Nootka 2018

[Markshoreline]

The bride and I embarked on a trip to Nootka Sound from South Whidbey last week.  We've always traveled via Tsawassen to Nanaimo but hoping to shorten the border wait time we went to Anacortes just North of Whidbey instead to enter Canada at Sidney.  Much shorter lines both directions for us on this trip so the slightly longer travel time was offset by the shorter waits.
The almost 700 mile round trip did have some hiccups though I did try to take care of everything prior to the trip.  I had the trailer bearings serviced but during the course of the trip three bearing buddies fell off.  In Campbell River I replaced the two that had gone by then but on the return trip yet a third had fallen off.  Since I use a double seal system I wasn't worried but will now have to check the work of my local shop. 

Our USA cell phones didn't produce the reliable data that we have become accustomed to here so we were surprised that the maps went the wrong direction and the roads were wrong.  We ended up dead reckoning and got down to Victoria OK then traveled North toward Campbell River. 

On the highway a truck pulled alongside with window down and gestured in a circular motion.  Thinking we had something wrapped around our wheel or axle I pulled over, only to learn that the messenger was Tom Mac here on our site! His motion was intended to roll down our window, and heck, we haven't had a manual window in years and neither does he!  He recognized our boat from a previous trip to CA so we pulled over to have a short visit alongside the highway.  Ian was kind enough to offer his phone number in case we had any issues and we very much appreciated that.  Gotta love Arimaowners. 


We made it up to Campbell River and visited with Good Days who always has great stories and excellent food and got to visit with girlfriend and son, too.

Next day made the trip across the mountains to Gold River, paid the tribe $90 USD to launch and park (they don't adjust cost for USD or CAD} HA, so bring CAD!!!  We arrived at low tide so all the big boats were on their trailers waiting for water and we were able the slip the Arima in and get on our way. For the first time ever we launched before noon so beat the brutal North wind beat down that you have to deal with for 20 miles on the way to Critter.  It was actually a very pleasant cruise!

When we arrived at Critter we couldn't moor at our assigned spot as someone had poached it, so had to go to the other side where the wind drove us into the dock.  Unfortunately, there were a couple of bolts pointing up just beneath the top of the dock that miraculously caught our kicker's prop guard, so that when I motored away from the dock the guard became mangled and broke off the kicker's cavitation plate.  Any one know of a local shop that can fix the broken plate?


Upon check in we learned that Critter no longer issues keys to the cottages!  Owner said we are from the city and are used to locking stuff, but there is not an issue there.  We didn't get a key and everythig was safe in our room.  Just weird to us...

Our first trip out without the kicker guard resulted in a piece of driftwood getting caught in the kicker.  Damn!  The wife had to take an unflattering pic of the real work on a boat!


The fires that are smoking Seattle and our Whidbey home are also smoking Critter.  The sun rose red as it does here and the air quality caused me to suffer from the particulates. 

We tried fishing inside with the multitudes but with only minimal success.  After a day and a half with only one fish we decided to head out to the ocean which ended up being a fruitful decision.  After a day or so we figured out how to fish the outside and finally scored.  We lost several big fish but netted a few and ended up with a successful trip.  In our 4 days on the water we used 48
gallons running out and back from the ocean for the entire trip. 

The hot lure for us was a flasher and anchovie which I set up with my wife.  She had the most fish on compared to my spoon, then I switched to the anchovie and we got a nice load of fish to take home. 





The run back was amazing because the B175M ducer could pick up the bottom at 1,200 feet at almost 25 mph!

The new to me Tundra pulled 13 mpg on the trip and handled like a dream.

Amazing trip, awesome to have the wife as my fishing buddy!

[Tom Mac]

Sounds like it was a great trip! It was nice to meet you and the wife.

[Peddler]

Looks like a great trip, Mark.  I can't wait to get back there again sometime.  On my trips in the past, I've never bothered to lock anything.  The rods all stayed in the "Launchers," the cabin door unlocked, the tackle bags on-deck.  Love the vibe. 

