The coastal community in the seventies and early eighties was fluid and transient. Prairie kids and city kids and unrepentant hippies fetched up on the docks of Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia looking for the romance of the sea; seeking mystical enlightenment or big bucks in the herring fisheries. A wave of restless adventurers drifted up the coast, coming as far north as they could without bumping into Alaska, as far west as possible without falling into the Pacific. Donning raingear and sou’westers, they quickly transformed themselves into salty seadogs. I came north for a short visit in 1977; left, came back, and stayed for 22 years.
Function Junction, near Cow Bay on the Prince Rupert waterfront
I got my first glimpse of north-coast nautical life in 1977 at Function Junction, on the Rupert waterfront, a dilapidated tugboat base taken over by sea-struck hippies. After a potluck supper and an evening of beer and music, a fierce storm swept up the harbour and everyone rushed outside in the dark of night to make sure their boats were safe. I watched out the rain-streaked window, aghast and admiring as they balanced precariously on the heaving wave-slapped dock and retied their lines. They seemed so stalwart and brave. So foolhardy.
from Knots and Stitches, Chapter 1 Coastal Hopefuls
Rupert Harbour and Salt Lakes 2016 video by Seamus McConville
This recent video was made by Seamus McConville thirty years after I lived at Salt Lakes. But it will give you a glimpse of what it was like to cross the harbour to Salt Lakes, take a boat up the slough, and go swimming in the murky wilderness lake. Many things have changed since the Eighties, but the waves and trees and shore remain the same. The video shows how close Salt Lakes is to town, and yet how very wild and remote. The inlet remains accessible only by boat.
Knots and Stitches 
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