June 21, 22 & 23 - Jedediah Island and Powell River

Unfortunately, I somehow lost my photos for Jedediah Island. This is particularly disappointing since I featured in several daring actions shots.  So, here is a description of what happened on these dates, followed by some other photos that you haven’t seen yet.  If I find the missing photos, I will post them later.

June 21, 2012

Jedediah Island

This morning we departed Gibsons for a very small bay at Jedediah Island.   We are now traveling in a convoy with another boat very similar to ours; the M.V. Ceilidh I.  Aboard Ceilidh I are our friends, Eileen and Bill, their very outdoorsy yellow lab, Casca and and for the next few days, their charming friends, Marg and Mike.  At Jedediah Island, we put both of our boats in a lovely bay.  It is a small spot, best suited for one boat but happily shared, in this case, by our two boats.   In close quarters, surrounded by rock faces and with Bill’s deft direction, we completed a delicate anchorage which included tying the stern (back of boat) to a point on shore, to prevent the boat from swinging sideways.  In this instance, the “shore” was a steep climb up brush-covered rock.  I volunteered to be the climber.  Going ashore by dinghy, I completed my assignment with minimal blood loss; hope it doesn't scar.

With the boats secured, we went for a long hike on the island.   Jedediah Island is a visually stunning and unusual place.  Accessible only by boat, it was previously homesteaded and then privately owned but is now a provincial marine park with beautiful bays that provide shelter to marine travelers.   In the orchard and old growth forest we encountered feral sheep that roam free without natural predators.  There are also feral goats on the island but we did not see them. 

The original homestead remains perched high with an expansive view of the water.   A lone horse, "Will" was reportedly left to live out his remaining years on the island and died at an advanced age a few years ago.  What appears to be the burial site of "Will" is discovered on one of our hikes. 

The enormous driftwood deposit on one beach evidences brutal winters that constantly change the landscape.  The challenges that faced homesteaders here are unimaginable but their attraction to this place is understandable.

June 22, 2011

Still at Jedediah Island

We weren’t ready to leave this wonderful spot and decided to stay another night.  So, today we had our first leisurely day at anchor, doing chores on the boat; there is always something to be done.  This afternoon we let out our prawn trap for the first time.  Prawns live in very deep water and so the weighted traps are attached to a lot of leaded (i.e. sinking) line.  At the surface, we leave a large orange buoy, inscribed with our boat’s name.  Will let you know what we catch…

June 23, 2011

We awoke to the sound of Bill’s outboard engine as he fired up his Boston Whaler (dinghy) for the morning’s chores which included taking the dogs ashore and hauling up the prawn traps.  We hurriedly dressed and piled into our Whaler with Blue.  First to shore for a quick pit stop for Blue, then we followed Bill out into the strait to check our prawn traps.  Pulling up 300 feet of leaded line is hard on the hands and the back.  Rob did that part.  And voila!  Nine prawns!  A small catch, apparently but we were amazed to see any prawns in our trap.  I feel conflicted seeing the prawns moving in our trap; I'll admit that "District 9" comes to mind.  As trite as it sounds, catching (read: killing) the food that we will eat is sobering.   I've never done this before and it definitely evokes different emotions than say, ordering Thai Curry Prawns in a restaurant.    We are so new at all of this, we are like visitors from another planet, stunned by the sheer novelty of every minute of every day.

Back to the boat, we prepared to depart.  First we wrestled with the Whaler – to put it back up top of the big boat (sometimes we tow it, sometimes we don’t, today we needed to stow it), then we wrestled with the stern line to yank it off the shore and lastly we wrestled with the anchor.  Bill et al were ready and waiting for us to finish and catch up.  In our haste, we didn’t do all of our usual pre-departure chores, like putting a cover on the Whaler or wrapping the stern line on its reel. Instead, we just threw everything into the back of the boat and went.  A very full morning.

