Captain's Log - Big Steps on a Small Footprint

Summer/Fall 2022

After the two spring visits the pace of change picked up:  a new boat, kitchen roof done, outdoor hot water shower done, garage doors installed, gravel barges, 3 first timers, up to 8 family at one time, and a personal record 12 consecutive days alone. Now, before I go on - I take to heart Steve's message in his recent post, "Hull Island is Dead." I recommend you read it.

Here is my account of what led to the Fall 2022 Hull Island Crime Scene. 

July 14th 2022  Two days before our boat launches and we're buying last minute items and pulling off the boat logo's to de-commodify. I bought replacement deck pads from the OEM in Seattle to replace what I pulled off.  What a relief to see the clean boat with no flashy marketing. 

Unfortunately I came down with a cold or something. Symptoms: mild fever, noticeably dazed, tired.  Too much stress? Drugs and alcohol or virus? Covid again?  wtf.  Do we go ahead with our expedition or bail out now?  So much riding on this trip and lots of people lined up.  Is it OK to travel if you're not 100% healthy? How will I answer the Canadian border questionnaires??   I used Catherine's test kits 3 times and all said no covid.  I thought about Magellan, Drake and other early explorers - would they postpone their trips due to one sick crew member?  Hell no - we're going!  

July 15th. At 8:30 am, Connie Broidy drove Catherine, Heidi and me to 3 Rivers Marine in Woodinville where our boat was on the trailer and hooked up to Bob's massive pick-up.  With Bob driving our first stop was  COSTCO to fuel up.  Math time! The boat holds 220 gallons of gas (four 55 gallon drums) at  X $/gal = $ full tank?.  And, for the people in line behind us...  220 gal / 5 gal/min = ? fueling minutes? 

We had a really pleasant ~ 90 minute, 65 mile ride with Bob up to Anacortes Washington where a gantry crane lifted the boat off the trailer and lowered it into the sound. This public facility was a first class operation.  No reservations, organized line-up and a really efficient crew of 2 or 3 who rigged the slings and lifted boats on and off trailers, into and out of the water.  It was fun to watch.

Once in the water, one of the two Canadians from Sidney B.C. who came across the straits in their boat got in our boat and piloted it ~40 miles to Sidney BC where we crossed the border and registered the boat in Canada. Heidi, Catherine and I followed in the boat piloted by Canadian #2 . Apparently it was critical in the delivery process that we not board the boat until officials registered as a Canadian vessel.  

We spent the night in Sidney.  A nice Thai dinner and a walk along the waterfront and pier where we talked to local crab fishers who were launching small traps off the docks. Relaxing experience.  Very positive first impressions of Sydney BC.

On Friday, July 15th. 2022 at 9:45 am,  Catherine A. Geiger in full accordance with maritime protocols and traditions officially christened our boat 2BRNR. The champagne bottle smashed, a branch of salal brought from home was mounted on the bow,  red wine toasts all around with some poured overboard for Oden, and then we're off for a ~240 mile journey North to Hull.

Catherine and Heidi ready to go at Three River's Marine, Woodinville WA.

Anacortes Washington - launching for sea trails before christening

Here's to life, 2BRNR and safe passages.

2BRNR safe at dock on Hull Island

This was my first time driving 2BRNR, and two minutes in I forgot the warning given while entering the harbor last night: "on your way out, stay very close to the docks, the channel gets shallow quickly, it's easy to get stranded." It took a lot of yelling from ashore and quick reactions by our crew to avert the embarrassment of running aground day one.  Once underway on our first 160 mile leg to Campbell River, Catherine was the savior. Despite reading the manuals and getting an orientation on all the systems, it was tough for me to handle while driving. Catherine figured it all out, helped configure the menus and teach me. The boat handled great and was a lot of fun, easy to drive. Music on, clear visibility, wide open water with light waves. All went well. I am happy with the investment. 

We spent the night on 2BRNR in Campbell River. Early next morning we left for Hull Island, another ~80 miles north of Campbell River through the Johnstone Straits. The currents and waves were mostly calm, the weather and scenery beautiful. This was all "uncharted territory" for us and we really enjoyed the cruise. 

