Canoe Journey Journal

The sun broke through the fog, the water flattened, and there was a sense of relief in the Jamestown camp this afternoon.

Three canoes capsized rounding Point Wilson in rough water this morning. One was the Tana Stobs canoe, which was lost while being towed empty. It was recovered hours later.

Another was from a Canadian tribe and I haven’t heard the details of the capsizing.

The third was an Elwha canoe, known as the “Pink Paddle Canoe.” The canoe took water over the bow, swamped and eventually turned over. The crew made it safely into a support boat and no one was injured. However, the crew lost gear and paddles and the canoe was badly damaged. The pullers will continue the Journey in a different canoe.

A Port Gamble S’Klallam support boat found one of the Elwha paddles and a carved seat support floating in the strait shortly after the capsizing.

The paddle was returned to the crew and the Elwha performed an emotional cleansing ceremony at the protocol this evening. During the ceremony, a second Elwha paddle was passed up from the crowd. It, too, had been found on the water today.

Each evening the canoe family gathers in a circle to review the day and discuss plans. Tonight’s meeting was a serious one.

“The worst case scenario happened this morning,” Port Gamble S’Klallam skipper Dennis Jones said. “We’re just lucky we didn’t lose anyone from this canoe journey family.”

There’s no promise the conditions tomorrow morning will be any better than today. Only adults will pull tomorrow and pullers are resting for what could be a long day on the water. Support boats won’t be able to draw up to the canoes if conditions are rough, which means fresh crews won’t be able to board.

If conditions aren’t safe, the canoes will be towed to Elwha. All the canoe family can do now is get sleep and hope for good luck in the morning.