Last edited: February 14, 2004
Jan-Dec 2001 Jan-Dec 2002 Jan-Jun 15 2003 Jun 16-28 2003 Jun 29-Jul 8 2003 July 9-25 2003 July 26-30 2003 July 31-Aug 14 2003 Aug 15-27 2003 Aug 28-31 2003 Sep 1-30 2003
The journey started 7 years ago! We bareboat chartered a 40' Jeanneau called the Ollalie in 1995 out of Anacortes, WA. In 1996 we chartered a 40' Jeanneau called the Silkie again from Anacortes Yacht Charters. We worked with several smaller boats through the Island Sailing Club with charters in Portland (OR), Des Moines (WA), and Kirkland (WA). In 1998 we chartered a 50' Beneteau called the Pentimento from the Moorings in Tortola, BVI. We also chartered a 34' Catalina out of Cooper Boating, in Vancouver, B.C. in 1999. Finally the urge to own our own sailboat was overpowering. Yes, we had owned an American Skier competition ski boat for 6 years. But we had really been taken over by the sailing world. We found the boat on the Internet. It was moored in Canoe Creek, Sidney, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada. Her name then was Vera Mist, but destined to be our Dream Chaser.
If you don't sail, then take classes, practice, and talk to other sailors about how to deal with this or that. In this last year, 2002, we have taken Spanish 102 and Sue went on to Spanish 103. We took 30 hours to get our Celestial Navigation certificate from Hal Spolstra. George earned his SSI scuba certification and already has 25 dives in. We took the Offshore Sailing Class through Cooper Boating of Vancouver, B.C. and received our certification from the Canadian Yacht Association. Also, a weather class added to our weather background.
June 16, 2003 will be our Sail Away date! After retiring on April 30 from General Tool & Supply Co., we have been spending 6 weeks in final preparation for our leaving Tomahawk Bay in Portland.
Preparations Continue
12 December 2002: Dream Chaser is at the St. Helens Marina on the Columbia River in St. Helens, OR. Speed Carter is completing a cabinet project for the port and starboard salon storage. Matching the interior blonde color has finally been successful! Speed found some white birch that has beautiful grain features. Dream Chaser will be back in Tomahawk Bay by the 1st of January.
The final projects in preparation for leaving have included a Monitor wind vane installation, a Village Marine water maker installation, a purchase of a Viking 4-man life raft, this website preparation and publishing, changing mailing addresses, finalizing finances, selling the house and the 1992 red Camero, updating all insurance coverage's including health, and other sundry checklist items.
Moving On Board
When we sold the SW Montgomery Drive house in Portland, many tears were shed. The house had become home for us for 22 years. Sue's family had owned it since 1910. So when time came to sign the Deed of Sale over to the new owners, the heart-strings had Sue's writing hand tied up in knots. But we took the step, and moved aboard our new home shortly afterward in mid-March 2003. How do you shrink from 3000 square feet to 300 square feet? The first several weeks included a 'refining' shuttle back and forth between storage ashore and storage on the boat. Some items even came around again back on to the boat.
Routines develop. Morning breakfast with National Public Radio is a must. A look at the barometer lets us know what the weather is changing to. A shower and coiffure is taken ashore in the Marina facilities. And then we attack the day's checklist and calendar of events. Lunch flies by. And all of a sudden it is dinner time. A stir fry, a BBQ, fresh veggies, salad, beverage...but no ice cream since we have no freezer. So we occasionally treat ourselves to dessert ashore.
Our evenings have included an occasional DVD. We must be better about logging on for e-mail. Some routines are important for survival!
Retirement
The last 23 years at General Tool & Supply Co. have been quite a ride! We saw the company grow to a $52 million operation with 145 employees in 5 states. We weathered two recessions, and are currently experiencing one of the most difficult economies in the company's history. We have many wonderful memories from company picnics, BBQs, potlucks, and conventions, to the wonderful humor and goodwill shared by our friends at General Tool. We wish everyone 'fair winds and following seas'.
Schooner Creek Boat works
A last minute 'pit stop' at the local boat yard was thought to be prudent. We noticed that with all the supplies, provisions, and spare parts that we had brought on board that Dream Chaser was lower in the water. The hull paint that helps keep the marine algae and growth from taking over the boat needed to be painted above the previous water line. If we didn't do this, the gel coat and paint that was on the side of the boat (but now under water) would quickly grow algae and barnacles and every live thing that swims in the sea! Dare I say, we raised the 'water line' about 5 inches. This will also allow for some 'splash' above the actual water level.
Today, June 16th, the Journey Continues! We are leaving Tomahawk Bay Marina on Hayden Island, Portland for points north! First we will head down the Columbia River to Astoria, over the Columbia Bar, up the Washington coast line to Barkley Sound on the southwest side of Vancouver Island. Some of our friends on Sun Ray, Aquarius and Salty Dog will be in the area at the same time. We will head on to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island for the July 4th celebration.
