Vacation Log 2005

Bert & Carey Vermeer

All dates are hyperlinks to the log for that day. The shaded days are where Carey was aboard. Without shading I was single handed, travelling north towards Desolation or south, homeward bound.

This log was written in two parts. The original log, as written and spoken into a recorder at the time, is printed in this normal Arial type. For the most part it is entered with limited editing (removal of curses and typos). The additional text has been inserted in italics to clarify locations, descriptions and add colour to the log.

Sidney, B.C.

25 nm

It’s partly cloudy today with lots of clear sky. It’s warm enough that when I was working on the boat with Doug McNab trying to get this computer to work, I was down to a T Shirt. There is a hint of a SW breeze so far, not like yesterday when it was a solid 12-15 from the SW.

Going into John’s Pass, big flood that’s just beginning. It’s a 14 foot flood so that will help us a lot. The current here in this narrow pass is only about 1.5 knots so far.

Just out of Swartz Bay, the BC Ferries terminal, ferry is late. Lots of current as the flood starts to build. Clear skies with a very light SE breeze.

Close to Cape Kepple on Saltspring Island. The sails are up and we’re sailing. There is a light SE breeze, just enough to get us up to 4 knots, 5.2 over the bottom. I called Dick and left a message thanking him and Marj for the opportunity to be able to do this again. We’re "racing" a Crown 34 with a spinnaker up. Good luck, he’s already ahead.

Abeam of Burial Island in Samsun Narrows. The current is helping by about 2 knots, not a ripple on the water. Even the Crown 34 has given up.

Leaving Maple Bay, a glass table as far as the eye can see. It’s hot enough that I’ve taken my shirt off.

Just past Grave Point out of Sampson Narrows, a 7 – 8 knot NW breeze right on the nose. The sails are up. No other boats out here.

That didn’t last long! The wind is too light and we have too far to go. Just off Crofton pulp mill and the power is back on. We’ve still got 6 miles to go and the current is against us here by about half a knot.

Approaching Telegraph Harbour. Flat calm. Millions of jellyfish in the water. Endless.

Tied up at Telegraph Harbour Marina. The only sailboat here. It’s warm with a light SE breeze to keep it cool. Time for Trixi to have a short walk.

The sun has long since set and the red sky is darkening. Two other sailboats have come in. One is parked next door, a 47 ft Beneteau with five women aboard. They’re up from Seattle going to Desolation. The other is a Bavarian 32 with three guys. A charter from Bosuns. A very pleasant afternoon doing nothing. Had a pork chop for dinner. Had a look around the marina and took Trixi for a walk down to the Ferry Terminal. It’s getting dark now and it’s almost time to get inside as the dew falls. Very quiet in here tonight, only about 9 boats in here. Very nice day.

15 miles

On our way out of the marina under a very high, thin overcast, the sun is still warm. I had a good night’s sleep in the quarter berth, walking up at about 0300hrs for a pee break and then back to sleep until 0715. Went for a walk first thing of course. Took Marina Drive to discover that it’s a circle crescent, eventually coming back to the marina. The channel between Thetis and Kuper is about 1 ft deep at low tide, very shallow. I don’t know if I want to risk the boat through that anymore! I had a simple breakfast of coffee cake and coffee while the sun dried out the cockpit. The store was supposed to open at 0900hrs but there was no-one there. Trixi and I sat on the varanda, watching the humming birds and idle island life go by. At about quarter to 10 Barbara Hamilton showed up from the residence next door, opening the door for her shortlegged dog who, to her surprise, behaved himself with Trixi. I went into the store and told her who I was. She was pleased to meet me and I had a look at the boats that have reserved dockage for the 1^st Islander Rendezvous coming up in July;

Wild Hare Bob & Lisa Everson

New Spirit John and Jant Jensen

Holole’a John & Marion Rodall

Passat Jurgen & Karin Hbeln

Frendy Charlie & Jennifer Park

Rihannon (I don’t know, never heard of this boat)

Natasha Vermeers

The BBQ will hold about 60 lbs of coals and they do have a coffee urn that will hold 100 cups and one pound of coffee.

Anyway, we’re on our way with the hope of a SE wind today. Nothing on the water as yet. Weatherman is predicting SE 15 this afternoon north of Nanaimo, switching to NW 15 –20 overnight and then light tomorrow afternoon. If the weather is good at Nanaimo we’ll carry on to Smugglers today. It’s a big flood today (15 ft) with maximum at Dodds at 1410hrs. That should help us up there.

