Dock Work

It's been quite some time since I could honestly say that I have been busy but busy I have been. With the opening of the Outpost just over a month away the situation of our sunken docks had to be addressed. Given a tentative date for the arrival of Tim, Mike and Kauri had me planning some menus for the estimated 5-6 days they would be here, sending off a grocery list to Bev and getting rooms ready.

You never really know when they will show up so the alarm clock gets dusted off and set for an early morning wake up call. Confusion as to the annoying buzzing takes me a couple of seconds to realize what it is. What a rude way to have to start the day. I much prefer the method of waking up when I wake up. Oh the joy of having company.

The routine of my day already out of whack I change into “company clothes” not wanting to be caught in my pj’s and after only 2 cups of java head into the kitchen to put something together for lunch just in case they arrive around noon. I've also learned from past experience too plan a dinner that can be served at a moments notice or held for hours if need be. Everything taken care of Mike, I and the cat begin the waiting game.

The heavy morning fog had lifted and the seas appeared calm from where we sat but just previously, 2 days ago, one of the worst storms of the season passed through which may have the ocean still in a turmoil and not the best for travelling. The guys were coming down by boat hauling their dive gear, welding equipment and all other necessary paraphernalia for the repairs to be done.

By 4 o'clock we were starting to make bets on whether we would see them today.

We didn't have to wait much longer as they came into view at 4:30.

 

A combined effort made quick work of getting everything into the wagons and up to the lodge. A request to have dinner as soon as possible had us sitting down at 5:30, thanks to having anticipated this. Most first meals conversations would revolve around catching up on what everyone had done since last time we met but not tonight.

The main topic were the docks and planning a strategy for just how they were going to repair them. Each move had to take in consideration the tides. On some maneuverings they would have to wait for the high tide, while others it had to be low.

From the dinner table to a dive suit. With no time to waste shackles were undone to release the chains and the first dock was pushed into shore.

Not really wanting to jack up the dock and do all the welding while laying underneath the idea of towing in back out and flipping it over was discussed and agreed too, at least give it a try.

No matter what the tides were doing lunch was always at noon....dinner was another matter. Several nights it was 5:30, than 7, than 9:30, than back to 7. This certainly wasn't as bad as having to get out of a warm bed at 1:30 am to head down to the beach and do some welding while the tide was out.

The second dock having holes in both pontoons couldn't be flipped so it was back to jacking it up and welding from underneath.

Salmon? Herring? No one could exactly say what type of fish made up this bait ball.

Holes patched the dock gets towed back out and ready for turning over.

Oops....seems a bit more welding is going to have to be done so back to the beach.

You can see that the other dock is already in place so we're getting close to the end....

Day 8.

Time is running out as the tide is creeping in.

It's been a long time since I've seen the docks looking like this.......floating.

  “Don't worry....it doesn't look too deep and the crack in the board isn't that big.”

After 9 long days of early mornings and some pretty late nights I think the guys were happy to be heading back home.

With only 18 days remaining before the summer crew arrives there is a ton of work to do but it will have to wait for at least a day. First things first. The alarm clock goes back in the drawer, meals will consist of whatever leftovers I can find with minimal amount of prep, dirty dishes can wait, I will eat when I feel hungry and I won't even get dressed.

Till next time,

Heather & Mike

Outpost - Animal Pictures

Where does the time go? It's been 3 weeks now since my last post and only 7 weeks till Mike and I re-enter the real world. I'm thinking restaurants!!!!!

I would like to say I'm sitting here on the back deck soaking up some sun but we're having a February-like blustery day. Wind that you can not only see but hear, rain that comes down sideways, the odd bit of hail and a drop in temperature that has Mike building a nice little fire. It is April, isn't it?

Why don't we just crank up the heat, well when we get this far into the season the only thing coming from the fuel tanks these days is a hollow ring. Conserving fuel is always the name of the game and that's why we turn off our generator every night unless the mercury is predicted to drop below freezing and why we now only turn on the furnace twice a week. Having enough juice to run everything 24 hours a day between the time the summer staff arrives and the barge comes in will always involve some give and take.

What else is happening here in the lovely bay of Port Louis? No a whole lot but we did celebrate a birthday....