Glad you got into some fish too!  Were you out near Bajo Reef?  We've done some real "Work" out there two of the three times I've been to Nootka. 

[GregE]

Nice!!   :applause:

Wish we could have been there with some overlap days but couldn't swing Twolabs offer.

[Hunter]

Sound like a great trip Mark..... way to stay cool on the few hiccups you had and keeping it fun... 

PS..... go back and change the end of your post from MPH to MPG.......   Takes forever to get to Nootka going only 13 MPH!   

[AP]

Great report!

48 gallons per day is a lot of fuel.  What were they charging up there for gas?

[Markshoreline]

48 gallons for the entire trip not per day!
Yes the Tundra got 13 mpg not mph, haha.

Darn you guys are excellent editors!!!

Fuel was $1.33, $1.38 and $1.40 something per liter- cheapest in Campbell River.  We never bought fuel at Critter which would have been more expensive, I expect.  However, tackle and bait were about the same price at the resort as in the city.

[rasslingref]

Love the stories.  So rumor has it your partner out fished you 3 to 1 and she caught the biggest one.  Thanks for sharing.


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[First Cabin]

Looks like a great trip Mark!  Thanks for sharing.

[beancounter]

Nice report Mark looks like a real nice place.

[FWilliams]

Looks like an awesome trip even with the hiccups. Love to do it one time.


Fred

[Fishgriller]

What a great trip, would love to do it some day.

[Markshoreline]

Thanks for all the comments!  Nootka is a beautiful place that we enjoy visiting.  The first step to go is getting a reservation for your preferred dates next year.  Since they set up booths at the boat and sportsmen shows the spaces are pretty much gone by February though it's worth trying later.  There are also little cabins on the dock for rent as well as the cotttages on land.  Across the inlet is a small camping park that has rafted montage if you want to go rustic and cheap.

[amazing grace]

Sounds great Mark. You must be treating Lisa very good. And yes you are very lucky. She does look to be a great fishing partner.

Glad the ocean cooperated both with good weather and fish.

Glad the Tundra preformed great. I am due for a water pump and timing belt on mine. Only about $850 :whistle:

Hard to pull something like that off without a few whoopsie's. 

:smile1: :smile1:

[Rokefin]

Yes good story, glad you got some fish!  Weather looked very comfortable.

I always seal the bearing buddies to the hub with silicone, not positive it helps but I haven't lost any yet.

Neat to see holding 1200 feet at 25 mph - the deepest I have been is 300 feet.

[Markshoreline]

I just bang the bearing buddies in with a 2X4 cushioning the blow of a hammer.  Never lost one yet, till this trip.

[Omega3]

Glad I wasn't behind you when that heavy chunk of metal flew of your rig. :bigshock:That could be quite the liability if it went through someone's windshield.

[Markshoreline]

Yep, that's what I was thinking- 3 times!

[Yachter Yat]

   I wonder if wrapping electrical tape around the hub and bearing buddy wouldn't suffice in adding some measure of safety.  Obviously, you'd have to make sure those surfaces were free from oil or grease.   Just thinking it might not be as messy as silicone when removal became necessary.


Yat

[Markshoreline]

I've run bearing buddies for 20+ years and never had one go loose on a trip. Installer error,for sure.

[WildWilly]

Well I've run bearing buddys and knockoffs for an awful long time and never once have I even had one loose. I can almost guarantee you that the wrong size was installed. The dimensions are spec'd to the thousandth and there are hubs that are only .014" difference in bore size. So if you installed one that was undersized, it very likely would work it's way loose

[Markshoreline]

The ones that were there had a thousand miles on them...

[Peddler]

It'd be near impossible to install the wrong size  Bearing Buddy. The different sizes are dramatically different. - I've found that after removing and reinstalling them, they tend not to stay as well. Either the hub or the B.B. has deformed just-enough by removing and/or reinstalling that the tolerance is no longer adequate.




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[GregE]

I lost two bearing buddys on our last Nootka trip also.  Must be the BC influence, Eh?

[croaker stroker]

I've lost them. I think they wear if you remove them a few times. I use a large channel-lock pliers and wiggle them off.