Nootka Sound and Captain Cook

The natives kept yelling, “noot-ka, noot-ka,” to Captain Cook, which meant “go around”,  but Captain Cook not knowing the native dialect, anchored instead.  The local Indians would have rather had this area named after their tribe, Moach-ahts or "people of the deer", but unfortunately for them Nootka stuck.

Actually, the Spanish represented by Captain Juan Perez had come here in 1774.  Capt. James Cook arrived in  1778.  The Spanish Empire was going downhill, the English empire uphill and Cook got the credit.  After Cook, Capt Malaspena was sent by Spain to explore the area (1791) and named a lot of places in Spanish.  However, through all this Nootka Sound remained the commercial hub of the Pacific Northwest. 

Boris has wanted to come here for a long time, so he is pretty excited about exploring this area.  First though we need to launch Journey-On since we couldn't make the passage from Clayoquot Sound to Nootka Sound. This is a big day, at least in our minds, and we are a little anxious because of the chatter we heard about the drive to Gold River and their infamous launch ramp.  The road to Gold River was discussed by others as questionable and it was definitely stated to only launch at high tide.  Every small boater had a story about launching at Gold River.  Just to make sure everything was done correctly, we left early to be there in plenty of time to rig the boat and be ready to launch at 11:00 am – high tide.  The road to Gold River was fairly narrow, curvy, in need of some repair but the scenery was gorgeous.  The ride was about an hour and a half, sixty miles, and we worked our way around large lakes and through valleys.  In front of us lay the mountains that rose to 6,000 feet and above their tree line were patches of snow.  It was rugged country, there were sheer walls of vertical rock hundreds of feet high and then you would see logger roads that looked like scars on the side of the mountains.  The ride was enjoyable, pleasant to the eye and much better than I thought it would be. 

After we arrived the first thing we want to do was look at the launch ramp.  It was narrow and steep but appeared doable.  There were quite a collection of trucks with trailers parked around there and we would understand why a little later.  The ramp is pretty short but we found the people were extremely helpful: a boat is launched, you move it around your boat and back so the next boat on the little dock can be moved forward and pulled out.   That went on all day but it worked.  No picture of the launch, but it was as confusing as usual:  forgot to put the plug in  (Judy saw it just before the boat hit water), forgot to put on sandals, and the front tires of the truck sliding as we backed in.  The wind kicked up yesterday and is suppose to be that way for a few days but right now it is a beautiful; blue skies, sunshine but windy.  After launching Boris kicks it in high gear to get us out of Muchalat Inlet, which was long and narrow,  because the wind is on our nose, small white caps in the water and we know the wind will just build at this point. 

The path to Nootka Sound was not Plan A, I think it was probably Plan D but we are thrilled to be here.  Our first stop will be Critter Cover; what a unique place.  Now we know why there were so many trucks and trailers at Gold River, their small runabout fishing boats are here.  In the front of this marina are a couple of docks you can tie off to but in the back there are motel rooms on floating docks where these guys can tie off their boats in front of their rooms.  Then you see the bar-b-ques on picnic tables located in front of their rooms so they can cook the fish they caught and have a place to tell tall tales of their fishing that day.  This place is for serious fisherman.

By the time we get up the following morning most of the fisherman had already been fishing for a couple of hours with but a few boats left on the docks.  It is time for us to find the nooks and cranny of Nootka Sound and our first anchorage will be in Erin Inlet on Bligh Island.  Yes, this is the same Bligh who we have all read about or saw in movies but he was a Lieutenant with Captain Cook when the island was named after him.  Erin Inlet is two miles long, faces the open ocean and at the end you turn left, work around the rocks and a small island in the middle of the entrance, then drop anchor in the inner basin that is protected from the westerly swells coming in off the ocean.  We blow up the dinghy, put her in the water and start exploring.  There are areas that look like we might be able to take a little hike, so we pull the dinghy ashore and work our way past the first set of trees where there appears to be an open area and am shocked to see the size of some of the trees.  It was obviously old growth.  A lot of the growth is so big, not just the trees but plants too, that you almost expect to see a dinosaur come walking through.  There was suppose to be a fresh water lake back a little ways so we thought it would be fun to try and hike there.  The trees laying horizontal were too big to climb over, so we went back out to the shoreline to find another opening to get to the lake.  There were more trees, steep hillsides plus, as we walked down and through what looked like a small creek on the shoreline there were those black snacks with a yellow strip again.  It wasn’t all that long before I gave up but Boris keep trying.  Pretty soon I see him on his hands and knees crawling out from under a huge tree laying on its side.  We gave up on the lake and went back to the boat.  The weather has been quite nice for the past several days; clear, sunny, warm but cools off nicely at night.

