Monday, May 15, 2006 - Departed Shearwater at 8:00 am and the plan was for a leisurely cruise up the Seaforth Channel, crossing Milbanke Sound and heading north up Finlayson Channel to Klemtu on Swindle Island. Klemtu is a major Indian village with a "Big House" with totems and other artifacts. It also offered a fuel dock, store and public telephone, the last for 65 miles. Upon arriving at Klemtu harbor, we found the visitor's float to be full of fishing vessels and no one answering the VHF for the fuel dock. Since it appeared that we would not be welcomed visitor's, we decided to continue up the Finlayson Channel and find moorage in one of the bays along the way. We were treated to calm waters and spectacular scenery.
It was turning out to be a longer run than what we had planned. We passed by Swanson Bay which had the ruins of an old saw mill and tall red brick chimney. The mill had not operated since 1934. The bay was exposed and did not provide for a good anchorage. We continued up to Khutze inlet and passed on that as well as it was a 5 mile trek up to find shallow enough depths for anchorage. A decision was made to proceed up the channel for another 5 miles and spend the night in Butedale. Words cannot describe Butedale. It was a rather large fishing, mining and lumber community in the early 1900's and was completely abandoned by 1950. There has been numerous efforts over the years by various groups to have somewhat of an operational marina. We were greeted by the only residents, Lou Simoneau and his dog and cat. The pictures tell the story.
Next installment to follow