(Read more about Shoal Bay & view the photos.)
Crab! Sunshine! Scenery! Crab! Boats! Crab! Porpoises! Crab! Eagles! Crab - a whole heapin' helping of fresh caught crab, steamed and served by the bucket at a beachside buffet. The folks here at Shoal Bay, on East Thurlow Island, know a thing or two about hospitality, and they let it show for GB owners on the Grand Tour tonight. It was the ultimate end to a beautiful day cruising north from Desolation Sound. And did we mention the crab?...
Well, one thing has become obvious on this trip: as great and beautiful and awe-inspiring as the Inside Passage is, it could still use a good wi-fi system. But now that we're back on board the 70CP and powered up with our KVH system, let's get caught up on our postings.
We know our days of glorious sunshine and unseasonably hot days are numbered - this IS the Inside Passage, after all - but we can't help being giddy at our good fortune around here. Owner Jeff Bland even decided to take a swim around the anchorage (in his wetsuit - the water wasn't THAT warm). Last night in Desolation Sound was about as good as it gets: sixteen beautiful GBs tucked into a quiet cove, basking in the sunshine while snow-capped mountains that huddle tightly around the waters. Somebody cue the heart-stirring soundtrack.
Even the work around here is play, as Guest Chef Becky Selengut put ten eager students through their paces in an on-board cooking class. The focus was on Southeast Asian cuisine, and in little time these owners had fashioned a meal of Chaing Mai curry with tamarind ginger and peanuts, coconut rice in banana leaves, and a mango herb salad with grilled shrimp.
The results. Let's just say that the food was quickly devoured during the ensuing potluck, along with dishes brought by dinghy from other boats in our "pod." (To accommodate boats that cruise at different speeds, the Tour fleet is split into four smaller fleets, or "pods" - a nod to the Orcas we hope to see along the way - for more effective transit up the Inside Passage.)
Desolation Sound is also where Fran Morey, GB Service Support Manager, joined the fleet. We mention this here because not long after Fran alighted from his seaplane, he was put to work fixing a head, troubleshooting a davit and - to the delight of the owners aboard Tonda - found the problem with their water pump AND replaced it. "Give me a roll of duct tape and I can fix just about anything" said Fran as news of a broken water hose crackled over the VHF. Everyone seemed to sleep a little easier knowing he was now aboard, and Fran earned a well-deserved spot at the night's potluck, marveling at the setting into which he dropped just a few hours earlier.
This morning, the cold winds can whipping down from the north, seas stood at nearly eight feet, and hail pounded on the decks of our boats. Ha - just kidding. It was a hot, sunny, shorts-and-t-shirt kind of weather. It was also a day (at last!) to sleep in a little bit and enjoy the extra morning hours on the flybridge or in the cockpit, snapping a few photos before today's trek to Shoal Bay.
The township of Shoal Bay was incorporated in 1889. By the mid-1890's Shoal Bay boasted the largest population on the west coast of Canada. At the time over 5000 people lived in and around the beautiful bay and scoured the surrounding hillsides for gold. The community offered two large hotels, machine shops, grocers, tailors, outfitters, and at least one successful brothel.
The bustling town that was once the center for all mining and lumber operations in the entire province of British Columbia now supports a year-round population of just three people. In spite of the diminished population, Shoal Bay remains a popular destination for cruising boaters as well as for sport fisherman and vacationers.
Best of all, Shoal Bay is the proud home of Shoal Bay Lodge, where Mark MacDonald and relatives serve up some incredible hospitality - and some incredible Dungeness crab. After all Tour participants enjoyed cocktails on the Lodge patio, with its incredible views of the Phillips Arm and the mountains of the Coast Range above - a central table was cleared and bucket after bucket of fresh cooked crab was emptied onto platters, next to salads and sides for all.
Soon, piles of shells sat tableside, with each owner demonstrating his or her technique. Bill cracked his way through claw after claw, leg after leg, stopping to savor each along the way. Gunther, on the other hand, opened a mound of crabmeat onto his plate, all meticulously picked clean, until he was ready to eat his way through all at once. We lucked out and got a seat at the table with Becky, who couldn't leave her inner chef behind and obliged us all by ceaselessly cracking claws and legs with her own miniature rolling pin until we couldn't keep up.
Cake, coffee, back to the boat, then sleep: alas, tomorrow's launch is scheduled for 5am. So much for sleeping in!
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> GRAND TOUR HOME
> ROUTE MAP
> LOG BLOG
- Day 1: Nanaimo
- Day 2: Pender Harbour
- Day 3: Prideaux Haven
- Day 4: Shoal Bay
- Day 5: Lagoon Cove
- Day 6: Sullivan Bay
- Day 7: Sullivan Bay
- Day 8: Sullivan Bay
- Day 9: Duncanby Landing
- Day 10: Shearwater
- Day 11: Khutze Inlet
- Day 12: Klewnuggit Inlet
- Day 13: Prince Rupert
- Day 14: Foggy Bay
- Day 15: Ketchikan
- Day 16: Ketchikan
- Day 17: Meyers Chuck
- Day 18: Santa Anna Inlet
- Day 19: Wrangell
- Day 20: Wrangell
> DESTINATIONS
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