August , Port Mcneil

Reflections



Sunset in Echo Bay

We returned to Port McNeil today and dropped off Buck and Lisa for their long drive home. We talked them into staying one more day which was not hard to do. After doing the Pig Feed at Echo Bay we went up to Kwatsi Bay about 10 miles up Tribune Channel. We had good intel that there was good shrimping to be had in the bay directly across from it. It was good intel and we did fairly well but we were augmented with a few extras by Larry and Kathy who were a bit more succesful with four pots to our one.

Kwatsi is an interesting place, tucked in among towering rock cliffs. Last November at 6 in the morning a massive avalance of trees and mud slid off the cliffs and missed the home of the marina owners by about 100 feet. Must have been a pretty exciting few minutes.


We tried out hand at fishing in the bay and fortuneately for us we did not catch anything but a large shark. There were 18 to 20 lab salmon jumping all over but they had no interest in anything we put in the water. It was a good thing cause Larry told me later that Kwatsi bay is closed to all fin fishing. Hoo Boy!\

The evening was glorious with warm sun and blue sky but shortly after the sun went behind the mountains the fog rolled in. Next morning we were greeted by heavy dew and think fog. We also watched as two large cougars came down to the shoreline and prowled the waterline for about 30 minutes. We got a few good shots of them from a distance.





As we left the bay I called the marina opeerator, Anka, and told her of the cougars thinking the other boaters there might like to see them. She reacted quickly when I told her there were two cougars working their way down the shoreline towards them. She said "Two Cougars!!!!" Yes two. We then saw her running up the dock to her house and s few moments later she called her husband on the marine VHF and said, Get home, NOW, I need you here!. His proper response, I am on my way!.

I guess they must have had problems with cougars cause they were not happy about the sighting and I doubt if they were going out to take photos of them.

We stayed in Waddington Bay last night and woke again to thick fog. The night before I sent Lisa and Buck out in the dinghy to drop the shrimp pot and they came back about 45 minutes later all excited. They had been surrounded by about a hundred porpoises swimming, jumping and following the dinghy within arms reach. They did not have a camera so the came back to get us and the camera to proove it really happened. We went back out and for about 20 minutes we sat in the dingy and watched a huge pod of them swimming, jumping clear out of the water and swimming at breakneck speed right under our boat. Buck was able to reach out and touch one as it went by. Pretty exciting stuff.

We went back and enjoyed Shrimp Cocktails, Fried halibut, Shrimp skewers and crab for dinner. A better meal could not be had in any of the finest restaurants. What a way to send Buck and Lisa off. I think they had a grand time.

We will slowly head south now, working our way down into Desolation Sound in about a week. tomorrow night maybe Lagoon Cove, then Forward Harbor and then catch the tides back through Dent and Yuculta rapids into Desolation.