Travel Diary: Author - Yumi

Kyle and I had a chance to visit Pat Winram at her cottage on Gambier Island. We picked up her friend Masako at the airport to travel together to visit Pat. Masako had met Pat in an orchestra in Victoria and they had become friends. We drove Masako to Sunset Marina and we took a ferry taxi to Pat's private dock "Winram's Landing".

After we spent some time with Pat at her cottage, we had a short boat trip to check the crab and prawn traps. Kyle sat at the bow to make the boat plane across the water. I sat in the middle while Masako and Pat sat at the stern.

Kyle pulled up the crab trap on the port side of the boat and there were 8 or 9 Dungeness crabs in the trap and only 4 of them were legal size (165mm) to harvest. That worked fine because there were four of us to eat them.

In Canada, it is required to have a fishing license to harvest crabs and there is a quota of 6 crabs a day per fisher. Also we are not allowed to take a shell off during transportation of the crabs.

Pat taught us how to distinguish between male and female crabs by turning them upside down. Female crabs had a wider underbelly to hold their eggs and male crabs had a very narrow underbelly.

After we caught crabs, we headed to the prawn trap. Prawns live in deeper depth of water, so the trap line needs to be very long, in this case, 400 feet. Kyle pulled up all the trap line and we had no prawns!!! Spot prawns are harvested in traps deployed on long-lines commonly from 55 metres to 90 metres (180 feet to 295 feet) so we may have placed the traps too deep for harvesting the species of prawns that are common in BC.

We headed back to Pat's cottage and had a nice dinner. Kyle and I slept in a tent that Pat prepared for us. Next day, I saw Pat and Masako bathing in the ocean while Kyle was reading a magazine. Bathing in the ocean is a regular ritual for Pat because she likes to save fresh water. Her cottage is not supplied with water, power and sewage disposal.

After their bath, we took the dogs out for a boat ride to check the prawn trap again. We still did not find any prawns but the dogs enjoyed the boat ride. Pat treats her dogs very well and they love her for it.

Kyle helped Pat by chopping several rounds of wood for storage for the winter. The fireplace in Pat's cabin was small, so the firewood needed to be cut quite small. Pat explained to me about some different kinds of woods. Pat showed me Yellow Cedar, Hemlock and Fir. I cannot forget the beautiful scent of Yellow Cedar.

Pat has a tradition at her cottage. When she has visitors or guests, she invites them to sit with her to take a group picture on a special bench that she built. It was our pleasure to be guests at Pat's cottage and we hope to return again soon.

Gambier Island, BC, Canada

July 18, 2009

Squamish, BC, Canada

July 6, 2008

San Francisco, CA, USA

May 17 2008 – May 18 2008