Jeff's Log ~ Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Shearwater Marina, Bella Bella, British Columbia

On our way from The Verny falls, we stopped at an old cannery called Butedale. The place is mostly in ruins, but there is a caretaker living there by the name of Lou. He is known as Butedale Lou. He stays there with his dog named Bert, who was born there and orphaned when he was a pup by a pack of wolves that killed the rest of his family. There is also an orange cat that looks like George, who is named Tiger.George is a lucky cat that is owned by a very dear friend of mine, Ivani. Tiger and Bert met us at the fairly solid, but rustic, floating dock. They were followed by Lou, who also came down to meet us, even though it was raining.

There were lots of interesting things to look at in the ruins. Lou took us on a little tour and told us how things were in the cannery heydays. The old power house that was a hydro-electric plant is still there, and the pipes that run down to it from the lake above still supply the stream of water which still is used to turn the old generator. The big generators no longer function, but the machinery still is used to turn an automotive alternator wit a belt driven off of the old armature. He has an inverter which supplies AC power for vcr and TV, as well as a little bit of lighting. There is a 12 volt battery bank which is charged by the alternator. That keeps the refrigeration working, as during the summer, Lou sells ice cream to his visitors. He also does painted native style carvings out of a large yellow cedar log that he drug in to shore a couple of years ago. He cuts and split’s the log himself, and makes his own finished boards from it, utilizing a hydro powered planer which is part of the old machinery. Quite a tough old fella, I must say.

He seems very happy and content, but is talking about retiring and returning to civilization, although he gets a gleam in his eye when he says that Butedale is the perfect place to live. I was impressed when we walked in to his home, and with a single wood burning stove, it was dry and very large inside. Things were kept pretty clean too. He lives in what was the mess hall. There are a couple of cabins, and during summer, he also rents rooms to fishermen and hunters. You would have to enjoy rustic living to stay there! After our tour, Lou joined us aboard Pipe Dream, and we all had a cocktail. Bert waited patiently in the cockpit for his master to finish. Lou enjoyed seeing the map of where the boat has been, and after a short while, it was time for us to leave, as we wanted to get to the next anchorage before dark. Lou gave us a hand with our lines, and we were off. We anchored in Bottleneck Cove, along with two other sailboats from Australia.

Morning found us leaving in the rain, and both of them staying, awaiting better weather. We made our course for Bella Bella, and arrived here at the shearwater Marina well before dark. The weather did deteriorate all day, and right outside the pass to Bella Bella, it was downright nasty with the cold rain being blown sideways, making the awning all but useless. My feet got cold, and I turned into a whimpering baby, and had to turn the heat on when my watch was completed. It’s amazing to me how cold feet can do that.

Shearwater has all of the proper stuff. A bar and restaurant that is pretty good, a Laundromat, and clean restrooms and showers. Hurricane winds were predicted, so we stayed an extra day. We never saw any of that wind, but I was glad for just a little time to relax ashore, with the shore power connected, and the heat on. It is nice to have a dry atmosphere for a change. As we were getting prepared to leave today, Scott noticed that the radar appeared to be cocked. The gimbaled mount that has been cracked since I got on the boat is now really cracked, and was in danger of breaking. I went up on the main halyard, and disassembled the radar antenna and removed the whole thing from the backstay. It took a while to gain access to all of the wiring, and supporting myself while not losing any of the pieces was quite a feat. I got the job completed, and now have a few aches and pains, and a stiff joint or two.

As I was putting away all of the stuff from that project, I noticed that the heat in the fore and aft cabins had quit working. The seawater pump was not running. I pulled up the necessary floor boards, and discovered a broken shaft for the impeller. I robbed the necessary parts from the used spare pump, and had that repaired by lunchtime. We chose to stay here another night, as there were still some squalls coming through from the storm that missed us. The dinner special was lamb shank with risotto, so staying the extra day turned out just fine for me.