day 31 - july12

Day 31, July 12.

Today we motored, again; in the rain, AGAIN, to Friendly Cove. This took
us down Tahsis Inlet, through Cook Inlet and into Friendly Cove. This is
at the entrance to Nootka Sound and adjacent to the NootKa lighthouse.
There is a lot of history here, it being the place where Capt. Vancouver
and Quadra signed the treaty that ended Spain’s “ownership” of the
Pacific ocean and gave rise to the concept of free passage on the oceans
( unless nations were at war of course). Before that , Capt. Cook
stopped here to make repairs to his vessels There was also a large
Native village (Yuquot), now just a caretaker; it also the home of
Sandford Williams, a world class native carver who was one of three
artists to participate in world expo in 1992. There is a church from the
old catholic mission and some grave sites from the village to visit.

The trip was uneventful and we had no wind until we came close to the
entrance to Nootka Sound. In the cove, there are no longer any piers to
tie to; they have been blown away apparently and there is only a rickety
line of logs suitable for small fishing boats. We anchored and had
protection from the wind. However there was a reflected swell from the
ocean that kept the boat rocking all night; we discovered some more
hidden noise sources! Stewart was able to call for his airplane only to
discover that the flight from Tofino to Victoria was cancelled. He was
able to make new arrangements and confirm his flight pickup in the morning.

The local Coast Guard search and rescue boat was at the lighthouse and
came over to hail us before they left; just wanted to say hello….must be
lonely bunch! Anchored next to us is a 24-26’ boat that appears to have
at least 2 adults, a baby and a Lab on board!

Stewart and I went ashore and toured the Church; which has a number of
carvings on display along with old photo’s and faded copies of
government plans to make a cultural centre featuring the Mowachat
natives.. so far the only thing that seems to have been done is to
install composting outhouses. We walked along a trail past the graveyard
to where the Native band has rustic cabins for rent along the beach and
along an adjacent lake. The beach here is made of small pebbles and
apparently this type of beach was called a ‘singing ‘ beach because of
the tinkling sound they make in the rollers. After this walk we went up
to the lighthouse and meet one of the keeper’s wives. They stay here
year round , getting out for their vacations only. It is a nice spot,
with enough land to have a garden and vegetation that you can get out of
the wind; it is not like some lighthouses that are perched on ¼ acre of
rock. We finally located the caretaker and paid our fee; he introduced
us to his granny to answer our question about what happened to the
carvings that were shown in the photo’s at the graveyard. .The one for
the chief was moved and the replica is one of the carvings in the church.
For those of you trying to locate our anchorages on Google Earth, we are
at 49-35.68N/126-37W.