We’d always wanted to see Haida Gwaii and at this point we were in the right neighbourhood. Getting there would involve our longest passage yet, across Hecate Strait.

Yes… Hecate. Strait. Steeped in legends of nautical disaster. Crusty sea dogs on the BC coast will chill your soul with terrifying yarns of the Hecate. For a sailor in BC who has worked their way around the other notorious features, this is the final battle. The main boss. Darth Vader. Sauron. Bowser.

These reputations can sometimes get in our heads. Sarah and I are very conservative when weighing timing and weather against our own abilities. Surely we’re not scared of the Hecate?

First, some character development…

In my opinion Sarah is the smartest, strongest, and bravest person in the world. She used to play rugby at the national level. She received a full academic scholarship to university, where she maintained her perfect grades the whole time. In the first year we were dating she broke her jaw, but didn’t go to the doctor for a week. She just tried to walk it off. In the summers she used to dangle from helicopters as they lowered her into forest fires. After university she earned another fellowship to see her through her PhD. She carried twin humans inside her own body for 36 weeks, and then proceeded to RAISE them. I once saw her physically battle an attacking seal, from her kayak, and I guarantee the seal still talks about its lucky escape.

Then there is me, lacking the courage to engage in uncomfortable retail interactions. “Excuse me”, I’ll whisper, “I think you charged me double?” No response. “Also you didn’t give my card back?” I’m backing towards the exit. “And I think one of your employees just stole my car?” Ok they are clearly very busy maybe I’ll come back later.

All this is to say that when Sarah is worried about something I pay attention. Sarah was quite worried about crossing Hecate Strait. She’s worried and I’m not? That’s worrisome! Now we’re both worried.

On the day we had chosen to cross the Hecate we awoke at first light to assess the weather and make our final decision to go or not. The weather forecast was just on the edge of what we felt comfortable with. The reputation of the Hecate loomed over us along with dark grey skies. Sarah hadn’t slept well, and was generally over the whole sailing thing, ready to move to the prairies. We have historically made every sailing decision together, but tired of worrying about it, Sarah asked me to just decide on my own if we should go.

Me!? I haven’t had to make a decision on my own since 2001, and that decision was to ask Sarah on a date. All future problems solved! Until now. Ultimately I said, “We can do this… let’s go!?”

Sarah replied non verbally with a complex look that I interpreted as, “You’d better be right about this Hornsey. If this goes badly, I will marry you just for the satisfaction of a divorce.”

And so, nervously, we ventured out into the storied Hecate.

And it was… fine. Totally fine. A non event. Strongish conditions in the morning, but nothing we hadn’t seen before, diminished by the afternoon. Around 1pm the fog cleared, the grey got a bit lighter, and a strip of blue sky shone a light onto the Haida Gwaii archipelago. It looked glorious. Our survival was all but guaranteed.

We spent the next 11 days exploring the islands, mostly within the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. The highlights of this period were visiting the Watchman sites. Abandoned Haida village sites, where a Haida Watchman will live during the summer to greet visitors, show them around, and answer questions. It’s an incredible program that added so much depth to the experience.

When the time finally came to leave we pulled up the charts to seek a route back to the mainland. Ah yes. Hecate Strait! And our first overnight passage this time. Sounds scary.

Eastward!