Thanksgiving and the rains cease - a bit

Happy Thanksgiving from the crew of Oystercatcher. We ate enough for all of Canada. That's smoked black cod in the foreground. Find it. Buy it. Eat it. It's amazing stuff.
A candid of two of our local buddies. Tom, at left, is living aboard with wife Robbie. Randy, at right, works at the marina. They are actually both quite nice, regardless of the photo.

We found this police scene to be kind of funny. This was a seatbelt trap set to snare unsuspecting motorists. The instrument of choice for enforcing the seatbelt laws? A high power spotting scope to see the shoulder strap - or if someone was quickly trying to pull it on.

When sitting waiting for the scalloped potatoes to be done, one has a little time. If one has an orange. One could create an anatomically correct orange peel man. One could.

To burn a few calories post-T-day, we took Tom's son Tom's advice on a trail out to the crash site of a WWII cargo plane. Chance is standing on the helicopter pad built to fly in the Governor-General of BC for the memorial dedication.

It is surprisingly intact, though and an interesting destination, though slightly macabre.

Four RCAF planes were flying a training mission in April 1944 when they encountered low visibility conditions. The planes lost visual contact with each other and had to split up. The crew of the doomed plane finally spotted the coast and realized they were close to Port Hardy airfield. Dangerously low on fuel, they tried one pass, but were too fast, so they turned to try again and were on approach when they ran out of fuel, a mile from the runway.

The two pilots were killed instantly. The cockpit is essentially gone. The navigator was injured, but survived and made his way to the coast through the brush and forest. It must have been truly hell for him. A boat searching for the wrecked plane spotted him. This photo shows the landing gear shoved up through the wing.

A nice view to the water from the trail, made possible by clearcut.

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Finally a few nice days in a row, after 2.6 feet of RAIN. Yes rain. A Vancouver Island record. Blain worked on the leaks in the the cockpit cubbyholes.

Today we took advantage of 10-20 knot winds and clear skies to sail a bit. Mostly just to brag we sailed in December. Those snowy peaks are calling us. We eagerly look forward to continuing north come Spring, but hope to play in the snow this winter, and might have a line on some winter Olympic tickets. Who knows? We may just show up in your neck of the woods begging for a place to dry the ski boots.
The weather was chilly, but it was a treat to be out there. The kayak happily bobbed behind.

The sun set on the sailing year. It was a year on the water we'll never forget. We will always be thankful for this dream coming true.

Hardy Bay to Ft Rupert Trail

A family of common mergansers has taken over the harbor. I liked the blue background in this photo.
Mo's been battling a bit of the crud, but we took advantage of a rare rainless day and hiked across to Fort Rupert, a little community on the other side of the penninsula. A local pointed out the trailhead off the highway - definitely needs a new approach.

The trail is raw, but passable. Some tree trunks are too big to clear out of the corridor, and if cut right can become part of the tread.

This "Jaws" tree was a cool touch.

Mountain bikers had obviously got a hold of this trail and the "skinnies" were interesting.

Their unique use of roofing paper to increase traction on old log corduroy was creative.

At the end of the trail, we popped out at the beach in Ft. Rupert's park. Chance made some friends, but never did go swimming for the ball with the retrievers.

Nice place for a break before turning around to Pt. Hardy again.

We will be heading out on a ski trip at some point soon, and hope to be in the states come Dec. We're keenly looking at snow reports. How's the snow in your neck of the woods?

Sointula - A Place of Harmony - I swear I didn't write that.

Chance's first ferry ride. Blain and he took one for the team, particularly on the way back in rain and gales. Dogs aren't allowed on the upper decks, so we stood around with the cars. Wild ride. Mo said the inside of the passenger cabin was cool. Hmm.
Sointula - A former Finnish utopian community on Malcome Island. They have an interesting and unique history. http://www.sointula.com/

See, I didn't make it up...

Sointula reminded us of close-knit Homer, AK set in Seldovia, AK.

Lots of artists, boatbuilders, fisherman, and Finns. This fence looks like all four built it.

The food co-op is the oldest in BC, and celebrated their 100 yr milestone. Many great old buldings like this old boathouse.

Chance, however, was impressed with the doghouses. I bet they've had a whole bunch of dogs named "Mack".

Sointula is also home of the recycled gillnet shag rug. Something everybody needs.

The Winter Fest was a bit of fun, and seemed to be the biggest social event of the year. A little (quite good) bluegrass and a fogged-up lens on the camera gave it a smoky bar look.

The social/food hall was old and purpose-built to feed an army.

We got to meet inspirational environmental heroine Alexandra Morton. Go here to see her plight and fight to save BC's wild salmon. We hope to, in some small way, help her and Billy Proctor bring back the lifeblood of the Northwest coast.