Headed South

John and Deb catch our lines and help us get around into our slip.  It takes no time to decide on dinner at the Garden Bay Pub at 1800 hours.  They are on their way north, we're headed south....but, there's always time for dinner!  After all...you've gotta eat!

Sign on the back path to the pub

John and Deb

Weary travelers need...."A Pint!"

We stay another day to run the dinghy into Maderia Park and the Government Wharf.  The grocery is only a few blocks away and great.  Plus, there's a liquor store and a hole in the wall where money comes out. (ATM described by a grandchild to a friend)  The fish boat is  "in" with flash frozen salmon too.

Nice walk to the grocery

Yum!  We go fishing with a $20 bill.

We plan Happy Hour for 1700 hours on Kairos.  Deb texts me to say that Irene and Dave just pulled in for the night on their way home from up north....more Fisher boat friends...it's going to be fun!

Sparky works his magic on Irene!

We are off early the next morning.  It's just a hop, skip and motor across Georgia Strait.  Although 10 - 15k are forecasted, we find 5k.  It's five hours to Nanaimo as Whiskey Golf (military torpedo test range) is active and we must "go around."  Arriving at noon we find the last spot at the Nanaimo Yacht Club dock and Steve masterfully squeezes Kairos (40 ft. overall) into a 42 foot space....with the wind blowing us off.  Yikes!

Our afternoon entertainment is watching the yacht club sailing school do capsizing drills with their youngest sailors!  I'm betting these kids range in age from 7 to 10.  (hint: they were playing a mix of Musical Chairs and Simon Says with sailing terms in the parking lot)

Yes, that's 12 kids and an instructor in the skiff!

Step #1...dump the boat over

Step #2 stand on the center board and tip 'er up!

#3 now swim around to the stern and climb in!

The young man who is the instructor has these kids eating out of the palm of his hand..."Go!...now, Jump!...now Climb and tip up....now Swim!...now Get In!....You can do it!"  And the encouraging words flowed over the water and with laughter all afternoon.  Then..."Ok everyone!  Swim back to the dock!"  And away they paddle like ducks in bobbing life jackets...all 12 of them. And yes, the water was cold and the distance far!


The next morning we are off for Dodd Narrows one hour before slack water, arriving only 15 minutes early.  We slide through with favorable current and a good thing we went early, as on the other side are more than 20 boats getting ready to charge the narrows on the slack!

A few swirls at Dodd Narrows

The front of the group headed toward us as we exit

We make it to Galliano Island and Montegue Harbour by 3:00 p.m.  It's hot.  There are lots of boats.  We put up the sun awning AND an umbrella for cool shade.  Sparky and Skipper meet another sheltie ashore and his name is....Skipper!  I am seeing double...no, triple!

Sparky says hello to another Skipper!

The sunset is spectacular!!!

The next morning it's off for Genoa Bay on the Vancouver Island side of the Gulf Islands.  We arrive in time for a fabulous lunch at the Genoa Bay Cafe.  A post on Facebook alerts friends Glenna and Wayne that we are nearby.  They arrive to take us to Cowichan Bay for dinner and a little land tour!!

What a Happy Appy Hour with Wayne and Glenna!

Steve and Wayne chat down on the beach below the house.

What a treat it is to spend an evening with more Coyote Beach buddies....but not on the beach in Mexico...on the beach at their home in "Cow Bay."

We are close to home now, and the next leg takes across Haro Strait and down San Juan Channel.  Another four and 1/2 hour trip, clearing Customs over the phone...and tied to our slip by 2:00 p.m.

Asleep at the helm?  Almost home!

I don't think I've ever had a summer sailing trip with 1 day of rain and 29 days of warm, beautiful sunshine.  It's one for the books for sure.  The amazing Pacific high stayed centered over us the whole time.  What a gift!

Now, the job of re-entry.  Steve walks home and gets the car.  I start stuffing the bags with ....well...everything.  It takes two days, but we're home.

On to Cortes Island....a Bit Back in Time

Dog Pile....on the Fist Mate's seat!

Our departure from Big Bay is based on slack water at the rapids around the corner.  Exiting with the end of the flood, sends us out with a surprise three knot current boost!  It's 21.4 nautical miles, which will take us about three hours.  Here's the important question:

Q:  Who gets the First Mate's piloting seat?

A:  Who gets there first!  Skipper, with Sparky piling on top in a race to the finish!  But what about Nan?  Ahhh, she turned her back for a moment in time and....

