Captain's Log 2024 - Site Development

 

2024.    Another wonderful summer on Hull.  Great participation from family and friends, 7 first time visitors and significant progress towards year round, dry and comfortable living.

April 18th - 21st.

On our way home from Whistler,  Heidi and I took the Lions Bay Ferry to Vancouver Island and spent the night in Campbell River.  The next day we took a 9:00 am boat taxi from Eve River to Hull for a quick check up and make sure everything's ready for summer living.

Last year the water tank was empty, this year it was full but the plastic stop valve had cracked.  I expect the cold winter froze the water left in the valve, it expanded then cracked.  No big deal as we had back-up drinking water to last a few days.  Next trip I'll bring a replacement valve and get it fixed.

A small portion of the wood pile had fallen over, but the rest was well covered and dry. The cairn was still standing strong.. has it been three years now?

The weather was generally warm and sunny, although strong winds made cooking difficult.

temporary camp kitchen wind screen to protect the stove

cracked valve

Pano view of Heidi and the camp

June 13th - June 28th

I made the trip north alone.  I tried calling Haida Way Inn several times but got no answer.  No problem, at his time of year I was sure I could drop in and get a room.

Much to my surprise the Port McNeill icon and Hull Island adventure mainstay was closed! Crime scene tape covered the front door and the place was empty.  Apparently a fire broke out in one of the rooms and the entire place had to shut down.  Will it come back to life?  I hope so.

Meanwhile The Dalewood Inn was open so after a nice dinner at Gus's, I spent the night there.  Next morning Steve, from Aussie Diesel picked up 2BRNR and rolled her in the water.  It's always such a relief  when the engines both fired up, especially after sitting dormant for six months.  I was on my way!

Life will never be the same!

for those who know... an end to an era

Aussie Diesel launching 2BRNR

2 year olds,  ready to go

this corrosion sucks!  Was bad when it arrived and maybe getting worse.

June 14th, Hillary and Chad from LA and West Cracroft stop by

I spent 10 days alone on Hull. The weather was excellent. Clear sunny skies, calm winds. I hung out in the mornings drinking coffee and watching the animals, afternoons working on the excavator and evenings in camp relaxing.  

One night I went to Hillary and Chad's for dinner along with Camille from the post office.  We had a delicious dinner and always have a lot to talk about.  Being new to the area and learning from others, hearing their experiences.  From  their dock and house patio, they have a spectacular view looking west across Havana Channel to the Hull Island Archipelago,  Vancouver Island and the mainland.

June 24th - 28th

Travis Walters arrives by float plan to Lagoon Cove.  A few months ago, on Linkedin I noticed Travis started Arkhouse Design.   I knew Travis through his mother Therese, and I knew Therese as we worked together for many years at Boeing.  

Prior to his own company Travis worked for a mass timber frame company and in discussions we both got excited about different building options using mass timber.   As part of the early design work Travis hosted 3 or 4 on line reviews with me and our extended family.  We had excellent discussions and the design has benefited from great inputs.  Thanks to everyone!

Travis and I had a very busy few days.  We visited Mike Buttle to get his ideas on clearing and building.  Concrete foundations, engineering standards, workers qualifications (no fishing, work 12 -14 hours day), living options, and more. Mike is always a voice of reason and it was super helpful.  

The next day we visited a house under construction that Mike's son Sean and his team were building near Lagoon Cove.  The foundations, construction and wood work were super top end.  So nice to see such fine work.

One night Chad and Hillary came over for dinner and more design discussions. we ate lots of steak and potatoes, drank wine and carried on.

In between all these visits, Travis and I walked around the building site and set the initial driveway to get there. With Travis ahead cutting trees, I followed on the excavator.  

From camp, up the highway to the peak, then a hairpin turn left off the highway, up a slight rise above the water collection tank and along the ridge.  What a blast to create a new drive.

Later we switched and Travis cut a huge turn-around path that would encompass the house site.  I was sitting in camp hearing loud cracks and crashes as Travis used the bucket to just push trees over.  He got the hang of the excavator immediately and accomplished a lot of clearing.

As usual we ate and drank well, and in the evenings lots of talk about building and living off the grid.

