Waddington Cove to Potts Lagoon - June 15

This morning we work to sunny skies and calm winds.  There was not even a ripple in the cove.  We splurge and have another Russ & Susannah breakfast.  Susannah’s homemade waffles have been in the freezer and we keep pulling them out two by two.  This morning we added a bit of bacon and maple syrup from Maine.  This is the end of maple syrup that we brought home from our last trip.  The good news is that Barrie will be back in Maine this fall visiting friends and hopefully he can replenish our stock.

This morning we are going to test the fix on the davit winch that Barrie cleaned and oiled a day or two ago.  Everything is working when we get ready to hoist the dinghy, but then the switch quits working altogether.  Barrie spends the next couple of hours (in clear weather) taking the switch apart and putting it back together.  We lower the dinghy over the side and I get to take it for a spin around the cove while Barrie puts his tools away.  On my return, we hoist the dinghy back to the top deck and Barrie proclaims success.

Today is First Nations day for us.  There are several abandoned villages nearby and we have planned our route today to take us by them.  Shortly after starting-out, we drive by Heath Bay and see totem poles. a community house and ten or more individual homes.  Clearly, this village is thriving.  I find a guide book that details Heath Bay’s annual open house on June 21^st.  We hope to be working on way to the outside of Vancouver Island by then but it certainly sounds like it would be an interesting day.  Next, we arrive at Mamalilliculla and decide to anchor and go ashore.  The small cove has room for us next to a 1972 30’ Willard from Alaska.  The boat is pristine and the owners are relaxing on the aft deck having a bite of lunch.  We both have a soft spot for Willards – being especially fond of the 36’ aft-pilothouse design.
We go ashore in the dinghy (yes, the hoist works perfectly) and follow the very overgrown path to the old settlement.  Most of the bushes are at least 8 feet high.  We stop at the midden beaches and marvel at how many clams that First Nations people ate!  We also find some falling down houses and a longhouse entrance portico that was erected in more recent years.  The totem poles can no longer be found – time has eroded any sign of them.

We continue on our trail to New Vancouver and note that this is now a thriving village with a breakwater, dock and a dozen or so houses.  We note the painted long house and totem poles but do not go ashore.  Next up is Karlukwees down Beware Passage.  There is good reason for this passage’s name.  The channel is narrow and there are lots of rocks.  We are still in the phase of the moon that moderates the size of the tides, so we have plenty of water and not too much current for our trip.  This too is an abandoned village with falling down houses and midden beaches.  It is interesting to look at through the binoculars but we do not stop and go ashore.

Our trip today ends in Potts Lagoon where the guidebooks tell us the anchoring is fine.  In one sense they are correct.  We easily set the hook and turn off the engine.  In a few minutes we hear the chain dragging on a rock.  We know the anchor is set but we also know that the sound of the chain dragging across a rock will keep both of us up tonight.  We decide to move a few feet and set the anchor again – and again.  Finally we move around the corner to a different cove and set it one last time.  I suppose that practice is good but this is ridiculous!  We are in for the evening just as the wind starts to pick up.

So, the wind howls for a bit and then settles down.  I can't help it, Potts Lagoon calls out to be explored and we are leaving first thing in the morning on the last of the ebb.  We lower the dinghy for the third time today and work our way past the logging camp back into Potts Lagoon and begin to work our way up the river at the end (I want to see bears!).  It is getting late, the flood tide is very noticeable and we can see ROCKS everywhere.  We turn back without having seen bears.  There is always tomorrow.