We left Portland as scheduled on Monday morning June 16th and sailed straight through to Barklay Sound to avoid forecasted weather. The ocean was a bit bumpy that night and quite rough and windy the last 9 hours before we got here. So far the weather has been partly cloudy with no rain here since we left.
Barklay Sound is a large area with three large, open channels where the wind sweeps right off the ocean. On the south side is Bamfield, a little town 5 hours from the nearest town by gravel road. Not many people here except a few tourists who brave the roads to see this little outpost with an oceanic research station and the artists, of course. We visited one gallery at a hillside home. The artist is a California surfer bum from the 70s, but his sculpture was quite nice.
On the north side of Barklay Sound is Uclulet, a commercial fishing center, not too friendly towards sailors. And in the center is the Broken Group Islands, a Provincial Marine Preserve which now includes trails along the west coast, both north and south of Barklay Sound. Lots of kayakers enjoy paddling and camping in the Preserve. Cruising boats anchor in various coves and between islands, protected from the offshore winds (mostly).
We have been enjoying the company of friends who own the same kind of boat as Dream Chaser, Ray Brown and Anne Thompson, experienced cruisers who have been to Mexico on their boat. After 7 days together where George learned lots of fishing techniques from Ray and I gained a number of new ideas about cooking, provisioning, and storage ideas from Anne, we have now gone our separate ways. About the time we sail down the Straits of Juan de Fuca towards the San Juan Islands, they will sail back to Portland.
Yes, our time is almost over here in Paradise (or wilderness, whichever way you want to look at it). We sail on June 28-29th to Friday Harbor to join Sue's family for the 4th of July week-end. We look forward to familiar places, family, and other cruising friends who will rendezvous with us throughout the summer.
For those of you who didn't get our first installment of our newsletter, we departed Portland as scheduled at 8:05 a.m. on Monday, June 16th. Due to a weather forecast Mom heard including Small Craft Warnings for the Columbia River Bar, we "went for it" that night, realizing the Bar forecast was for the following morning with the ebb tide. We crossed the Bar at 9:30 p.m. with the slack current before the flood tide. We called a tug on the radio pulling a large barge of sawdust who had just crossed the bar. The captain assured us it should be flat seas by the time we got to the bar and he was right. His barge had at least 100 brown pelicans riding along, sharing space with at least 100 seagulls. The tug captain said he was paid by the weight of his load, so he encouraged the birds hitchhiking along. :)
We arrived in Barkley Sound 54 hours after leaving Portland. We had rough seas during the 1st night for about 6 hours, and again starting at daylight for our last day, 8 hours, until we entered Barkley Sound. The wind came straight at us so we motored the whole way. Friends who had left Portland a week earlier met us at the moorage as soon as we arrived. We spent the next week with them, gunkholing (cruising in the islands) around Barkley, fishing, clamming, and sailing whenever we found enough wind in the protective waters on the west coast of Vancouver Island. On June 28th we began our trip into the Straits of Juan de Fuca towards Victoria and the San Juan Islands. Calm winds once again forced us to motor the whole way. But we really didn't mind. The sun shone brightly both days and the scenery was simply spectacular: the Olympic mountains on our right and the forests and small communities of Vancouver Island on our left. We did see a pod of orcas immediately after a whale watching boat swept by us in the opposite direction, all eyes forward. We turned around to see about 10 of the animals in the distance.
We just survived 10 family members on board for the 4th of July week-end on San Juan Island. Thankfully, all our guests slept on shore, but everyone wanted to be together for meals! We had loads of fun with everyone, and the weather could not have been better. We spent the 4th at Roche Harbor where every boat over 30 feet in length in the Islands comes to celebrate. We simply couldn't believe how many beautiful, huge yachts were there.
Our son arrived 2 days before everyone else, so we took him sailing. There is a deep, wide channel on the border between Washington and Canada where the orcas are often spotted. We were actually hoping to find there the little Dahl's porpoises which we had seen in years past. We did see a couple of them, but while we sailed slowly along, drifting in the current and occasionally finding some wind, a large pod of orcas appeared along with gathering whale watching boats. We stayed off, away from them, satisfied in seeing them about 1/4 mile away. At the time we were motoring, and the whales turned the corner of the island and swam south. We put up our sails at that point and began sailing slowly north. But the whale watching boats must have turned some of the whales, because one male and about 10 females began swimming towards us. They passed right in front of our bow as we slowly sailed along. Witnessing the way some of the fast boats would whip around to get in front of the whales, we began to think the whales really are being corralled and harassed, even though the boats are staying at least 100 yards away.