And then we were on our way to Powell River.  The journey was smooth and allowed Rob and I to spell each other off at the helm and do some of the chores we had skipped this morning.  Shortly after we got going, our engine alarm started ringing intermittently.  Normally, this indicates a loss of oil pressure and if that were true, it could have been catastrophic.  Rob repeatedly climbed down into the engine room, which is a very unpleasant and noisy place to be when the boat is under power.  No oil leaks and good oil pressure, so we stayed cool and assumed (with Bill’s concurrence via VHF radio) that the problem was the alarm and not the engine.  In fact, we stayed so cool that I fried our nine prawns and we ate them for lunch while underway.  They were delicious.

Pulling into Beach Gardens Marina at Powell River, we found able assistance at the dock and in short order, with Rob borrowing a truck and rushing off to the local Napa Auto Parts, we were able to have the engine alarm issue (and a few others) resolved at warp speed.

We have been “at sea” for a week now and it has not exactly been relaxing but it has been absolutely wonderful.  We are exhausted and exhilarated at the same time.  We are now off to the Copeland Islands and Desolation Sound so may be out of touch for a little while...

Here are a few photos:

"Anvil Island"  Obviously

From the outside looking in, Rob at the helm

June 19 & 20 - Across the Strait of Georgia to Ekins Point and then on to Gibsons

This morning we left Silva Bay under grey skies but with no weather warnings to prevent us from crossing the strait.  We decided to tow the Whaler and got off to an inauspicious start.  When letting out the tow line (about 85 feet), I did not notice that the hooked ends, which are supposed to remain attached to our boat, were no longer attached to our boat. It is surreal to see, from a rapidly increasing distance, your dinghy gaily bobbing on the ocean with no one in it.  Upon being informed that we were no longer one with the Whaler, Rob calmly turned the boat around and we started our recovery effort.  It was a good “man overboard” exercise (provided that the man overboard is sitting in a 13’ Boston Whaler).  

Later in the day, in calmer waters (Howe Sound) -  this is how the Whaler should look.

Then we were off across the strait where the water turned choppy.   Blue and I were feeling a bit green but not Rob.  We spotted two dolphins and a number of seals on our crossing.  It was a long day but we were rewarded by stunning vistas as we traveled up Howe Sound to Eakins Point on Gambier Island. Gambier Island is large and rugged with terrain reminiscent of the West Coast Trail.   

There's no one here but us

The most perfect snail

After dinner, we went exploring in the Whaler and with our depth sounder, noted depths of up to 200 feet very close to shore.  But for a beautiful pair of Common Loons, we are the only ones at dock tonight and it is very dark and silent.

June 20th
We have arrived in Gibsons and met up with friends.  Tomorrow we will head to Jedediah Island for a day or two and then on to Powell River by Thursday,  June 23rd.  Probably no internet access until then.  Bye for now.

June 18 - Silva Bay, Gabriola Island

Today, we towed the Whaler and traveled to Silva Bay, a beauteous (already running out of superlatives...) spot where we will overnight before crossing the Strait of Georgia.  We were here three times during the winter when it was windy, rainy and desolate but always spectacularly beautiful.  Tonight we had a great dinner at the restaurant and knock on wood, all systems are working.   Tomorrow night we will dock at Ekins Point on Gambier Island and then we're off to Gibsons to meet up with our mariner friends.  I'm posting this on Sunday, June 19th - Happy Father's Day Dad!

Sunset at Silva Bay

The Silva Bay Shipyard School

June 17 - Part II - Our first night at anchor on the Salish Sea

It has been a wonderful day.  We left our marina this morning with some trepidation.  We were on our way to Clam Bay – a small bay between Kuper and Thetis Islands where we would anchor overnight for the first time.  Kuper Island belongs to the Penelakut First Nations.  The journey to Clam Bay was all sunny skies and smooth sailing.

We checked the weather (wind) forecast and determined which part of the bay would give us the best shelter (and least anchor drag).  On arrival, there were a few other boats in our chosen part of the bay (we still love it when our decisions are confirmed by the presence of other boats).  Anchoring went well with a few hitches that were quickly resolved.

