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A long day since yesterday.

Speaking of which we pulled out of Degnen Bay on the slack tide and transited Gabriola Pass and headed across the strait. We were greeted with 15 to 17 knot winds and had a hell of a sail for a few minutes. Then things calmed down and we slowly headed across the strait. Eventually we dropped the sails and motored on to Pender Harbour and dropped anchor in Garden Bay. Donna cooked up a delicious meal of 9-bean soup and cod which we ate up on deck.

Not to long afterwards we all headed to bed and that was the end of Day 1.

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This morning the rain woke us around 5 but we drifted back off to sleep. Around 7:30 everyone was on deck and ready for breakfast: strawberries, yogurt, granola and French toast. We are not losing any weight on this trip.

There are 6 of us aboard. Leslie and I have the aft cabin, Tim and Donna occupy the main salon and Bob and Terry are sharing the v-berth. Bob is from Winnipeg and slowly retiring to Pender Island. Terry is also retired although damned if I can remember where he’s from.

After breakfast we up-anchored and swung around to Hospital Bay for fuel and water. Then it was out to Malaspina Strait and another long day.

As soon as we cleared the harbour we raised the sails and put in a few hours on a beam reach. As the winds died and shifted we decided to try out the spinnaker. A big, beautiful sail emblazoned with a rampant bull, the spinnaker is a bull of a sail to control and we all learned a lot getting the damned thing flying. As the winds shifted we managed to pull the spinnaker to the side and flew it almost like a big gennaker. This allowed us to point a bit higher and we kept it out as we headed up the strait.

Eventually however, the wind died and we fired up the motor again. It stayed sunny and calm for the rest of the day. Past Powell River and Lund, through the Copeman Islands and into Desolation Sound. Tonight’s destination is Squirrel Cove.

Some where along the way we diverted to Refuge Cove. But after tying up we realized there was nothing open and the showers were still closed for the season. So we cast off and went back to Squirrel Cove. All tied up, Leslie and I investigated the closed store and showers. Back at the boat an otter was greeting the crew but took off a few minutes after we got back. Dinner was almond chicken and red wine but it was already late and soon we decided bed was in the cards.

Cell is crappy here so pics tomorrow. Maybe. It might be a few days.

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May 11…

We woke up on board the Rainbow Hunter. We’d driven up from Edmonton and stopped in to see the boat and spend the night before catching the morning ferry to Nanaimo.

The boat creaked and smelled faintly of diesel and sleep was sporadic, but it was a successful first night. A quick shower, some tea and it was time to hit the road.

Last night we had picked up a lovely BC Riesling and had a first glass or three on board then followed up with a lovely dinner at the Sandman: wokked squid, some oysters and a bit of sushi. Nice place but I think the waiter thought we cheaped out 🙂

Downtown Vancouver traffic to Horseshoe and then we wait for the ferry. I like Vancouver, but I could never live here if I had to drive these roads everyday. At least heading north we were going against traffic. The ferry was $80. I’m starting to think flying would be cheaper.

We are having lunch with L’s parents at the White Spot then need to grab some booze and a towel for Leslie. One more ferry will take us to Gabriola and then it’s a 20 minute drive or so to Degnen Bay.

Of course we miss the 3:45 ferry by 5 minutes so we have to wait until 5 to get across to Gabriola. Right about now the lack of sleep last night has caught up to me and I am a bit punchy. So maybe I can zone out in the truck and recuperate. I took the opportunity to ditch my jeans. I definitely think I overpacked. And under-boozed. We went with a 6-pack and three bottles of red. There will be a chance to restock in Port McNeil but that will be it.

We arrived at Tim and Donna’s place and unloaded the truck. Eventually everything was hauled down to the boat and we were oriented to the boat.

Afterwards we had burgers and wine on their deck and watched the sun go down. Soon we retired to the boat to catch some sleep.

More tomorrow.

You may recall that L and I are off to circumnavigate Vancouver Island a Tim Melville’s Baltic 42. It will be around a two week trip and the itinerary for the first 6-8 days has been tentatively laid out. Here is Tim’s schedule:

On Monday we meet everyone on Gabriola Island. The plan is to have everyone connect at Tim and Donna’s house for dinner on Monday. We’ll do a BBQ on the deck overlooking the marina at around 6:00pm.

Day 1:

We will try to get away from the dock Tuesday before the high slack at Gabriola Passage at 11:30 at which time the current unfortunately turns against us through the Pass and for the rest of the afternoon out in Georgia Strait.  We’ll head across the Strait and up to the Sunshine Coast for an overnight around Pender Harbour…..if we are making good time and are feeling ambitious we could try to make Hardy Island or even Westview (Powell River).

Day 2:

As I look at the currents at Seymour Narrows or all the other narrows we will need to transit…(Yuculta/ Dent/Greene Pt) it looks like the high slack at these narrows occurs mid-afternoons and we will more likely be looking at a transit on May 14^th in which case we could overnight at Campbell River or if we stay inside we could look at Cortes/ Redonda/ Stuart Islands.

Day 3:

Pick a narrow pass or three to get us into Johnstone Strait for some exciting sailing…

Day 4:

More Johnstone Strait and a night at dock at Port McNeill or Alert Bay or even Port Hardy…showers/ shopping/water/fuel…dining out/ice cream…

Day 5:

Hope Island…Bull Harbour. The last good anchorage before the Nahwitti Bar crossing and Cape Scott and big ocean.

This is as far as I want to predict….we may need 6 days to get to Bull Harbour and after that I envision a night passage ‘offshore’ to get us to Winter Harbour and following that we will consider the conditions for rounding  Brooks Peninsula….

My wish is for us to try to make good time to reach the top of Vancouver Island quickly….this way we will allow more time on the West Coast and have some leeway if we have to wait for any bad weather.

Exciting stuff. I don’t anticipate being able to post much past Port McNeill so all y’all will have to be patient and I will post it all after we reach civilization again.