Travis Walters, Arkhouse Design

Travis clearing in woods above camp  

July 18th - 25th

I was too late making reservations so our only option was the ferry from Twsassen to Schwartz Bay near the south end of Vancouver Island.  What we thought would be an additional hour of driving, turned out to be two.  In the future, avoid that route. We finally made it to Port McNeill on to 2BRNR and to Hull Island ~ 14 hours.

Heidi and I had a relaxing week together. While she was working around camp and making phone calls from the boat, I was smoothing the highway and grading a boat ramp down to the beach on the west side.

One day our neighbor Elaine invited Heidi and Kim (Don's GF) to go kayaking.  It isn't often you can get three women together in this part of the world, and the social interaction was awesome for Heidi. Friends and adventures in the wild. 

On the 21st, Chad was ready for excavator orientation.  Chad and Hillary could have a lot of earthwork over at their place and he was ready to try our equipment.  Within minutes he was moving rocks large and small in the camp area and clearing down the trail.  In the "industrial zone" or the west coast boat ramp, Chad helped a ton by cutting down alders.. 11 or 12, or 14 were down in no time.  That evening we had dinner together and celebrated to progress.  The next day Chad and Hillary stopped to review and enjoy happy hour.

July 25th - 29th  

Steve and Susanne arrive in Port McNeill.  This is Susanne's first visit to Hull and we're all excited to show her around.  Steve is eager to work on a big project that has been high on the list for at least 3 years.  Building stone stairs from the dock ramp up the steep bank.  The stairs now wind up to the right, are really solid and look great!  There's even a small zen display to calm our arrivals.  Ahhhh - a beautiful project, 100% Steve.  THANK YOU 

Susanne's played to her strength and helped declutter and organize the cook house.  "How many sets up cups for you really need?", "Would it be better if this went there and the went here?" Marie Kendo would be proud, and it feels much better to me to have less than more. 

All four of us did some serious woods and beach hiking and aided by Susanne's "bird call app" identified many more local birds. On two evenings we were visited by a mother deer and three small fawns. Susanne's presence seemed to bring out the best in our nature and the documentation of life seen on and around Hull is ever more extensive.

Chad and Hillary joined us for dinner one night and we spent hours telling stories about life on the frontier. 

Steve and Susanne went kayaking over to Etseekin and then around Hull Island.  Maybe one of them can tell the story?

July 29th.  

Steve and I head out early to pick up Travis and Cody from Eve River and bring them back to Hull, then head for Port McNeill with Susanne, Steve and Heidi who were headed home.  

Chad, Hillary, Heidi, Jon, Steve, Susanne. (Chad selfi)

Steve trying to keep his fancy shoes clean

Susanne and Steve - zen entry stairs very well done!

6BRNR 2024  (photo credit Hillary)

 July 29th - August 1st

Travis from Arkhouse Design and Cody his partner in Mass Timber Solutions arrive on Hull by 2BRNR taxi pick-up at Eve River.

Cody's expertise is site planning and development so he helped with the infrastructure design and initial project plan while Travis updated the 3D models.  Both of them mostly enjoyed doing "real work" using the excavator. First they graded to drain the swamp in the west side industrial area, then along the highway back to camp where they excavated for the camp bathroom foundation and septic system.  They got a lot done in a few days, and we were still able to get in some hiking and a slow cruise around Hull.  At night we had fires, ate and drank well, flew Travis's drone, and talked a lot about off grid living and plans going forward on Hull and their projects in Washington.

August 2nd. 

About a week ago,  Len stopped by and suggested I call Ben Freitag to see if he'd be interested in building on Hull.  Ben had helped Len's good friend Rusty Williams extend his house and build cabins in Neville Bay.

So I called Ben and soon after, he and his dog stopped by to check the place out.  We spent time walking the site, showing him what we had built to date and discussing the approach.  In my opinion it was a solid start. I really liked Ben's interest, his attitude, his demeanor and ideas.  In a couple of hours we covered a lot of topics.  all good!

August 3rd.   West Side Beach, first access

August 3rd.