Abeam of Round Island, approaching Dodd Narrows. We’ve been motor sailing for the past 20 minutes as a breeze picked up from the NE. Hard on the wind with just the jib out but it got us up to 6 – 6.5 knots. No wind up to now and the clouds are getting thicker and lower. Very, very little boat traffic out here.

Through Dodd Narrows all by our lonesome with about 4 knots of current. Interesting whirlpools on the outside! Only a very light ripple on the water, it looks like it’s going to be power all the way today.

Into Nanaimo Harbour, the first floatplane just went by.

The only boat tied up at Newcastle Island! There are plenty of boats anchored out, most of them appear to be the usual cast of permanent residents that move anywhere.

The sky is turning red to the west. Here’s hoping that’s a sign for tomorrow. They are still predicting 20 knots from the west tonight, easing in the morning with variable winds in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the rising tide starts after 1200hrs so we’ll have to wait and see what happens. The westerly has just started up as I was typing this and it’s cooling off rapidly. Trixi is meeting/greeting on the dock.

26 nm

Woke up to rain on the roof this morning and an incessant drip beside me. That one leak is driving me around the bend! I had a very good night’s sleep last night. Only one other boat was here when I crashed at about 2200hrs. Then, just after putting the book down and crawling into the quarter berth, a loud persistent diesel kept getting louder and louder. At first I thought it was the ferry coming back in. But it just kept getting closer. Finally crawled out again and found a small ex fisheries patrol boat backing into the slip next door. A late arrival with a loud engine. Back to bed!

Then it was breakfast of egg muffins (2) and then a bit of clean-up. I re-sealed the leaking head fitting, getting the blue dye all over my hands. Fortunately, the dye cleaned up with the Fantastic/TSP combination. I haven’t figured out where the starboard side leak is yet. It doesn’t appear to the stanchion base.

I’ve just made a coffee, CBC is on the radio and Trixi is sleeping on the settee. The weather forecast is for clouds with occasional showers, winds rising from the SE this afternoon to 20 knots. Perfect (except for the rain part)! The falling tide turns as 1400hrs and we’ll get underway around noon some time. WG is active today so I think I’ll head up to Winchelsea Island and scoot across the north side of WG and then over to Texada. If the wind holds we’ll try to get up to Hardy Island this afternoon. If there’s no wind out there we’ll do the south crossing and get up to Smugglers today. The latest wind reports were from around 0740 and 0900hrs this morning. Kind of useless.

All decked out in my rain gear along with harness and tether, we’re motoring away from Newcastle docks in spitting rain, headed for Newcastle Channel and Departure Bay. There’s a light SE breeze and the weather guys are still predicting 20 this afternoon. Trixi is below.

We’re just abeam of Horsefall Rk, the sails are up with a 5 – 7 knot SE breeze over a bit of a lumpy sea. We’ll be headed for the south end of WG, not enough wind to go straight downwind to get to Winchelsea Island. We’ll head to Smugglers today. We’re screaming along at 2.6 knots with the last of the ebb helping us.

Just abeam of Five Fingers Island, the wind still light and we’re hard on the wind trying to get to SE corner of WG. We may have to throw a few tacks in! BC Ferries is departing on the way to Horseshoe Bay. The light rain has let up, I can put my glasses back on. It’s lumpy and Trixi is starting to lick her chops. This doesn’t look good!

We’re about two miles from the SE corner of WG and some patrol boat is pacing us! Keeps forcing me to tack away and when I do of course, it’s almost like heading back to Nanaimo! Trixi is up on deck (I brought out a cushion and her towel just to get her up here).

Almost made the corner of WG! That damn patrol boat kept paralleling us until good old BC Ferries from Horseshoe Bay appeared out of the mist. And he was was further inside the box than I was! As soon as the Ferry appeared the patrol boat lit a fire and was gone back north, after some unseen target. Bastard! He was just forcing me to the corner! Proud to be a Canadian! The wind is up a bit, probably at 10 knots and it’s a close reach to the NE corner of WG. Nothing in sight.

We’re still about 8 miles from Smugglers but we’re on the other side! The wind has lightened again and we’ve altered course and are not running on a broad reach at about 4 knots. Fortunately the current is with us and boosting the speed over the ground to about 5 knots.

I tried sailing wing & wing for the past 30 minutes, straight downwind from Merry Island. It’s gotten very light with left over slop. The power just came on. Six miles from Smugglers. The rain has just started again.

