^TM

Dream Vacation at Queen Charlotte Lodge

Luxury in the Wilderness

By Jim Jamieson

The two words crackling over the marine radio jolted everyone to attention like an electric shock.

"Mayday! mayday!"

The voice on the radio was on the edge of panic.

"We're off Wiah Point. We're taking on water. Mayday. Mayday."

Tim Delesalle, a part-owner of Queen Charlotte Lodge and my fishing guide on this particular day, slammed down his cup of coffee as the radio chatter continued.

"Let's go," he said, frantically zipping up his all-weather parka. "The Coast Guard is asking for assistance. We're the closest boat."

I threw on my own wet weather gear and hopped into our 17-foot boat behind him. In seconds, we were flying across the rising swells.

This activity was not what I had expected from my first day at Queen Charlotte Lodge, a luxury fishing resort at the northern end of Graham Island on British Columbia's wild west coast.

The day had started predictably enough. We motored out of sheltered Naden Harbour to the fishing grounds at Cape Edenshaw and I landed the first fish I hooked -- a 22-pound King salmon that looked to me like Moby Dick as I reeled it in close to the boat. From there, the fishing was interrupted by another seemingly routine event -- a dozen or so pod of Orcas that played around with us for the better part of an hour, with some coming within a few feet of the boat.

As the Orcas left and the wind started to whip up, we decided to take an early lunch and head into the Driftwood, a 110-foot former U.S. Army tug that Queen Charlotte Lodge uses as a halfway station and floating cafeteria for its guests.

But lunch was scuppered by the mayday call and now we were crashing across the saltchuk like a crazed skimboard as the mercurial Queen Charlottes weather worsened by the minute. Every 10 seconds as we careened off the peak of another eight-foot wave into the trough of another it was like having a bucket of cold salt water sloshed in your face.

Ten minutes later we were within a mile from the foundering boat and could see that a Coast Guard helicopter and another fishing boat had arrived. Tim abruptly cut the engine.

"We're turning back," he said. "If we go any farther into open water, they'll be rescuing us."

The vessel in distress, as it turned out, was a 35-foot cabin cruiser that was towing a barge. The two men on board had picked a bad weather day to make the journey and the barge had taken on water in the heavy seas and sank -- eventually dragging the boat down with it. The men were rescued unharmed, plucked off the boat by one of QCL's fishing guides.

Despite getting a little wet, my first full day in B.C.'s legendary Queen Charlotte Islands was off the scale. Not that I had expected to be part (almost) of a high seas drama, but combined with the spectacular beauty of the area -- the pristine rainforest and the thousand shades of grey of the sea and sky -- and the opulence of the accommodations, the experience provided by the lodge was incredible.

As far as the fishing goes, even a novice like me has no excuse not to limit out. Each guest has at his or her group's disposal a boat with tackle for both salmon and halibut fishing, a depth sounder and all the bait and leaders required. A fishmaster also patrols the fishing grounds with additional bait and supplies while bringing you up to date info on where they're biting. Personal guides are also available.

Then there's the lodge itself, a sprawling log building nestled in the old growth rainforest with comfortable guest rooms, a fine dining restaurant and a full-service bar. The restaurant's haute cuisine was particularly impressive, with entrees as wide ranging as brazed tuna one day to wild boar ravioli another.

After a long day landing salmon, you're not likely to want to do much more than veg in one of the common room's overstuffed leather armchairs, but there's a pool table, darts and even satellite TV if you want.

One of the many highlights of my five-day trip to Queen Charlotte Lodge was a tour to the nearby ancient Haida village site of Kung, led by Dwight Russ, the son of an hereditary chief, and the same fishing guide who'd saved the unlucky boaters four days before. The heritage site contains the remains of several longhouses, burial platforms, totem poles and a small graveyard.

A stay at Queen Charlotte Lodge is not cheap -- the cost works out to about $1,000 (Cdn) a day -- but it's hard to imagine a more complete holiday. Just about everything is included, from the plane ride from Vancouver to Masset, the 15-minute  helicopter run into Naden Harbour, the food, the fishing and even the catch flash frozen to take home.

Just as the credit card commercial says, the outlay may not be insubstantial but the experience is priceless.

(For further information, check out www.queencharlottelodge.com  on the net.)

Back to TravelLady Magazine