Camille drove to Hull, then together we left on 2BRNR to visit Rusty and Annie Williams and check out the home that Ben helped build.  On our way out we saw three brown bears on West Cracroft Island directly across from Hull, so stopped for a few minutes to watch.

In Johnstone Straits we headed south about 10 miles, with 10 - 20 knot winds and medium waves making it a little rough.  On the way, just outside Port Neville we picked up Ben from the beach near his cabin.     

A few miles into the inlet we docked and were greeted by Rusty, his wife Annie and fresh hot scones that Rusty baked for Annie's birthday.  Over scones, jam and coffee we sang happy birthday, chatted and got to know each other.  Rusty and Annie have spent summers  here for over 35 years.  Afterwards we toured the house, cabins, their huge boathouse/barn/shop and surrounding area.  On the shore north of their house carved into the large flat rocks are 5 or 6 petroglyphs the size of small platers or large plates. The figures were definitely native Indian inspired, and likely hundreds if not thousands of years old. Grok said that petroglyphs in this area could be up to 3,000 years old.

The style and quality of Ben and Rusty's work was excellent and Rusty was really upbeat about their experience working together.  I left feeling confident about asking Ben to be the general contractor and build the next phase on Hull.   No confirmation quite yet, just a matter of a few days to think about what I am getting into.

It was such a pleasant day, the boat ride there and back, bears, meeting new people, first time beach pickup and drop off, new scenery, and an ever greater appreciation of the life around us.

Bears on West Cracroft Island,  across Havana Channel from Hull (photo by Camille)

petroglyph in Port Neville area

Annie Williams using a rock to collect water to wet and highlight petroglyphs (Photo by Camille)

Spirit animal.  (photo by Camille)

August 4th

I set out for Port McNeill in the morning for the usual; food, laundry and supplies.  Today I was also picking up our friend and neighbor in Scottsdale.  Rod is the President of our HOA,  and both he and his wife Deb have become good friends of ours. What fabulous neighbors. 

While Deb stayed in Woodniville with Heidi and did local activities, Rod ventured north to meet me in Port McNeill.  

As I was returning to the boat with a grocery cart full of supplies, my laundry in a black plastic bag and the cooler sticking out I saw Rod had been pulled over by the BC Police.  Driving all the way from Arizona to Port McNeill with zero tickets, then getting stopped for running the one and only stop sign in Port McNeill is like a reverse trifecta.   As the officer was still in the car, I walked over to say hello.  Rod saw the grocery cart, my wet hair and growing beard and at first thought I was a homeless guy looking for money.  (same mistake Chris and Liz made 2 years earlier)

At this point the officer gets out of the vehicle waving his hands and shoes me away.. "Get out of here, go".  I guess he thought I was a vagrant too!.. Ya know I kind of like my humble ways.

Rod is a consummate camper and doer.  He gets up really early, makes coffee and starts working.  One day he pruned the salal along the trails and raked them clean. Another day he built the stone landing to the cabin stairs. Rod spent at least two mornings sanding the top of a huge cedar round that we first had to cut down, then saw into smaller pieces, then with all our combined strength get out of the depression it was in and rolled into camp.  Took us ~ 3 hours to get the log to camp, and Rod another ~3 hours of sanding.  The table looks amazing.  

Of course we also had delicious dinners, breakfasts, food and drink.  Before this trip, we hadn't spent that much time together, so I give him a lot of credit for trusting me enough to come this far into for him what was the unknown.

Table before harvesting - the stump kind of bothered me. Photo R. Taylor

grueling team effort to get this far! Photo R. Taylor

Rod in the sanding zone - photo Rod Taylor

Enjoying well deserved happy hour Here's to more sanding.  Photo R. Taylor

3 days sanding....200 grit smooth  Photo - Rod Taylor

don't spill the wine.  Photo Rod Taylor

August 9th. 

Rod and I drove back to Port McNeill to drop off for his return home, and so I could do laundry and get provisions.   Matt and his daughters, who were visiting for the first time were on their way and wanted to get this right.   

I was happy to find my missing cell phone right where I didn't know I left it on the floor of his car. Thanks Rod for a really fun experience and all the work you did...hope to see you next summer.