Arrived safely on Hull, with 2BRNR securely tied up at our dock was a massive relief. We had a few well earned cocktails, light dinner and then early to bed. I was almost completely exhausted from the journey and still felt the flu. We all slept well that night. 

With Heidi's help, Catherine and I removed the tarp covering the kitchen, cut, nailed and screwed the stringers (purlins) and gable facia to the rafters, then fastened the green tin roof. It took us some time to get the routine down. The screws provided were difficult to get flush. Better screw bits and pilot holes solved the problem. C limbing up and down and in and out of the kitchen framework was a great workout and reminded me of being a small child. Sweet memories. After almost 3 days of work the end product looks fantastic. The kitchen is now permanently set up and dry. 

Kitchen roof - done!  Thanks Catherine and Heidi

Catherine's battle wounds from roof installation.  The ridge exacted a price.

In addition to roofing, Catherine put a lot of time, effort and love into the new outdoor shower. She designed and built the wood structure and stone floors with me as an assistant. Catherine called out  measurements while I cut the wood or fetched more screws, tools or supplies. The finishing touches she added with surplus roofing tin are clever and well done. The shower is connected by hose to the rain water collection tank ~200 feet and heated by a small battery activated propane furnace. Having a hot shower allows for longer more comfortable stays - what a blessing! 

Catherine's super delicious ribs.. cooked low and slow on open fire for 4 hours

Bacon and toast and Catherine

August 14th.  Neal and I have been friends for over 35 years. In an earlier post I gave our brief history. Neal had heard an awful lot about Hull, but never visited. When Neal found out my high school friend Bill was venturing to Hull again he decided to pull the cord and drop in. Jeff Wilson was also excited to return for another visit and all together we made a solid team. This was definitely the opportunity to install the barn doors! Bill helped carry the doors from Woodinville to Hull, so he had first hand experience with the challenge. By truck, ferry and boat, for the first time we made it from Woodinville to Hull in one day.  After 12 hours of travel we arrived on Hull in the early evening. Just enough time to have cocktails, cook and eat dinner before it got too dark. 

Day 1 question; Were the barn doors too tall or the opening too short? Either way the experts overruled me and rather than making the opening larger we shortened the doors by about 2 inches. GREAT CALL, thanks guys. Working together to lift, adjust and hold the doors in place while drilling for and installing stainless steel hinges and fasteners, we installed both doors in a day. The two heavy doors and glass windows fit surprising well, super sturdy and tight. The additional light and aesthetics are a wonderful addition to the shed/cabin/garage.... (note: still looking for what to call this multi use space.) 

While Neal and Bill waxed eloquent about our visit to BC Cannabis, Spike and I stained more cedar siding while the sun was out. We left Hull with installed barn doors, stronger personal ties, more pot and stained cedar siding than when we arrived. Good karma. Of course the food and cheer were divine. Steak, fresh crab, wine, cocktails, yum. What an enjoyable trip with friends I've known for almost 50 years. 

Jeff pointing to problem.  Jamb in left hand a bit too long. Or is the door opening too short?

Door installation experts - Neal, Jeff, Bill and me

Jeff staining more siding.

August 22nd, 2022 

Many fun stories start with my brother Chris. This time Chris was planning a mission to Hull with a strong team. Henry, Chuck, Matt, Chris, and I were the veterans, Steve's son Tommy and Chris's son Adam on their first visit. I know Chris and Steve were psyched that some of their children would now know what Hull is all about. Go, See, Learn.

Adam, Tommy, Chris and I enjoyed the trip north in my truck. The 'elders' took the back seat while Tom drove and Adam rode shotgun.  Just north of Everett I encouraged Tom to drive a bit faster as I certainly didn't want to miss the ferry.  Little did I realize the speed limit had changed from 70 to 60 mph.  Fortunately, there was a helpful state patrol guy on a motorcycle who straightened us out by giving Tom the first ever speeding ticket on this journey.  The police officer was pissed Tom didn't pull over sooner as Tom was sorting out my direction to pull over on the right (much safer option) and the officer was apparently pointing left.  Once stopped he chided Tom  "Did you think you were going to make it to the border without stopping?" he asked,   "No sir" I piped up from the back, "I was just trying to be safe for all of us and I told him to pull over on the right." This didn't seem to help. $160 penalty points later...