Sitting pretty in Clam Bay

Then, we needed to quickly get the Boston Whaler down from the flybridge (the roof) and another first:  get Blue to the nearest shore in the Whaler.   We did that with relative ease although on our return, I enthusiastically fired up the outboard and left Rob stranded on shore.  He thought that was hilarious.  He did.  

A man kisses his dog on the dinghy.  A man in a dinghy kisses his dog.

After dinner, Gilbert Smith from Kuper Island paddled over to our boat and showed us his beautiful yellow cedar carvings.  We chose this salmon to remind us of our first night in paradise and for good luck with our intended salmon fishing. 

And finally…you guessed it, back to shore with Blue for his nighttime constitutional.  Blue is taking to his surroundings like the trooper we always knew he could be!  At just the right time, he bounds out of the boat and into the surf and with some trickery and pleading, can be persuaded to jump back in. 

Clam Bay is spectacular and aptly named, the shoreline being absolutely covered in shells. 

And now, the sky is pitch dark, punctuated only by the tiny anchor lights of our neighbours.   So we  will “splice the mainbrace” (thanks, Ron) and we will sleep well tonight.

June 17 - Here we go

This morning we are off, on our way to Clam Bay at Thetis Island.  That's not very far, as the crow flies but it will take us about five hours to get there.  In Clam Bay, we will set anchor for the night and start the process of taking Blue ashore in the Boston Whaler, about three times a day.  We haven't had to do this before now because we've always docked at marinas.  With a dog who doesn't like to walk through a puddle, wading ashore should be...interesting.

The boat is truly ready now.  We have serious provisions including a well-stocked galley and freezer, a good first aid kit including an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) which  (G-d forbid) we have both been trained to use.  Nevertheless, we are out of milk (gah!) and will not have anywhere to buy it for days.  So, one more trip to the store and then we will be off.  Really.

Pre-departure:  Blue refusing to get onboard

We will miss our marina in beautiful Tsehum Harbour.  Here is a "before" photo on the morning of our departure.  Hopefully, the "after" photos (of the boat and of us) will not be significantly different.

June 15th - Day 1 on the boat

Tonight we fled the ridiculous post-Stanley Cup mayhem of Vancouver (how awful) to catch the last ferry to Sidney.  Now, a world away, it's 12:30 a.m. and we are sitting in near silence on the boat, contemplating the journey ahead of us.  Blue is loudly gnawing one of his old bones, water is gently lapping against the boat and the occasional insomniac goose squawks.  No complaints.  Tomorrow we will have a last day of errands and organizing and on Friday, we are off!

... sorting and storing, sorting and storing

Buried in supplies and spare parts, Rob is sorting tools.

We have the essentials now:  first aid kit, a ridiculous amount of high fibre cereal and a variety of alcoholic beverages.  Today, we learned what to do if a log pierces our hull while we are merrily driving along.  Turns out the real trouble starts when the log falls out of the hole; that's when water starts pouring in.  Apparently, our response would include someone Rob jumping overboard to push a piece of tarp through the hole.  This is eerily similar to the emergency treatment for a sucking chest wound.   If Rob will take care of the pierced hull, I will definitely handle any sucking chest wounds.  We also purchased a strange hammer for banging out damage to the propeller.  This repair also requires submersion.  Sorry, Rob.  Will post again next week when we are ready to go.  This will get more interesting when we get moving.  It better.

Testing, Testing 1,2,3

Hello friends.  We depart on June 17th.  So at the moment, we are still "provisioning" the boat.  This entails buying, installing and storing all of the things that could possibly guide us, feed us, comfort us and/or save our lives in the next eight to ten weeks.  Turns out, that is an expensive and labour intensive enterprise.  We will be "out of range" for periods of time during our voyage and when that happens, the blog will "go dark".  Don't worry, we'll pop back up whenever we hit a "hotspot".  But if you haven't seen a new posting for oh, say three weeks, then maybe you should be a little bit worried.  Just kidding.  We are traveling in a convoy with experienced mariners.  Back soon.