.....and we had a quick visit from another vessel in the area foraging for kelp. They dropped the anchor and after a short scavenger hunt pulled up to the the dock in their dingy for a bit of a chat.

 

Other fishermen in the area.

 

For the most part the weather has been wonderful lately and there have been a series of days that Mike, I and the cat have all sat out on the back deck soaking up the sun for an hour or so. When we're not sitting back, we're chopping wood. There's something very satisfying about splitting the hefty rounds of wood into manageable pieces for the fireplace and an ache in muscles you haven't use in a long long time.

I never get tired of rushing to snap a photo when one of our furry or feathered friends

appears somewhere I don't expect or just look like they want to ham it up for the camera.

Till next time,
Heather & Mike

Spring - It's On The Way

Fishing boats, squalls of snow mixed with hail and sunshine on the back deck.......what do these 3 things signify? Spring is on it's way!

Today, March 20^th is the first day of spring and we awoke to the pinging of hail on our bedroom window and the lightest dusting of snow on the ground. We had been expecting this, almost waiting for it, so we weren't fazed in the least that our first day of spring wouldn't find us swapping out our rubber boots for plastic flip flops or tossing aside the fleece jacket in favour of something more skin exposing. I didn't whine or complain, which I may have done a couple of years ago, now just accepting that this is the way that spring arrives at the Outpost.

 

It was never truer than today the saying that goes, “ just wait 5 minutes and the weather will change.”

This complete reversal of wind, sky and water played out the entire day.

There's always a moment of excitement when out of the blue a vessel suddenly appears in the bay. I race for my camera and head out onto the deck while Mike heads to the kitchen to turn on the radio.

 

Permission granted to tie up for the night we grab coats and boots after making a quick survey of each other as to hair and attire (some days I just don't make it out of the pj's) than rush down to do a meet and greet.

The crew of the 'Progressor' all came out to say hi and chat for abit before going in search of kelp. They had been over in the next bay for several days setting up the pens that hold the kelp lines and herring. We learned all about this delicacy of herring roe on kelp last year from the crew on 'Silver Dawn'. The job of the 'Progressor' is to catch the herring, up to 80,000 lbs per pen and they had some time to kill waiting on the vessel that would be responsible for the collecting of the kelp. Come morning they were gone but I'm sure we'll see them again.

As you may have noticed and likely wondered about, the docks are a bit wokey. Tiny pinholes are the culprit and over the course of the season the ballast has slowly filled with water partially sinking our docks. Everything will be on an even keel come time to open for the season but for now to get to the heli pad one must take the tinney. No big deal and quite doable except for and isn't there always an “except for”, the fact that half the time during which the tide is low the boat is grounded. We have no need to go out onto the heli pad anyways, or so we thought.

 

It was early evening last Sunday – I was surfing the net from the comfort of my favourite wingback chair and Mike was 'resting his eyes' while stretched out on the couch when I glanced up and there in front of the lodge were 3 boats! You know the drill....I grabbed my camera and Mike headed for the radio to see if he could hail them.

 

A short conversation over the radio we learned that they were out diving for sea urchins ( brrrrr.....was my first reaction) and they would likely be around for a couple of days. Normally we would be hightailing it down the dock to introduce ourselves but this time the tide was not in our favour so we had to be satisfied with a “have a good night and hopefully we'll be able to meet tomorrow.”

Catching the tail end of a conversation between boats very early the next morning they seemed to have experienced a rolly night tied up to the heli pad.

We haven't seen them again but you never know, they might show up. I hope so because I certainly would like to get some pictures of their diving efforts.

One more boat for the week. This one looks familiar from previous years yet we've never had any contact with him or even knew what he was out trolling for....until today.

With the knowledge that there were boats in the area we have been leaving our radio on and it's pretty strange to be in the kitchen and suddenly hear voices. Tonight I heard the seiner that we have seen each year is out fishing for herring to put into the pens.

Now for the sun. Bit by bit each day the sun is a little higher in the sky and it's beginning to peak over the tree tops making it's way into the lodge.

It may only be rays of sun filtering through the trees...

....or a sun dappled lodge

....we all want to bask in it wherever it happens to light upon.

Till next time,

Heather & Mike