August 10th

The float plan arrived early in Port McNeill with Matt, Cassie and Julia.  By the time I got there maybe 15 - 20 minutes later, the girls had found Kelly, or Kelly found them and they were chatting and loading up with "Canadian" candy and treats. They loved to see the unique brands, and Kelly was like Santa Clause  and all the ladies were smiling.  Kelly and her husband Dan run the Lagoon Cove Marina and have been extremely helpful and kind to me, our family and friends. They always look forward to new visitors or returning friends.  Dan, Kelly, Brandon, Mary and the Lagoon Cove family make life, and the Hull experience so much better.   

Loaded with ice, fuel and candy,  we left Lagoon Cove and headed over to Cutter's Cove to drop crab traps.  After getting skunked in Bougee Bay, Cutter Cove is now our preferred spot.  Two days later the girls hauled the 3 traps and caught three nice size Dungeness crabs.  The next day we caught one crab, and both girls thought best to let it go.  Unanimous consent and back in the ocean it went.

On the last day we went salmon fishing for a while but didn't last long so after about an hour we headed to Lagoon Cove for more candy...

Cassie and Julia both drove the gator back and forth along the west trail.  They picked it up quickly and were comfortably safe drivers.   I appreciated how carefull they navigated up and down the steep portions along the rough and winding road.

I don't remember it raining at all that week.  What I do remember were clear, warm evenings cooking around the fire, dinner and cocktails, soda and ice. One night Matt and Cassie brought out the guitars and played and sang together in front of the fire.  The acoustics and stage were sublime, and their voices, especially Cassie's, brought tears to my eyes.  It was peace on earth, heaven on Hull.  

Julia spent time fishing from the dock.. the first day she got only bites.  The next day she caught 3 or 4 fish, and on the third day even more, 11 in total? or was it 13?  The first fish or two I had to get them off and back in the water. After that Julia took over rigging the lines and catching and releasing altogether. Crazy how patient and focused she was and how well it payed off.  She was most happy lying on her stomach and luring the fish up for a closer look without catching them.  Julia is a proven deft fisher!  

On the third or 4th day we headed to the older growth Crown Lands at the south end.  After we got off the trail and into the unchartered area,  Cassie took over to lead a new exploration of the "uncharted" south western area. It wasn't an easy route and Cassie and Julia ripped away.  Some really steep drops hanging on to thick salal and shimmying down to the rocky shore..  At this point my hip was hurting and the 10 and 13 year old scouts had to wait up a lot.  Hanging out perched on the shore rocks we ate sausages, granola bars and tangerines and relished the southern view across Johnstone Straits to Vancouver Island. Since Cassie loves rock climbing and going back up that hill would have sucked, we decided to take the shoreline home.  The first 1/4 mile was pretty tough (for me) and in many places it was more lateral rock climbing than hiking.  Hands and feet and muscle engaged.  Eventually we got far enough along the beach that I could I headed up to the highway for easier walking.  Matt, Cassie and Julia continued on the beach route.

After everyone was back The Chambers all went for a swim off the dock. I think it was was colder than they thought and they rushed to get out.  Then after the first plunge, knowing what to expect they dove back in. The life guard stayed warm and dry.

4 nights on the island together in the cabin, breakfast, lunch, dinner, evenings and activities with Matt, Cassie and Julia was absolutely priceless.  All three of them were a pleasure to camp with and I hope we do this again.

Cassie navigating Chatham Channel like a boss with attitude

Julia with just one of many she caught and released

Cassie,  South West Hull, access from Crown Land above.  

more ribs!!!

hot rocks wrapped in towel to sooth tight muscles 

shaaaaaa

Julia was a huge help, so pleasant to be with. 

Thursday 15th of August.

The four of us left Hull around 8:30 in the morning headed for home. We docked 2BRNR in Port McNeill then drove home in the Stef150.  After getting home to Woodinville the Chambers took showers and we had a light dinner before Heidi drove them to Sea Tac for an 11 pm flight East to their next engagement, a three day party at Leo's.  For them it was over twenty hours of travel.  Amazing endurance.

Heidi and I left Woodinville two days later for a family week at the beach in San Diego.

August 28th. 

