Pacific Grace 2009 - Trip 4

After breakfast today, we lay at anchor in Winter Harbour for most of the morning doing lessons: junior terminology in the foc´s´le and intermediate chartwork in the hold, charts spread over the table, galley counters, and all available spots on the sole. We pulled the hook just after eating lunch together on deck, and ran south out of Quatsino Sound looking for fish. The skipper seems to have a sixth sense for finding them, and in less than forty minutes of trolling in the gentle swell, we had reeled in four fine salmon, all landed by trainees who had never before caught a fish. Two or three humpback whales passed to the east, blowing on the surface and rolling their black bulks back under the waves. We had intended to anchor in Klaskino Inlet, but with rain there and the sky clearing above Solander Island, we decided to continue running south around Brooks Peninsula and into Checleset Bay. It was overcast today, with occasional moments of light drizzle--almost a falling fog--and torn bands of low-lying cloud obscuring the massif of the west end of the peninsula. Regardless of how many times we have run down the outside of Vancouver Island, the magnificence of the coast never fails to impress us. There is a wildness here, something untamable and at times almost brooding. Even in relatively light weather, you can feel the latent power of the sea. South of Brooks we sighted a small pod unidentified dolphins, and later, a solitary sea otter floating on its back.  We barbecued the fresh salmon up on deck as we ran towards our anchorage, eating in three sittings rather than the usual two as the fillets were sent hot and hot below.  A simple but extraordinary meal. There is a tremendous feeling on board this trip. The crew are very tight and the trainees are smiling. We are anchored now in a small un-named bay west of Acous Peninsula, and I can smell the alder smoke from the smoker up on deck as yesterday´s salmon continue to season for tomorrow. All the best from the Pacific Grace, Stephen Duff