Lyn's Log, 21st June 2008
Southwards in BC again.

Ocean Falls, BC.
N52º21', W127º44'
17,571 miles.

We had lost so much time by now, and we were so fed up with the continued bad weather that we decided to abandon the trip north and to return south again. We had reached to within about a hundred miles of Alaska. It is one of the few times we have failed to make an intended destination. But at least I'm glad we got as far as we did and experienced the remoteness, the native villages, wildlife and scenery in "seven shades of grey" as the locals described it in the rain.

That afternoon I spotted a seal close to shore and then saw a grizzly bear on the narrow band of rocks between the dense forest and the water. It had just cornered and killed a deer which, as we approached, it picked up and carried off into the forest. A bald headed eagle was watching from a nearby tree ready to pick up any scraps. It was hard to believe we were watching this in reality and not as a wildlife documentary.

That evening yet another gale was forecast, and we anchored in a snug little bay called Oliver Cove. By this time we had heard so many gale forecasts, few of which amounted to much in the shelter of the islands, that we did not take the precautions we might have anywhere else, such as laying out two anchors or putting out shore lines. There was another small yacht in the cove and we spent a pleasant couple of hours over drinks with them before they got back into their ‘his and hers’ kayaks and paddled back to their yacht. We reminisced about Holland, where Mar had grown up, and Ron shared his experiences in Belem on the Amazon. They had seen a black bear around the anchorage not long before we arrived, but we did not see it even though Andrew had rowed ashore and scrambled about through the forest. It rained torrentially that night but despite the forecast the wind was scarcely strong enough to turn our wind generator.

When we came up on deck in the morning, we found a plastic bag with a note from Mar and Ron thanking us for the previous evening and enclosing a piece of smoked salmon. It was far too generous of them but made an excellent dinner that night. The sky was overcast and it was raining lightly with no wind. It didn’t look like much was going to change so we set off. The wind got up a bit, generally into our faces, and then would die away again, but for a few spells we sailed a while. We arrived at the marina in the remote settlement of Ocean Falls around 7 pm, and met up with a couple of boats we had seen in Klemtu. We found a free wifi connection and caught up on our emails as the rain poured down outside. It was Midsummer Night's Eve.