Bella Coola Cool

A leisurely 1000 departure from Eucott Bay this morning after a nice quiet night at anchor in 13'-23' of water (depending on the tide, which was minimal last night).

The moon and the sun cause the tides.   Mostly, it's the gravitational pull of the moon since it is so much closer than the sun.   When the moon is in quarter the tides have the smallest range.   Conversely, when the moon and sun are lined up (either on the same or opposite sides of the earth, the tides have the greatest range.   Last night it was a waning crescent, meaning it was between a 1/4 moon and a new moon.   So, the tidal range over the last week has been minimal.   It is building up as we move to the new moon phase on 9/3.   Probably more than you ever wanted to know...  And Karen says I mansplain...

Breakfast was poached eggs (old fashioned method - soak in a vinegar solution, lightly boil for 2 min, remove/dry/serve).  Perfect.   And then waffles with real maple syrup (hey, we are in Canada), and fresh blackberries.   What a great way to start the day!

We motored for about 4 hours to through Dean Channel, Burke Channel, and North Bentinck Arm to Bella Coola. 

Note: all of these "channels" are really fjords and the glaciers that carved them have now retreated way up to the high mountain peaks.   The glaciers can still be seen way high up, but there isn't much to them.

Enroute, we saw whales!   Well, a single humpback that was feeding out in the channel.   This is unusual as they are normally found closer to shore rather than in the middle of the channels.   We tend to stay more to the center of the channels, so we don't encroach on their space.

I couldn't raise the Bell Coola Harbormaster on the phone or VHF radio, so we just went in and found an open spot.   Turns out the Harbormaster had a family emergency and he's gone for the day.   I self-registered and paid my $40 CAD in the mail slot.

One of the people on the dock suggested we be smart to turn the boat around and point the bow into the weather (to the west) in case the winds come up.   He said that 3'-4' rollers will come into the harbor when the winds kick-up in the afternoons.   Never one to ignore experienced advice, and I always wat to be smarter, we did exactly as he suggested.   By doing this, we ensured the absolute calmest day of the year.  Had we not done it, I'm sure all heck would have broken loose!

The town of Bella Coola is actually about 1.5 miles up the valley from the marina.  Karen & I hiked into town to visit Bella Coola.   By the time we got there, most stores had closed.  We did stop by a market to pick up some fresh tomatoes and strawberries.   They had a pastry bar Karen couldn't resist so we got a meat pie, blackberry muffin, and two maple bars (for Karen, of course!).

As we were on our Bella Coola exploration, we came across this sobering totem and story.   This celebrates and reminds us of the native children that were forcibly taken from their families to be educated in the government schools, where many of them died. 

The stated intent of this government reeducation program was to breakdown the native cultures and assimilate them into our (Canadian, US) culture.  The US did this too, it wasn't just Canada.   So embarrassing, short sighted, destructive, painful, and sad.

I don't know if you can read this plaque, so I'll give you my interpretation of what it says:

This totem is to remind us all to heal, move into a shared future, and not succumb to the pain or seek revenge.   As painful as this is, I wish this kind of thinking was more prevalent worldwide.

On the way back we wandered town a bit more and found Freddies Diner.   They are billed as "Canadian" food, but Karen had the Thai chicken curry dish; I had Indian butter chicken dish.  I guess those are both considered Canadian cuisine.  Both were quite tasty, but not "hot" spicy like we'd ordered.   Regardless, it was a good place.

The hike back along the road through the forest and by the marsh made me a bit nervous.   We were carrying food and we (at least I) look like slow food for bears.  This is grizzly country.   But no griz appeared...

Once back aboard we elected to run a load of laundry as we have the luxury of shore power and water.    

All in a good day, but no Bella Coola tee-shirts!   Sorry gang.

Tomorrow 0800 departure to either Namu or Green Island Anchorage.   Green Island is the jumping off point to round Cape Caution when southbound.   The weather is looking promising on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday for that.   We will see what the weather prognostications are tomorrow and decide from there.