Our first stop is Refuge Cove for the hardware section of the store, looking for a replacement fuel connector for the dinghy outboard engine fuel supply.  It's raining.  Our first rain of the trip, and a reminder about where we are.  i.e.  Not in a warm southern location!

We pass Pacific Yellowfin in Lewis Channel.  Isn't she a beauty?

Pacific Yellowfin

At Refuge Cove we see a local live aboard at the dock that was anchored out at Squirrel Cove last week.  Hum....the same.... but different!  Very different.

As we pass by they shout out: "Nice boat!  I like the color!" Yes, we are both black!  They also have a black and white dog, and a black and white cat and a very black pirate flag.  They win the black thing.

With our dinghy engine back in operation, we are off for Cortes Island and The Gorge Harbour.  This is a new destination for us and we are anxious to experience it.  The water is totally flat today and the only waves come from passing boats.

See the harbor entrance up there?....between the cliffs?

The Gorge Harbour Marina

       This marina has been upgraded in the last few years.  The grounds are amazingly manicured.

Oh the fancy bench!

Live music by the fancy fireplace...view from up the hill on grassy seats.

There is a great grocery store here, music on the grounds three nights a week, a beautiful swimming pool with a great hot tub, and The Floathouse restaurant.  We try all of it!

We discover Dead Frog beer.....

Yes, this was amazing blueberry pie!

Now, "Whaletown" sounds like an interesting place.  There is a government dock there, an anchorage, a ferry landing and there must be a "town"....right?  It's a long, long hike and we find, yes, all of the above, including a post office, library and church.  A town?  No.  The store has been closed for over a year.  The dock is tucked back in there but full of local boats.  Once upon a time, this must have been a bustling place!  Maybe.  No sign of whales....just one carving on the post office.

Whaletown Post Office

Whaletown library...door open!

The folks on Cortes have definite opinions about salmon farming!

Sign found along road on our Cortes Island hike to Whaletown

The next day is explore by dinghy day.  So we think.  We load up and are off down the harbor...for all of 2 or 3 minutes.  The engine dies.  Check the new connector.  Check the fuel line.  Start it again.  And it's a row back to the boat...

Easy to smile if it's downwind!

Drain out the fuel and find....salt water!

This morning, to be extra sure we had enough fuel for the exploration, Steve fills the tank from the extra fuel tank on deck.  Remember all that sea water that crashed over the decks on the trip up Malisprina Strait???  Yep, found it's way into the extra dinghy fuel tank we carry on the bow....and unknowingly, it is put into the day tank.  Outboard engines have no appetite for fuel with sea water in it!

Success!!

With the Cortes Music Festival in full swing, musicians are wandering the dock this evening.  We joke with a young man passing by our boat with a guitar:  "Hey!  You need to pay to pass this section of dock!  One song will do!"  And so, Cameron Gunn sits down on the dock and announces "This is a song I wrote for Alexandra Morton and the amazing work she does and for all the young salmon: "Roe."  He plays, we listen, boaters gather around...and the songs go on into the evening.

Steve listens into the night.

Lullabye for this little guy

Two full days and it's time to head south more seriously.  The weather is good for slipping down the northern part of Georgia Strait.  An early morning departure is planned for this 7 and 1/2 hour trip....back down to Pender Harbor on the Canadian mainland side.

First Nations People used the ledges on this cliff side for burial platforms

Looks narrow...four knot current too!

Once through the "gorge" cut, we look out south across the water of Georgia Strait.  So different from the day we came up.

Beginning the 40 miles for today's journey to Pender Harbor on Mainland coast.

Are we there yet?

It is a long day, but at the end we find fellow Fisher boat owners / Coyote Beach friends Deb and John waiting to catch our lines in Pender Harbour!  And a great dinner together at the Garden Bay Pub.  Rewards!!

A Stop in Refuge Cove...and on to Big Bay

Some things don't change!

We jump across the channel to Refuge Cove and find the perfect place on the dock.  A tight fit, but a fit.  Yay!  Groceries, as in green things, mostly plants....even here!  And laundry!  Yay!  And electricity and water!  What more could you be looking for after three days of anchoring out?  We plug in, start charging everything we can think of to charge, check out the store, and start those washing machines going.

Pretty full shelves!  

Good thought

We decide to stay the night.  Did I mention internet?  Yes!  Even a great wifi connection.  Moorage here is .70 cents a foot, which is cheap.  Years back we paid .35 cents here.  So, not too bad considering it's 2013.

That night the fuel barge pays a visit.  It backs in with the help of a tug...and in... and in.. some more...right toward Kairos!  Here's the view.....and yes, it's still light at 10 p.m.

