Home again

We made it home....friends Janet & Mark and Jim & Virginia, on board Rosie, came out to escort us home the last two hours of the trip. It was fun being greeted with horns and waves! And, as Virginia shouted to me, "You cheated death yet again!" Always a good thing.

After leaving Nanaimo we headed through Dodd Narrows and into Montague Harbor. We counted 110 boats in the harbor at anchor - we didn't count the boats at the marina or the ones on the provincial park mooring buoys. Good thing Montague is huge, eh? We had warm weather - easily in the 80's - and a really calm night. Then we had to go to Roche Harbor to go through US Customs. I really, really dislike Roche Harbor (unless I'm going to the marina, of course). It's always windy, there are always a TON of boats in there, and the customs dock is, like, 80 feet long - with at least 4 60' boats waiting to go through customs. And, of course, since it's customs, no one except the captain can get off the boat. Usually there's someone to grab a line for you, but it does mean Bob gets to jump off the boat while we're still a couple feet from the dock. (Although, I've gotta say, I can bring that stern in pretty darn close.)

We made it through customs and went over to Shaw Island to anchor for the night. And here's another reason we like boating in Northwest waters - we see things like this, from time to time. Isn't she lovely?


So, now we're home, I'm done blogging for another few months or so, or at least until the next trip......

Meet you all over on facebook.

Sunday, July 25
Day 40 (but who’s counting)

Happy 31st birthday, Douglas! (Wow, my youngest is over 30 - can’t lie about my age any more. I don’t think it’s possible for a 40-year-old to have a 31-year-old, is it, Trina???)

We’re back in Nanaimo. Got blown in here this afternoon after a long day. We left Comox at 5:30 this morning, in strong wind warnings. We decided to take a look and see if we could get to the south end of Denman Island, at least. Well, gosh, it was pretty darn calm, wind speeds about 10 (they claimed 15, but it didn’t seem that strong) and a fairly low swell……2 hours later we were at the end of Denman Island. “Hmmmm,” says we, “still seems pretty good. Let’s go on a bit, we can always anchor in Parksville.” Of course, we did remind ourselves that the area between Denman Island and Qualicum is probably pretty rolly, since it’s wide open to the Straits. Here’s a picture of what the waters looked like as we headed towards Nanaimo….


If we’d seen that, we’d have stayed put. As we went further south, the winds got stronger. Here in Nanaimo it’s blowing about 22-25 knots right now. This place is insane. There’s some kind of bathtub race going on, and right now, as I sit on the visitor’s dock at the Nanaimo Yacht Club, I count 23 boats coming in and out of this bay - not included the 35 or 40 boats sitting at anchor over at Newcastle. Note to selves: Do not come to Nanaimo on a sunny weekend!Newcastle boats

We feel as though we’ve come through a time warp. Friday morning we were in quiet Grace Harbour with a few other boats stern-tied to shore in relatively peaceful Desolation Sound. And we thought THAT was crowded! Ha. Coming back into civilization is a rude awakening. Guess I’ll have to actually brush my hair and put on decent clothes to go up to the yacht club! We’ve gotten used to everyone in fleece and jeans with rumpled hat-hair. We fit right in.

Tomorrow we’ll go through Dodd Narrows (our last Securite call of the season, probably) and anchor in one of the Gulf Islands. Then we’re thinking we’ll go through US customs on Wednesday morning at Friday Harbor. We have Nexus cards, but when we came north Canadian immigration told Bob that his card wasn’t in the system - mine was, so, clearly, I am more trustworthy than Bob. They finally took his info over the phone when he read his ID number off the Nexus card in his wallet. I don’t know what happened - we got the cards at the same time, from the same customs officer….Oh, well. We’ll see if they got it straightened out when we try to come through the border. I should be safe - I have no citrus fruit, no potatoes, no onions and no guns. Now, Bob, on the other hand……….how far is Leavenworth, KS, from Oak Harbor????

Still in Comox

The strong winds in the Straits of Georgia continue, so we are still at the dock in Comox. Comox gets a lot of the fishing fleet from Queen Charlotte Sound, and we're docked next to a few.


Since we took their picture, we felt obligated to purchase a ling cod from one of them...for only $40 I have 10 pounds of ling cod in my freezer, not to mention a HUGE head and tail - yay, good crab bait! While the crab bit on my prawn heads up in Clayden Bay, we haven't caught a single prawn since then, so I'm out of bait (I used up the salmon parts that Mary flirted for). So on our way south we'll be mining the Gulf and San Juan Islands for more crab.