Dinner before the expedition

Locked and loaded

After the night spent in Haida Way Inn (now offering no breakfast at all), we had excellent coffee and berry scones at Mugz2.0, then loaded up with ice, food and drinks at the local IGA and BC liquors.

While it was mostly clear when we left Port McNeill we soon ran into fog, initially light then heavy. The first real test of 2BRNR's radar systems and all worked well.  I drove the first half then turned it over to Adam to learn the ropes. Just prior to leaving Johnstone Straits and entering Baronet Passage, we identified a large boat on our screens.  Adam was at the helm.  At this point I estimate the visibility was about 300' and our speed about 20 mph.  Eventually a huge tug boat emerged out of the fog close by.  In the next moment we saw it was towing a massive barge that looked as large as two city blocks stacked 40' high with thousands of crushed cars and covered in broad mesh.  It was surreal to see these hulks looming out of the fog - terrifying and scary.  We immediately realized our course headed us right between the two and a submerged steel tow line now less than 200 feet away and closing fast.   Less than 10 seconds to potential disaster.  Adrenaline rush. Adam, who was at the helm for his first time, pulled off a perfect wide smooth turn.  Adam absolutely passed this first trial by fire. He then moved on to hone his skills navigating docks and crab pots.  

Critical lessons; 

1. Barges don't transmit electronic signals so don't show up on navigation systems,  

2. Big radar blobs close by are not necessarily land. 

In this case the radar showed both the tug and barge, but due to the barges size we mistook it for an island. (editor's note: well you wouldn't want to hit the island, either, would you?)

By the time we got to Hull the skies were clearing and sun out.  Ice cold beers, delicious sandwiches, basic orientation, shitovation, bear protocols, stuff like that.  Later we hiked along the west side to survey the trails and see what's changed in past two years. For Tom and Adam a chance to experience the world of Hull for the first time.  Clearing the trail was going to take a lot of work and with healthy reinforcements arriving the next day we decided to wait on the chainsaws.

Adam Geiger ready to explore the woods

Solar powered refrigerator / freezer/ beer chest

The next day in the early evening, 2BRNR made a run over to Eve River to pick up the rest of the gang: Matt, Henry and Chuck. Wait what? No guitar? Apparently, WestJet didn't want the risk of handling the precious cargo. We were all particularly pleased that Henry made the rendezvous, as his expired passport needed to be "fixed" through Henry's in person testimony at the Border Patrol Office in Seattle.  Hull is now 2 - 2 for Hattemer kids with expired passports.  Hey Chuck have you checked yours lately? Will you try for a full sweep next year 3 - 3?

Our primary objective this week was to set and clear a trail to the highest point on Hull.  Before we even ventured up the hill we had to chainsaw through two areas where a significant number of alder tress had blown over and blocked the highway trail.  Matt went berserker with one saw while Adam, Tom and I followed with the second saw.   As the tress were toppled over each other in a pick-up sticks type pile, the going was slow and we moved carefully (mostly) to be sure we cut and fell in a safe order. Eventually we made it to the top clearing more trees and brush as we went.  A successful endeavor.

Alder trees fallen across highway trail

Matt Chambers keeping an eye on the cairn construction crew

2022 The Cairn is rebuilt stronger and higher

Chris ready to stack more sats... or wood

Adam and Tom preparing oatmeal apple crisp. We ate really well this week.

Tommy G cooking fresh tortillas

Tom's Cauliflower Curry. Epic dinner

Matt relaxing in camp after a tough hike along east coast

Matt and Tom working on log raft

2022 Cairn passed the initial high tide test

Chef Chuck on crab duty

Gravel barge underway 

Matt insisted this large rock be moved to complement his new tent patio deck

Log raft ready for towing back to camp.

