Sea glass and sea pottery are exactly that: glass and pottery! The difference is that the materials – usually broken and lost in the ocean – become eroded over time as they are tumbled in the salt water against sand, rocks, and other natural agents. After many decades, the glass/pottery often become rounded, and develop a frosted appearance. It's nature's way of taking something man-made, and making it part of the earth again.

There are many documented shipwrecks on the west coast, but the ones closest to Yuquot were The Boston from 1803 (a few miles north of the cove), the SV King David in 1905 (near Bajo Point), and the MV Schiedyk from 1968 (at Bligh Island). The Pacific Ocean's northern current flows east/south east. (A few years after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, items from Japan began showing up on Yuquot's beaches.)

Any items that were on the vessels of the nearby wrecks likely had glass items on board such as drinking glasses and bottles, medicine bottles, jars, and miscellaneous tableware. Porcelain or heat-processed clay items including plates, bowls may also have been used. Ships that were older than 1900 likely had inkwells, as the reservoir fountain pens were not around until the early part of the 20th century. 

Sea glass or sea pottery found on the beach may just be the last remnants that made their way to the surface of the ocean from these wrecks. Or...maybe not. As unromantic as it may seem, glass materials could have also been discarded overboard from fishermen or boaters around the Nootka waters. Finding sea glass or sea pottery often begs the question: "Where did it come from?"  Don't hold your breath. The ocean will never reveal these secrets! It is often impossible to identify sea glass and sea pottery that has been well-eroded for many decades. If one is lucky, there may be a piece with some legible printing, but often times, the glass is broken into small fragments as the ocean's current whips the glass against rocks and other objects over time.

In 2015, I hand-picked several pounds of sea glass and sea pottery from the beaches of Yuquot, along with interesting shells and rocks – all with permission from my husband's family. Normally, items found on Mowachaht lands and in the waters are not to be removed by visitors, unless permission is granted by the people who are native to the area. (Marrying into the family has some perks.) 

The draw to Yuquot isn't just the history of the Indigenous people who have long-inhabited the area for tens of thousands of years, but the history of the Europeans who made first contact, and continued visiting the area to work, fish, and spend leisurely time – since Cook arrived in 1778. These glass and pottery pieces are from those people. Where were they from? What might they have seen? What is the story behind their glass that washed up on the beach decades later, if not centuries later? While I'll never know, I can say that these man-made materials that the ocean has claimed and turned into gems will always be beautiful and mysterious treasures.