We had a wonderful dinner last night at the Blackfin Pub...a perfectly fine reason to come to Comox any time. They have a lemon cake that is fantastic. I tried to replicate it for Becky's birthday a couple of years ago unsuccessfully, so I asked if the chef shared the recipe. He told me to email him, so I'm going to give it a try. His veal schnitzel was great, too......

We'll head out for Nanaimo tomorrow. We asked the fishermen this morning about the route to take and the winds - they have the local knowledge that makes boating so much easier. They told us to stay put today but that tomorrow it'd be okay, even in the 15-knot winds. We're going to take their word for it.

"I'm French kissing life square on the mouth, sailing out on the sea"
-Kenny Chesney

Comox, BC

We crossed the Straits of Georgia this morning at 5:00AM, since that's about the only time of day the winds die down enough. BC has had a really windy July, due to an offshore high pressure system that has been sitting in one place for the month. Plus, while a high pressure area in Washington gives us lovely, pretty windless weather, up here it is accompanied by strong winds. There have been gale warnings daily in the Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait areas, and strong wind warnings in the Straits of Georgia. Sigh. We decided to come over here today, since today's "strong wind warnings" were lighter than tomorrow's warnings. C'est la vie.

We spent two days in Desolation Sound before coming across. Desolation Sound is lovely, but not my favorite area. It's so crowded. Every anchorage is chock full of boats, and no one seems to get up early and leave. Farther north, one gets used to getting up and getting out by 6:00am.....once you cross the rapids that separate Desolation from the Broughton area things are more laid back....but, for those of us who do get up early, it means that when we arrive at a new place, no one has left yet, so we end up kind of hanging around, waiting for room to anchor. Not something that either one of us likes to do. So, after getting blown all around for a couple of nights (one in Squirrel Cove and one in Grace Harbour), we looked at each other at 5:00am today and said, "We're goin' over, Ricky!" (Inside joke - trust me, my kids are laughing at this.)

We expect to be home next weekend. I will call Janet when I know what day, and she will notify my WOWie peeps, and of course, we'll call all the kids.........

Mother, Mother Ocean, I have heard your call....

Shoal Bay, BC

Coming home.

We left Port Harvey this morning (July 20) at 5:00am. Port Harvey is the last, easternmost anchorage in the Broughton Archipelago. We entered Johnstone Strait in gale warnings (but that's been a daily occurrence up here)about 5:30 and headed up Sunderland Channel. We had to stop for an hour because we were a little too early to go through Whirlpool Rapids (they were running at 6 knots when we got there - too fast for Nellie), but by 11:00 they were at 3.5 knots and doable. That got us to Green Point Rapids at exactly slack tide - wow, I think it's the first time we've ever gone through them at slack. Piece of cake. We are at the government dock in Shoal Bay, a great little spot for any of you who feel like cruising up here with us some time.....On the dock at Shoal BayView from the Shoal Bay dock


We will spend the next few days up here in the Eastern Johnstone Strait area, then head over to Campbell River on Friday, when the winds are supposed to be calm. (But we'll believe that when we see it.)

We only traveled about 40 statute miles today, but we entered a different climate....we went from fleece and warm jeans to shorts and flip-flops. Ahhhh, it feels like summer today! (And this morning it was cold - about 50F - and foggy and drizzly.)Clouds over Eastern Johnstone Strait

Passed a bunch of very small, white ducks (for lack of a better word) with black heads. If Jeff and Bev would just get Braveheart up here with us, I could've radioed Jeff and asked him what they were - he'd know, I bet. Where's Mary when I need her???

Just in case anyone is keeping track, I now have the leverage. (See early post from Von Donop)

July 18

We're in Lagoon Cove, one of our favorite places in the Broughtons. Bill (the owner) is telling his bear stories, and we feasted on a bunch of prawns - not caught by us. Bill has the magic touch when it comes to prawns. Lagoon Cove is about the only place up here where you get a kiss and a hug and a big "Welcome back!" when you come in. There are a few hiking trails up here, so we decided to stretch our legs a bit. Well, we hiked to "lookout point" (never did find it, btw) - ummmm, we were surrounded by birch and cedar....anyone remember what trees I am most allergic to?? Yes, that'd be cedar and birch. By the time we realized it, we were already up there, so we just continued (I have lots of antihistamine on board, and I did remember to take my allergy pill today)....now, I don't want to complain that the trail was a little steep, but we got to one part of the trail and there is a knotted rope - because you have to rappel up and down the trail! Yeah, I did it. But I deserve something good (I'm thinking dinner in Comox).

