Captain's Log 2016

2016 Boat Trials (Perry Moore)

My nephew Henry asked, "Who buys a remote island but not a boat to get there and back? Or to get off the island in emergencies?"  Well, apparently my first two boats, Kayak One and Kayak Two don't count, so off I went to find something larger.  A huge thanks here to Heidi who convinced me to buy something larger than a 14' skiff. As much as I hate depreciating assets, a boat in this situation is kind of important.  My friend Perry told me (in reference to buying another larger boat), "it isn't an investment, it's a lifestyle."  
Ok I'm now into "lifestyle" for about $35,000 on a brand new 20' Duckworth aluminum boat with a 115 HP Mercury outboard motor. BRNR was christened in Woodinville and with strong encouragement from Perry Moore we took it on its first sea trial in Everett Washington.  Very good move - thanks Perry!  The trial made clear we had a problem: the boat seemed to have no real power and was unable to get up on pane - turned out that the dealership had put on the wrong size propellor, which they fixed immediately and with some embarrassment.

2016 Maiden Voyage (Heidi and Jon)

Heidi and I towed the boat all the way to Port McNeill.  Getting it in the water was pretty easy and off we went.  But wait... how do we get the GPS navigation system to work?  The screen was blank.  Crap, the wind and waves were picking up, the clock was running, and time was of the essence.  I decided to go without the electronic gadgets and use the old school charts and compass we brought along.  As this plan seemed risky, we stopped out in the open water two more times to try and fix the problem.   Unable to solve the navigation glitch, we soldiered on through some of the biggest and choppiest waves I have yet experienced in Johnstone Straits.  It was a heck of a rough ride in our heavily laden boat.  After an hour of getting pounded by waves and shook to the bone with ears ringing, we saw a marker that we thought was our turn in point. I didn't recognize the channel at all. It turned out later we had not gone as far as Havana Channel and instead turned in early to Baronet Passage.  Although it was a wrong turn, it was the safest and smoothest way to Hull.

Arriving at Hull for the first time in our own boat felt really good.  We pulled up and parked on the landing area that Chris and Team cleared the year before.  As we had no dock and no buoy to moor to, we beached the boat and allowed it to sit dry as the tide went out and we could safely unload.  Using short logs as rollers and leverage applied at key points, Heidi and I unloaded the metal storage container and get it up to camp.  The campsite was now up-graded with a strong and secure place to store food and tools.
The high and dry boat on the rocky shore attracted some attention.  Two or three passing boats swung in closer to see the boat and offer assistance. We appreciated the boaters concern while telling them all was OK.  One of the "concerned citizens" showed up in a large tug boat towing a huge barge loaded with gravel. Our neighbors later told us they were likely eyeing our boat for reclamation.  Apparently if you find a stranded boat not tied to shore without an owner nearby it's fair game to claim the boat as your own. Beachcombing for boats! We assured them we were safe, the boat was ours, and they could move along. We added a second line to shore.

Pro tip we learned the hard way. Duh!  When you beach a boat at high tide, be sure it is not a tide level that only comes occasionally.  It took us three days, a couple of long logs used for leverage, and considerable effort to get the boat floated again.  Once we were boat mobile, Heidi and I met more frontier neighbors Dick Best and Ron on the island next door.  

Heidi and I spent most of this week organizing the camp, digging and leveling a larger tent pad, cutting down more alder trees, clearing and burning.   This was the first time we could have large fires and we jumped at the opportunity to get rid of all the brush piles stacked up since last years burn ban.
PS: Navigation system problem turned out to be the screen dimmer. It was set to dark mode. Ugh!

2016 Initial Landing  (Chris, Andy, Liz, Henry, Jon)

Five people and a weeks worth of provisions and tools is a lot to cram into our small boat. While BRNR was technically not overloaded, it was full and heavy  As I recall, the trip was smooth.  
It was a year since Liz, Chris, Henry and Andy were last here and they were excited to check in.  Hull's Kitchen survived with the addition of a couple of large float logs on the south side.  We now had a fire pit up in the camp area.  The upper camp kitchen became a source of debate.  Should we be cooking up here closer to the tents where we were more likely to attract bears or should we honor Hull's Kitchen and only cook there?.  Andy and Henry wasted no time and turned the fire pit into a proper stone cooking area with grill.  Over the next five nights, we cooked mostly in the camp area as it was so much easier and more comfortable to sit around.  Hull's Kitchen became more exclusive, used only for special occasions.

Reconstructing the fireplace

BRNR has been a great success as a people hauler, pick-up truck, and crab boat.  Setting crab traps and checking them daily is the new norm on Hull Island - now there is an alternative to work.  Competition for enjoyment.   

A lot more work was done on the landing area. Chris and the heavy lifters widened the boat ramp and built a 5' high, 6' diameter stone cairn.  The cairn was hollowed out like a deep cauldron so we could set a fire inside. The structure is tall enough and strong enough that to add firewood you have to climb up a few of the bottom courses. With no burning ban, the campers thought a beacon fire would be cool.  I'm tentatively OK with it, although I have my doubts about attracting rescuers who see it as a emergency fire....
Three days in our beer supply hit critical level.  Chris is alarmed and has called for an emergency trip to get ice cold beers.  We have a boat, sounds like a good idea, so Liz, Chris and I head off while Henry and Andy work on raising huge tarps over the kitchen and camping areas.  Smart men taking proactive measures for rainforest environments. Thirty minutes into our beer venture we're fighting strong winds, rip tides and whitecaps in Johnstone Strait. Chris and Liz getting the same rough ride as Heidi and I earlier in the summer - very loud with constant jarring, for sure too much stress on older backs.  Liz kept encouraging me to go closer to shore but I was afraid of the hidden rocks and as the wind was northerly the shores didn't provide much protection.   We made it 30 miles to Telegraph Cove, a small touristy place that offers whale and bear watching trips.  Beer, ice and gas were super expensive and well worth the 4-hour round trip. Liz realized why she was asked along as she was the only one with a wallet. Epic beer run!  Maybe NOT again though.