Now we're off to explore some of the bays in the San Juan Islands we haven't seen before and to revisit others. We plan to head north into Canada the middle of July to return to Friday Harbor by the end of September. We plan to explore Desolation Sound, revisiting Princess Louisa Inlet on our return.
Dream Chaser has come south for a week of racing in the Whidbey Island Race Week, a regatta held every summer by the Oak Harbor Yacht Club. We signed up on the bulletin board a few days before the race and got several calls from boats needing more crew. We soon became aware, as the boats began arriving, that we would be sailing with the big boys! Looked like fierce competition, and we ended up right in the middle of it as you will read below:
We're having quite a time crewing for "Wired", a 34' Olson racing boat from Anacortes. The 1st day of the regatta we went out 2 hours before the race to practice together. The 1st race began at noon and lasted almost 3 hours. The bay outside the marina is about 5 miles by 3 miles in size, and we're utilizing most of it, with most of the legs from one end to the other. Since the wind comes across Whidbey Island into the bay from the Straits of Juan de Fuca, we are either tacking upwind or running downwind with the spinnaker. So far there have been 2 races each day starting at noon and ending around 5:00 pm, sailing back into the harbor in a parade that lasts at least 45 minutes. Dock parties start at that time and cocktail hour at the park next to the yacht club before the formal announcements of who won the 1st three places in each class.
There are 7 classes of boats, each starting 5 minutes apart, so as each class starts, you can see them all line up together at the start and cross the starting line pretty much at the same time. The spinnakers coming at you as you tack down the line are simply spectacular. Our captain, Ron Elliott says there are 110 boats registered. We have seen 4 from Oregon. One is in our class, a 35' Tartan from Hood River, and they haven't given us much competition. We have 9 boats in our class, all 34-36' boats, but there are a lot of smaller boats, and a few 40'ers. We recognized one boat from Tomahawk Bay, there is another one from Eugene that bent a spreader the 1st day in a tangle with another boat, but they were back the next day. Most of the boats are from Seattle north, a few from Canada. We hope to be able to take some pictures today or tomorrow.
George is working the winches, a real meat grinder! I am basically rail meat since I am small and not very strong (or so they assume). During spinnaker runs I stand at the mast and make sure the boom stays out. With so many boats, we can't always go in a straight line, avoiding other boats or just following the wind, so there is sometimes danger of an accidental jibe. I don't see other crews doing this, but I'm happy to be of some use.
The 2nd race on the 1st day the wind piped up to 15+ knots. We continued to use full sails, but all sorts of things went wrong. People yelled a lot at each other, tempers were lost, and every turn seemed to go awry. We had a couple of overrides on the winches, and the spinnaker launches and take-downs proved difficult in the heavier wind. We were surprised that we didn't come in last. The skipper, I think, realized that he really didn't have a very good crew (one man had never sailed before and some of the crew members needed some instruction) so the 2nd day there was much less pressure, hardly any yelling, and we worked together much better, making only a few mistakes throughout the day. The wind was strong all day and we didn't have the skills to handle the big jib, so we put up the small jib and were slower. We will find out this morning how we placed (we know it won't be in the top 3) when they post the numbers on the windows of the yacht club.
Ron Elliott brings his wife as crew too. She is very nice, about our age (Ron turned 56 yesterday), and very experienced in racing. At this point she is ready to stop racing and just cruise. We hope to have them come on our boat this evening after the races. We had to anchor out since all the slips at the marina are reserved for the racing boats.
Of course Ron is a wonderful resource, answering our questions about tactics, sail shape, and boat rigging. He has lots of great stories to tell about racing, buying "Wired" in Portland and bringing it up to Anacortes, and cruising the San Juan's with his yacht club. We look forward to more each day. He is definitely a high strung individual, very competitive, strong, and quick. He drives the boat so skillfully, there is never any fear that he will run into any of the other boats. We had 2 buoy roundings yesterday that were simply astounding with the boats inches away from one another, all bringing spinnakers down and setting up for the tack. A professional photographer in another boat behind us was taking pictures like mad. Hope to see those tomorrow. We'll be sure to be in one or more of them.
All in all, it's very exciting. We're learning a lot about racing!
***It's all over. Quite a week filled with boat preparation, cleanup, parties, and finally getting dinner (usually by 8:30 each night) and to bed. Although "Wired" came in 7th overall out of 9 boats in her class, the last 2 days went pretty well with 10 crew on board. The additional manpower provided additional strength as well as ballast for correcting the tilt (heeling of the boat while tacking). We had lighter winds. On Wednesday they actually delayed the start of the racing due to the lack of wind, but we finally had enough to get started, and then it built stronger and stronger during the day.
It was a phenomenal learning experience of yacht racing. The intense competitive pressures were partially offset by tremendous repartee and sense of humor. This was definitely a week we will look back on with excitement and awe!
