April 20, 2006
Jan's Journal- Day 2 in Jervis Inlet
The Endeavour is so quiet and smooth; it’s just a delight to be aboard! We awoke on the second day to the bow of the vessel pushing its nose to the banks of Jervis Inlet and into the cascading waters of Friel Water Falls. The Inlet, a giant granite wall fjord, carved by ice has its waters up to 1200 feet with vertical sides straight down. It is so exciting to drink the first morning coffee looking up at 1000 feet of spraying water.
After poking our nose into the falls we were back on our way up the inlet, gliding along Copper and Meriwether chatted about the wild life we may see and the birds that are common to the area. No sooner had they mentioned mountain goats than someone spotted three white specs high on the cliffs…Mike, our Captain immediately slowed the vessel down and slowly turned round so we could grab the binoculars and look up to where the goats were sitting on the rocks. Mike came down with his massive camera lens and took pictures while we were chatting and viewing real up close wild life!! Once everyone had taken pictures and had seen plenty we slowly moved farther into the fjord. Young and mature Bald Eagles rose high above us; Copper explained the differences so we would know later on as we saw more wild birds on our travels.
Lunch was cooked and served barbecue style, ribs, beans, burgers and giant hot dogs along with a variety of salads, not much diet type foods here!! Not long after lunch, once positioned at the mouth of Louisa Inlet another voice yelled, “Black Bear”. Again everyone took to the front of the vessel for a better viewing while cameras were clicking and binoculars were focused. The Black Bear was quite oblivious to the vessel, and us as he hunted for barnacles and mussels on the shoreline. An early spring riser, he was looking for marine food while waiting for the fruits and berries to ripen. Once the excitement had lapsed we were gathered in groups to get life jackets on ready for the DIB trips. We had two options… a longer 1-1/2 trip or a quick ½ trip, true to Cruise West adventure traditions just about everyone took the 1-1/2 trip! Two DIBs were lowered and the fist twelve climbed aboard. Copper took the first batch along with hot chocolate and giant cookies.
We went with Meriwether and the second team of twelve. The mouth of the inlet has powerful rapids; we had timed this visit to match the tides and the best time to transverse the rapids in the most comfortably fashion. The dib handled all well although you could feel very easily the strength of the 
waters flow. Once inside the entrance and safely away from the tide pull Meriwether took us to the granite walls and began her expert explanation of the marine life. The walls were full of dark purple Ochre Star fish spotted with Leather Star fish making this just a fantastic colored experience!! Acorn Barnacles and mini Plate Limpets clung to the top of the walls as the other sea life was exposed with the low tide. Meriwether and an apprenticed EL climbed to the front of the DIB and hung off as they gathered these creatures for a closer look. Our lesson begun as they carefully turned the creatures over and explained how the eat and what they eat and how they survive the conditions. Everything was put back as we found and we moved on.
Deeper into the inlet we stopped for a moment of quiet and reflection, of just how beautiful this inlet is, the tranquility and wild life wonderment. A poem was read and we all were able to fully realize how lucky we were exposed to nature at its peak. At the top of the inlet we were able to disembark for a short walking tour looking at plants and trees, we saw Fox Gloves and Salmon Berry bushes, Maples and Alder trees. Back on the DIB we were visited by a harbor seal poking his head out of the waves for a moment to say good-bye. The sun shone on the water as we made our way back…twinkling and sparkling in the afternoon rays. Hot chocolate and big home made cookies made the trip back warm and tasty.
The last DIB to go out and explore held the crew, a reward for hard work and pleasant attitude. As they returned the engines awoke and gently moved ahead back down Jervis Inlet and into the Malispina Straits towards our next day’s adventure, Nanaimo. An evening of delightful companionship and lively discussion followed by Crab for dinner, what more could an adventurer ask for.
Posted by Jan on April 20, 2006 8:45 AM
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