If, when the tide is ebbing, you remove water from the ocean with a twopenny bucket, you and the moon can do a great deal. Anon.
We did not need our twopenny bucket today. The moon did it all for us. Exerting its gravitational pull, it drew the water from of British Columbia's Princess Louisa Inlet through the narrow Malibu Rapids. As the few moments of slack tide arrived, currents that run as fast as ten knots were reduced to zero, and this scenic constriction became an entrance channel for Sea Bird. Guests on board put full faith in Captain Dwayne Stevens as he expertly navigated the "S" bend and avoided the solid rock walls. As we broke free into the deep and safe waters of this majestic fjord, a rousing cheer erupted from the bow.
Painting the rocks at the water line were hundreds of purple, orange and yellow sea stars and solid beds of mussels and oysters. Gulls, mergansers and sea ducks took advantage of exposed invertebrates to gain a morning meal, while harbor seals surfaced around us.
At the head of the fjord the scene was incredibly beautiful. Glaciers had ground the mountainsides smooth, but thousands of years of forest succession has now clothed all but the steepest walls in emerald green. On the highest peaks, barren granite shone white.
We walked in the afternoon, around ancient red cedars, maples and hemlocks, and avoided the nasty spines of the tall devil's club. The contributions to the ecosystem of the many fungi, mosses and hidden invertebrates were questioned as we approached the base of spectacular Chatterbox Falls. Later, our Zodiacs took us in tight along the vertical shoreline, and the silence of this wilderness retreat became abundantly clear as our kayaks skimmed glassy waters.
