First Mate's Log The Bunsby's July 25th

First Mate’s Log
July 25th 2008
The Bunsby Islands
You may wonder how we know where to go, where the anchorages are good, and how we find out where to get fuel, ice for the icebox, and an occasional civilized shower. There are several excellent cruising guides that we use. In all of them the Bunsby Islands south of Cape Cook were recommended. We found Cozumel sands, some obliging star fish and some hearty Canadian women sea kayakers.
The Bunsbys are a popular destination for kayakers, who explore this protected group. The tidal changes reveal a cornicopia of marine life. We found a crevice in a reef rock that had a column of anemones, starfish, mussles, clams, crab and of course kelps.
It had been weeks since I had any significant female company. We anchored of the South Cove, which faced the ocean with just a low rocky rise but was protected nonetheless. We were also next to a beach, a perfect beach for kayakers to make camp. There were 7 or so, women who had gotten together like this for 14 years, Kayaking on the white beaches of the south Brooks and exploring the Bunsbys. “I’m going to make them some chocolate chip cookies” I said to Ken, “and see if Canadian women have as much of a chocolate gene as American women.” They do! Chocolate can dissolve any barrier. I wish to report that the sisterhood is strong, that we all are concerned about the same injustices. Our lives are made of the same fabric, interwoven. Our hearts, Canadian and American, are in the same various states of conviviality with the opposite sex. Our careers, it seemed, suffered the same difficulties. Experiencing our love of the water and it’s wild lands, whether with a double bladed paddle or on the wind, we also shared. Women open their lives to each other as comfortably as opening a newly minted book it seemed. That and chocolate, and good reads, and tea, and candies, and friendship.