We decided this morning that we're tired of dodging winds, so we're turning south and coming home. (Janet, I need to go shopping for new walking shoes when I get home. We have to start training for the Wings of Gold Half Marathon.) I have a wedding dress to finish sewing, a couple of quilts to finish for the quilt show in November, and, doggone it, some summer to enjoy! Plus, we've missed Bob's mom's 88th birthday - which is in two days, but we won't be home for it. So, Happy Birthday, Borg!

Three weeks in the Broughtons are enough. We've been to all the spots we like, some several times, we've crossed and recrossed Queen Charlotte Straits three times - it's time to come home!

July 16

Sointula means "place of harmony" in Finnish. It's also a tiny little town on Malcolm Island near Port McNeill in the Queen Charlotte Straits. We didn't actually intend to come to Sointula today, but.....

This morning we were in Port McNeill. We've been monitoring the weather, hoping the winds would die down (it's been pretty crazy). Every morning at 4:00AM the local lighthouses issue reports giving the wind speed and sea state. Right here, the light house is Pulteny Point. This morning I guess the lighthouse keeper decided to sleep in, as there was no report from Pulteny Point. So, we listened to the next closest lighthouse, which is Scarlett Point. Scarlett Point reported winds of about 10-15 knots, with a "low westerly swell" and a "2-foot chop." Okay. That's not exactly perfect, but it's not terrible. (Remember, this is not the LOCAL reporting station, it's just the next best.) So, we took off at 6:00AM - a little windy, but not too awful. We ran up (that would be westward) the coast of Vancouver Island in between Vancouver Island and Malcolm Island and turned north to cross Queen Charlotte Straits and go back to the Broughtons. Ha. Double Ha. Those 10-15 knot winds became more like 15-20 knot winds, and that "low westerly swell" looked much more like 6-foot waves with a 2-foot chop on top of them. We took the battering for, oh, maybe 15 minutes, then looked at one another, said, "This is ridiculous" and turned the boat around. As soon as our back was to the wind and waves it got much better, so we decided to come down to Sointula, which is just across the water (about 3 or 4 miles) from Port McNeill. Here we will stay until the gales cease. The last weather report we heard indicates that we'll be here another day...maybe Sunday will be better.

There is a Burger Barn in Sointula. Well, it IS Friday, after all.....what else would we eat on a Friday??? The town is about 1 1/2 miles from the marina, but, although the wind is nuts, it's not a bad walk. Sointula reminds us of Lopez Island - everybody waves. It's a unique little (and I do mean LITTLE) town. The store here is a Cooperative, begun in 1909 by the Finns who founded the town, making it the oldest grocery store in BC. This place was started at the end of the 19th century by a bunch of Finns from Vancouver. It was a commune, where everything was communally owned and everyone was equal - including women! (Let's hear it for the Finns!!) Remember, this was in 1900 - equality for women was a looooooooonnnnngg way off for the rest of the world. Lots of artists, granola-eaters and tree-huggers live in Sointula. It really IS like Lopez island! There is a farmers' market tomorrow, and I plan to be there with my cloth bags, ready for action. (Too bad I didn't bring my Birkenstocks. I don't think Crocs have the same esoteric appeal.)

Bottom line: we're at a dock much more than we planned and certainly more than we like to be, but we're safe and snug while we listen to the wind howl (there are even whitecaps INSIDE the breakwater).

There are bikes here to borrow, so maybe we'll give that a try tomorrow instead of walking into town.....

I'll get pictures of Sointula tomorrow.......

Port McNeill, 2nd time around

We came across the straits today during a gale warning....the water was flat as a pancake, with no wind to speak of. Don't know where Environment Canada gets its weather info, but I'm guessing that weather.ca may be more than just a convenient way to see if it's going to be nice at home. There have been gale warnings every day for the past 4 or 5 days, so we decided to just go ahead and go for it. We leave early (about 5:00AM) and so far we have missed the winds.

We both thought we'd lost some weight - me, mainly because my jeans are too big - but now I have decided it's just because they've gotten stretched out from being worn many days. (If, when it dries, it can be easily brushed off, it doesn't count as dirt, right?) You'd be surprised at how many days you can wear a pair of jeans. Today we put on anything that was clean and took two big LL Bean bags (the BIG ones - thank you, Ross) of dirty clothes up to the laundromat. Ahhhhh....when we were in Sullivan Bay we washed only a couple pairs of jeans and shirts each - had to limit ourselves to one load only, given the price of laundry! ($5 to wash, $5 to dry, plus tax)

We will stay here tonight (and maybe tomorrow, we'll see how the winds look) and then I'd like to go to Sointula, just across the way, only about 4 miles from here. After that, we're going to wind up Tribune Channel - we found several bays and areas that we have never visited, so that's next. We'll start up Knight Inlet and see how it goes. That inlet connects directly to Johnstone Straits, though, so if it's windy we may change that plan. We always seem to be running from the wind up here....unlike home, a high pressure area up here means high winds. At home, when we get our summertime high it's lovely sunny weather - not so much up here, although we have had some sun, finally.