While in Oak Harbor one night, the wind blew at 15 knots into the night. Our inflatable dinghy which we call "Zoom" suffered a punctured tube on our stainless steel wind vane on the back of Dream Chaser. It subsequently capsized in the heavy chop, and our new Mercury 8hp outboard was submerged until morning. After getting the engine back on the stern pulpit of Dream Chaser, George didn't want to do anything with the engine other than hosing it down with fresh water until we got to Anacortes. Arriving on Sunday we were happily surprised that Cap Sante Marine was open with a mechanic in the sales office. The mechanic sold George an aerosol can of OMC Engine Tuner, a rather volatile chemical designed to clean out the carburetor of any engine. So George happily took out the spark plugs and sprayed this chemical inside. With the spark plugs removed he pulled the chord to get the engine parts moving. Of course all we got was a sputter of gunk out the spark plug holes. Finally we were only getting the Engine Tuner spurting out. George would have to explain all the steps he took, but eventually I saw him spraying the stuff into the carburetor and then tried to start the engine. It sputtered a little on the first attempt and actually started on the 2nd pull of the chord. While gunk spurted out the exhaust, George continued to spray the stuff so it would be sucked into the cylinders. Before long we had smoke coming out just as a 2-stroke engine is supposed to operate. At first the engine didn't run very smoothly. It begged for more of the Engine Tuner, calming down each time George sprayed more into the carburetor. Finally, the gunk stopped coming out the exhaust and the engine began to run as it did when new, coughing a little over the heavy dose of oil in the gas. (The engine is still in its break-in period, requiring twice as much oil in the mixture for the 1st tank of gas.)
Of course, by this time we had patched Zoom so we could put the engine on its transom to run/fix the engine. We took a deep breath, put on our life jackets, and went out into the bay for a 15 minute spin to make sure the engine was going to be OK. The engine ran very well with no problems. But the patch on Zoom looked like it might give out at any moment. We had put duct tape all around it just in case, but it still looked bad. We made it back to the dock, put the engine on the rail of Dream Chaser and breathed a huge sigh of relief, 1st of all for our wonderful success of bringing the outboard back to life and 2nd for having safely returned to the dock!
So the next morning I ripped the patch of Zoom and found that the glue I had used stuck perfectly to Zoom but not at all to the patch. Our inflatable is pretty old technology, being made of a PVC fabric. West Marine and a few other manufacturers still make inflatables out of PVC, but they are highly susceptible to UV damage. Hence the reason Zoom is about worn out and needs to be replaced soon. I had used a different material to patch her, and the glue was not designed to adhere to anything other than PVC. Unfortunately, none of the patching material I had was PVC. And finding it in Anacortes proved to be an impossible task. West Marine wouldn't have any available for another month. I talked to every other marine store and repair shop that handled inflatables in Seattle, Bellingham, and Portland, finding that only the store in Portland could help me. I finally thought that surely the yacht chartering businesses in Anacortes would need to repair the inflatables that go out with all their yachts, but was told they subcontract their repairs to a man in Seattle. I was at my wits end by that time. But lo, an angel was working for me. I had left a message for the shop foreman at Anacortes Yacht Brokers and he called back saying he had found a scrap of PVC fabric in a bin in their shop. When I got there he simply gave it to me, enough to repair the hole and still have extra material for 2 more small repairs. I was so grateful, as you can imagine. By evening I had the new patch on though we had to wait 48 hours for the glue to completely cure.
This evening, while at anchor on Matia Island (just east of Sucia), we put the engine on Zoom one more time and had a wonderful time zooming around the island, trying to use up that 1st tank of oil-rich gas. The engine would really like a more lean mixture at this time, but runs well at the higher speeds. We can't tell that there is any problem at all from its dowse in salt water.
By the way, this is a marvelous place for bird watching. We have seen baby Oyster Catchers and we continue to observe a Glaucous Winged Gull family with 2 babies in the grass not far from our boat. The father has been chasing eagles away from the nest all day, keeping a constant vigil on a tree branch not far from the nest. Little Pigeon Guillemots fish around us in the cove, bringing up 4-5" fingerling fish which they dangle from their mouths for quite a while before they finally eat them. Seals splash around rocks just outside the small cove, and the eagles watch everyone. A blue heron stands on a rock by the shore, preening his feathers before the sun goes down. We just hope the eagles don't get any of the gull babies. The father is working so hard to keep them safe. The babies are probably 3 weeks old, still smaller than their parents but all fluff with spots on their heads. If we hadn't heard them peeping at their mother when she came to feed them, we would never had known about them. We could barely see them with our binoculars in the evening light. The sun is setting, not much light left at this time, but we still hear the father occasionally crying out. We hope we aren't frightening him by our presence. We couldn't anchor any further away since the cove is very small and there is another boat further inside, no room for another without anchoring in very shallow water.