Big, big barge....slides in at 7 p.m. and stays all night off loading fuel

The next day we are off to Big Bay on Stuart Island, just past the Yacculta Rapids.  Our timing computations say we should leave at 11:30 to arrive at the rapids just before slack water at 3:38 p.m.

About to enter Calm Channel

Little channel at the end is entry to Yuccalta Rapids

We arrive early.  Drats!  Usually early is fine, even, good.  But early for slack water means the water is not slack...yet....still running with strong currents.  Captain and First Mate have a sorta long, sorta short discussion....um...exchange of words...about when the currents will be "slack enough" for transit.  First Mate gets "one loop around" before entering....a much smaller loop than her definition of "LOOP"....but, a loop just the same.  Our chart track on iPad shows a neat circle before the channel.  The electronic charts show just 1.3k of current will be going with us, when we arrive at the rapids.  That's something that the hard copy book Ports and Passages can't show....it just gives you a way to compute the time of no current.

We arrive at the Stuart Island Community Docks in Big Bay at 1500 hours or 3:00 p.m.  Yes, a little early and it is fine.  There are only six boats here on this night.

Stuart Is. Community Docks

Steve gets this shot: Lovely Evening 

We decide to stay here two days.  We have only been here for overnight stays on our way up to The Broughtons, which required early departures for the next two sets of rapids.  This year we will go no further north, so we decide to see what's here.  The wharfinger tells us that the hike to Eagle Lake is worth the trip.  The locals leave a skiff at the end of the trail and you are welcome to jump in and row out to the swimming dock at the other end of the lake.  By afternoon the next day it's hot enough that we are ready for it!

Off....and on...and on...and off...we go

The hike up the road is short, but then the path through the forest takes off to the right.  We almost miss it, but I look up just in time to see a small carved wooden sign.  This part of the trail is narrow, just a foot (and paw) type of trail, surrounded by intense green.  GREEN.  The trees are tall and barely let bright sun in...and they keep things cool.  Moss coats big old stumps and giant boulders as if it is fabric growing right out of wood and rock.  A few tidy bridges make walking across muddy parts of the trail easy.  Not much water running today in the creeks and streams that feed all this greenery.

Your skiff awaits madame!

More up hill, more turns and twists and just when I think, ok, this is far enough....the "maybe a mile or so" comes to an abrupt end with the sight of this skiff!  Just as promised a small boat is tied and waiting for the next visitor.  It almost seems too nice and I wonder for a moment if there is a mistake?  Right where the words "Property of" are written on the boat....the rest is erased.  I guess this is it!  

Lovely green, cool water

See the swimming raft?

Steve's impressionist photo of lilly pads and water

We all pile in the skiff and row out to the swim raft.  We watch another family depart.  They are towing their small child behind the row boat while he kicks away in his life jacket, mom swimming behind him, dad rowing.  Our dog children hope they are not to meet this fate.

 Once at the raft we tie up and crawl onto the platform.  Now for the business of watching and photographing....eagles!  There are eagles everywhere!  Soon bored with the little freedom granted...a 12X12 wooden platform surrounded by....water, we find Skipper and Sparky have jumped back in the boat, un-noticed by the photographers spotting and snapping perching and flying eagles.

Can we leave yet?

Sporting some white!

Show off!

There's another one!

What's that you say?

After enjoying the eagle show, Steve actually jumps in and swims a few laps around the raft.  Much excitement from the dogs about this.  I finally get in...YIPES!...and out...but truthfully, it did feel wonderful.  We dry quickly as it's a warm breeze and the sun is still hot, even at 5:30 p.m.  

The walk back, as so often the case, does not feel as far or as tiring.  Of course, I notice, it's all downhill.  And we are cool from our jump in the lake.  So today was explore by land, tomorrow by sea.  We will spend the hours around slack water, exploring Big Bay by dinghy.

A long dock adds to the "dog walk" each way

Another sunny day greets us on Tuesday....and we get ready for the dinghy exploration.  It lasts all of 30 seconds.  As we turn the engine up it spurts loudly and quits!  Steve re-plugs in the gas line and as he starts the engine, gas spews out everywhere.  Oh dear.  A quick inspection tells him the connector is bad.  A quick inspection by Nan tells her the tide is still running and we are swiftly being pulled away from the dock and out into the bay!  Row, row, row your boat, Nan!  And with inflatable dinghies...that's not easy!

No dinghy ride for us today....

This dock seaweed shows lots of current....even at almost slack water!

             Ahhh, a day for reading says Steve.  Yes, and editing photos, and writing in journals!