Mother Goose Leg 1, Day 4- Bamfield to Effingham Island

After yesterday’s reveille before the break of dawn and a long day of cruising, it was relaxing to be able to sleep in this morning on day 4 of our trip. We casually awoke to a beautiful morning in Bamfield. This lovely little town has a very quaint feel with no roads, only a boardwalk which stretches along the shoreline. The boardwalk curves along the town, weaving in and out of people’s gardens, above the docks, and occasionally meanders into the tree line. Beautiful flowers boxes line the walk and friendly dogs of all breeds happily greet you along the way. As you get near the end of the Bamfield boardwalk, near the only market and Coast Guard station, there is a separated area just on the inside of the railings designated as “The Bamfield Cathouse”. This little piece of the hillside has been turned into an adorable cat sanctuary. There must have been about 7-10 cats just roaming around their little cat town. The Bamfield Cathouse is actually made up of many cat houses, a cat market, a cat hotel, and little alleyways connecting them all. It was not enclosed so the skittish felines were free to come and go as they please but they were all very well fed and groomed, quite a unique way to handle the stray cat problem.

At about 9 am Casey led those interested in a hike through the woods to Brady’s Beach. After coming down a rather steep hill in the woods, the sky opened up to a beautiful beach surrounded by jagged rocks. Affixed high atop one of the jetted rocks is a bench seat with a magnificent view. That’s about as peaceful of a place as one could ever hope to be. As calming as Bamfield and its surroundings are, it was time to continue our journey north. We said our farewells to this quaint oasis, and hoped it wouldn’t be our last visit.

The cruise to Effingham Bay was just a quick trip through the Deer Group and into the Broken Group, a mere 9 miles north. Our anchorage was nestled in a little cove amongst several small islands, one of which was home to several harbor seals. Most of this cove was so well protected from wind and waves that the forest grew all the way down to the water’s edge. The vegetation stopped in a perfectly straight horizontal line, marking the farthest point reached by the high tide.

Once Deception anchored, Mystic Eagle and Arctic Star rafted up against us, one on each side, and then Inside Passage rafted up against Mystic Eagle. The Smiths on Navigator decided to anchor as well. When everyone had settled themselves into Effingham Bay, Jordan ferried people over to one of the islands and Casey led the group on another nature hike. This walk followed a trail that cut across the island at its narrowest point, meandering through a beautiful old-growth forest. All along the way, the trail was marked with pieces of flotsam and jetsam that previous hikers had collected from the beach and hung from the trees and bushes. On the other side of the island, the trail emerged onto a beautiful, sunny beach. We enjoyed the warm rocks and explored the plentiful tidepools which were teeming with huge green anemones and sea stars in various shades of purple and orange. After an hour or so, our growling stomachs drew us away from the warm beach and hiked back through the forest to the bay where the boats were anchored.

With everyone ferried back to their boats after a good hike, it was time for our first big social gathering. Prior to leaving on this trip, the Crees on Mystic Eagle had about 28 pounds of chili shipped to NW Explorations and tonight we were having a feast - Texas style. The country music was a rockin’, margaritas were flowing, and the air was thick with wafts of spices from cayenne walnuts, stuffed jalapeños, hot tamales, and venison chili. Laughter filled the air from both the stories being told and the Texans’ amusement at us sensitive-stomached northerners. Good times were had by all and it was as if we were all old friends. By the end of the night our bellies were full, our hearts were happy, and with the winds having died down, we were all ready for a peaceful night’s sleep at anchor in Effingham Bay.