On July 31st we passed through Customs in Bedwell Harbor on Pender Island. We enjoyed a few delightful days in the Gulf Islands at Ganges on Salt Spring Island, Wallace Island and De Courcy Island. Highlights included free internet at the Ganges Harbor Marina; giving 'Mike', a local bicyclist, a ferry ride on Dream Chaser to Otter Bay on Pender Island; and meeting Ron and Tara of 'Ectasea', a 48' C&C from Toronto.
When we made it through the infamous Dodd Narrows, we timed the current change well, and experienced flat waters. We arrived in Nanaimo on Sunday morning. And with the B.C. Holiday on Monday, we enjoyed our anchorage at Newcastle Island a few hundred yards to the east of the city. Nanaimo will be the largest town we will be in for 5 or 6 weeks. Reprovisioning, library internet access, the famed chart store on 8 Church Street, and the Harbor Chandlery were highlights in town. The hiking on Newcastle Island brought insights into the past. Midden Bay was a First Nation site over 3000 years ago. Also a sandstone quarry supplied blocks of sandstone for several buildings on the west coast including the San Francisco Mint!
We left Nanaimo on Wednesday following a little rainfall overnight. This morning the weather was beginning to clear and there was a little breeze as we headed for the Straits of Georgia. We put the outboard engine on the stern rail of Dream Chaser and away we went. It didn't take long for us to realize we were in for a wonderful sail today. However, the dinghy began to take on water from the waves breaking around it. So we headed into another cove just outside Nanaimo when the engine died. Out of diesel. Fortunately the main was up so I turned and headed back out into the Straits while George changed tanks. It took a little while to get the engine started again with air in the line. But we managed to solve that crises quickly enough and headed into the bay to get the dinghy bailed out and up onto the deck. After about an hour and a half delay we were on our way again, this time under sail.
As you leave Nanaimo, you can't just cross the Straits of Georgia. You have to go around a military (Canadian Navy) torpedo test area called Whiskey Golf (WG). We had tried to purchase a chart for the northern end of the Straits, but the stores were all out. But we found one dated 1967 which we knew would work just fine. Aids to navigation would be a little different (actually more numerous today), and it was a clear day, with lots of boat traffic going our way, so we weren't concerned. We got around the test area, seeing 2 Canadian Navy ships and an airplane continually patrolling the area. Winds were 15-17 knots with 3-5 foot seas. Great fun. We reefed the sails to slow us down a bit and help control the helm. In no time at all we had crossed and by 4:30 pm, were tucked into a little cove on Jedediah Island.
Now this island is on the west side of Texada Island, the very long island one passes on your way to Desolation Sound if you travel on the east side of the Straits. Lots of boats here. We feel lucky we were able to find a place at all without having to run a line ashore to control our stern. We were tired of dealing with the dinghy and engine and didn't want to go to the effort of getting it set up again just to run a stern line ashore. Need to get to our anchorages earlier in the day to enjoy our stay. The delays this morning didn't help. Actually, we didn't see very many boats cross the straits with us. Most continued north on the west side of the straits, so we suspect that people are holed up here and don't want to get out into the rough seas.
On August 7 after a brief fuel and provisioning stop in Lund, we entered Desolation Sound. This dream area referred to by so many boaters definitely deserves its reputation. Mountains, fjords, arms and inlets bring wonderment and joy hour by hour as we motor, sail or anchor. Some of our first stops included Tenedos Bay, Melanie Cove, Squirrel Cove, Roscoe Bay, and Lagoon Cove. One of the delights is going swimming in some fresh water lakes just inland from our anchorages. But swimming in 70 degree F salt water isn't bad either!!
We are presently in Heriot Bay, near Rebecca Spit where we plan to spend the balance of the day. There was a great grocery store with "reasonable" prices here, much needed after being out 8 days. We are starting to run out of our staples such as laundry detergent, Clorox, salad oil, TP, and canned soup. We have been with Jim and Judy Dodge most of the time up here except for a few days here and there. Jim and Dad have enjoyed fishing, catching lots of rock fish, no salmon. At our last stop they caught 5-7 keeper Dungeness and Red Rock crabs on 3 different settings. We figure we had well over 10 pounds of cracked crab before we left Owen Bay. Once, the trap was filled mostly with female crabs, but there were about 12 in the trap when they pulled it up. We had crab dipped in butter 2 nights ago, crab Louis last night, and today we'll have crab cakes for lunch and/or dinner. They caught several rock fish that were wonderful barbequed with lemon pepper. The limit for rockfish is one per person per day up here. In the States, I don't think you can keep any since their numbers have been declining. The kelp greenlings have proved elusive.