I took the 10:15 ferry from Tsawwassen, stocked up on more food in Port McNeill and got to Hull in the early evening.  Still light enough to unload and put everything away, have dinner and make a fire. 

While I was away.... Paul, his daughters Vicki and Anna, and Len transformed the the place.  Len went to work cutting down about two acres of trees that I marked while Paul cut up and cleared the logs and slash, dug up stumps and made five giant burn piles, each fifteen to twenty feet high.  Paul also expanded the camp bathroom pad and built a solid stone retaining wall into the hill.  While Paul was using the excavator, Vicki and Anna cut and stacked wood, cleared brush and rocks. The before and after differences were wild.  The hillside was a clear and from above there were all new panoramic views.  It was exciting to stand up above and survey the territory.  I had very intense feelings of euphoria and trepidation.

Now alone for six days, I spent time on the excavator on the hill above the cabin. I cut down more trees, dug up 20 - 30 stumps, rough leveled for the longhouse and did more grading on the driveway.  A few of the stumps took 3 or 4 hours each to dig out then push/pull to the burn piles, as the stumps were too heavy to pick up. The burn piles were getting larger everyday as I fell into a solid work routine. Four to 8 hours a day, on and off the equipment clearing the land, with regular break for food and water.  I loved the routine and felt like I was really hard working again. 

Breakfast, lunch and dinners all seemed to roll together and since I mostly stoped taking food pictures I can't recall what I ate.  When I'm by myself there's no social aspect to dinners so I keep them simple, short and sweet. 

September 4th. - 9th.  Jeff Wilson and Jphn Low arrive.

I got up early and headed to Port McNeill to pick up BRNR in the Shoprite yard and take it for service to Boss Marine in Port Hardy.  BRNR's been parked for almost 4 years and so before I take it to Hull I wanted to be sure it was shipshape. I towed the BRNR 30 miles to Port Hardy and left it at Boss Marine for a full service and seatrails. Back in Port McNeill I did the laundry and shopping so was mostly loaded and ready to go when Jeff and John drove in around 4:30.   This was John's first visit and Jeff's third.  

I met John Low in 1980 or '81 when we worked at Boeing together in Tool Engineering.  John's wife Kathy, their twin children Tia and Nate and our family have been together for camping and ski trips,  food, adventure and children for over 45 years.  Of course Jeff and John are also long time friends so the three of us together is really fun.  AND, they're bringing a couple of dinners and copious cocktails.

About 20 minutes out from Port McNeill we spotted some whales straight ahead about 100 yards away.  We stopped the motors, got out on the aft deck and watched.  It was a pod of 7 - 12 or more Orcas headed our way.  While several passed close by on either side, two medium large Orca's were swimming directly at us pretty fast.  About 30 feet away the two whales went down, then under our boat and came out about 20 feet away on the other side.  What an incredible experience!!  Absolutely the closest I've ever been.  Really thrilling.

Four years ago Jeff and I cleared the area for the camp kitchen, then set the foundation rocks and then... hauled all the timbers from the rocks by Hull's Kitchen up to the camp area.  It was a lot of very heavy lifting, pulling and pushing and using rollers.   

Finally with John and Jeff together we  finished the kitchen structure by bolting it to the foundation rocks.  I mostly watched, as they drilled the 1/2 holes about 10 - 12 inches deep, cleared out the dust by blowing through a tube into the holes, then epoxied long threaded rod in the holes and screwed the metals brackets to the wooden posts.  After the epoxy dried we tightened the down bolts.  Ahh, now I don't have to worry about finding the kitchen off the rocks due to winter winds.  The Kitchen is secure and I'll sleep better!

We spent few hours picking up and placing smaller rocks to fill in the ramp for barge deliveries, as the last time Inlet delivered they commented on how bad it was.  Problem now solved and awaiting a test run.

On Wednesday 7th we went for a long hike, first to the top of the island, then south along the spine to the south end.  Somehow on the way up the clearly marked trail that we had done the year before.. I got lost. After about half an hour we gave up to decided to head south along the spine of Hull.  It was a tough slog. I remember climbing up and down some steep hills, through thick salal and clinging to trees and rocks.  Jeff and John had a nose for the thickest brush and seemed to enjoy it.  I did my best to keep up.