Today we will explore several spots Boris has been reading about for years, the main reason we have come to the west side of Vancouver Island.  After the anchor is up we slowly motor to Resolution Cove, a small but quiet spot where Captain Cook in 1778 dropped the anchor on his two boats, tied the boats off to the trees because there wasn’t enough room for both of them to swing at anchor.  After four weeks he completed repairs on the boats by using the local trees and supplies he brought from England.  Next we worked our way over to Friendly Cove where Captain Cook visited the “friendly Indians”, explains the name of the cove, in their summer homes, population numbering about 1500 at the time.  On our way over we saw a whale feeding in the open sound; first the spray, then the arch of his black back brakes the water and dives down again.  Wow!  Instead of anchoring in Friendly Cove, we decide to anchor in Santa Gertrudis Cove, a short distance from Friendly Cove, but we need to slow way down to work around the many rocks plus a lot of thick seaweed that had a sea otter laying on his back and watched us as we went by.  I was surprised as to how big he/she was.  After we dropped the anchor and secured the boat, we took off in the dinghy to explore Friendly Cove that is located around the corner.  There is a working light house on the westerly tip of Friendly Cove that we also want to visit.  The tribe that originally lived here was moved by the government in 1960 over to Gold River but there still was one family who resided here who collected a fee for coming ashore, tended the grounds for campers, watched over the church that was rebuilt in 1956, after the original one burned down, now houses their totem polls and continues the art of totem poll carving.  After we landed with the dinghy in this large half circle cove we drug the dinghy up quite a ways because we knew the tide was coming in and tied her off to a large stump laying on shore.  The shoreline was different from anything I have ever seen before.  It was not sand but rock.  The rock however were small, round, polished and smooth.  You could probably fit two or three on the face of a penny.  When you walked on them you would sink down and they kept the warmth in them from the sun.  I was told by others that it was heaven lying on them because they molded to your body and warmed it up like a sauna.  The area was well kept with a path to a couple of old cemeteries that were overgrown with fern and located in the shadows of large trees.  You could only see the upper part of the cement headstones with the top of the rusted out railing above the fern and the cement corner posts that had been rounded down by the weather were visible.  The First Nation people like to leave something personal for their afterlife by each grave, so there were sewing machines, etc. scattered about.  The open ocean lay just on the other side of the walkway and was picturesque with the dark round stones and large bleached out logs laying every which way.  Before we leave we hiked up to the lighthouse and were lucky enough to talk with the woman light keeper, who was friendly and informative.  Her and her husband were a team of two who supported the lighthouse.  Boris had many questions about the area, Captain Cook, the weather, etc. and she gladly answered them all. The picture on the left shows the Capt. Cook memorial, accessible only at high tide.   It also shows the offshore fog bank, which was the reason Capt Cook missed all the landings south of Nootka Sound.  It is time to leave, the tide has come in and the back of the dinghy is now floating.  We push the dinghy off and take the short ride back to the boat.  The weather is nice and we enjoy this quiet little anchorage.  Soon we see a sea otter that gave us quite a show.  He laid on his back, eating a fighting orange crab, whose claws were frantically searching for something to grab onto and the otter just kept chomping away.  Soon you would see his front paws holding close to his stomach what he still wanted, then he rolled over and got ride of the parts he was through with, found his eating position again and continued to crunch away.  After he was through with that one, he dove down and got another one.                   

The following morning it was cold but also foggy outside.  We pull up anchor, work our way around the rocks, thick seaweed and inch our way out into the inlet with about a quarter of a mile visibility in the fog.  The ride seems especially long and slow into Tahsis, probably because it is such a long inlet, about eighteen miles.  Riding in on a flood helps with your speed but by the time we were getting close the wind had kicked up, making it choppy but the fog had lifted.  On our way in we saw many otters laying on their back, watching us closely or diving as we passed by.  Saw one sailboat tacking back and forth up this long inlet.  We have only a few sailboat on the this side of Vancouver Island, mostly small runabouts.  I guess the emphasis is fishing, not cruising on this side of the island.  As we struggle to find Westview Marina in Tahsis, it finally comes into view as we are at the end of the inlet where there is a slight curve.  The marina’s breakwater were logs tied together and I suppose tied to the bottom.  It certainly seemed to keep it calm enough inside the breakwater.  The marina had a loaner car so we borrowed it and went into town to pick up a few items.  There are only about three hundred people in this small town, so the grocery store is small but they were friendly.  They have really cut back on the logging so these little towns are hurting quite a bit.  Brought the car back, picked up some other cruisers on the way back who happened to have their boat right next to ours on the dock.  As always, while in the marina you chit chat with the other boaters, be it locals or those just passing through.  Tahisis had several cruisers, going around Vancouver Island, an eclectic mix.  Some had done it before, for some this was their first cruise and all were comparing notes and learning (including us.)

