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| The first encounter |
Hello
from another guest of Tara and long-time admirer of Jacomine and
Roel’s incredible journey around our not-so-tiny blue planet! I
joined Tara and the crew in Port McNeill, at the north end of
Vancouver Island, from Vancouver for a week of lovely boating. Now, I
would like to say lovely sailing, but in fact, the main sail was only
hoisted on two occasions – by yours truly of course – and stayed
atop the horizon in all its glory for a total of ten minutes before
the wind decided to go elsewhere and left us motoring along.
Nevertheless, what a journey we had!
First,
however, I must back track to Japan about a year ago, when I first
met J & R as we ran for cover from the rain – in search of
sake, yakitori, sushi, and more sake. As we sat and shared
experiences and plans for the future, I was time and time again
astonished and excited by their joie de vivre and sense of endless
adventure. Following a lovely coffee the next morning on Tara (a
ritual which I now know is not to be ignored, delayed, or tampered
with in any way), we parted ways for some time, and I began forming
two plans. The first: sail around the world myself one day. The
second: weasel my way into an invite for some sailing with my new
friends!
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| First Nations Burial grounds with totem poles as tomb stones |
It
goes without saying, then, that I was thrilled to begin my trip from
Port McNeill to Campbell River, along the East side of Vancouver
Island. We began our journey on Sunday evening and anchored the first
night in Alert Bay; the first destination of the trip. Alert Bay was
at one time a bustling logging and fishing town and has since
returned to its quiet origins, much like the rest of the remote
communities along the cost of the Pacific Northwest (PNW). The next
morning, what was to be my first full day aboard Tara, Jacomine and I
set out early for a quick sprint through the main street to view the
world’s largest totem pole, an ancient first nations burial ground,
and the U’mista Cultural Centre (https://www.umista.ca/).
While it was a quick visit, the stoic tranquility of the totems, and
the incredible history contained within the U’mista centre amazing.
It was the first lesson of many on the history of the first nations
people in British Columbia during my trip that I was very grateful
for. I would encourage all you avid readers to click on the link
above and find out more for yourself.
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| White "sand" beaches |
Following
our departure from Alert Bay, along with another cup of coffee of
course, we began weaving our way south, around the Broughton
Archipelago and into the network of straits, passages, and lagoons
that ran parallel to the Johnson Strait. Not even two hours in
spotted a few pods of Dall porpoises, a humpback whale in the
distance, and plenty of… kayakers! I was ecstatic, to say the
least. One of the other sights that I was truly captivated by was an
old, abandoned first nations village tucked away in a cove with a
bleach white beach which stood out from miles away. The whiteness
comes from the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of crab,
mussels, clam, and oyster shells that the inhabitants of the village
ate for decades and tossed into the sea which over time broke down,
bleached, and formed the beach passersby ponder about. The coastal
area is littered with this telltale sign of a time seemingly long
ago.
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The "Beauty strip" is the layer of trees meant to conceal
clear cutting activities behind de scenes |
The
other telltale sign of previous inhabitants in the region is not
nearly as beautiful or subtle. The clear cuts which scar the PNW
coast as far as the eye can see are a sobering and prompting view.
Jacomine, Roel and I shared many conversations about the history of
logging in this part of the world, its destructive impact, but also
its future, and how this lofty yet crucial idea of sustainability
comes into play. It’s a complicated one, that’s for certain. We
had the chance to explore various clear cuts in various stages of
their lives, ranging from ones which were abandoned and never
replanted, to ones that were teeming with life again and resembled a
forest again.
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| Canada Day festivities in Pott's Lagoon |
By
the end of this action packed day, we settled in for a lovely Canada
Day dinner and a toast to finally reuniting after many months of
exchanging photos and stories sporadically over email. This first day
was unique, yet simultaneously the same as all the ones to follow.
As
I mentioned, coffee was pretty important, I think. Up at around 7am,
by 10am, we had all had at least three independent servings of “Joe”
and I was loving it. While we motored along sipping on our brew, we
all took turns reading, looking for bears and whales, cooking,
chatting, tanning, and navigating of course. Just enjoying the
present, and it was truly a gift.
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An old growth tree with room enough for
two (plus who knows how many critters) |
When
weren’t hunting for favorable tides and currents, we visited a few
lagoons, almost got stranded in one of them, found a couple of very
lovely walks in the woods, and combed some beaches collecting sea
glass and driftwood. It was relaxing and inspiring all at once.
I
also had plenty of time to learn oh so much about ships, tides,
winds, sails, ropes and knots, engines and what it is like to be a
world sailor. I also discussed my other plan extensively with my two
co-pilots/tour guides/captors and solidified my intent to integrate
this new found passion into my life.
Having
spent a lovely and unforgettable week aboard Tara, I can say with
confidence right now that I will be sailing around the world one day,
and this inspiration is all due to my lovely friends and their lovely
Tara. Although, for the time being, I’ll start with just figuring
out the infinite number of knots that one needs to know to be allowed
on any respectable vessel and not be considered a liability!
I
can’t thank Jacomine and Roel enough for opening up their home to
me and teaching me more than they know. I wish them all the best in
the next leg of their journey. For you blog readers, stay tuned, you
may hear from me again soon. Who knows, there may actually be some
wind as well.
Zander
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| Home sweet home |
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| The world's largest totem pole, with Jacomine for scale |
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| Fireweed grows rampant in clear cuts and makes for quite delicious honey if there are bees around |
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The lookout into Seymour narrows at Ripple Rock point. The current can reach 17 knots
and it creates massive whirlpools, standing waves and eddies, truly impressive |
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| A young juvenile eagle who was just as about me as I was about him/her |
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| Floating homes that loggers bring from site to site |
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| Jacomine isn't much for hiking trails, me and my sandals on the other hand needed some extra help |
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| Forever on the go, Roel stretching his legs after a whole lot of sitting |
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| Woodpeckers caught in the act |
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| How we all felt before our first half dozen cups of coffee in the morning |
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| The Netherlands meets the Pacific North West |