We put in some quality time into firewood processing. We used the excavator to hold long logs off the ground, chainsaws to cut up rounds and the UTV to drive loads to camp where we split and stacked it..  So nice to see the full woodpiles!

Food was excellent as usual.  Bratwurst the first night, then John's smoked pulled pork and coleslaw, then Jeff's kobe steak with a few crabs we caught, and on and on.  Fires, stories and laughter at night, good sleeping and fun days.

The roughnecks show up for work

Jeff drilling holes in rock with a rotary impact hammer

John clearing holes before epoxy and bolts

Local woodsmen   John, Jon, Jeff

Surf and turf - delicious

Edible mushroom? Go ask Alice, I think she'll know.

South East Hull

John with Cutter Cove Crabs

September 9th,

I was alone again... this time for 12 days.  What to do?   

I simplified the menu and ate hot dogs, stew, eggs, sausage and a few sandwiches.  Slept in, coffee and nature watching in the morning, then on the excavator.  I spent two days clearing brush, branches rocks and trees and grading the highway to the beach ramp.  In the industrial area I created drainage paths, did more roadwork, and added a lot of fill on the hillside above to smooth it out and fill in some of the mini swamps.  Maybe a 150 yards of dirt, logs and stumps dug up and moved around.  It was a lot of fun and I got in a good routine using the ATV go back and forth to camp for tools and supplies.  Now the area drains well and the equipment can get up and down the ramp, and across the drainage ditch to continue down the highway. A lot more to do in this area... someday I'd like a big garage to protect the excavator and BRNR, maybe firewood storage as well.

On Wednesday I got a flat tire on the utv. It appears I hit something and broke the valve stem off.  Instant Flat.  A while ago Chris recommended I get a spare tire, thank goodness I took his advice and was ready.  Except the utv doesn't come with a jack, and it's way too heavy to lift.  I got a 16' 4" by 6" and tried to lever the back end up.  I was able to get the back up, but not hold the lever down, so I got the excavator and used that to push the pry beam down.  All went well, and a few weeks later I was able to get the stem replaced at Kal Tire in Port McNeill, while I waited. Great help, Thanks!

Two breakdowns in two days?  On Thursday the left excavator rubber track came off as I was turning in soft dirt, and tipped to one side.  Of course I got out the manual and removed the grease fitting as called out.  I spent at least two hours trying to pull, pry and twist the track back on.  I tried crowbars, a winch, putting logs underneath and on and on.  It was crazy how difficult this was... something was wrong.

I looked closer at the manual, then closer at the grease fitting I had taken off, and then saw that the fitting I took off was threaded into another fitting.  Finally, after pulling the second fitting out, a bunch of white grease oozed out and the front wheel retracted enough to pry the track on.  Reinstall the grease fittings, pump grease in and the front wheel pushes away and tightens the track.. The manual gives a specification for tightening.  The 40 minute job took 3 hours, but in the end it was back together and I learned how.

This week I spent hours thinking about the house designs, locations and how to get it all done.  At some point I called Sean Buttle to see if he was interested in the job and get his input before making a final decision.  Sean declined as he was tied up for at least the next few years.

I called Ben and he was still interested, so we agreed to work together going forward.

This is now the plan;

For big or complicated tree cutting, Len lives about a mile away,  Driving the equipment for clearing, landscaping and stonework are Paul and his daughters Vicki and Anna who live a few miles away in Hadley Bay,  and Ben who lives in Nanaimo is the general contractor and head of construction.  Of course I retain my role as CEO and CFO, carpenter, laborer, cook, whatever, and Camille and the neighbors add advice and consul, moral and operational support.

by myself.  breakfast dinner lunch

pure food

poached eggs in stew

lever action jack

first time, tread off

fixed the problem

September 15th

Friday night Camille had a neighborhood cookout at her home on Chatham Channel.   It was another fun evening sitting around the big fire and catching up on news.   Camille has about a 2 acre flat open lawn so it's sunny and bright and the breeze up Chatham Channel makes it super refreshing.  

