August 22 - Home!

Today we had a great lunch at Saltspring Island with our friends Eva and Edward (visiting from Santa Fe) and then we were on our way home.  We left Saltspring Island in fog and rain and arrived at our home dock in Sidney under clear skies.  Tomorrow, we will take the ferry to Vancouver.  It has been an amazing summer. We are glad to be home but I'm quite sure we'll do it all again next summer...

But enough about us, how was your summer?

Tsehum Harbour, Sidney

In our spot at our home dock

August 21 - Ganges Harbour, Saltspring Island

From Pilot Cove, we traveled through Dodd Narrows.  Dodd Narrows is very narrow and has dangerously strong currents.  It is important to time your passage for slack current.  Of course, that's what everyone else is doing too.  This results in a line up of boats at either end of Dodd Narrows.  We got in line this morning and it was very interesting to travel through in a convoy, everyone wanting to make sure they got through before the current resumed.  

Lining up in single file to enter Dodd Narrows

We arrived at Ganges this afternoon and at the marina where we had made a reservation, we proceeded to the assigned slip.  In congested and close quarters, Rob managed to put the boat in the right spot but it was not easy and we did not fit.  In fact, the back of the boat hung out of the slip and the bow, if it had not quickly been tied down, would have bashed into a piling.  With the boat tied up and spilling out of its slip, we talked to the fellow in charge.  On hearing and seeing our problem, he informed us that the actual length of our boat was greater than 47 feet (i.e. and not the 45 feet we had inidcated in making the reservation); therefore, our dilemma was own fault.  It was a ridiculous conversation.  It's like someone telling you that there is a third storey on your two storey house  of which you were previously unaware.  Boat owners always know the exact length of their boat.  Long story made shorter:  we moved to a sixty foot slip.  This move, in a brisk wind, was also tricky.  The only thing worse than docking in a crowded marina is having to do it twice.  I helped by standing on the bow and yelling to Rob “Whoooooa, our dinghy (side tied for this maneuver) is going to clip that sailboat….phew, you’re ok now”.  

With the boat nicely docked, we had a walk in town and a good dinner at a very nice restaurant.  Tomorrow we will meet friends for lunch and then we are making the last leg of our journey, to Sidney, B.C.

August 20 - Pilot Cove, Gabriola Island

I am a little tired today.  Last night at Hornby Island, the wind howled and our boat spun round and round with the anchor chain making a lot of noise.  I was up a few times to walk the outside perimeter and try to determine if we were any closer to shore or to the other boats than we had been when we went to bed.  Rob was not bothered by the turbulance or outside noise.  He was awoken by my patrol however and said "Is that you, I thought pirates were on board .... I’m sure we’re anchored……just fine zzzzzz”.  Anyway, I set the anchor alarm (first time) on our chartplotter to notify me if the boat moved more than 15 meters.  Fifteen meters was an arbitrary choice (in case you’re curious) but it is also the length of the boat.  Two hours later, the alarm went off but we were still ok; I did another walkabout to find that we had swung 180 degrees but were still clear of all solid obstacles.  Happily, the alarm did not disturb or even wake Rob.  Nope, just me.

Tonight we are anchored in a pretty cove at Gabriola Island, off the Strait of Georgia.  It is not overly quiet and the wake from the passing ferries is knocking us around a bit.  Lots of artificial light from passing ferries and flashing lights near the cove entrance seem strange compared to our northern anchorages.  It has been a very hot day and we are glad of the strong wind whistling through every porthole but sleep may elude us tonight.   However, we feel close to home now; I can see Russia North Vancouver from my boat.   Tomorrow, we will line up with other boats to go through Dodd Narrows at slack current and steam ahead to Ganges Harbour at Saltspring Island where we look forward to a visit with good friends.  