So far, the seafood tally has not changed: Crab - 16, Shrmip - 43, Fish - 1 (how sad)

Sullivan's Bay, North Broughton Island

We left Echo Bay on July 3, fishing along Cramer Passage(with no luck). We anchored in Waddington Bay and listened to Environment Canada pass along gale warnings. Bob put out a 2nd anchor and an additional 100' of chain and we dug in. It was crazy! Wind speeds over 20 knots in a protected bay. Sheesh. It continued until July 6. The wind was stronger than the currents, so our boat didn't move an inch while we were anchored. When we woke up on the 6th we were surprised by the quiet - no more howling wind. We decided that we'll be staying on the eastern side of the Broughtons - we had planned to go over to Sointula but that'll just have to wait for another week or so. Left Waddington Bay early on the 6th and came back "inside" to Laura Cove. A pretty little place - but it was pretty popular. There were 6 boats in the cove - we were all stern tied, so everybody had plenty of room. The weather turned gorgeous - summer came to the Broughtons! It was in the 80's and just lovely. As the weather turned, so did our luck with local seafood. We trapped 3 dozen prawns (big ones!) and Bob brought in a nice rock cod.

Pretty little Laura Cove
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Laura Cove was home for two days, then we came up to the north islands and stayed in Clayden Bay, another place we remember liking. As we cruised along we were kept company by 6 or 7 dolphins. They swam alongside us, leaping and cavorting in the water. They're such fun to watch! They'd swim along on one side then swim under the boat and leap up on the other side. One posed for Bob - I swear they know what's going on!Take my picture, Bob!

The crabbing is amazing in there - and it's not deep. At home we put our crab pots in about 80 - 100' of water, but here we caught 8 in only 40 feet. (Those 8 were spread over 2 days, lest any Fish and Game people are reading this.) The crab we pulled in were huge - easily 2 pounds each.

Today we came over to Sullivan's Bay Resort....I like this place, with all the cute floating summer homes. It's laundry day, so we can begin feeling human again - ahhhh, clean clothes!

Canada Day!

Thursday, July 1


Happy Canada Day! We’re at Pierre’s at Echo Bay…..this is probably the “fanciest” marina in the Broughtons….at least the fanciest we’ve ever seen. (It’s the Broughtons’ answer to Roche Harbor only not quite that snooty.) These boats are from the Saanich Yacht Club. Saanich is ‘way down near Victoria, so this is almost as far from home for them as it is for us. Evidently they come up to Pierre’s every year for the holiday. They appear to be having a great time!

We like coming to Pierre’s. They now have a partner, Jerome, who is just great. He’s just about the most helpful fisherman we’ve ever met. He helped Bob fix the downrigger, then gave him all kinds of helpful hints about where the fish seem to be biting around here. He even donated a bunch of prawn heads for us - great crab bait! We’re dropping the prawn pot this afternoon and will leave it out until the 3rd when we toddle off to the next anchorage.

While I enjoy it here, what with power and water and all the amenities, I really do like to be sitting at anchor in a nice little quiet bay. When we leave here we’re going to head over to the southwestern portion of the islands, near Blackfish Sound, where the Tyee and halibut appear to be biting. Then we’ll probably head back to Port McNeill to do some laundry. (Laundry up here costs about $10 a load to wash and dry….it’s easier to go back to Port McNeill, where I can get more fresh veggies and fruits while my clothes are drying.) We’ll come back to the Broughtons after one night, providing the weather cooperates. You can see by the low dark clouds in the pictures just what kind of weather we’ve been having. I’m hopeful that July will bring summer up here! Bob brought a bunch of shorts (silly man) and he’s eager to start wearing them.

Today we got the autopilot working! This just reinforces our decision to stay south of Cape Caution this year…..

And one for the guys who sit around and talk boats with Bob…..here is a picture of Bob’s dream boat, just sitting across from us. Looks like it’s a fairly new (maybe 2000 or newer) Nordhavn. Mmmmm, wish we had that extra $1M just sitting around. Yesterday, at Shawl Bay, we were next to a 1984 Krogen, which is MY dream boat….we could get one of those for only twice what Nellie’s worth!