Thanks to Camile for hosting.  Its really nice that the neighborhood is so connected and strong despite living miles apart.  I met two new friends,  Martin and his brother Danny.  Martin rode in the Isle of Man TT motor cycle race and spent time in Africa, Rhodesia perhaps?   We've stayed in touch and plan to get together in 2025 to tell more stories.   

L to R, Jon, Don, Dick, Camille, Kim, Dave, Amy, Elaine, Martin
Cookout at Camille's, photo by Danny

September 20th.

I left Hull Island on a two day mission.  Pick up BRNR from Port Hardy and drop it off at Eve River day 1, then day 2, pick up Audrey, Catherine, Chris and Liz at Port Hardy and shuttle to Hull for closing week.

In Port McNeill when I tried to hook up the trailer I couldn't get the ball to seat in the pocket. I was almost certain it was right. But...I bought a $35 smaller ball, bolted it on and it worked fine.

When I arrived at Boss Marine as I  started to hook up the trailer, the mechanic noticed I had the wrong ball size on my hook.  "Thats too small, you towed that 30 miles? you're lucky the trailer stayed on".

Great catch! Thank you.  We switched to the original, spayed on oil and got it hooked up.  We inflated both tires, one of which was pretty low and off I went to Eve River.

By the time I made the two hour drive to Eve River I was pretty tired.  The trailer wasn't registered which added anxiety, it was getting dark, I had 12 miles of dirt road, and a new gate key I hoped would work.  All went well.  I left the boat and trailer there on the side of the driveway, drove back to Port McNeill, took a shower, out to dinner at Gus's and then spent the night at The Dalewood Inn.   

September 21st

Chris, Liz, Audrey and Catherine were navigating a new route to Hull.  Fly to Vancouver, have a nice dinner out, then spend the night in a hotel. Early next morning take a 30 minute twin engine 18 seat prop plane from Vancouver to Port Hardy.  F150 Rail VIP Service to Port McNeill, massive shopping and supplies and load up 2BRNR and we're off.  Some pretty choppy waves and weather made the ride more fun for a while.  The Baronet Passage route was a welcome relief.  

Paul knew I needed bait for crab traps, so he stopped by one day with the head and bones of a massive salmon, a huge 3 or 4 pound fillet of king salmon and a few dozen fresh prawns.  What a great gift!  Paul also delivered a gift from his daughters, a heavy cast iron cooking pot that I can hang over a fire and make stews.  Paul and I were talking about this one day and now the perfect gift. Thank you all very much.

After a successful start last year, Audrey was ready to smoke fish again. She used cedar boughs propped up over the fire, to capture the smoke, then burned wood to create embers underneath.  I think she brined the 1/2 the fish, then as it smoked over 4 or 5 hours she added a glaze.  Local food, expertly prepared. Appetizers of fresh pickled kelp, fancy canned cockles in oil,  cheeses, olives and smoked salmon.  Heaven on Earth.

The other half of Paul's salmon was cut up into chunk size pieces and added to our first ever Hull Island Hotpot.   I've forgotten how it started.  What I do remember is we started a fire in a cedar log that had a  3' diameter hole down the center where the wood had rotted out. Near the bottom, on the side of the log was a break that allowed air to vent into the center.  The log burned slowly from the inside out and formed a perfect one burner high flame stove. It was a one piece self consuming rocket stove.  We saw the opportunity, and using the pot Vicki gave us added all the ingredients Audrey bought and cooked a superb broth with tons of fresh vegetables.  Using site made chopsticks, we added chunks of salmon and once cooked, feasted away.  Sitting around a common hot pot, over a wood log fire with family was divine.

One morning we got up early to go fishing. Although it was still too dark for comfortable boating,  Audrey knows the tides and for some reason it always early morning!  On the way to the Minstrel Island fishing ground we picked up Paul to join the crew.  Although Paul catches a lot of fish, apparently not so much salmon.  It was a bit windy and cool, so we stayed out of Knights Inlet and trolled along the sides of the channel.  Within an hour, with the right driving and rigging, Catherine reeled in 2 five to seven pound pink salmon.  Audrey handled cleaning and filleting, including a butterfly filet that Paul taught her.  The girls have now racked up 3 salmon in two successful trips.  Will the trend continue? Will someone challenge?