One day Chris, Matt, Henry and I took a short trip over to Doug's place on East Cracroft Island a couple of miles away.  Doug was getting ready to sell his 21 acre homestead and invited us to take a look and help him haul away anything we might use on Hull.  A stainless steel sink, 4 beautiful 3' x 12" x 20' clear hemlock boards, 4  5' x 5" by 10' hemlock posts, crab and shrimp traps, a tool box, a couple of pots, an acoustic guitar and other bounty.  Doug's place is now listed on Ed Handja's BC Coastal Properties.  Cold beers and stories on his dock with panorama view of Hull made for a very relaxing educational afternoon.

While we were away, Chuck flew his drone, Tommy set up the hammock and Adam went off to drink wine and relax by the shore.

Doug's place - beachcomber paradise

Hull Island view from Doug's deck

Some other notable accomplishments this week:

Adam and Tommy built stone stairs and a walkway to Hull's Kitchen. Chris "supervised" for a while before I tore him away to let the "apprentices" do the work while the "elders" stepped back from the work and drank ice cold beers from the new small solar powered refrigerator/freezer.  Thanks Heidi for the Christmas gift - it served us well.

Matt "chainsaw maniac" Chambers expanded the new upper tent pad/ chill zone patio to fit a small tent or several chairs.  This included team effort to relocate several large rocks.

Tommy pioneered the gravel barge and with Adam's help used the kayaks to shuttle a ton or so of gravel from distant shorelines to the kitchen floor.  The new floor allows for dust cloud free kitchen operations.

Matt developed a log raft towed behind the kayaks to bring firewood from the distant shores back to camp. After realizing how hard this was, Matt towed a single large log back as well.  Sustainable "green" harvesting and transportation! 

As firewood was being delivered and cut to length by Chuck, Henry split and stacked.  Added to the pile were trees cut by Matt and Chuck from above the camp. We now have a huge pile of wood ready for next season. Tommy cooked the first ever vegetarian dinner - A cauliflower curry served with rice and tortillas that got rave reviews and requests for more!  The next generation is helping us to a healthier diet - is Camp Carnivore in danger? I think NOT as we also had plenty of bacon and meats to grill and crab to eat.

Chris and Company added considerable rock and details to the stone shower and I know Catherine is thrilled to see the results.

The Fellas

Henry's legendary bacon torches set off the closing ceremony fire

Fresh coffee and scones?  follow me!

 Port McNeill - at Mugz2.0  left to right, Chris, Jon, Matt, Henry, Chuck, Adam, Tom

After dropping off Chris, Adam and Tom in Port McNeill we returned to Hull and spent a quiet afternoon... until we heard a whale breathing close by.  For the first time from on the island, we saw a large Orca swimming between us and Et Seek In (sp?) on the mainland to the east.  Later we got on 2BRNR for a closer look and were rewarded to see such a beautiful animal close by.  Chuck piloted his drone ~100 ft above and captured some epic video - super professionally done! Hull Island From the Sky

Too early the next morning, in the pitch dark we left on 2BRNR  to drop off the fellas at Eve River.  It was very unsettling to be driving in the dark.  While the radar and navigation allowed us to get there, it doesn't pick up floating logs so quite a gamble in the dark.  Of course I waited for it to be light out before venturing back.  I hope to make that a once in a lifetime trip.

August 31st - September 13th; 

I was now back on Hull all alone for the next 12 days - the solar fridge/freezer kept things cold and with massive amounts of food left over there was no need for a trip to town.

Being alone was pure bliss.  No schedule, less noise, no work that had to be done.  I slept in late, worked on fun projects that I could handle myself and ate well.  I listened to nature and got more acquainted with our surroundings.   I spent time making a work bench and shelves for the cabin and sorted and swept the place out.  The cabin is much more organized now and that gives me solace.  I hung the rest of the cedar siding that Jeff helped stain earlier in the summer and added more trim and details to Catherine's shower.

While relaxing with coffee, sitting on Steve's bench one morning, I spotted a large floating log across the channel near East Cracroft Island. I pursued it by kayak and after securing a line tried to tow it to Len's for processing. After about an hour making no progress against the tides,  I gave up and took the easier route across the tides direct to Hull.

