“Tide Rips and Back Eddies” by Proctor and Maximchuk

Tide Rips and Back Eddies: Bill Proctor’s Tales of Blackfish Sound (Harbour Publishing, 2015) is the second book Bill Proctor and Yvonne Maximchuck have co-authored about Billy’s life in and around the Broughton Archipelago between northern Vancouver Island and British Columbia’s remote coastal mainland.

Following in the footsteps of Full Moon, Flood Tide, this book is full of the many stories about renowned Billy Proctor. In each book, I was amazed at his detailed memory of names, dates, and events.

Tide Rips and Back Eddies begins with Billy’s early life growing up to a young man in Freshwater Bay on Swanson Island. Here he learned to love nature, fish, and make a living from the abundant resources on the land and in the sea. Key points are highlighted with photographs and drawings by Yvonne.

Leaving Alert Bay on Cormorant Island by air.

Billy was an amazing commercial fisherman. There are stories of his many boats, fishing expeditions, his marine ways for boat repairs, and many of his old time compatriots. In between the stories are lots of great fishing tips, especially for salmon.

The parts of the book I enjoyed the most were about life on the coast over the years. Billy told about his mother’s home. Like many along the coast, many of the years were spent in a float home. That’s something I can relate to.

Chapters I really enjoyed were about living in Echo Bay on Gilford Island, his collections, museum and the buildings he has reconstructed from the past. The detailed description of how to build a hand loggers shack was especially interesting.

Artist, Author Yvonne Maximchuk at our float cabin.

I feel like I know Billy from reading both of his books. I felt the same way about Yvonne Maximchuck from reading her memoir Drawn to Sea, but it didn’t stop there. Yvonne came to visit me at our float cabin home on Powell Lake. We felt an immediate connection.

Maybe someday Wayne and I will get brave enough to tackle Johnstone Strait and make it to Echo Bay to see Yvonne and her home/studio, meet Billy, and visit his museum filled with Coastal BC history and evidence of a life well lived.

You can find Tide Rips and Back Eddies online in print and e-book formats at Amazon. It's also available in BC Ferries gift shops and local bookstores. -- Margy