The weather has been horrific over the past month with little opportunity to go cruising. The weather window for the next few days is clear with minimal wind. The temperature is -6C in Nanaimo this morning so we are off. We left the marina this morning and made our way through Dodds Narrows for slack at 11:00 AM . I love this time of year as there is minimal boat traffic on the water other than commercial ships. We are on our way to Pirates Cove on De Courcy Island. The area has a colorful history with a fellow named Brother X11 and their cult followers.
The following is directly quoted from Wikipedia.
Born in Birmingham, England, Wilson attracted a devoted following of wealthy, socially prominent followers. As Brother XII, he established an organization called the "Aquarian Foundation" in 1927, which owed its origins to the teachings of the Theosophical Society. Wilson encouraged the society's members to build homes at the colony headquarters. With the goal of being a self-sufficient community separate from the outside world, the Foundation acquired additional property on nearby Valdes and De Courcy Islands through the donation of a wealthy socialite from Asheville, North Carolina.
Claiming to be the reincarnation of the Egyptian god Osiris, Wilson took command of the colony and its funds, becoming increasingly dictatorial and paranoid, fortifying his island kingdom, accumulating a fortune in gold, and acting unilaterally without the consent of the original Foundation Governors. His mistress Mabel Skottowe, née Rowbotham (under the name "Madame Z") worked the members unceasingly, the tasks given being considered tests of their fitness to advance spiritually. As conditions at the colony deteriorated, the disciples eventually revolted. One man, who had been imprisoned in a cellar on the northern end of Valdes Island, managed to find a rowboat and row to Nanaimo to report the circumstances to the British Columbia Provincial Police. In a rage, Wilson destroyed the colony, smashing its buildings and farm equipment and scuttling his flagship, the yacht Lady Royal.
Wilson and Skottowe escaped in a tugboat, failing to appear in court to answer the charges brought by their former disciples. Wilson is alleged to have died in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1934, but may have faked his own death. He remains one of the most mysterious occult figures of the last century. End quote.
Sherry and I will be walking through multiple trails on the island tomorrow to find the lost gold left behind by the cult. My thinking is that this island has been picked apart from top to bottom. Oh well, the excercise will do us good.
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