May 29 - June 6

May  29

We took off this morning from Comox, where we had dinner last night at my favorite place up here - the Blackfin Pub. We eat here every time we come up this far ...heck, I'd come up this far just to eat here...I had the best meat loaf I've ever tasted. Enough for lunch, too. Bob had cod that was breaded with ground up banana chIps, coconut and panko, and served with a mango curry sauce. It was fantastic....definitely on my "to try when I get home" list.

We left at 8:00 this morning, in a light fog and rain. But the water was flat calm. Crossing the Straits of Georgia this morning was downright boring. We decided against going to Campbell River, and instead came over a bit into Desolation Sound. We remembered a place called Gorge Harbour from 7 years ago....so we went in and then we remembered why we've never been back....there's no place to anchor. So we left and came over to Rebecca Spit, which is on Quadra Island. We're tired of going 5 hours every day, so we're staying here a couple of days. We're anchored in 50' of water, just off the beach.....and here's a picture of the beach.....

On Saturday, we'll go through Surge Narrows and into the Octopus Islands. I bought some steaks and salad stuff while in Comox, so we will grill them for my birthday dinner.

Ahhh, peace and contentment.

May 30

It is a glorious morning here on Rebecca Spit..

 I imagine that this place is hopping later in the summer, but for now, it's just us and 3 sailboats enjoying the calm and quiet. Our solar panels are keeping the fridge and freezer going great, so there's no reason to go anywhere near a Marina. Yay! Today will be a hand
wash day since it looks like lots of sun to dry some clothes.....we'll see how well I do with jeans...on the bright side, the dryer won't shrink them. :)

Now that I've exclaimed over the beauty of the day, I'll just say "Bad rice! Bad rice!" There, don't want to jinx it.

...And the boat quilt that was 9 years in the making is finished. Looks good on Nellie.

May 31

Happy Birthday to me!

I did no wash yesterday, since we both have plenty of clean clothes. I'll wait until we get desperate.

We came through Hoskyn Channel into the  Octopus Islands. It's been on our "places to visit" list for a few years. It can only be reached by going through tidal rapids, which can be tricky. We are entering from the south, so well only go through one rapids - on our way out we'll go through at least 2.

Cheated Death one more time! We went through the rapids about 20 minutes before slack water, and we were okay....a little rough, especially when the tide rips caught our stern, but we're through, and sitting at anchor in lovely Waiatt Bay....just us and 3 other boats. Nice. As Daddy used to say when he felt that all was right in his world, "Wonder what the poor people are doing tonight." (That's probably really a bad thing to say, so I'll just apologize for my "uncouth-ness" now.)

June 2

Cheated Death again by going through Upper Rapids on Okisollo Channel at 0800 this morning. Gale winds are expected at Chatham Point today through Tuesday, so we've dropped the anchor in Owen Bay, just northeast of the Octopus Islands and will probably stay here until Wednesday. If it's still blowing hard we'll backtrack and go through Hole in the Wall to the Yuculta Rapids and go through the Broughtons to get to Port McNeill.

Later.....The winds blew us back into Waiatt Bay, where we feel much more secure....so, by going through Upper Rapids twice in one day, we've really cheated Death!

June 5
After 3 days in Waiatt Bay, yesterday we went through hole in the Wall and spent the night at anchor in Von Donop Bay, on Cortes Island. We passed "Karens Rock" on the way in....named by me after I hit it (just grazed it, honest) going in in 2010. There is a house-sized rock in the center of a narrow passage, and I was so careful not to hit it that I forgot about the shoaling rocks on the side. Oh, well, win some, lose some.

We left Von Donop this morning and came through the Yuculta Rapids, finishing up in Forward Harbour at 3:00pm. I realize now that 7 hours is beyond my tolerance for boredom. We are hoping for light winds in Johnstone Strait tomorrow so we can get to Port McNeill. I am ready to get off Nellie for a walk!