In the 12 days, I wasn't completely alone.  Doug visited to check in and help me try to form a metal drip edge using leftover roof trim.  It took hours of work before we gave up, it just wasn't going to work.  Later I sent Catherine at Shoprite Marine a sketch and she had a local make it for $42. Matching Melchers Green for over the barn doors. Total bargain! 

I kayaked over to see if Don was around and to ask if Len could cut more cedar siding.  Yes of course!

Later in the week Len stopped by to check on exactly what size boards I needed and to look at the huge cedar tree that leans towards the cabin.  Could he  cut it down and use the wood?  Yes and no problem.  Good because it was blocking the sun from our solar system and threatening the cabin were it to fall.

Bar stools and fire wood

One day when I was paddling back from Burial Cove, I saw the sun shining on a grove of alders above the camp area and had an epiphany. This might be a perfect spot for the cottage and it would take a lot less time and effort, preserve more of the native growth and faces true north.  The Lakota Indians believed that North is the direction of new beginnings, of endurance and leadership. The North Star is a guide for navigators and explorers.  These beliefs resonated with me, so I spent a few hours exploring this area for a building site for the stone cottage.  It looks really promising. This site may also connect better with the existing camp and dock to keep the Hull community tighter together.  Next year, with input from others, I expect to make a final decision and start clearing.

Extra food for the next 12 days.  I ate well and still lost weight.

September 12th - 18th: Closing week Time for final projects, cleaning up and closing down camp for the winter.  I picked up Steve and Liz at Port McNeill in the late afternoon and arrived on Hull in the early evening.  This was Steve's second visit and Liz's 5th.  With plenty of firewood already stacked, we spent time adding hand rails to the cabin deck and stairs using the drift wood that Bill Platt helped collect three years ago.  While out kayaking around the island, Steve found what looked like a narrow 16' long wooden surfboard and towed it and a huge piece of driftwood back to camp to add to the material pile.  Liz, Steve and I also searched for and collected more wood from the west coast shoreline. 

The cabin handrail project was expanded to include the surfboard bar, beautiful interconnecting rails, posts and even a set of three stools.  Each piece of wood was carefully selected, sized, turned this way and that, long discussions of alternate possibilities and eventually cut, notched and with long bolts added to the art.  Steve was in his element totally obsessively focused on every detail the entire time. The finished project is something we can all be proud of and offers yet another cool place to hang out and enjoy the view.  I'm looking forward to the initial architect and inspiration, Bill Platt to review and give approval.

After rebuilding the stairs, the first post in. Steve's got things under control.

Liz and Famous Grouse at the new bar

Steve also spent time taking Catherine's shower to the next level with a lot more stone and TLC.  As a finishing touch Liz found a worthy handrail and with Steve's help added wood pegs to hang towels.  At this point and until Catherine reviews for final approval, the outdoor shower is another DONE project and more functional art to enhance our local environment.

At our request Len arrived to fell the cedar tree.  It's always fun to see a pro at work.  While answering our questions and giving us insight into local logging he hefted his massive chainsaw and got to work. Within minutes the tree was felled exactly where he wanted it, a towline attached to the top of the fallen tree and using his small tug boat pulled away.  We were super impressed that such a relatively small boat could have that much power to tow the tree with branches still on, into the water.  It was like magic.

Liz and Steve and Cedar tree before felling.  Cabin is to the right side of photo.

Cedar siding and large hem fir boards stacked and stickered for drying

We left Hull early on Tuesday September 19th for the trip to Port McNeill where we met Thor from Shoprite Marine who pulled 2BRNR out of the water for winter storage on their lot.  The outhaul was easier than I expected and within 10 minutes the boat was secure on the trailer where we last saw it.  Subsequently Thor sent me a picture showing 2BRNR resting comfortably on blocks.  I look forward to seeing her again next year.

To close out 2022 and prepare for next season, I put a deposit on a Kubota KX040-4 mini excavator and a RTVX900 4 wheel drive utility vehicle.  Two new toys for us to play with and use to clear trails and space for a camp bathroom and a stone cottage - someday.  Delivery is expected by barge to Hull in June or July 2023.