Got an early start the following morning to head for Zeballos located in Zeballos Inlet.  This is another small town of a couple of hundred people.  After tying off to the city dock, I walked into town to try and find the dock master.  There were many homes but I didn’t see a single soul.  Soon I heard a weed whacker and followed the noise.  This person told me where to find the husband of the dock master.  He was quite helpful; came down to the docks and he and Boris visited for quite some time.  The town is located at the end of the inlet and the scenery from the marina is spectacular with its high rugged mountains, some with vertical rock sides with a gazillion trees.  There was a small restaurant in that town that had been recommend to us by some people from the last marina, the Blue Heron.  As dinner time got closer we decided to try it out but first we had to find its location.  As we walked through town, asking for directions along the way, we finally found it at the top of a small hill, inside a hotel.  As we waited for dinner, he was not a fast order cook but a chef, we started talking to the one other person in the restaurant, a local native woman about the area.  Turned out she grew up in Queen Cove as a small child, the anchorage we plan to go to tomorrow.  No one lives there anymore, she was moved out when she was fairly young but said it was a wonderful place to grow up.  She is now the volunteer Fire Chief.  The area is struggling because the logging industry has just about come to a halt but these areas seem to be turning their efforts toward tourism.                                     

There was a processing plant for pilchard (sardines) next to the dock, which was rather smelly when the wind was right so it didn’t take a lot of coaxing to leave the following morning for Queen Cove.  As we left the long Zeballas Inlet and turn west onto Esperenza Inlet it became windy and were now dealing with swells from the ocean.  Soon we worked our way back into the cove but it was still pretty windy inside.  After we dropped the anchor we decided to move further up the cove to cut some of the fetch and hopefully some of the chop.  This was an Indian/First Nation settlement, until the government decided to move them.  The Zeballos Fire Chief  had fond memories of playing there and meeting the supply ship.  Our next anchorage would be Bligh Inlet again because it is a calm protected spot, closer to Gold River where we intend to pull the boat out the following day.

When we anchor out one of the special things we like is to leave the covers off the windows and wake up to blue skies and the sun shinning brightly into the cabin of the boat.  This morning is lovely and we enjoy it by sitting in the cockpit with our coffee watching the bald eagles.  It is still in the morning but we can not leave until noon because high tide is not until 4:00 pm, which is when we need to pull our boat out and Gold River is about 25 miles from here.  So we sit here, trying to pass the time and not become too anxious about pulling the boat up the long steep ramp and getting it done, but at that time we didn’t know how much we would appreciate getting the boat on the trailer.  Noon finally arrives, we pull the anchor up and leave Bligh Inlet.  It faces the open ocean so soon we feel the swells coming and Boris increases the speed and off we go.  Unfortunately we start having trouble with the propeller again; it is slipping.  With eighteen miles to go we were not happy campers.  Seven knots seemed to work so it was at that speed that we limped our way toward the launch ramp.  Seven knots was our planned speed to reach the launch ramp at high tide but it wasn’t pleasant with a doubtful prop.  After a couple of hours we reached Muchalat Inlet, our last leg and the wind is blowing like stink, white caps all over the place and the tide is coming in.  Luckily for us the wind and tide were going in the direction that we were going.  Soon we came upon a tug pulling a log boom and are working like crazy to pass him on our starboard (right) side with our seven knots so we wouldn’t have to go on the outside of him.  As we reach the small launch ramp it is full so we motor around in a circle for a bit and soon one of the boats is pulled out, the other moved forward and we wiggle our way onto the end of the dock and tie off.  Soon we move up a little further and a small skiff was able to get in behind us.  They were a local couple coming home after a day of fishing.  The wife was pretty wet from the lumpy, bumpy and windy ride, but she showed us her catch.  Again, now you know why all those boats get launched from Gold River. Boris went and got the truck and trailer and got in line to use the launch ramp to pull us out.  We were so grateful that we were finally at the dock and now the truck would take over the propeller problems and truly happy we just made it to the dock.  Our anxiety, as usual, was for not; she came out of the water with no problems.  After a two hour drive we reach the Thunderbird RV Park in Campbell River.  We were tired; it has been a long, anxious filled day.  It felt good to be on solid ground.

Nootka Sound has left us with fond memories and touched our imagination with the experiences of this Sound of times long past.

The next stop:  Broughton Islands, which are up against the BC mainland, and a home for loggers and fishermen for over 100 years.  We meet Billy Proctor, who has fished, logged and run a slipway for the past 2/3 century.