Abeam of Merry Island light, speed over the ground is 6.4 with the current, still 4.5 miles to go. Just called Carey to let her know we had made it across. No wind at her store either.

27 nm

The muffins are in the oven, about 15 minutes to go before they are ready. Breakfast is kind of late this morning! It’s a high overcast morning with just a hint of a SE breeze drifting in as I type this in. It was flat out this morning in Malaspina Strait when Trixi and I went for a 2 hour hike. I’d forgotten the trails around this park. We went up the trail to the road head, past the beaver lake/swamp and dam, and over to Fishermen’s Cove to see the outside water. Flat. Then over to the loop trail around the head of this cove. I’d never been on it before and it’s quite nice. Ended up sitting on a high rock overlooking the entrance to the cove and watched a C&C 30 from Secret Cove drift by over a flat sea and strong current. Obviously going south with the big ebb. We have to wait till about 1400hrs to take advantage of the equally large flood that will follow. I managed to get a strong signal on the cell phone and when I turned it on there was a message to call the office. Tim answered with no knowledge, I spoke to Ron and he told me that Ian was working last night so the call must have come from him. Nothing new at the office, Ron is envious of where I am.

I called Mark at Waypoint and ordered a handheld portable VHF that Carey can pick up before she comes up. It’s long overdue to have one, I could have used it yesterday with the patrol boat. The I phoned Carey and let her know about the VHF, she will pick it up tomorrow on her day off. Nothing new with her, she plans on mowing the lawn today while it’s still dry (it rained hard there yesterday). She misses walking the dog (and presumably, me!).

I almost forgot to mention the mosquitoes here. Lots of them! One just buzzed past my face. Pain in the ass last night, a couple of them got past the screen and hovered around my head, always in the ears! Very unusual here!

The tide is dropping fast now, more and more rocks are appearing. The muffins are almost done and so is the battery in this laptop. Time to charge it up and see how breakfast is doing.

We’re headed out of Smugglers at a low tide. It’s a bit shallower than yesterday. A light SE breeze out there, solid overcast. The sails are up and we’re on a very broad reach, headed for Texada at 3.5 knots.

We’re almost abeam of Francis Pt on Francis Island, just west of Pender Harbour. We’ve been wing-on-wing for about the last hour, slowly drifting downwind at about 4 knots. The tide has not changed yet so it’s a bit sloppy out here. The wind is picking up a bit, threatening five knots after a gibe that has put us on a very broad reach for Cape Cockburn.

The wind has eased quite a bit, down from the five knots we were maintaining to about 4 knots. We’re 4.3 miles from Cape Cockburn yet. Still some slop.

A mile and a half off Quary Bay and the power is on. The wind got really light after the last entry and it’s time to make some distance. Decided to go to Stuart Bay on Texada Island today. They’re calling for NW winds tomorrow so it’s prudent to take advantage of the bit flood this afternoon along with a light SE wind. Should be there about 1800hrs

We’re abeam of Cape Cockburn, about a mile off the point. The wind is just starting to pick up but it’s only about 6 knots. The tide has changed and the water has smoothed out. Very few boats out.

We’re off Albian Point, 6.2 miles from Grief Pt. The breeze has picked up a bit and the engine is off. We’re wing-on-wing again, drifting downwind over smooth water. We should be at Grief Pt about 1800hrs.

Approaching Westview Docks, time to take the sails down. It was a fast reach after turning the corner, fast but cold.

Darkness is falling while I sit in the cockpit typing this in. Trixi is on the dock, watching for strangers. We’re tied up at dock 6 on the Government Dock, rocking slightly in the incoming swells. We’re right at the breakwater opening and I can see almost all the way to Campbell River if it was clear enough. Fortunately, the weather forecast is for calm winds tonight and SE winds again tomorrow. I’ve worked out the waypoints on the computer and still have to load them into the GPS but it’s only 15 miles to Copeland Islands, probably 20 to Gorge Harbour. That may be our destination tomorrow.

Back to when we arrived though. I was pretty cold by the time we tied up. We’re at the end of finger 6 facing the open sea. It was the only slip available. The office was already closed and if we leave on time tomorrow (0700hrs) it will still be closed! This place is a bit of a dump. It’s not like we need anything here anyway. Trixi and I walked the length of the town along Marine Rd and found nothing even remotely inviting. The docks are filled with fish boats and the like. I was expecting a more tourist oriented town. There are a few sailboats in here but I don’t know if they are permanent or touring. One guy from an Ontario 34 came over earlier. He knew about Islanders, he was going down to Pender Harbour tomorrow to meet with a buddy of his with an Islander 36, Frendy. Frendy is coming to the Rendezvous.

