Hello From Nanaimo

August 18, 2010

After leaving Sullivan Bay Marina, we headed to Echo Bay Marina for another day of fun. While there we took a hike to Billy Procter’s Museum on the other side of land. This was a pretty strenuous hike up and down steep hills, and in a couple of spots, ropes where provided to pull yourself up the hill. Billy Procter has lived in the area all his life and has made it a point to collect “stuff” where ever he finds it. He admits his museum is full of junk, but it was interesting. After the hike, the marina put on a pig roast which we took advantage of and there was entertainment put on by a group of musicians who are traveling around the area and getting, I assume, free moorage at the different marinas. The weather has finally changed for the better with almost hot clear skies and calm winds.

BILLY PROCTER'S MUSEUM

The next day, we headed to Lagoon Cove Marina which we stopped at on the way north. We took another hike across the land to “The Blow Hole.” This hike wasn’t as hard on us old folk so we took the dogs along. That evening we attended the happy hour and later were again entertained by the traveling musicians around a camp fire and roasted marshmallows. Lots of fun!

Now it was time to seriously start heading south. The next morning it was down Johnstone Strait and it was doing its typical thing of giving us strong winds, but this time they where behind us so we made great progress for the 10 to 12 miles we where in it. We stopped in Forward Harbour and anchored among 13 to 14 other boats. The next morning we went through Whirlpool rapids and Green Point rapids and stopped in Shoal Bay. We usually try to tie up to their dock, but this time the dock was full so we had to anchor for the night. The next day it was though another set of rapids, Dent and Gillard. With all these 4 rapids, it is best to time your transit for slack current or close to it. After we got through the rapids, we headed to Desolation Sound and anchored in Squirrel Cove for the night. We counted about 60 boats anchored here before the day was over. The further south we go the more crowded it gets.

The next day we headed to Refuge Cove for water and doing laundry. We stayed the night on the dock and the next morning we went to the heart of Desolation Sound and anchored in Prideaux Haven and also tied the stern to shore. This is necessary to make room for more boats as it can be quite crowded here. It had been rumored that Oprah Winfrey had been here the previous day and had been helicoptered to a large yacht for a few days. From Prideaux Haven, we headed further south to anchor in Ballet Bay on Nelson Island in the Pender Harbour area and then on to Smuggler’s Cove where we staged ourselves for the trip across Georgia Strait and on to Nanaimo. Bob & Karen had a flight scheduled on Kenmore Air out of Nanaimo for the 17th which would take them back to Seattle and on to their home in Pensacola Beach. The weather is still hot, maybe too hot for some of us, but a nice break from the constant overcast skies we have seen for the better part of this trip.

SCENERY SHOT IN DESOLATION SOUND

ANCHORED IN SMUGGLER'S COVE

SUNSET IN SMUGGLERS COVE

The crossing across Georgia Strait was uneventful with fairly calm seas and we arrived at the Nanaimo Yacht Club and tied up with the help of a couple of fellow Port Orchard Yacht Club members who helped us find a place on the dock. The next day we got Bob and Karen off on their float plane flight to Seattle and then spent the afternoon and evening with our yacht club friends.

Today is the first time I’ve had the time to get this blog updated. We are leaving late because we have another rapid to go though called Dodd Narrows. Our friends Larry and Marci have taken their boat up to Nanaimo and we will cruise together until we get home. The weather is changing and the wind is coming from the south. This will bring more clouds and lower temperatures.