When my father first told me about a remote
village called Kyuquot on Vancouver Island’s west coast, it was a place that
spurred my curiosity, but never thought I’d visit some day on my own.
Having travelled to Kyuquot from Alberta
for a fishing trip several years ago, my father’s eyes lit up whenever he
talked about the village in the middle of nowhere. Now here I was on a ship, bobbing
around on the open ocean two hours from Kyuquot. It was a moment I’d anxiously
been waiting for.
The captain of the MV Uchuck III — a 136-foot
wooden hull vessel built in 1942 as an American Minesweeper — urges the two dozen passengers on board to
remain seated since the open ocean on the west coast can be unpredictable. It’s
the final stretch of the 10-hour journey from Gold River to Kyuquot, which has
a population of 350 people. The only way to reach it is by floatplane or boat.
Bracing myself on the observation platform near
the centre of the Uchuck III, I tightly grip the railing as the ship begins to
sway back and forth on the large ocean swells. The cold howling wind pierces
through my four layers of clothes as I look into the horizon and see nothing
but ocean meeting the sky. At first it’s fun. Then the waves of nausea hit,
turning the ship into a ride I wish I could get off.
“I love this!” says one passenger as he stands
on the observation platform, his body swaying back and forth with the motion of
the ocean. “You just have to move with it.”
Struck by the joy etched upon his face, I
take the man’s advice and try to relax, pushing down the sprinkles of fear
starting to brew inside me from the rocking ship. I remind myself that Captain
Spencer Larsen and mate Adrian Last have seen swells in the area reach as high
as 7.5 feet in the winter. It’s hard to believe the water is considered calm on
this day in late September.
Working for Get West Adventure Cruises for the
past 10 years, Larsen and Last have made the lengthy journey to Kyuquot more
than 500 times, dropping off kayakers to explore isolated islands and various supplies
to fish farms, fishing lodges, logging camps and other remote communities along
the way. With limited or no road access, it’s the remoteness that makes destination
like Kyuquot so intriguing.
Once a week, the Uchuck III (which has been
reconditioned with a wood-finished lounge, coffee shop and seating on the
open-air upper deck to accommodate 100 passengers) leaves port with up to 70
tons of cargo, such as groceries, propane, lube oils, wire, fish feed and
building materials, making eight to 12 stops before reaching Kyuquot.
Passengers are invited to join the
five-person crew on the two-day marine cruise from March to October. The daily
routine involves eating delicious homemade soups, sandwiches or chili for lunch,
and soaking in every moment of the stunning landscape consisting of rugged
mountains, narrow fjords and tiny islands coated with velvety trees. It’s a trip both Larsen and Last never get
tired of making, especially when the ocean is calm.
“We’re pretty spoiled. People come here
with their jaws dropping over how gorgeous it is, but it’s just another day in
the office for us,” said Larsen, 29. “We always enjoy a nice day like this.”
Two hours into the trip, we spot a group of
six humpback whales spraying geysers of air from their blowholes, followed by a
raft of sea otters casually floating on their backs. Then a black bear strolls onto
shore, sending a wave of excitement amongst those on board. Elk are also seen
in the area during the fall.
But it’s not just a cruise through a
never-ending display of gorgeous, untouched wilderness. It also provides a rare
glimpse into some of the province’s major industries hidden from the public eye,
such as fish farming and heli-logging.
According to Larsen, the Muchalat Inlet is
home to a handful of fish farms that harvest between 500,000 to 600,000 salmon
every 12 to 14 months. The reason the fish farms are here is due to the deep waters
in the Muchalat Inlet (located 12 km south of Gold River), which plunge 1,200
feet in some places.
The inlet is where our journey begins and eventually
joins Nootka Sound — home to Nootka Island and the historic Yuquot (Friendly
Cove) where Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy became the first European to
set foot on B.C. soil in March 1778. Our voyage continues into the narrow
Tahsis Inlet towards the village of Tahsis, then crosses into the Esperanza
Inlet through a narrow channel before entering the open ocean for two hours
during the final push to Kyuquot where we’ll spend the night at a spacious
chalet-style bed and breakfast.
An archipelago of nine islands and the
mainland make up the area known as Kyuquot, which consists of a Red Cross
outpost, a school, post office, a handful of fishing lodges and small stores
located around various coves. The community of Houpsitas, the original site of
the First Nations people, is located on the mainland while Walter’s Island, a
short boat ride away, is the central business district with two dozen buildings
connected by a boardwalk. Commercial fishing and the forest industry are the
village’s major employers.
After experiencing the mighty swells of the
open ocean, I’m relieved to arrive in the calm, sheltered waters of the village’s
main dock, where we quickly walk to our nearby accommodation on Walter’s Island.
The air is deafeningly quiet. The only sound is the call of birds in the
distance and the ocean gently lapping the shore. Places like this are soothing
for the soul.
Nicalena Chidley has lived in the peaceful
village for 28 years and grew up at Friendly Cove, where her parents were keepers
of the lighthouse. It’s hard to imagine living in such an isolated place with
no roads or cars, but Chidley can’t imagine living anywhere else.
“I’ve always lived in isolation, I’ve
always lived on the coast. The idea of moving to a town is what scares me,”
said Chidley, who was helping a friend manage the bed and breakfast. “The first
person you meet in isolation is yourself. You have to be a jack of all trades
in our community.
The next morning I awake to light rain and
cloudy skies, but it doesn’t put a damper on our spirits as we board the Uchuck
III for the lengthy journey back to Gold River. Some passengers have been to
Kyuquot years ago and wanted to experience it again. Others, like me, wanted to
explore more of the island they call home.
When I moved to Victoria from Edmonton in
August 2015, I made it my mission to explore as much of the island as possible
and was doing a good job of ticking off places on my lengthy list. But I didn’t
just want to pass through the remote and exotic sounding places I’d circled on
my map, such as Port Alice, Telegraph Cove and the Broken Group Islands. I
wanted to experience them and connect with the people that call these remote
places home.
“These kinds of trips always fascinate me,”
said Gord Hutchinson, who lives in Calgary and was on the trip with his
brother-in-law. “I could have stayed another day in Kyuquot just listening to
people, finding out about their lives. I like going places most people miss.”
WATCH: The 10-hour journey to Kyuquot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv6dx0XarGE&t=8s
If you go:
Get West Adventures offers a variety of
adventure cruises on the MV Uchuck III that range from one to three days. The two-day
Kyuquot adventure cruise leaves Thursdays at 7 a.m. and runs from March to
October. The overnight trip includes accommodation, dinner and breakfast in
Kyuquot. For more information visit getwest.ca.