Now the mosquitoes are eating me alive again. Not having been here over the past 15 years, I don’t know if mosquitoes are common here or not. It’s time to enter the rest of the days information, then get the boat ready for tomorrow and enter waypoints in the GPS.

28 nm

The sails are up and we’re reaching off at 5.5 knots, headed for the SW corner of Harwood Island. I got up this morning at 0530hrs, planning on an early start to beat the warfinger to the cash. I didn’t want to pay for services I did not have access to. The washrooms (in a temporary building on bricks) were locked so I couldn’t use the showers, none of the services in town were open, and I didn’t use any power. Off we go then. Took Trixi for a walk and then down to the boat, get everything ready and cast off, then start the engine and idle out of the harbour. There is even a SE breeze at about 12 knots already. The prediction is for SE switching to SW and eventually NW later this afternoon. Cloudy with showers. Right now it looks pretty forbidding to the north, clearer behind us over Westview.

Abeam of Rebecca Rk and then the end of Harwood Is. Still on a broad reach at about 5 knots, BC Ferries coming over from Vancouver Island passing to port. It’s chilly this morning, I may have to put another coat on. It’s also very likely that it’s going to rain on us eventually.

The engine is back on, the wind is at five knots right over the stern. Time to put some miles on.

The wind is back, we’re reaching towards Vancouver Island to get some speed. A bit of chop with the wind against the tide. Trixi is back on deck, licking her chops.

The wind is lightening. I’m in rain gear as it looks like it will rain momentarily. Ahead looks clearer than to the SW. I can see Mitlenatch Island out of the mist now. Nothing but fishboats and crabbers. The seas have calmed somewhat, we’re still 15 miles from the south end of Cortes Island. The engine is coming back on, not enough wind.

Everything is below, including Trixi. The wind is switching to a westerly, the ripples in the water confirm that although the left over slop from the SE continues to roll us. We’re still 9 miles from Cortes Island. It looks like the majority of the rain is behind us, going from west to east. We’re abeam of Mitlenatch Island. We’re getting a few sprinkles. Heavy rain behind us

Abeam of the south end of Savory Island. The wind is from the WNW at about five Knots. Moved over to the Savory Island side, less current against, the water is flatter. Still a few sprinkles.

Abeam of the south end of Harnando Island, back in deeper water. We got too close to the shallows and were in 25 ft of water for a while. The rain is getting closer, Vancouver Island has disappeared in a dark curtain.

No wind to speak of, took the main down to keep it from slating. Can see the bell bouy at the end of Cortes Island. The rain has started.

Just rounded the bell bouy on Cortes. It’s raining good and hard. No wind. We’ll go see Mason Landing first. There are other fools out here with me. Two sailboats headed for Campbell River and one leading me towards the Landing.

Half a mile from the entrance to Gorge Harbour. The worst of the rain seems to be dissipating. It’s still sprinkling lightly. Had a look at Mason’s Landing and it looked pretty exposed to any winds so I decided for Gorge. There is lighter sky to the west. Everything is pretty wet.

Rain is falling gently on the roof, the heater is on, the lantern is lit, and the brandy is good and hot. We’re settled in for another quiet night (I hope). It’s still practically daylight out and the wind has died completely. Trixi is finally crashed for the night, a long sigh and curled up on her blanket on the port settee, one eye still open on me (going ashore again are we, eh, eh, eh?).

Now it’s time for a read and then bed. It’s toasty in here with the first mosquito buzzing by. I hope no more.

In the words of Super Tramp, "It’s raining again…". At least we got a walk in before the rain started falling. Got up this morning at 0730hrs after a very good night’s sleep up in the V Berth, much better than the quarter berth. Heard the rain on the roof earlier and went back to sleep! Anyway, up at 0730hrs and it was temporarily dry. Off to the government dock in another long row. I suppose I could have used the engine but it’s better to work the kinks out of my back to row. We only went for a short walk before the rain started spitting down again. Back to the boat. Read a book for a while with coffee, turn the heat on. It was only 11 degrees in here! There’s a slight wind from the west with the weatherman calling for sunny periods this afternoon. Ha! I’ll have to see that to believe it. I made up a shopping list for tomorrow, then a repair list for the boat. I cleaned and repaired the drawers, then started looking for the leak in the starboard side rear window. Would you believe that the entire upper side of the window is loose and leaking! Damn! That wasn’t supposed to happen. That was that old tube of 3M 5200 again. I’ll have to get a new tube tomorrow at Campbell River and try to remove the entire window and re-seal it. In the meantime there are pots in place to catch the spill.

