With the shorter days, low sun in the sky and cooler temperatures, the road out of Masset is a skating rink; or maybe an ice roller coaster with the hills and curves on the way to Port. We had a cold spell a few weeks ago and this pic was the evidence of slick roads; a car with organic matter still stuck in the door from sliding off the road and down an embankment. There is no shoulder room on the roads here. Ice or not, if you leave the pavement you are quite likely to slip down into the water filled ditch, trench, pond...whatever you want to call it.
And the storm season is upon us evident from the empty grocery shelves, no mail for almost 2 weeks and the terrifying ferry crossing last week. Talking with some people that were on the boat, they thought they were going to flip right over and with 10 metre seas in the middle of the night, no one would have survived. People were in the main passenger area, lying on the floor, hanging into the chairs for dear life as the boat goes sideways almost to the point of no return. Several people were injured, some vehicles were damaged, the kitchen was a disaster, the gift shop was all over the floor... and this went on for hours! They were on the boat for 14 hours before it returned to Prince Rupert. The noise of plates breaking and tables, chairs, garbage cans rolling around, the boat crashing down on the waves, the wind howling, the vehicles on the car deck shifting and banging around, people crying... it is something right out of a movie. If this ferry crossing is news to you, it is probably because we are such a small population and so far away from the powers that be no one hears about it or cares for that matter. If this happened on a Tsawwassen to Victoria crossing it would be a different story. I just laugh when I hear the Vancouver traffic reports about a ferry being out of service, or delays at the terminal and the news crew is there interviewing people in their cars who have to wait in long lineups. And the reporter asks if they think another boat is needed for the Lower Mainland-Vancouver Island run on busy holiday weekends... Give me a break people!
The kicker is that our 'new' ferry, the Northern Adventure, was a used boat from the Mediterranean (with a flat hull, no good for rough waters) and a quick purchase by BCFerries after the Queen of the North went down and needed to be replaced. It is not meant for crossing the Hecate Strait where huge waves and big storms can come up suddenly. Sure it has lovely estate rooms and nice viewing decks but when the boat is rocking, who cares! BCFerries has since purchased a brand new boat, the Northern Expedition, but it does the Prince Rupert to Port Hardy run. Apparently this boat is far too big for service to the island... but at least we would get on and off this rock safely! I am getting far too political for this blog. I digress.
It is expected that rough weather will delay the delivery of food to the island. No point going out for milk when there is none to be found. And the craziest thing is that I don't mind it a bit! We have a freezer full of deer and fish, I have a huge bag of grain for making bread, lots of cans in the pantry... I only suffer from a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables; the boys could care less.
