forests would in fact be gone today had the Haida not taken this action. The visit ends with tea in the Watchman’s cabin.

August 2/00

We leave Limestone Bay early for Skedans (Kuuna), our last village closest to "civilization," and the most frequent visited. The remaining poles sit on a wooded spit accessible from two different bays. We are the first visitors that day but a voice on the ship’s radio requests of the Watchman that the arriving plane passengers be allowed ashore to visit the site. This protocol has been observed by all visitors throughout our cruise as the Haida Watchman insures that these remarkable locations and the remaining structures and poles continue to be respected and protected.

The sun burns off the fog as the day warms. A calm and shallow sea greets us as we motor around Sandpit into Skidegate Inlet and home to "Charlotte" as Queen Charlotte City is known to the locals. All luggage is loaded in the Zodiac one last time after a lunch of sushi and a carrot cake dessert.

Keith and his wife Barb, who is waiting at the dock, (and is also certified as a tour boat captain) take the passengers to a bed and breakfast for the night in Charlotte.

Of course, our rig is at Moresby Camp, on the other island! Keith and Barb and we cross on the Alliford Bay Ferry. It is 7:00 p.m. when Barb suggests dinner at the Sandpit Golf Course (the other eating establishment). Dinner is slow and pleasant.

At 9:00 p.m., Keith realizes they cannot take us to Moresby (40 minutes away at least) and catch the last ferry back home to Charlotte at 10:00 p.m.! We drop them at the ferry and drive ourselves to Moresby Camp in the dark, (50 minutes on a new road) which is how I happen to be sitting in Moresby Camp where we were a week ago, completing today’s journal entry at 11:00 p.m. in the Queen Charlotte Island. Ah, island time!. It has been a long and interesting day but fitting end to our six-day "Voyage of Discovery.

. . . concluded next issue.