Now it’s time to work on waypoints for tomorrows trip to Campbell River. I use the computer to call up Nobletek, locate the waypoints, then enter them on th GPS. It’s laborious but better (and more accurate) than doing it from the paper charts. It sounds like the rain has slowed down a bit.

Just back after our evening walk. It’s amazing how good the day has gone when the evening brings a bit of dryness and sunshine! You tend to forget about the miserable day that’s been. Not that it’s been all that bad, just a lot of rain. Not heavy all the time, but persistent enough that I couldn’t get out without getting wet. (Just let out more rode. It’s blowing a good 10 knots NW in here with gusts to 20. It’s supposed to calm down later tonight but I’m anchored in 50 ft of water. I’ve got 250 ft out now. That should hold!)

This morning was a slow start with no destination in mind and rain falling. I had toyed with the idea of going over to Campbell River today (on into that area anyway). But it was miserable and why go in the rain. I entered all the waypoints for the next two days. It’s a 16 miles trip tomorrow. We’ll get started about 0700hrs so that we can be at Campbell River at about slack water or the beginning of the ebb. Carey isn’t in until 1700hrs or some time after that I think. Lots of time to clean up, re-supply and get groceries. I made up the grocery list and as I was doing so, we ran out of propane! Good timing or what! I screwed in the adapter and the 1 lb bottle, it’s heating us up nicely again.

Anyway, back to the rest of the day. Around 1300hrs the rain started to let up a bit. I got energetic and fixed / cleaned all the drawers, then started repairing the leaking window. Pried the outside frame as best I could, placed the tube of 5200 into hot water and let it warm up. The, using a putty knife, sqeezed as much into the gap as I could while it was hot. Worked very well but the first hard rain will tell. Although it spit for the rest of the afternoon, it didn’t rain hard enough to be able to be certain that it’s water tight.

Then it was back into the books for a while, waiting for the rain to stop. During one of the mini storms a small Columbia 26 came in with an older couple on board, probably in their 50s (wait a minute, I’m in my 50s!). No furling, no dodger and a very small tarp over the boom. Then, while I was below, they anchored to windward of me, much too close for comfort. They have since moved to the end of the inlet, a long way away without any comment from me. They looked cold.

The marina here is quite nice. During the afternoon walk Trixi and I walked along Whaletown Rd and down to the marina. The have nice campgrounds, a small well stocked store and propane! Too late in the day to go back to the boat to get the tank. The also have a small restaurant and inn rooms. Although there were only a few power boats there yesterday, there are now also five sailboats, two of them large charter boats. Speaking of boats, the trawler next to me (also with an older couple on board) is still here from yesterday too. Talk about never coming outside. I know they are on board because I can see them move occasionally, but they never come out. The dinghy is still up on the davits at the back. And their generator will probably come on later tonight again when they go to be. The boat’s name is Carpe Diem from California.

Of course, noise isn’t going to be a problem tonight. The Gorge Hall is having a dance tonight. It’s at th head of the government dock and the band was warming up earlier today. Let’s just say that they have good amplifiers and need a lot of practice!

18 nm

Sails are up, it’s a light NW breeze. There is a hint of sun ahead.

The wind is gone, motor is on. I have a distrust of the GPS heading, it seems too close to Marina Reef, I can’t see the buoy yet. I will error in the side of safety and stay east of the lay-line.

I’ve located the buoy and GPS was right. I can also see the end of Cape Mudge. There is still a hint of sun to the west and also a hint of a NW breeze ahead.

Sailing abeam of the buoy at Marina Reef. A light NW breeze and we’re hard on the wind. Had a conversation with Carey, she’s waiting for the bus in Sidney.

In past Fransisco Point. It’s flat out and the sun is warm. I can make out the bell buoy at the end of the reef, lots of guys out fishing this morning. It must be Sunday!

Pulling into Discovery Marina. Channel 66but we haven’t called in. Plan to go to the fuel dock first.

