Pacific NW

Expeditions

We decided upon sleeping in when we heard rain pattering on the deck in the early morning. It never let up and we eventually set out into the gray Hectate Strait. We were on an excellent tack into Bag Harbour when a small gaff-rig sailboat closed in on us. In it was a man with a large beard and smile. We talked for a bit as our vessels were each making the same speed. I believe that it was the first time I’ve “had a gam” with another skipper on the open sea. The waters around Dolomite narrows turned a vibrant electric blue neon color, almost scarey! Dolomite narrows apparently has the highest concentration of protein per square meter than anywhere else on earth. It is too shallow to navigate for my liking, so we anchored up and explored it with Modulus. 10 deer greeted us on the lush tidal flats as we made our way through the waters. The bottom was littered with huge barnacles, starfish of all colors, and irridescent seaweeds. At one point we reached in and pulled out a red rock crab. The marine life is so abundant here that you can just stick your arm in the water and pull out your dinner! We found two old cabins that reminded me of the puestos of Chile. And there were all manner of eagles, seals, sandhill cranes, and deer, deer everywhere. And then we saw the killer whales! A pod of 10 or so of them was feeding at the tideline about a mile from where we were drifting. We could see their large dorsal fins arc-ing through the waters. A stillness hung over the whole channel. The only sounds to be heard were the chuffing of the whales, punctuating the air, and the occasional chittering of a bald eagle. “Justin”, I said. For lack of a coin, we flipped the spare oarlock. All three times indicted that we should head back to the boat. I promptly swung Modulus around and made a bee-line for the squadron of whales. Suddenly one appeared very close to us, its dorsal cutting a path directly for us! Justin hunkered down and away from the gunnels, until we realized our killer whales were in fact a pod of very large dolphins. We were only momentarily disappointed, for we found ourselves in the center of the pod! They were big as cows and surrounded us on all quadrants. According to the field guide, they were feeding on squid. I rowed faster and the squadron veered toward us. They came to within 10 feet of us, several times leaping completely out of the water. Each one had intricate markings and patterns on its sides. It made for quite another experience seeing the dolphins leaping around us from Modulus! We had to look UP when they jumped! “Ten feet, Pete! Ten feet” shouted Justin. We laughed about the “ten foot” rule that seems to be following us. Grizzly and black bears, countless humpbacks, and even the sperm whale surfacing event were all within ten feet. Ten feet is also a lot smaller when you’re dealing with the world’s largest mammals and cow-sized dolphins! Our row amongst the dolphins gave us a pure adrenaline rush. What an incredible animal. We rowed home in the drizzle and had a quick fire to dry out the cabin before we went to bed.