Jim and Judy didn't accompany us on our 3-day adventure east into the mountains. The first day we went into Estero Basin which is accessible only at high tide slack by dinghy. It is a brackish lake with an outlet that is low enough to let in salt water when the tides are exceptionally high. We got to the entrance, the "Gut", 1/2 hour after slack. We weren't sure what area to use as a reference point for the tides way up Frederick Arm and spent too much time having lunch at a hamburger place on the way. (The service was slow, not our fault.) Anyway, we found a wonderful anchorage in a little cove near the end of Frederick Arm, lowered the engine onto Zoom, and away we went as fast as we could over the glass water to the "Gut", as the creek outlet is called. As the water got shallower, we rowed and finally got out to pull Zoom over the shallows. As we turned the corner we could see the basin ahead, UP HILL and over two short rapids. The elevation gain was probably about 25 feet over 100 yards. The 1st rapids were pretty tough. I was walking in the water, pulling on the yoke of the dinghy. The rocks were covered with green moss and rounded so they were very slippery. I found a sandy spot and couldn't go any further for fear of losing my balance, falling in the water, and letting go of Zoom with its new engine. George got out and walked along shore to a spot ahead of me so he could help pull. While on shore he noticed a fresh bear print in the wet sand! Not sure if we should proceed, we quickly and thoroughly glanced all around to see if the bear was still in the area. Since we didn't see him, we continued, but not without urgency.
With George's help I was able to get the dinghy up to the next rapids which were not much more than a ripple, and up to the basin. We were rewarded with the most beautiful remote spot we have ever seen. The mountains and granite cliffs towered above us on all sides. The Basin was 5 miles long and about a mile wide with little islands here and there. The water was smooth and warm, but a little brackish. We stopped to take pictures and video. About 5 seals popped there heads up to greet us. They probably got in when the water was about 4 feet higher during spring tides or when the creeks were full of snow melt. We spent only 35 minutes inside since we were afraid the water level would go down with the falling tide and we would be stuck inside. Next time we will have to plan to overnight there, camping on an island. Probably won't happen. We figure you would have to have a gun to ward off any bears. Steve, want to come along? The trip out the "Gut" was uneventful. The water level didn't appear to have gone down in the creek. But Dad was in such a hurry he didn't care about his shoes or pants. He got into the water with his tennis shoes to pull us when it got too shallow, jumping on as we approached the rapids. Zoom handled it very well, down the rapids and out into Frederick Arm once again. The water in Frederick Arm was so smooth and glassy I really hungered to go waterskiing.
The next day we saw a private yacht anchored just outside our little cove that was the most fantastic yacht we had ever seen. We took a multitude of pictures since we couldn't believe our eyes. It came in during the night. We had felt the waves and wondered what was going on. There she was, 250 footer at least. There were 2 helicopters on deck, a 50+ foot power boat had just been lowered into the water by crane. On the other side of the stern deck was a 4-spreader sailboat that we figured was at least 65 feet long. We observed crew gathering a crab pot with dungeness inside, another tending to the helicopter that was fully rigged (the other one was stored on a side deck without its choppers), another couple of men talked to a local fishing guide boat that had pulled up at the stern, another man washed the windows of the staterooms below deck, using a power washer. Plenty of fresh water on that boat! "Le Grand Bleu" sported a flag from the Caribbean, Hamilton, a British port near Bermuda.
Dahl's Porpoises swam with us as we continued past some rapids at early morning slack and on our way up to Bute Inlet, a long arm of water that goes east, deep into the mountains of the mainland. As soon as we passed into the inlet through Arran Rapids, the water began to turn turquoise. It continued to get lighter as we progressed along the inlet. I think we went about 35 miles inland that day, gazing at the beautiful mountains all around us and the glaciers way up at the sky. Few streams had any water unless they came directly off the glaciers. But there were a few small rivers draining the U-shaped valleys. We had thought we would stop at Orford Bay where the water was shallow enough to anchor, but the day was young when we got there and there was lots more to see. We continued along until 4:30 p.m. By then the weather had begun to come in and it was raining. We could still see the tops of many mountains, but not the tallest ones. We found that the mouth of Bear Creek in Bear Bay had pushed enough silt into the water to form a perfect place to anchor along the shore. A loon was fishing there.
Actually, we saw about 4 loons while we were in this area, our first sightings ever of these very large, magnificent waterbirds. They won't let you get very close, and when they dive down they stay down for a very long time, maybe 10-15 minutes. There was a house near Bear Creek and people appeared to live there, at least during the summer. There was smoke coming out of the chimney. After we had set the anchor in 18-25 feet of water, a little old boat with a young couple aboard putted over to say hello. They had a yellow lab in the boat with them. Seems they hire out the house as a bed and breakfast for forestry officials and engineers working with the clear-cutting operations. We had seen a floating logging camp along the way next to a recent clear-cut. (Yes, this whole wilderness area had been logged over the years. A few fresh scars, but mostly 2nd growth at various stages of growth throughout the area.)
