When we woke up at 6am, it was sunny and cool. An hour later a fog bank rolled in, so thick no one wanted to leave the dock, though we all have radar. We weren’t going far, so what’s the rush? A little tug pulled into the dock shortly and said the “pea soup” on the Johnstone Strait was so thick they couldn’t see the bow of their boat, so they came to wait for clearing.
Low tide again, so the ramp to the top of the dock was like climbing a mountain. Tides here run up to 17 feet according to Chet, the full-time resident.
Eventually the sun returned, and we were rewarded with a “fog-bow”, the first time we’ve ever seen or heard of this phenomenon, though Jeanette and Victor say it’s common on this area.
16 miles and 2 hours later we pulled into Port Harvey, finally done with Johnstone Strait. We were desperately in need of a nap after partying so late (for us) last night.
This area is very remote. Almost all structures are off-grid, and many of the homes are what they call “float houses”, built on rafts, riding up and down with the tides.
There are small fishing and logging operations scattered around.
Even the marinas, such as the one below at Port Harvey, are small, off-grid, family-run and only hold a small number of boats. Because electricity in the marinas is provided via generator, they charge a nightly fee if you use it, on top of the marina fee. We’ve heard the standard electricity fee is $15 or $20/night. Most of the people we meet are southbound. The weather pattern seems to be changing to foggy mornings, sunny afternoons cooler than we’ve experienced the last two weeks, and high afternoon winds. Oh, and we’re seeing mosquitoes for the first time. Tuesday we head into the heart of The Broughton Islands, further away from Johnstone Strait.
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