Sarah at the end of the Ripple Rock trail north of Campbell River, looking over Seymour Narrows to Quadra Island.This summer Sarah has been busy studying for her professional forester exam and working up the BC coast and in the drier interior on lengthy camp shifts. I've continued to brew. We have found time for island excursions, attracted by the plethora floating between Vancouver Island and the British Columbian mainland.
Early in the year we stayed with our friend Eric, as he house-sat on Quadra Island, just across the water from Campbell River. The weather was gloomy, but the view gorgeous.
Hornby is especially hard to resist in the summer. Sarah's parents know all about location, location, location, their house perched at the edge of the High Salal cliff overlooking Tribune Bay. We were blessed with glorious summer days and baptised our bodies in the salty waters of the bay.
Below: the evening view north from Hornby, in the general direction of Campbell River.
Our friends Trevor and Kate were bound for Dublin. Towards the end of their time in Campbell River we were fortunate enough to join them on Mithrandir, Trevor's 35 foot sailing vessel. Our destination was Marina Island, east of Campbell River. We encountered light winds and starter motor failure, but more beer and hefty hits with a hammer provided solutions.
We rendezvoused with Eric and crew aboard his powerboat Sparky. We anchored in Uganda Passage, the channel between uninhabited Marina and the larger Cortes Island. Some rowed ashore to set camp at Shark Spit, while the rest went with Eric to haul in prawn and crab traps.
The Dungeness crab is considered something of a delicacy here in the Pacific Northwest. We had a small haul of crab and a decent catch of Spot prawns, plenty enough to satisfy our crowd.
As the two vessel captains pondered the powerful West Coast tides and reset anchors, a fire was lit and feasting begun. Liquor there was, and songs and bending of elbows.
Mithrandir sailed early the next day. Sarah and I boarded Sparky and we investigated the marine sanctuary at Middlenatch Island, south of Quadra, before throwing a couple of lines in the water and trolling, unsuccessfully, for salmon.
Eric and Alana, the next morning with the tide out, our campsite at Shark Spit in the background.Our last island trip was to Pender Island, one of a cluster known as the Southern Gulf Islands. The climate is drier: Pender falls within the Coastal Douglas Fir biogeoclimatic zone, whereas Campbell River and the majority of Vancouver Island is within the moister Coastal Western Hemlock zone. Arbutus, an evergreen with smooth reddish peeling bark, reminds me of eucalypts, preferring the drier ecosystem, clinging to rocky bluffs. We visited the Pender farmers' market, a blend of hippy vibes, green ethics, and artistic kitsch. I bought a tee shirt made by a member of Islands Fold, an artist collective.
We were on Pender for the wedding of Amy and Lee. I'd met Amy at Pumpkin Pull, a Hallowe'en-themed ultimate tournament, in 2003, and Lee subsequently in Korea when we were all teaching on the peninsula. We played a bride versus groom game of ultimate the afternoon before the wedding, a relaxed affair. The ceremony was held at Poet's Cove Resort, overlooking a marina and the waters of Georgia Strait.
The day was beautiful, the couple divine, and the reception was a hoot. Next day we played the stupendous 27 holes of the Pender disc golf course, then farewelled Amy and Lee (Doctor Lee), bound for Halifax, and Lee's first residency.
Labour Day long weekend approaches. Our plans are for another island trip, across to Cortes for camping.