The hatch is closed to the cold wind, we’re tucked in for the night. Sitting at Discovery Marina in a southeast gale with predictions of 40 knot SE wind overnight with "an intense low" coming over. The weather gurus guessed that one right, didn’t they!?!

Once I got here it was a compressed afternoon. I went to the office and paid for moorage ($30.00) and got directions to the nearest propane outlet (about a five minute walk up the highway, a Husky station on the right side of the road, can’t miss it). Loaded up the propane tank into the backpack and started the five minute walk with Trixi. About half an hour later the Husky came into sight! Loaded it up and now it’s even heavier! By 15 lbs! I would have taken a cab but I had Trixi with me. A long and sweaty walk back to the boat, hard on the legs and back. I’m not 25 anymore! Anyway, that was done and hooked back up. Then it was off to lunch without Trixi. Finished that and off to Super Foods for groceries. $105.00 later I walked the buggy down to the dock with all the supplies. Then it was off to the office to get ice and an adapter for the power cord (20 to 30 amp connector). Three blocks and three bags later I’m getting tired! It’s also getting close to 1500hrs. Off to find the bus depot. That didn’t take long and after a short wait Carey arrived at 1520hrs, right on time. Very empty bus. Trixi was very happy and cuddled up right close once we were back on the boat. A couple of drinks and we were off to the Super Value looking for meat for the next week. They agreed to freeze our selection for pick-up tomorrow. Once that was out of the way it was back to the boat in the ever increasing wind. Cold too. I went and had a shower once the laundry was done and, once that was all sorted out and a couple of glassed of wine later, we headed off to the Rip Tide Marine Pub for dinner. We just got back from that. I took Trixi for a short walk for a pee and then, here we sit. The rain is just starting to fall. I hope this blows over during the night and tomorrow is dry and calm.

Quite a change in the weather today. Right now the sun is setting in the almost clear western sky. There are still lots of clouds around but this afternoon was quite pleasant. The wind finally died and it warmed up.

Back to earlier today though, this morning Carey I went for a walk to town without Trixi. We found the library, opening at 1000hrs, and continued for our walk in town. Once 1000hrs went by we got back to the library and signed on to e-mail. I found that there were four more enquiries about the Rendezvous. I sent them all the updates that I had. That took more than half an hour! Then it was off to lunch at the White Spot. We sort of missed breakfast! While we were having breakfast the VanIsle 360 boats were coming in, fast. They had the current with them in Discovery Channel and it was still smoking from the SE out on the water. We heard that more than once spinnaker was blown out and someone off one of the catamarans went over the side. We ended up talking to Tom from "Rampant" (boat parked next to us at the marina in Sidney) who found us on our boat. They were being conservative on the Davidson 40 "Numa" and didn’t break anything. All the boats are out of here tomorrow at 0800hrs so the showers and laundry will be clear by then. The rest of the afternoon was taken up by walks to the far end of town (not very far anymore!) and building Caesars. We bought a rechargeable vacuum for the boat to keep the dog hair under control. I even went to sleep in the cockpit just before Tom found us. He woke me out of a very deep sleep! We went for a couple of walks along the docks (one after I spilled wine all over the cockpit!@!!), looking at the boats that were racing. Some big, some very small! The weather improved during the afternoon and eventually ended up being sunny and warm. Long over due! We did a small Boston Pizza for dinner, neither of us were very hungry. We got a call on Carey’s phone about the Rendezvous as well. I’ll check my e-mail again tomorrow to send that person all the info. Now it’s almost bed time. We didn’t go anywhere today but we’re both tired. Into the relax mode I suspect.

Just powering out of the marina under sunny skies and a very light NW breeze. It’s still flooding just a bit but we’ll catch the tide change at Seymour Narrows at 1230hrs. It’s going to rain today because of all the clouds around, but right now it’s very nice and warm. All the racers were out of here by 0800hrs, powering past Seymour to start today’s race at a fish farm just north of the narrows. We got up reasonably early, Trixi and I got up at 20 to seven and went for a walk, coming back at about 0740 with Carey still in bed. We ended up going to the Whitespot for breakfast and then I took a shower while throwing the laundry into the machine. Off to the Library again to check e-mails. Found the one from the phone call last night, sent the graphics to all the newcomers and signed off. Carey was at the shower when I got back with the last of the groceries, frozen meat from Super Value. Two more bags of ice, fill up the water tank, drain the dinghy and we were set to go. Just as we were ready to cast off, mooring lines in hand, a guy walks up and introduces himself as Dave Dankin, one of the guys coming to the Rendezvous in July. He lives here and saw our boat last night while we must have been out wandering the docks. Nice guy and we’ll see him again in July.

