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_ BY KARL BEGRICH

“the captain's log

| loved ‘these navigation
helpers. The fog cleared and.
_the wind- continued to blow
from the north-west.

Hecate Strait i is known for
its 60-knot gales.

Well, we were a bi+

disappointed. The _ long

swells from the Pacific was

the only movement we felt

while motoring all the way to
’ the Queen Charlottes.

Rainclouds hung over the |
western shores of the 4000
-foot elevated Mosesby Is-

- land. The’ bold rocky sea-

"Queen ‘Charlottes
were stilt a way off! The next
Stretch under sail I would
rather forget.

We hit Johnson: Strait, a
two-mile wide and sixty-mile
long channel.

' gs almost toa stop. We tried

>

to tack under reefed main,
but made only two miles
headway in three hours.
Short steep waves caused

. cramps in our stomachs.

But.even then I had to run

-. the engine at full speed -

2500 rpm - to make any
noticeable headway.

- TIRED CREW
Around midnight the boat

_... Slipped into Alert Bay, on the

south tip of the Queen
Charlotte Strait, with her

sick, tired and beaten crew.

We hated sailing!

- Dense fog greeted us the
following morning. How does
one cope with something like
that? With a visibility of 50

‘feet our first reaction was to

Stay in our bunks all day
long.

But our precious holiday
time made us hoist the
anchor. With one crew
member on the bowsprit and
another on the upper spread-
ers, we felt our way into the
Strait.

‘Bell buoys are = great,
listen to the sound.””

**l can see it now!"

**Where?_ iI

can't see
anything!"'
“Just off the starboard

bow, dummy!"’

board looked very grey and
unfriendly; the water was
deep and. not inviting to
anchor i in. . ;
The Canadian pilotbook
mentioned sunken rocks and
considerable tide-rips.

The girls complained first
about the temperature drop.
Tanning time in the shelter-
ed cockpit seemed to be
over!

By the time we managed to
drop the hook, the rain
poured down on us.

Everybody swore and
bitched about this misery.

MOSTLY RAIN.

We spent 10 days cruising
in this archipelago of islands.
Seven of these ten days were
characterized by rain, mist

‘and cold wind: But J certainly
remember the three sunny
days, unforgettable indeed.

First,

there was Hot

Spring Island we had heard
so much about it. When we
rowed ashore, a committee of
streakers greeted us.

At first we felt embarrass-
ed; but when they mentioned
the hot spring and a bath

weighs 140 Ibs...
light for a two man
boat. That means
added convenience
and enjoyment. You

a car, store it in the

‘The Boathouse

568 Cardero St Tet 605-4341

Service to:

Inglis, General Blectric, Maytag, Kitchen Aid, Speed Queen,

Hot Point, Westinghouse, Toppan,

Os. Johnstone Services Ltd.

980-0811

Apartment and Condominium owners take odvantage of our
*‘Inflation Fighting Service Call’’

unforgettable place.

can Carry it on top of

garage and launch it
just about anywhere.

for the North Shore!

tub, we ‘got rid ‘of. our i:
smelly clothes and enjoyed a

‘clean-up’ that reminded us

of civilization’ and Funning
hot water at home.

FEAST

Somebody ~ “mentioned

abalone and oysters! It didn’t.

take‘us long td discover the
treasures of the deep.

That evening we stuffed
ourselves with fried’ clams,
baked corn, abalone marinat-
ed in lime juice and a mug of
wine. We slept well!

‘Anna Inlet is another
The
passage to this imlet is only
150 feet wide, but the infet

‘opens to about one.and a half

cable. This was the most
beautiful ‘and sheltered

anchorage we experienced
on the whole trip.

HUGERAY
When | stepped on deck
early in the morning to
stretch my frail body there

was a movement next tothe _
boat. I didn’t trust my ‘eyes

when this huge ray, 10 feet in
diameter, surfaced to scratch
himself on the bobstay.

**Ev
quick,””
hatch.

erybody on deck,

Someone moaned;
can't you shut up and go

‘back to bed?"’

“D..... There is a ray
under the boat - a huge
mother!’” I was excited.

Finally - response. Every-
body tried to get through the

hatch at the same time. a
.The ray didn’t wait, of |

course. He descended. to 20
feet and we could only-make
out his shadow.

Moffot, Roper.

I yelled down the _

“Why :

It was. a beautiful day to. .

explore the island. The forest

. floor was covered with thick

green moss, softer than any
shag carpet f ever walked on.

We followed an old mining

- _trail‘up the mountain and

discovered_a goldmine - but.
no gold. Left a quarter for
the next ‘‘Columbus’’.

Besides logging and fish- |

ing, mining used to be a
major part of the industry in
the Queen Charlottes. —

CIVILIZATION |

In Queen Charlotte City)

the crew was back to modern
civilization. A. government.
dock, stores, hotel anda beer:
parior full of atmosphere.

*

We wanted to know more
about the Indians and hitch-
hiked to the north tip of
Graham Island.. Natives fead
us to the Haida village and
showed us signs af the old
Haida Indian culture. ©

There fantastic. carvings
out of yellow cedar, their
colored totem. poles, simple
foghouses and even log
catioes were carved from a
single tree - up to SO feet in
length,

1 could hardly believe that
they crossed Hecate Strait in
it and used it for offshore
fishing. We felt like real .
softies on our ‘comfortable
sailboat.

eu

' chances during

7
= aerhe ~
. Dee Gab.

HOME AGAIN

Aimost non-stop, with the .

wind astern, we returned to
Vancouver within seven
days. Jobs were waiting!

1 was asked many times, if
1 would make 2 journey like
that again?

Probably not as a shake-
down cruise. We took our
this trial

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tun! A hot, dry summer

‘would get me up north again,

but a rainy vacation - |
couldn't care less.

A A special boatshow issue will
be published on, Wednesday,
January 31.

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