Puffin Cove

Jami van Haaften is a librarian and author of An Index to Selected
Canadian Provincial Government Publications for Librarians, Teachers and
Booksellers.

The dust jacket for Puffin Cove sports the subtitle “Escape to the Wilderness of the Queen Charlotte Islands”; author Neil Carey and his wife Betty did just that. Carey ended his 13-year career in the U.S. Navy in 1953 and, although he and his wife lived and worked in California, they dreamed of a wilderness getaway.

Trips were taken to explore Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands. In 1963 the Careys leased land they called Puffin Cove, and bought land in Sandspit on Moresby Island. A home was built there the first year with help from family and friends, including sons George and Gene.

Carey’s book traces their trips around the Islands and between Sandspit and Puffin Cove. Unfortunately, this book sorely lacks a map of the Islands. Any discussion of places visited and distances travelled is meaningless unless one is already familiar with the Islands.

The Careys are avid beachcombers and much of their housebuilding materials and firewood came from the shoreline in the area. A cabin was erected at Puffin Cove in 1967, and they were able to live there year round.

Logging and working on the salmon patrol brought the Careys some income, but most of the book describes their adventures in cruising around the Islands, hunting, fishing, enjoying the wildlife and in making a home for themselves in the Canadian wilderness.

Neil Carey has also written Guide to the Queen Charlotte Islands. With his gift for storytelling and wealth of experience, readers can well expect more from this author.