Powering past Race Point, still sunny and warm, very light winds. Current is still negligible. The clouds are getting thicker. We’re looking at this huge house up on the hill at the point, must be all of 10,000 square feet with a small cabin cantilevered out over the water!

Abeam of Maude Island, Seymour Narrows. Not much wind, not much current, the clouds to the west are very dark, the sky to the north is clear.

Abeam of Separation Point, about 2.5 knots of current with us, the water is a bit choppy even though there is no wind.

Turned the corner at the Chain Islets, headed for the entrance to Small Inlet. There is a huge dark cloud over the entrance with sheets of rain falling. There is also wind coming from the cloud that has now spread across Discovery Channel. I’m into my rain jacket.

Approaching the entrance in the rain. It’s cold. Carey is boiling some water to make coffee to keep me warm.

The heat is on and the hatch is shut (with the canvas drop). It’s cold and wet out, a fine rain falling. The stereo is on softly and Trixi is resting with eyes closed. Another day is almost done. After arriving here in the rain it cleared up again. We had a few moments of sunny skies admit the high cumulus clouds. It was a very pretty picture with vivid blue skies, brilliant white clouds and clear water. Makes the trip worthwhile. The lone powerboat is so far away he may as well not be here. There’s a small waterfall off to the south of us that we can hear. Trixi and I went ashore earlier in the afternoon and found it. It’s quite small for all the noise, hidden in the trees. Anyway, it was back to the boat around 1630 hrs with a huge blue/black threat to the west drifting slowly towards us. We fully expected to be inundated with rain soon. That never happened, the cloud was moving so slowly that it never arrived with the rain. We both read in the cockpit for a while and soon it was 1830hrs, time to start dinner. It was cooling off by that time so I turned on the heat and got the BBQ going for the salmon filet. We made some pasta to go with it and it was very tasty. Just filling enough. Carey did the dishes while I took Trixi ashore one last time. I finished reading "Last To Die" by James Grippando, interesting read. Carey just finished Cosmopolitan (July issue, not June, Carey says). Carey’s face is red from the sun today and mine is burning nicely, probably just as red. Carey will be in bed soon. I’ll wait till it’s a bit later (and a bit darker). We have 120 ft of rode out in 20 ft of water so we should be just fine.

The clouds have moved in and it’s completely overcast now. The prediction is for overcast tomorrow with a few showers. We’re headed for Octopus Island Marine Park, about 3 hours away. We have to anticipate the current through Okisollo Channel and should be out of here by 1000hrs.

We’re on our way out of Small Inlet at low speed. It’s cloudy this morning although the sun is trying to peek though. There is no wind and there wasn’t any last night. We had some very light sprinkles of rain this morning as I took Trixi to the beach. At some point last night I got up. I could see stars out of the hatch and decided I wanted to take a look. There was a high haze cover and the brighter stars were shining through. No moon though, it must have already set, it’s at almost half full. There was a false dawn towards the northeast, the kind I saw years ago when it never really got totally dark this time of year. The dew had not fallen and the cockpit was dry. Very pleasant although cool enough that a few minutes were enough, then back to bed. Then this morning Trixi and I got up at about 0800hrs and went ashore to the small island under cloudy skies. We sort of slept in because we had to get out of here at a reasonable time to make the tides in Okisollo Channel before the ebb started at 1230hrs. I made up egg muffins for breakfast and here we are, on the road. We have 10.9 miles to go (according to GPS routing) even though our distination is only 2 miles away as the crow flies (or around here, the eagles).

Abeam of Bjour Rk. Large corporate fish farms are everywhere in here. Active logging as well. The current is with us as we head towards the Lower Rapids. We’re getting about ½ a knot boost. We came across what we thought was a log in the water with eagles sitting on it, eating something. Turns out that it’s a whale, possibly an Orcas, belly up in the water, obviously dead. The eagles and vultures were ripping it open. The smell was a bit strong so we kept our distance.

At the Okis Islands, entering the Lower Rapids. The current is increasing a bit and ahead you can see the disturbed water of the current exiting the rapids and forming whirlpools. This is only a 3 ft rise in tide at Campbell River! There shouldn’t be that much current and I’m not expecting all that much. The tide book indicates that the rapids here are based on Seymour Narrows for time with a maximum of 11 knots (presumably at spring tides).

