North Cove to Walter’s Cove, June 19 (Father’s Day)

North Cove was calm last evening and is calm this morning.  Our routine of waking at 5:30, fixing coffee and pulling the anchor before 6 seems to be working.  The skies are partly cloudy and the weather forecast says that the winds won’t pick up until this afternoon.  We retrace our path to the ocean and find a perfect following sea.  As the morning progresses the clouds seem to thicken on the western horizon but our direction of travel is toward blue skies and sunshine.  Our path around the Brooks Peninsula is just over 40 miles and for the entire distance the seas are rippled but we do not experience any of the uncomfortable rolling from the day before.  

The forecast says a big blow is coming in and winds will be 25 knots or more for the next two days, so we are looking for a place to settle-in until the weather clears.  Our destination is Walter’s Cove, yet another fishing village with a boardwalk.  All of the guidebooks (and I have at least 4 on this area) describe the entrance to Walter’s Cove as difficult but well-marked.  Indeed, the entrance includes two S-turns through a very narrow body of water.  We pass by a dock that has a Red Cross symbol painted on it and read that this is the health clinic for the Walter’s Cove/Kyuquot area and is accessible only by boat!  We arrive at the dock to find a beautiful 65’ Marlow Explorer, sporting a Seattle Yacht Club burgee, tied on the windward side.  Laparouse is a beautiful boat that has some of the design characteristics of the venerable Flemming Yacht.  We opt to dock on the leeward side and are assisted by the owner Mark and two of his “crew” Randy and Casey.  Barrie and Mark start talking and soon Mark is helping us sort out why our AIS is not transmitting.  In less than an hour – SUCCESS!  Later, we are invited to Laparouse for drinks.  

While the Laparouse crew goes off exploring Spring Island in their dinghy, Barrie and I head to shore to walk the town boardwalk.  All along the boardwalk there are interesting fishing lodges and at one end of town we find a hotel and restaurant.   We meet Eric who is working on dismantling a dock in front of the restaurant and he tells us that the restaurant is closed on Sunday and Monday.   He also offers us the use of his internet connection and provides the secret password.  This sounds like an opportunity to get caught up on the blog and we head back to the boat to pick up computers.  Quickly, I updated our progress but just didn’t have time to write the details – that came later.

About 5:30 we were granted permission to board Laparouse.  We had a short tour of a beautiful yacht.  The layout is lovely with an up-galley and an extensive aft saloon.  Mark had a magic margarita machine and will a glass in hand, we went topsides to enjoy the evening.  We decide that, weather permitting, we will head to Dixie Cove tomorrow and come back to Walter’s Cove on Tuesday for dinner at the restaurant.  Dixie Cove is one of the places we read about in Dryke and Holly’s blog from their “Mother Goose” trip a couple of years ago.

Today is Father’s Day and I can’t help but reflect on role my dad played in bringing me to this place.  In 1954 my dad was serving in the Army and stationed in Yokohama, Japan.  One of the first people he met there was Larry Fisher who was also from the Seattle area.  From that chance meeting came an amazing friendship that has lasted more than 60 years.  The Fisher family owned the boat(s) but most summers my family joined them for a trip to the San Juans or beyond.  I have so many wonderful memories of those times with Larry and Annette and their daughters Jackie and Sandy, and my dad (Ray) and mom (Carolyn), and my siblings Cindy and Eric.  Memories of being set free to explore and being at one with the sea.  So, thanks Dad for being the catalyst that brought Barrie and me to exploring the west coast of Vancouver Island.  I would love to have the opportunity to share this experience with you and perhaps rekindle those memories we share.