Today was our 20th rounding of Cape Caution, and the calmest one yet!
A few minutes after we exited Fury Cove, we spotted a group of humpbacks cruising from east to west, so we slowed so not to cross their path. They dove as I tried to get a couple photos, but both slight fog and low light were a little too much of a challenge for my autofocus!
Reported conditions at Egg Island and Pine Island said 1ft chop, but there really wasn’t any chop over about 3 inches, and there was almost no perceptible swell either. And for the first time….it’s this calm and we can still SEE! Bonus!
Today’s cruise was long but completely pleasant. We had some fog for a little while, but it was nice when it eventually cleared.
As we approached our stop for the night (Sunday Harbour, between Crib Island and Angular Island, at the western entrance to the Broughtons, there were a couple humpbacks to welcome us. So nice of them!
We dropped the anchor in about 30 feet and got a great set. It’s a bit open in here, and would likely not be comfortable with much wind from the west, but it’s super calm right now and there’s just a bit of current running through.
Kevin and I got in the dinghy and went to explore some of the little rocks and islets nearby, while the whales continued to spout in the distance, outside the inner harbor.
These are the birds I photographed the other day (black turnstones) and said if I hadn’t seen them flying, with their interesting black and white wing markings I wouldn’t have bothered (after seeing pics on the internet of them just standing around)….I take it back. They’re actually kinda cool looking when they’re just standing around. Like they each had someone pour a little cup of ink on their head that dripped down in a cool pattern…
But they’re definitely much more dramatic when they take flight, especially in a group this big — the cacophony of bird sounds they made as they moved to a different rock was great to hear. I did my best with my iPhone to capture them in flight.
After nature hour, we headed back to Airship to make some dinner and kick back after a long day!
Kevin took the drone up for a few aerial shots:
And some aerial video:
Okay, and now, time for a story.
The Cautionary Tale
We had just pulled out of Fury Cove at first light, with the other six boats a bit behind us.
About a half an hour into our cruise, we hear a man on a US-flagged boat (we’ll call it “SD”) hail a Canadian-flagged boat (we’ll call it “OC”) on VHF 16, with a pretty sternly-worded reprimand. US-boat SD was wanting to overtake Canadian-boat OC (on their port side, left, and closest to shore) on the way out of Fury Cove, and was clearly not happy that the boat ahead was turning to port (as every boat heading to Cape Caution would be doing). The man on US-boat SD was mad, saying something like “You keep turning, and I’m trying to pass you. Can you stay out there for a minute, instead of weaving all around?”
The other boat, Canadian-boat OC, responded that they were going to Cape Caution too, and that the US-boat SD was the give-way boat, since they were the ones wanting to overtake.
This did not go over well with US-boat SD, who came back with a profanity-laced response (including F-bombs). He also was mad that the Canadian-boat OC did not have AIS and yelled at him for that as well (still on VHF 16, more F-bombs).
This also did not go over well with the Canadian Coast Guard, who came on the radio and politely reminded both boats that VHF 16 is for emergency communication only, and to take their issue to a working channel.
They did not do that.
US-boat SD came back with more (louder yelling) profanity-laced complaints (they were starting to cut out at this point due to distance, but we easily got the gist).
The Canadian-boat OC had had enough at this point, and began swearing back. Full on verbal fist-fight on VHF 16, with countless F-bombs. It was embarrassing (but somewhat entertaining) to listen to.
The Canadian Coast Guard kept trying to interrupt, with increasing urgency, insisting that they take their “discussion” to another channel. I pictured a principal trying to break up a fist fight in a playground.
They kept on.
The Canadian Coast guard finally said, VERY sternly, “GET. OFF. 16. NOW!!!”
Silence.
A minute later, two other Canadian boats/schoolyard bystanders (we’ll call them “PM” and “LM”) hailed each other on VHF 16 and moved to another channel. (We followed them over to the new channel, of course.)
It seemed like they knew each other…one was playfully asking the other what their intentions were and mocking the US-boat SD who had started the problem.
After a bit of a laugh and quick joke about arrival later into Port McNeill, Canadian-boat LM came on and said something like “Just another one of our ‘friends’ from south of the border. Typical.”
The disdain was palpable.
Obviously, this felt a bit bad to us, that she was publicly painting Americans with such a broad brush. We get it, but still.
However, let’s rewind a few days. As we were heading to Saycuritay Cove on the south tip of Campania Island, we heard the same Canadian-boat LM, hail a “U.S.-flagged sailboat transiting Otter Channel” and say to them “Hey you are the give-way boat…pretty cheeky of you to cut across my bow like that.”
The sailboat responded asking “Weren’t you overtaking me?” to which the Canadian-boat LM responded that yes, she was.
The sailboat (politely) replied “Then you were the give-way vessel.”
Canadian-boat LM, perhaps realizing now that she was wrong (but perhaps not), changed the subject and instead yelled at the sailboat for not flying a Canadian courtesy flag. “I don’t see your courtesy flag. This is extremely rude and disrespectful. If you’re in our country, have your courtesy flag up.” (Fair point, for sure.)
The sailboat replied politely “You have a nice day.”
Yep, that’s right. A few days earlier Canadian-boat LM was doing the exact same thing as the US-boat SD was this morning (that she was now making fun of): incorrectly reprimanding a boat they were overtaking for not getting out of their way (and yelling at them as if it was their fault).
It also appears that she has a bit of a grudge against Americans that she’s not afraid to voice loudly and publicly. Again, we get it.
But what it seems to come down to in both of these cases (regardless of any grudge someone might have against Americans right now) is the overtaking boat not understanding the rules of overtaking, and what responsibility the give-way/overtaking boat has. It’s not the boat ahead’s responsibility to get out of the way of the overtaking boat. It’s the responsibility of the overtaking boat to pass safely and courteously. It’s not that hard.
It’s a big ocean out there. Let’s try to be kind to others, shall we?
p.s. If you’re wondering why I’m not mentioning boat names, since they were doing nothing to hide their identity while being jerks to each other publicly and dramatically on the radio that anyone nearby could hear…so am I, but for some reason, it just doesn’t feel right to do. But if you ask me, or if you wanna try guessing, I’ll play that game with you. 🙂