We’re coming into the narrow channel that leads to the anchorage in the Octopus Islands. We’re out of the current and into placid waters. We sort of washed by the entrance to Hole-in-the-Wall, slicing sideways across the current to ensure that we wouldn’t get swept by. There are half a dozen kayakers sweeping by us, headed out into Okisollo Channel. There is even a young deer eating along the shore on the small island to port.

Friday, June 17^th Date Octopus Island Marine Park

I woke up at some point last night because my bladder was about to rupture. It was just starting to get windy, coming from all directions. I got up, hit the head and then went up on deck. The half moon was hanging high in the sky, framed by cumulous clouds. A very pretty picture. I let out another forty feet of rode to make sure we weren’t going anywhere and then back to bed. A good night’s sleep. Woke up this morning at about 0715hrs and finished the book I was reading yesterday. Then finally got up at about 0745. Trixi was not anxious to get up so I worked on the log for a while. Now Carey is up and putting the kettle back on for tea. Time to close this down.

Friday night in the big city! Here we sit in the rain, the heat is on and we’re drinking hot coffees with liquors! It hasn’t been all that bad of course but tonight is a bit depressing. The weather forecasts has this low stalled with the high well offshore and not moving. Not a good forecast. We were hoping for sunshine over the weekend! Doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

Saturday, June 18^th Date Octopus to Refuge Cove

It’s pissing down rain with not a break in the clouds that we can see. We’re powering out of Octopus Islands with not a whisper of a breeze and it looks like everyone else is still asleep. It rained hard all night. I don’t think there was a break in the downpour at any time! The dinghy had about 6 inches of water in it this morning! And we found some leaks along the port side windows! We’ll have to look at those when we get the chance. At least the starboard side is sealed up and the V Berth is dry as well. Anyway, this morning I got into complete raingear to take Trixi to the beach in the rain. We didn’t spend a lot of time there and were soon back on board. Carey wanted scrambled eggs so I got to work on those. Tasted very good with mushrooms and cheese. Very filling. We weren’t in a hurry as the flood tide was running until 1500hrs or thereabouts. The maximum current through Hole in the Wall was at 1020hrs at 8 knots. I want to get through there before it changes. We’re headed for Refuge, 20 miles away.

Tied up at Refuge. Not at all busy here. Time to get some laundry done.

Refuge Cove is a "village" that supports one enterprise, the store. There are about 10 families that reside here in the summer months, only about two that stay the winter. There is no electrical power to the "village" although a telephone connection does exist. The store has a diesel generator that powers up at 0630 and shuts down at 2000hrs every day. Everything depends on the generator. The store has a very good supply of everything a cruiser may need, including fresh fruit and vegetables. There are laundry and shower facilities although both are in a sorry state. The fuel dock is kept busy as it’s the last one for cruisers heading further north. In the busy summer months a boater arriving in mid morning to early afternoon will probably have to circle in a standby mode until space opens at the docks (fuel or store).

Sunday, June 19^th Date Refuge Cove to Squirrel Cove

We motored over to Squirrel Cove on a flat sea, not a ripple. It’s only three miles from cast off to anchor down. The tide was very low and there were only four boats in here when we arrived at 1030hrs. Once the anchor was down I set about to repair the water leaks on the port windows. We’ll have to wait for the next downpour to see if I’ve been successful. Then we got into a cleaning jag on board with Carey vacuuming, me cleaning windows and toilet. Once that was out of our system we sat around and read our books and magazines for a while. Eventually we decided to take the dinghy over to the store, about a mile away. A long motor in the dinghy. The store hasn’t changed at all. We bought a 12 pack of pop that we hadn’t at Refuge, got rid of our garbage for two dollars, hell of a deal. Of course, we only had two small bags after a week on the water. Back at the boat we read again, the tide was on the way up and the lagoon was flooding again. Trixi got all excited about bees flying around. Talk about hyped up, she wanted to get out in the dinghy by herself! Not! It took most of the afternoon to calm her down. By about 1900hrs the rack of ribs and my steak were on the BBQ along with corn on the cob that we picked up at the store. Very tasty! Carey has some leftovers for tomorrow as well. Now it’s sitting back in the cockpit relaxing (not that we’ve done all that much today) with a glass of wine as dusk falls. We are probably going over to Prideaux Haven tomorrow. No much wind in the forecast though.

Monday, June 20^th Date