Off to Triangle Island!

"Day 8. August 11 2016 (still).

After our morning romp on Calvert Island, we weighed anchor and set sail for the long-anticipated Triangle Island. Some background: When we boarded the Pacific Swift in Prince Rupert, the crew basically told us, “Well, we’re in Prince Rupert, and in 10 days we need to be in Port Hardy, but between now and then, we don’t really need to be anywhere.” Yes! So we planned our route as we went, deciding where to go based on what we thought we might find. (How about Grenville Channel? It’s really cool. How about Princess Royal Island? That’s where Spirit Bears are most often sighted. How about Calvert Island? White, sandy beaches.  And how about Triangle Island?)

This may have been helpful earlier, but here is a map of our route: https://my.yb.tl/PacificSwift/3359/ 

Triangle Island is the western-most island in a chain of islands off the north point of Vancouver Island (island island island). It’s the south-western most point on that map. 

It was always a possibility that we would visit Triangle Island, but since it required a long stretch of open ocean sailing (10 hours), it was always a weather-dependant destination. But the weather was great (for the entire trip, including the one morning of light rain) and so we decided, yup, it’s off to Triangle Island!

Those were 10 very enjoyable hours. We ended up motor sailing (ie, moving under both motor power and sail power, as each seems to stabilize the other), and it wasn’t the greatest ride for everyone on board (“Barf Fest 2016,” as one of my watch mates called it). But it is definitely something, to be standing at the bow of a rolling ship as it crests each wave and sinks in each trough in a rather unpredictable manner. Trying to balance on the deck became the game of the afternoon.

This is all great, and it all leads up to one of the amazing moments on the trip. Each evening we would gather in the hold and sing sea shanties and other well-loved, more modern songs, but this night some wise soul thought it would probably be disastrous to cram a bunch of sea-sick people into the hold, so we sang up on deck. (Exhibit 1: This picture. Not the greatest quality, but the ship was rolling and I was enjoying myself too much to bothered with pictures.)

So here is the indescribable moment. Imagine being up on the afterdeck of an old, wooden schooner, motor sailing across the open, rolling ocean to a remote destination as the sun is setting on a clear evening. You’re surrounded by a group of your fellow sailors, all belting out sea shanties and well-loved songs with guitars and a cajon, grinning like lunatics (some of us, anyway) and thoroughly appreciating the rarer moments of life.

We were singing sea shanties! On the open ocean! Miles away from shore!

“Wave Over Wave” was an entirely appropriate hit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk9xIw6-aUg). 

“Twist and Shout” was fantastic. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, as only SALTS does it, “Don’t Stop Believing”, “Brown-Eyed Girl”…

Even as I was experiencing this, I knew it was a fantastic, unlooked-for and spontaneous blessing."

~Nicole E.