Three's a Crew

Summer is reading time. I take my books out on the deck and read while soaking up some of the warm summer rays. My new Utopia floating lounge is also a great reading location.

I like to read books about our local area and destinations I'd like to explore. Scrounging through one of my favourite used book stores, I found Three's a Crew by Kathrene Pinkerton (Horsdal & Schubart, 1991). You can get it online through Amazon.com or Amazon.ca if you don't see it in your used book store.

In Three's a Crew, Kathrene Pinkerton recounts the many annual cruises she took with her husband and daughter up the Strait of Georgia, through the Inside Passage and all the way to Alaska. It sounded like it could have been set in present day, but the family's voyages took place from 1924 to 1931. In some cases, places along the BC coast were more populated then than they are today. As fishing and logging have declined, so have many of the remote camps, homesteads and outposts. Yet, some of the more resilient and resourceful have persisted.

Several weeks ago, Wayne and I cruised in our Bayliner to one of Kathrene's favourite destinations, the Yacultas Rapids (spelled Yucluetaws in her book). We didn't find Henry's Tiny Cove, but we did spend the night in Big Bay just past the rapids. At mid-tide, the rapids roar. But at high and low tide, the water goes slack so that even the most simple boats can navigate them safely. And sport fishing is still an important pastime in these salmon rich waters. As we sat at the dock, I thought about Kathrene's adventurous spirit all those many years ago. Now it's our turn to follow in wake.

What are you reading this summer? Have any good recommendations for me? -- Margy