Triangular rock served as key opening for air

Chris and Liz

Extra protection from the rain

Fireside chats

Crabs ready for Chris to work his magic

End of day relaxation

The Closing Ceremony and First Torches. 

Meanwhile Henry and Andy had ripped up Chris's bio hazard BurningMan original Top Ten t-shirt and soaked the strips in bacon fat. They wrapped the strips around one end of a 4 foot 1 1/2 dia alder wood pole and secured the cloth with cut up beer cans.  That night a new tradition was born. We lit the torches from the fire in Hull's Kitchen and proceeded in silence to the cairn marking Chris’s Landing.  The cairn was tightly packed with fine dry lichen, twigs and heavier wood.  Lit at the mouth near the bottom, the flames and sparks shot up through the chimney.  A spectacular show against the dark night sky, forests and ocean. The next morning the boat taxi arrives at the landing zone to take Chris, Liz, Andy and Henry back to town.

Chris's shirt soaking in bacon fat

First Cairn Burn

2016 Jurassic Park (Christen, Nolan, Correll, Phillip, Heidi)

Heidi, Phil, Christen, Nolan and Correll arrive in the boat taxi. We could see them all standing on deck and hear them humming the Jurassic Park theme song as it breaks through a thick fog bank about a mile away and into the sunshine and clear view of Hull Island.  It was classic!  On Hull Island for the first time, their enthusiasm and excitement were really high. The weather was perfect, the camp already set up and we were off to a great start.  

These kids were action oriented, hyper engaged in camp life and projects.  Correll brought additional unique spices and in essence put on an outdoor live-time cooking show with no electricity or running water.  Not that we all didn't do some great cooking, cleaning, sandwich making and crab catching, but Correll made the fancy dishes. Nolan tried for  hours to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, gave up, and then split a log in four pieces, ,wrapped the four sections back together and started a fire in the center. It worked like a mini stove - perfect! Christen wielded a chain saw cutting down and sectioning trees, then splitting the logs with an ax.  The four of them built benches by the fire and Christen added drink stands. Everyone was dragging more brush and fallen logs out of the woods. The camp was rapidly improving. The team built a much needed and greatly appreciated set of stone stairs down to the landing.  Really well done and lasting project. They quickly commandeered the boat and handled crabbing operations.  We knew when they were successful by the beeping of the horn on arrival for each crab. One horn beep per crab brought home is now standard Hull Island practice.  Ideas and traditions coming from all around.

I hope someday to read a first hand story of Christen, Nolan, Correll and Phil's trek down the entire east side of Hull Island. I've been along parts of it that are nearly impenetrable, so have yet to attempt the full length.  They were the first to accomplish it. Perhaps because they knew that no-one had made it all the way along the east side and they wanted the challenge, or maybe they thought I was exaggerating the difficulty, or maybe it was the "let's see who gets there first" I threw out for an east side-west side race. Whatever it was, just before noon Heidi and I set out on the west side highway while they set out along an east side death march.  Plan was for us to meet at the top of the cliff on the southern tip.  Whoever got there first would erect a stone marker, place moss on top of it so we knew it was fresh and wait until at least 3:00 pm before heading back home.  Heidi and I got there around 1 pm and had a relaxing afternoon enjoying the fresh air and views of Mistake Island to the south. We waited until almost 4 pm and then, just as we were getting ready to leave we heard yelling from afar.  The kids had found us. All four were scratched, worn, exhausted and euphonic to find us there at the southern point. A giant trek.  Huge respect to all for making it through! 

It was at this time, sitting in the sun on the cliff looking south that I learned what a sharing cup was.  It's not often enough that I get to hang out with the younger generations in their natural habitats.  To celebrate the east side trek, a small cup of high high-end scotch was carefully poured from the flask they had lugged the distance, and passed to me.  I toasted their success and drank it down - delicious scotch in a glorious setting.  Little did I know it was a "sharing cup."  WTF?  Phil let me know,  "dad, that's a sharing cup!" In an instant of clarity, I realized it wasn't just a great shot of scotch headed my way, it was supposed to be sipped and passed around.  Share it.  Well, OK I said, suitably embarrassed. Let's try it again.  NOTE: later I also learned about the "sharing bowl" of Correll's crazy delicious Orange Chicken.  Sorry campers, I  still have a long life of learning ahead - teach me!

Working together with two chainsaws up front and four clearing behind, we refreshed the Highway and created both art and cutting boards along the way.  A lot was accomplished that day and once again I was impressed by their focus and hard labor.  Thanks Correll, Nolan, Christen, Phil, and Heidi for working safely and productively towards making Hull Island even better!

On the last day of this wonderful adventure the rains came.  Our millennials were not dismayed.  Nolan and Correll set about feverishly to work with axes, hand saws and chisels on a kitchen table while Christen and Phil read books. Heidi and I watched with love and admiration the fullness of their lives.  It was so peaceful to sit under the awnings and listen to the rain fall.  Nowhere to go, nothing needed to do, peace on earth. Four days of sun and one day of rain. Which is more memorable?  For me it was the chain saws, wood splitting, trail clearing, exploring, food and friends that are most memorable.  Thanks to the gang for our life together and the memories left behind.