Ocean Falls

Up this morning in time to see the sunrise. Left Forit Bay into the end of Gunboat Passage and almost immediately crossed Johnson Channel to Fisher Channel and Cousins Inlet to Ocean Falls. Still several miles away you could see Martin Valley at the bottom of the mountains. Ocean Falls is just a few miles SE of Martin Valley, at the end of Cousins Inlet. The inlet makes a 90 degree turn at Martin Valley, so you don’t see Ocean Falls until you make that turn. Just before coming to Martin Valley, there is a small water fall on the north side of the Inlet, coming from Ikt Lake. There were several boats already at the Ocean Falls Municipal Dock, but there was still plenty of space. The docks are in good shape, and there is trash and recycling bins at the top of the dock pier, near a single room bathroom. Also a phone booth, but I didn’t check to see if the phone worked. Both 20 amp and 30 amp service is available along the docks. I used the 20 amp, which gave me an opportunity to use one of many different electrical adaptors I have on the boat. (It’s a 20 amp twist lock style receptacle.) Soon after getting settled in, the rain came, and it rained the rest of the afternoon. Fitting, as Ocean Falls is reputed as one of the rainiest locations in Canada, with an average of 173” of rain a year! After lunch I put on my rain suit and walked around town. There is an operating post office here, and I needed some stamps, so that was my first stop. Mail here comes in and out once a week, on Wednesday. The post office and courthouse are in the same building. Ocean Falls was built in 1906 and wholly owned by large pulp and paper corporations like Crown Zellerbach. Almost every resident worked for the mill, lived in company housing, and shopped at the company store. The remote community boomed to a population of nearly 4,000. However, following the mill’s closure in the 1970’s and 1980’s, it transitioned into an abandoned ghost town that today has only a few dozen full time residents. I had hoped to get some ice cream here, but found out they only take cash, and I didn’t have any Canadian currency, or enough small US bills to buy it without losing with the exchange rate. However, I did have enough ones to buy a cinnamon roll for tomorrow’s breakfast. Before returning to the boat, I walked up to the dam. Singing horribly out loud as several folks warned me about a Black Bear in the area. (I did have my bear spray with me.) Ended up putting in 4 miles walking around today, and never did see the bear. Later this evening I was invited over for “happy hour” at a neighboring boat, a 42’ Grand Banks. I had met Bob and Darlene last week at Port Neville. (Before that, I had seen then leaving a small cove we were entering.) Very common along the PNW coast to see the same boats occasionally as we cruise the same waters. A much more pleasant experience sharing with this Canadian couple, than the sharing I had with the guy in Shearwater! While the rain has stopped this evening, low clouds have moved in. I did drop my crab trap in when I got here, as I usually do. I pulled it up 5 hours later to find 1 starfish, and at least a half dozen sea urchins. I decided not to drop it again. Ocean Falls had a reputation with the boating community for good crabbing. However, another fisherman I met on the dock said he hasn't had any luck with crabs this year. ..Read more