Queen Charlottes, Part 4 of 4: While sitting with new friends in the salon in a beautiful anchorage, swapping stories of cruising wildlife encounters, the Dashews have a surprising encounter of their own.
So we’re sitting in the salon on Wind Horse, getting to know a Canadian couple who have decided to visit "our" cove with their lovely Carl Alberg designed sloop. After a while we get to telling tales. They relate how a friend of theirs cruising in Northern Australia heard of a salt water crocodile that jumps into the cockpit of sailboats. We counter with some crocodile stories of our own, and then the subject turns to bears.
We’ve seen a photo of a polar bear sitting in a cruising boat’s cockpit. That leads to a discussion of the swimming habits of black and grizzly bears. And how easy it would be for them to board a small sailboat – and even easier to get onboard Wind Horse with her swim step and companionway to the deck.
Then we begin to joke about the black rocks on the beach, what might be lurking behind the bushes, and the risks of walking through the woods (black bears in the Charlottes are said to be afraid of humans).
About this time Steve spies a log floating across the entrance to our little cove. Problem is, the tide is flooding in and the log is moving cross current.
The binoculars are produced and the zoom lens in the camera goes to work. Look at the photos above and see what you think (the image immediately above has been cropped).
Turns out the log has ears, a brown nose, and is climbing out onto the rocks. A log with magical powers perhaps?
Those of you who are into photography will have to excuse these images. The light was fading, and this is at max zoom – the equivalent of 650mm on a 35mm film camera, hand held, with film speed pushed to an ASA of 1000.
All of this is taking place about 450 feet (135m) from where we are anchored.
Around the corner from this "landing" there’s a nice little beach at low tide on this islet, and Linda had been exploring there yesterday.
All the experts warn you when camping in bear country to put your food high in the trees, not to sleep with food in your tent, and avoid wearing clothes to bed that have food smells on them. Hmmm – do you think this applies to boats at anchor? What about having a barbecue on the stern rail? Maybe we need to rethink the concept of boarding platforms…
Posted by Steve Dashew (July 29, 2007)
