the reverse curve of time

~ From Coop ~

A big push to get up this far along the BC Coast was to meet up with our sailing siblings from the Barefoot Raid, a European style small boat assembly racing from catered breakfast to catered lunch, and then again racing from lunch to catered dinner to the hardcore small open boat party scene. Don’t let the catered party fool you, this is the most gritty soggy landing craft rave love fest you could imagine. We tried to meet up with them today, but 6’ rollers off Sutil point made grasshopper unhappy with its propellor screaming on the tops of waves before we turned back. Team Bunny Whaler participated in this event that can be loosely described as a burning man style supported boat party race, for a week.

As we motor-sailed our way towards Desolation Sound, roughly halfway up the inside of Vancouver Island, the waters got warmer and the hint of a westerly breeze waned until the surface of the infamous Straight of a Georgia became the calmest I have ever seen it. And our desire to sail in approximately the right direction gave way to the Boring but safe and comfortable option of motoring at 5.4 kts in exactly the right direction. Come on Grasshopper, come come. One of the cool things about traveling at the pace of a brisk speed Walker is that you don’t realize how far you have traveled, at least not in the same dreary eyed way that one might crush hundreds of miles between pee stops on I-5. (I remember driving Mama Julia to Ventura for X-Mas at least a decade ago and pulling over for gas in Oregon. Nate and I were so tired and loopy that we took great pleasure in pumping our own gas, and also relieving bladders right there at the pump. Rebels!!) as we ghosted along the glossy surface we watched Mittlenatch island appear on the gassy horizon like mirage luring a cowboy into the desert with the illusion of thirst quenching relief. As we got closer and closer the definition of the other worldly piece of land grew, and the ingress and egress of dozens of nesting bird species resembled the in an out of nature’s inbox and sent e-mail messages. I hatched a plan to get Mama off the boat for the first time on another full day of travel North; take grasshopper to Mittlenatch for a swim, while Nate continued towards the Gorge, Cortes Island, the birthplace of the J.D. Crow, our wonder craft and home for the summer.

All went well transferring from the Crow to Grasshopper and away we (mama Julia and Coop) went towards Mittlenatch, swimsuits on ready for a break from the sweaty first run at summer weather behind 58f (whatever it is in Celsius when it’s mostly raining for the 3 months called spring.) as we approached Mittlenatch, the island that is said to represent the tidal middle of Vancouver island, where the ebb goes north and south, and the flood meets, we could hear so many birds. My new favorite app Merlin Bird ID picked up dozens of birds unique calls. We drifted for all of 15 seconds in the silent absence of the sewing machine patter of the small outboard motor before we realized that we were drifting into a sea lion orgy with some of the most guttural expressions of desire known to the marine world. (Nothing compared to the Elephant Seals Aunt Jane took us to see in San Simeon.) needless to say we did not go swimming.

After that, we zoomed and caught up with the mothership at Sutil Point, at this time glassy and docile, a stark contrast to our sporty Grasshopper attempt.

I’m going to leave the actual arrival story to Nate, but he only has energy to choose a few photos as it’s midnight again!

~ From Nate ~

Worth it for dusk washers and dark bocce on the lawn above the babbling creek and oyster-laden isthmus to Bear Island, so named because a bear lived there when Ron and Helen moved into the shack. A nice celebration of a special day, auspicious in so many ways! Ron and our cousinephews’ birthday (and the USA); dear friends’ wedding via zoom; a wild hop; happy hour with all of the three generations of the Crow’s birth family all aboard; burgers and lawn games like a real summer party except on one of the most stunning pieces of waterfront we’ve ever seen – all built from the ground up by Ron and his family.

It’s been a powerful, warm, and comfortable time with Ron and his incredible family.