The view from our stern at Pilot Cove, Gabriola Island

A beautiful night sky

A sunset walk on the beach

A ferry goes by

August 19 - Ford Cove, Hornby Island

Hornby Island is renowned for its beautiful beaches and I have noticed different birds here (a plus for me).  We anchored for the first time in days and on our first foray ashore, Blue picked up a dead seal and shook it.  I was grossed out and furious; he was smelling bad before the dead seal.  I have been  cranky for a few days now.  Not sure why but I think I am just tired and ready to be at home.  I do cranky very well and Rob is no slouch in this department.  The two of us on the boat.  At anchor.  And it’s super hot now (which we both hate). And we’re both cranky.  Fun times.  But we know that we are starting to go crazy and so we laugh about it.  Ha ha. Ha.  Where are Eileen and Bill when we need them?  

Chrome Island near Hornby Island

Interesting sandstone formations on the beach

August 18 - Comox

We made it as far as Comox today and successfully traversed the dreaded “Comox Bar” which requires avoiding a line of underwater boulders upon which numerous vessels have reportedly found themselves aground.  Good technical directions are available and we followed them to a tee, crossing uneventfully. We docked at the public marina and were able to walk into town with Blue and have great sushi for lunch (it’s been so long…).  Comox is a beautiful small city and one of several coastal cities that boasts the possibility of both golf and skiing in the same day – true I'm sure, but who really does that?  We had a great dinner on the patio of a lovely little restaurant.  While we ate, Blue lounged on the adjacent lawn with a bucket of water.  Comox is also well known as a military base and we remembered Rob's father, Bill, who was stationed here for naval training during WWII. 

Fishing boats across the dock and snow-capped mountains in the background

August 16 & 17 - April Point Marina, Quadra Island

Today we traveled through Discovery Passage and Seymour Narrows to the beautiful April Point Resort Marina.  It was our third long and challenging day of travel. Today's challenge was negotiating  Seymour Narrows which has such strong tidal currents that it must (in our boat) be traversed at slack current. This stretch of water has a storied history; Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows was responsible for 119 shipwrecks which took 114 lives.  In 1958 Ripple Rock was blown up.  Literally.  With explosives.  Even now, the narrows are very hazardous and as we made our way through, I read aloud that even in slack current, numerous boats have capsized with resulting fatalities.  Rob asked me to stop reading aloud.  Slack waters in Seymour Narrows do not look slack.  There are numerous tidal rips and we felt a bit on edge until we were all the way through.  About one-third of our way into the passage, a huge yacht, pulling a huge "dinghy" sped by.  The wake from that boat tipped us sideways so severely that all of the unwashed dishes in the galley (and they have been piling up...) crashed into the sink.  I watched our dinghy with baited breath to see if it would be swamped.  Some people have no manners.

Just before we entered Seymour Narrows, a tug pulling this load
called us on the radio to say that he needed the middle of the channel.
We said ok.

"Slack" water in Seymour Narrows

Discovery Passage is beautiful.

At April Point Marina we are relaxing on the boat on a sunny, hot afternoon and looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow.

August 17 - after four loads of laundry, boat cleaning and showers, we are going to the fancy resort restaurant for dinner.  It has been a wonderful relaxing day and tomorrow we are off to Comox.

August 15 - To Blind Channel via Johnstone Strait

We had originally planned to return to a beautiful anchorage (Forward Harbour) today but Blue is still limping and until his foot has healed a bit, we do not want him jumping from dinghy to shore (as he is required to do when we are at anchor) every time he needs to go "out".  So we have traveled further to dock at Blind Channel marina.  We were able to go with our "Plan A" route and travel via Johnstone Strait because the winds were light this morning.  It was a long journey and we needed to get the timing just right for "Race Passage" and "Blind Channel" where strong currents can be a problem.  It is a beautiful sunny day and the day's travel went well but we are glad to be settled at this lovely marina for the night.  And as a bonus, we're going out for dinner at the well-reviewed restaurant!  Blue is still limping but on the mend.  So, all is well.  I am still thinking  about yesterday's whale though...

A beautiful day in Johnstone Strait