COASTAL BRITISH COLUMBIA
(Page 3 of 5)
Half mile-long Nascall Bay has the shape of an hourglass
opened on one end. A boat can anchor in the back portion
out of sight of Dean Channel or the front. The Bay is
variously bordered by grassy, swampy and rocky beaches. In
one spot, there are even sheer cliffs.
RELATED CONTENT
Nascall Hot Springs lies near the mouth of the bay. About
ten years ago, according to reports, Crown Zellerbach
Corp., which has a large pulp mill at Ocean Falls 20 miles
to the west, surveyed Nascall Valley for hydroelectric
potential. The survey crew built a bathhouse: A shack whose
sole furnishing is a bathtub set into the floor. A pipe
runs back to the hot spring. Since its construction, the
bath has been used and maintained by passing pleasure and
fishing craft. During the three days I was in and around
the bay, at least a dozen boats stopped.
COMMENTS ON EQUIPMENT
The basic Folbot proved to be seaworthy, riding easily with
the largest non-breaking waves encountered. Under the same
conditions, 40-foot fishing boats pounded heavily. With a
waterproof kayak cover (which I lacked) to prevent
swamping, I would trust it on the open ocean in average
weather. However, the sailing gear has some design faults.
A small outboard motor (available as an option) would
facilitate cruising.
Hip boots are desirable for travel along rivers and through
swamps. A hand gun, although illegal in Canada, is much
easier to carry through the woods (for defense) than is a
rifle.
One sixteenth-inch netting will stop horse flies and
mosquitos but not the gnats which live on the coast (I
encountered none in the interior). Several layers of loose
clothing plus liberal and frequent applications of
repellant on exposed skin kept the bugs at bay during the
day. Insect pests are about as common as in more moist
portions of the U.S.
On my return trip I found a light northeast breeze down
Dean Channel and sailed across to Labouchere where I
encountered a light headwind: But, with calm water and a
following wind down the zigzag channel, I made good headway
with minimum tacking. When I reached Burke Channel, the
sails caught the prevailing southwest wind and the boat was
off racing the waves. Sometimes surfing on long swells for
a minute at a time and sometimes crashing through short
chop, the little craft ran before the wind.
At low elevations in the Bella Coola area, forest grows
everywhere except on naked rock, tidal flats and swamps
(any natural clearing) in a river valley will be marsh, not
dry grassland). Common trees include western hemlock, giant
arbor vitae, Sitka spruce, western white birch, Douglas
fir, yellow cypress and black cottonwood. Lodgepole pine
also grows on the more exposed slopes.
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