Paul's caught a salmon too small to keep so was released.

Audrey and Catherine grilled one salmon for dinner and smoked the other.  This time for smoking, Audrey used an upside down sink with a raised grill underneath.  Hours of careful tending later, the finished product was delicious.  

Chris led the effort on a major kitchen upgrade.  With everyones help we harvested a dozen or more bota loads of nice small rounded stone from the west side to the north end.  We moved everything out of the kitchen, then spread and leveled the floor.  It looks so good now. I'm more comfortable with a level floor.

In time we collected, split and stacked more wood.. it was a team effort using the excavator to hold the long logs, chainsaws cutting the rounds, the utv and brute force to get the logs to camp and split up. Very rewarding to see a full woodpile for next year.

On the last two days Audrey and Catherine drove into camp on the excavator.  First they dug the holes for the camp bathroom, then dropped one the largest rocks they could carry in each hole.  I held the tape measure and gave hand signals while they tweaked the rocks into place.

While Chris, Audrey and I headed to Paul's to rearrange the ball on my tow hook, Catherine went to work making a 10' wide, solid and well graded ramp from the camp patio down to the rock slope by the kitchen.  What a surprise to see how much was accomplished when we returned an hour later.  Paul gave us some freshly dug clams, the first we've eaten on Hull.  We cooked them on the grill, then when they opened we added garlic butter. 

Getting BRNR on the trailer, on to Hull was quite the ordeal. I didn't realize how wide the trailer was and had carved the steep ramp too narrow.  Len picked up BRNR from Eve River on his barge and towed it over.  After Len had expertly turned the barge around and secured it to the shore, I backed up the boat ramp and hooked the trailer to the bota.  Getting off the barge and onto the beach was easy.  From there not so much.  I got stuck the first two times, then everyone pushed the third time.  Still nothing.   I walked back to camp and got the excavator and hooked a chain to the front of the bota.  Liz drove the bota, I pulled with the excavator and slowly we made our way up, but only after we widened the ramp even more.  The job took about two hours and we used a lot of equipment.

Then Len stopped by with a bag of chantrell  mushrooms and to check in on us.  What a treat.

Later that night Catherine and I covered the boat and trailer in a large tarp and tied it down with rope.  Let's see if it holds up this winter... lots of alders around.

On Friday morning we left around 7:30 am, had a smooth ride to Port McNeill and met Scott who arrived with his giant trailer and truck at 9:00 am to haul 2BRBR out.   An easy drive to the 3:15 ferry and no problem getting to the border.  At the border we ran into an hour long backup and wait time.  After a summer of peace and harmony my frustration got rustled.  Quick thinking on our part avoided a meltdown.  Since Chris, Liz and I had Global Access, Audrey and Catherine got out and walked across the border where there was no line, and we drove though the Nexus line.  We saved at least 45 minutes and a lot of stress for me.  About half a mile across the border we retrieved the girls and had a nice ride home. 

 

Audrey's smoker

fresh caught and smoked

Camille, Chris, Paul, Liz, Cath

erine and Audrey watching Len at work

Audrey' Arayes ... delicious!!!!

October 16th.

After spending the night in Campbell River, Paul picked me up at Eve River for the 20 minute ride to Hull. We immediately got to work and with considerable effort got all three burn piles going. We used a gas torch, a leaf blower and oil and gas mixed together and poured on.  Mostly these didn't work well at all.  The wood was all too wet. What worked was starting a small fire with kindling, then adding regular size firewood, then bigger and bigger stuff until the fires were burning on their own.  Then, every hour or so we would add more logs and brush and adjust the fires. We were moving the excavator from fire to fire,  constantly feeding in fuel from the sides, or grabbing more from other areas. We worked long hours durning the day, then I continued into the night so the fires didn't burn out.  Despite the heavy rain that was off and on, the fires burned for four days and in the end almost all of the mess was gone.

Paul took me back to Eve River early enough in the morning so that I could catch the 12:45 ferry from Duke Point.  I was home in Woodinville by 6 pm.  It's always so nice to be home where life is so much easier.

Paul climbing up to the float... BIG tide

a new view opened up

2024 Hull Island Regional Burn

Paul feeding the fires