Reviewed by:
Bruce Armstrong
Santa Barbara
funhouse@rain.org
Boat Camping Haida Gwaii
A Small-Vessel Guide to the Queen Charlotte Islands
Copyright 2001 by L. Neil Frazer
www.harbourpublishing.com
As a Southern Californian, all my boating is done in preparation for the
annual trip to British Columbia and the beautiful, protected waters behind
200-mile-long Vancouver Island. While whirlpools, waterborne debris and
uncharted rocks make this a much more challenging marine environment than
a quick trip out to Catalina, it's a picnic compared to the extreme
conditions further north and further offshore in Canada's Queen Charlotte
Islands, or Haida Gwaii. Knowing full well that my skill level will likely
keep me from venturing that far offshore, I was pleased to find Neil
Frazer's newly published book, Boat Camping Haida Gwaii in Victoria this
past summer. For the armchair skipper, this is the ultimate in winter
reading!
Frazer's book begins differently from any marine book I've ever come
across. Before the Preface, before the Acknowledgments, before the
Introduction and right after the Table of Contents is the page heading:
Extreme Caution. This page is best summed up by the following highlighted
sentence:
"On the west coast of Haida Gwaii especially, you may not see another boat
for weeks, and a radio call (in the unlikely event it is heard) will not
bring help in time to do more than verify your demise."
The book, spiral bound for easy onboard use, is the result of numerous
trips Neil Frazer has taken around the entire archipelago accompanied
either by his wife Pauline or by one of their young children in a 15'
plastic lake boat or later, a 17' open aluminum skiff. Additionally,
Frazer, a BC native with vast kayak/small boat experience, doesn't ferry
his tiny craft out to Haida Gwaii at the beginning of his trips. He
prefers instead to approach the island group from the north, departing
Alaska's Cape Chacon or Cape Muzon for the 35nm crossing of Dixon Entrance
and finishing the trip with a further 160nm open ocean crossing of Queen
Charlotte Sound to Vancouver Island. Trawler captains give these passages
careful consideration. There is, after all, a 365-day-a-year "Small Craft
Warning" in effect for all waters around Haida Gwaii! Frazer's contention
that predetermined schedules are the most dangerous single factor in small
boating is born out by these carefully-timed small craft journeys.
The book is broken down into eight geographic zones/chapters. Carefully
drawn "Not For Navigation" maps highlight dangers, landing/camping spots
ashore, logged areas, freshwater lake elevations, onshore buildings/roads,
GPS readings and other data of interest to the small boat pilot. Frazer
sprinkles each chapter with blocks of text about the island's history,
inhabitants, discovery and on-going exploitation. Haida Gwaii's First
Nation natives were both master mariners and fierce warriors but were no
match for waves of trappers, missionaries, traders, settlers, loggers and
finally BC's own government officials. Frazer allows just enough optimism
about newly blossoming First Native activism and logging restrictions to
give hope to the possibility of preserving big blocks of Haida Gwaii's old
forests for future generations.
Also included throughout the book are nuggets of small-boating wisdom from
Frazer himself. The fact that he doesn't seem bothered by night crossings
of the open North Pacific with a radar reflector wired to an upright oar
and no kicker leads novices like me to appreciate their personal limits!
The book closes with a detailed account of what to do when/if charged by
one of the Haida Gwaii's many black bears while ashore. Also included are
detailed contact information, tide and current warnings and an extensive
reading list should you wish more details and were not put off by the
previous chapter about bears. I know if I ever get up there (and Frazer's
book increases the likelihood), I'm sleeping on my boat!
Reviewed by:
Bruce Armstrong
Santa Barbara
funhouse@rain.org |
