North to Alaska: Campbell River

Heading north past the Canadian Air force base, Vancouver Island, the F18’s are scrambling for one of those defensive runs against Sarah Palin and the Alaska National Guard …. Canada is the land of liberal government, BC excluded. We thought we might ping the tower with our radar, but since we forgot the potato gun we would have been defenseless against the jets. The islands are more populated than I had expected; most of the water views seem to have a home on site; ferries run everywhere. Stan fixed Auto’s corroded wiring and now Auto does the steering when we motor. Auto is the best helmsman in tranquil waters; also, he doesn’t drink beer, which is a bonus in steering and sharing.

Cape Mudge, at the entrance of Discovery Passage, is notorious. We arrived to whirlpools that were two feet deep; the speed log read 4.8 knots but the GPS varied from 7 down to 2. Erubus ventured across the surge first (we already covered that expendable part); they were immediately swept west, downstream and toward the shore. Shonto decided to head upstream to the east. I chose through the center toward the shore; Auto was no help … he acted like he had gotten deep into the beer supply. It was a slow slog and we all made it through to Campbell River and the boat yard.

With a bad economy, the boat yard is surprisingly busy; the travel lift operator is literally running, full tilt, pulling boats and setting them back to sea. Shonto came out first … there was a deep cut in the lead keel and evidence that the keel and hull had moved in different directions. Inspection and theorizing came up with an action plan that would re-launch and put us on our way again. Erebus was pulled late in the day; the work list grew. Stan tackled the head leak again. Victory appears to be at hand.

This has truly been a miraculous voyage. William has turned water into gin (that tops that previous event). Rich turned water into ice; although less spectacular, it is still quite a feat on a 12 volt boat. The combination is wonderful; gin is my friend. A visit to the best bar in town Tuesday night, netted me and the bar tender as the sole occupants. The economy has reduced patronage; the bar has cut out live music Monday and Tuesday evenings. The bar tender and her laid off, logger husband have their house going on the market; they will move back into the smaller home that they used to rent out. A 2100 square foot, near new home on a large subdivided lot lists for $347,000 CAN; I doubt our 3400 square foot house in Sacramento would sell for that … housing appears to be expensive here. The lumber mill in town has shut down permanently with the loss of 835 jobs; Campbell River’s population has shrunk by 10M to 30M; people think there may be more work in Alberta. We are helping the local economy with boat repairs, food and drink purchases; I now have a strategy to adjust the balance of payments south. The British Columbia lottery is at $24MM CAN. I asked Tammi how I could win it and she suggested I buy a ticket; she sold me tickets on the next 26 drawings. Now here is the best part … I filled in my home address and mailed it off to the lotto commission ... they will start mailing the winnings home … I don’t even have to interrupt our voyage. Mia, don’t throw out any junk mail!!!