Ferry Tale

The Inside Passage and its inherent beauty were sufficient repayment for this morning’s ugly 4:30 a.m. alarm setting.

First on the ferry, I got my bike lashed down as other riders showed up and followed suit.  I’m not sure what the rush was for since we didn’t embark until 7:30 a.m.  .

I’m now 14 hours into this 16 hour jaunt and thus far things have gone smoothly.  The food and accommodations are first rate.

The early part of the trip took us near an Orca during his breakfast of what appeared to be a sea lion.  Several whale breaches added to the entertainment.  For me there is perpetual interest in watching the trawlers cruising while filling their nets.  The idea of a working boat sits well with me.

The Granville Channel is the first navigated when southbound in the Inside Passage.  In some places width diminishes to 1,400 feet, but its depths up to 1,620 feet allow sailing close to shore so that oncoming large ships can yield a wide berth to each other.

One of the few cannery villages remaining is found on Princess Royal Island in Butedale.  Swanson Bay hosts only the remains of a brick chimney, once belonging to a pulp mill, but has been a ghost town since the late 1940s.

A scenic lighthouse sits at Boat Bluff, built in 1907, still casting an 18 mile beam.  Another atop Robb Point on Ivory Island has stood since 1898.  No soil graced this rocky area until the lighthouse keeper’s wife demanded that some be brought in for a garden that still flourishes today.  The southernmost of the lighthouses in the Inside Passage is at Dryad Point on Campbell Island, guarding a passage that is a mere 800 feet wide.

Continuing south we made a brief stop at the community of Bella Bella.  A large First Nations town involved in fishing and logging, it operates a hospital, schools and serves as a cultural center.

Once again, the day was dreary and very rainy.  My photos are starved for light, but the subjects were too important to overlook.  It’s 10 p.m. now and dark with another 90 minutes until landfall and then a short 10 mile ride to tonight’s lodging.