Shearwater BC seems to be a company town. Its history includes a list of the owners. About 90 people live here full time; 1500 live across the way in Bella Bella.
The people here proudly tell us this is the hub for everything for 200 miles in any direction, although there is admittedly cellular service in a town called Klemtu a few days sail from here. And so, we will drop off the end of the 
earth when we leave here in a few hours.
We’ve fueled up, taken on water and kerosene, cleaned all the battery terminals and fixed the major dinghy leaks, though our onboard diesel still vexes us.
Jennifer and I realized that in the three weeks we’ve been gone we’ve only shared an anchorage once with another boat, Ray’s boat Truce.
Lately, the weather has been less than wonderful. We’ve motored when there was no wind, and once when we could have sailed… That still irks me, though for no valid reason.
Jennifer has been taking us into very small, very tight anchorages that require me on the bow looking for rocks. Friday, for the first time, I did yell ‘‘Go Right’’ to avoid a rock.
We’re not putting on sunscreen often enough and it’s cold: in the 30s in the mornings. We wear trousers and foul weather pants, sweaters with a foam life jacket on top, and a jacket on top of that, then a 
scarf, hat and gloves. Thursday, it rained much of our sailing time. Waterproof boots with the foul weather pants (foulies) outside the boots complete the ensemble.
We’re ahead of schedule for Ketchikan, and will be able to slow the pace a bit, though it has become so ingrained on this trip that it will take time to adjust.
Shearwater had a Cinco de Mayo celebration Saturday night, on the 7th of May. We were invited and attended. Close to half the town showed up. We had a wonderful time meeting people and watching the children smash a piñata.
Voluntary contributions were requested at the party. I asked one of the organizers what the contributions went towards. The answer made me smile then laugh: the next party.
We’ll leave for Ocean Falls once we get some cash from an ATM. There are a few places we may visit where tying up to a dock is the only way to anchor. No internet or phone services equals no credit cards.
Then we drop off the end of the earth, for a while.
Texts are the best way to contact us. The bong of texts arriving arriving tells us we have phone service… the 21st century equivalent of ‘‘you have mail.’’