By morning the mountains were full of rainwater and all the creeks gushed with runoff. Although we couldn't see the glaciers, we could see a tremendous amount of water forging down every crack and valley all the way back. It was beautiful in its own way. The rain came down in sheets, and the williwaws (cold air coming down the mountain valleys to the sea) drove our little boat all the way out, sometimes blowing at 15-20 knots. We put the jib out and sailed as much as we could. It was really fun to be sailing before the wind even though the rain drenched us from behind. We had our foulies on and the heater going full blast inside. We got back to Orford Bay, we stopped for about 15 minutes to see what wildlife might be enjoying the rain. We saw 2 loons who let us watch them for a little while before they paddled around to another bay out of sight. Then about a dozen merganzers were spotted fishing along the cliff. As we floated towards the sandy beach we began to see 3 adult bald eagles and 2 immatures, 3 gadwalls (brown ducks), various seagulls, and a blue heron. We had hoped to see a bear (from the safety of our boat), but no luck.
The wind died as the waters returned to dark green. We turned on the engine and motored toward Whiterock Passage, a narrow and very shallow passage between 2 islands, another adventure we just "wanted to do". We got there about 2 hours before high tide, but there was still 13 feet of water in the shallowest portion. The chart indicated only 5 feet of water at Low Normal Water, so we were very careful watching the channel ranges. We waited about 2 hours on the other side for high tide for the next 2 sets of rapids, taking the 1st set early through Beasley Passage and Surge Narrows about 30 minutes early so the faster rapids at the end of our journey, the Lower Rapids just north of the Octopus Islands, would be easier. Beasley was still a little squirrelly as we fought the current in this narrow pass, but Upper Rapids were very calm 30 minutes later. We eased into Owen Bay at 5:30 p.m. where we found Jim and Judy at anchor. Ah, the end of another day of adventure, and what a beautiful spot they had found. We spent the next day there fishing and crabbing, and now we're down in Desolation Sound once again.
Rebecca Spit was one of the loveliest spots we have visited here on the north end of Georgia Straits. Most of you may have heard of Desolation Sound. This was a lovely spot to simply do a day trip since there aren't really any little coves to dip into with a kayak without crossing large bodies of water or going through rapids. But let me tell you a little more about the Spit. It's a huge sandbar that extends out in a semi-circle, mostly treed, but only about 200 yards wide and 2+ miles long. There are picnic tables and trails on the last mile. A road leads from a campground where the spit begins. Lots of people came for the Labor Day Weekend which is celebrated in Canada as well as the US. But the picnic areas were not really busy. We had heard that it is generally crowded in the bay. Well, there's room for at least 150 boats to anchor in shallow to quite deep water. We stayed there 2 nights and 3 days, and I don't think we saw more than 20 boats total. We anchored in front of the picnic area and thought we were in Heaven. We were able to see the planet Mars in the evenings along with 10 billion stars in the moonless sky. Only a faint light from Campbell River came over the top of Quadra Island. We were rafted (tied to another boat) with friends from Portland, playing cards one of the nights. We kept popping outside into the cockpit to see if we could see Mars yet as the sun went down. At 11:30 we finally decided that the bright light in the SE wasn't another boat's anchor light (on top of the mast) after all. Yes, it was incredible. Just then we looked into the wonderfully clear water (35-40 feet visibility) and saw flashes of light. The little fish were darting around our boat, disturbing the plankton. The phosphorescence glowed brilliantly. I begged George to get into the dinghy with me and go for a row. While our friends looked on, we rowed around the 2 boats, the water glowing with each stroke of the oars and each drop of water as George pulled on the oars.
As for the wildlife, we have now seen about a dozen loons. We first saw them on a side tour up Bute Inlet which goes 25 miles northeast into the mountains of mainland BC. We saw a few in the bay here at Rebecca Spit too. We saw wonderfully large pods of orcas north of here where rapids are the only avenue between the islands. The orcas swim into areas known for salmon fishing, chasing the fishermen back to the docks. (We understand that the guides generally go whale watching and then back to the docks when the orcas appear to please their clients, but also due to the fact the fish aren't biting when the whales are around. Makes perfect sense!)
Birds are beginning to gather for migration. Merganser females and families stick close together now (the immature males look like females with slightly red heads, gaining their black and white plumage during their 2nd year). Their babies catch little fish with ease, but still remain under Mama's close vigilance. Surf Scoters can be found by the hundreds in rafts in mountainous areas. We're not sure why so few bore the bright markings of adults. 4 in 25 appeared to have their adult plumage. Could it be that they raise large broods only to lose most of them during migration to California? The Bonaparte gulls with their black heads have already flown south. They lost their breeding plumage early in July, black heads turning to white with a black spot behind the eye, much like the kittiwakes, and now we're not seeing them at all.
