Monday, April 14, 2014

CLEAR

Two Days of Brilliant Sunshine Spur Activity in Friendly Cove.
(Another Billy Pretty Headline).

I was excited this weekend to be able to record CLR, meaning clear sky, in the weather book. We even managed calm and rippled a few times too.

Early Saturday morning, the crew of The Bartlett appeared to refill our diesel tanks. It’s always exciting to have visitors.





It’s still cool here, even in the sun, but we stood outside, watching and chatting, as the tanks were filled. Later, we were invited to join the crew for an excellent shipboard BBQ. In the afternoon, Lucy and I walked the beach. You just can't pass up a sunny afternoon. By bedtime, 7pm, I was exhausted after a day spent outside. 

Sunday, the weather held. Mark went out to check his prawn traps and discovered that he’d caught another octopus. This one will transform into halibut--apparently, halibut love to eat octopus. Another link in the chain.




It was low tide, so Lucy and I decided to attempt a rock climb across the slick bracken shore, and up the hill to the northern monument. A gorge separates this part of San Raphael Island from the station. The obelisk is a favourite perch for eagles, and I was curious about it. A Spanish trading post called "Santa Cruz de Nutka" operated here from 1789-1795. One of the crew told me that a Spanish fort once stood on this rise, so I gather, this undecipherable etching is in commemoration of that fact. 



Lucy is a trooper. It’s a tough climb--I had to pick her up in one hand, and boost her a few times, while I clung to the rocks with the other. 




All the while, I kept thinking of Emily Carr travelling by canoe, and traversing dissolving villages with her little Griffon dog, Billie, in her arms. If Emily could do it, so could we. And we did.



I’m going to do a little commercial here for my "Bogs" boots. Solid bottoms and fabric tops, they keep me warm and dry, and are surprisingly comfie. As clunky as they look, I wade through seaweed and barnacles, and scramble up and down the rocks, as nimble as...well, as nimble as I could ever be.





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