We spent a day at Mitlenache Island near Rebecca Spit, a bird sanctuary that allows people to walk on the island, staying on specific trails, avoiding the nesting areas on the east and west sides of the island. We met the resident naturalist, a young girl volunteering her time for a week in rotation with others from her Audubon Club at Campbell River. She was excited to talk with someone with some knowledge of the wildlife. She pointed out the dried up summer flowers: bog orchid, camas, death camas, tiger lily, prickly pear cactus, fireweed, pearl everlasting, etc. She then pointed out the harlequin ducks that frequent her lagoon. Education signs helped the casual visitor identify various birds, but the harlequin duck at this time no longer bears its beautiful plumage, looking generally like a brown rock at this time. The white stripes on the wings identify male and female. We were excited to see about 5 pairs here, having seen them in Puget Sound a few years ago in full color. While we were gone on this excursion, our friends saw a pod of about 35 white-sided dolphins swimming and jumping near their boat. They took videos so we could see them. These lovely creatures jump out of the water as they swim joyfully along. We could see their heads and sometimes their tails in the video. Maybe sometime we will be lucky enough to see them too.
After a couple more weeks of revisiting some highlight spots, and sitting out a strong weather system that passed through, we headed for Pender Harbour. The annual Jazz Festival was held on the weekend of September 19-21. The music ranged from small groups playing Dixieland jazz and blues jazz to a big band sound lifting the roof off the community center with hundreds watching. We enjoyed the company of fellow yachters Mike and Kate from Aquarius (Portland) and Jerry and Sally from Aquarius (Seattle). My tolerance for improvisation is a little higher than Sue's possibly because my trumpet play while I was in school included swing band music. The big band included trumpets, trombones, saxes, guitar, keyboard, female vocal, and percussion. Wow did they rock! The town of Pender Harbour does a fine job extending hospitality to guests from all over.
Jedediah Island
In the middle of the Georgia Straits is a group of islands which includes a Marine Provincial Park on Jedediah Island. After anchoring in Deep Bay, we took off on a couple of hikes. One hike took in the weathered homestead on the island that was donated in part by Daniel George Culver's estate. Dan Culver was the first Canadian mountaineer who climbed both Everest and K2. He died on the descent of K2. His estate made a major contribution that made it possible for this island to be preserved as a Marine Park. The second hike that we took in was a climb to one of the overlooks that commanded a magnificent view of the Straits. The trail was primitive, but that's something we enjoy. The Canadians might call it "a bit of a scramble". But it was exhilarating! By the way, when you are sailing, you are constantly looking for ways to disembark and go hiking. What a beautiful anchorage this is!
Howe Sound
As we headed south, we went into Howe Sound. We motored up to the end of the Sound to Squamish. We had been here in a rock climbing class with the Mazamas Climbing Club in Portland in the early '90s. There are some intermediate climbing rocks in town, including one with the humorous name of 'Burger and Fries'. It so happens that you can see a McDonald's from the climbing route. Evidently the route was named by some hungry belayer. The major attraction is a huge granite formation called The Chief. It looks like it belongs along side El Capitain or The Dome in Yosemite. We were struck with the awesome beauty of this fjord.
In addition we stopped in Snug Cove on Bowen Island. Camp Bow-Isle, a Christian Science youth camp, is located here. Jon and Karin Heath graciously invited us for dinner at their home on the camp premises. Their work and love for this camp is obvious. It's quality moments like this visit that enrich our Journey!
Vancouver, B.C.
Staying at the Vancouver Rowing Club was advantageous since it was so close to Stanley Park and to the downtown area. Our daughter Jenna, Steve and their daughter Elaine visited us for a beautiful, sunny, warm fall weekend. The Aquarium was a highlight for all of us. The Beluga whales from the Arctic Ocean were a highlight for me. It was incredible to hear that these 3500 pound animals can be snagged out of a breathing hole by a polar bear with one paw!
Walking the five mile seawall path around Stanley Park gave us spectacular views of the city, local boating, fisherman catching fish, beaches, playgrounds, and a man balancing rocks on rocks on rocks. On Sunday afternoon we rented bicycles and redid much of the same route that we had enjoyed the day before.
In addition we took in Granville Island's fresh produce market which is a true highlight of this cosmopolitan city.
After traveling up Indian Arm which is inland from the city of Vancouver, and spending a night at the Deep Cove Yacht Club, we headed across the Straits of Georgia to Silva Bay and the Gulf Islands. Currently in Ganges Marina on Salt Spring Island, we are winding down our summer cruise and will be heading into Friday Harbor by mid-October. O Canada,... How beautiful our neighbor to the north is!
