From Pender Harbor we went another 15 or so miles up one of the inlets toward our “real” destination, Princess Louisa, to literally the “last” place we could tie up and rest before the final push; Egmont Harbor. It turned out to be a cute little place, although a very tight spot to dock in.
Author Archives: bob
Pender Harbor
Couple more shots from Pender Harbor. Nice place, lots of options. Anchoring, marinas, grocery, etc. We had a lot of fun here!
Mt Daniel
When last we spoke, there was rain, thunder and all manner of complicated weather. But, also a few moments when the moon shown through.
The variable weather kept up most of the night, but broke in the morning to blue sky. It beckoned a hike. Oh, did someone say Mt Daniel??! Well, Ann did and I of course followed. All 10 miles and 1500 vertical feet. Yipes!!
So, the hike was lovely. Past a gorgeous lake and straight up the hill. Sometimes very straight up. Oh well, the pics will show it was worth it.
Ok, we’re hangin’ here at least another day or so.
Entering The Wilderness
We left Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and transited the Strait of Georgia to the Bristish Columbia mainland. We’re now in Pender Harbor, about 42 miles NW of the city of Vancouver on the mainland side. This is the beginning of the odyssey. The gateway to the inlets and tributaries of the inland passage that should we have time – will take us all the way to southeast Alaska. Most folks tell us we could spend years exploring all the twists and turns, little islets and inland passages, so we’ll see how far we get.
Pender Harbor is still civilized. In fact we had dinner tonight in the local Pub. But, in just a dozen or so miles out of here we’ll be in fjord-like wilderness as we work our way up to Princess Louisa. We’ll have more to say and show about that so will leave the description for another day.
In the mean time, here’s a few pics of our new locale. The trip over was pretty uneventful and unfortunately flat calm, so we motored the whole way. About 35 miles – 6 or so hours. We got here just in time though. As we were coming in Ann said, “Those clouds don’t look so good”. Half an hour after the anchor was set we had thunder and rain squalls. But it cleared in time for a beautiful twilight and full moon rising over the mountain.
This And That
A little catch up.
Ann got her tooth fixed. That was Number One on the agenda. We had visions of having to wait three weeks to do a crown, etc, etc. But, hooray, the security guard at the Nanaimo Yacht Club had a dentist recommendation! Ann called, got an appointment at 11:30 and came back to Charisma with a big, full smile. A temporary filling to keep things together until we get back. Whew!
OK, so the other thing about Nanaimo is seaplanes! Actually everywhere in the PNW there are seaplanes, but the larger cities have LOTS of seaplanes. When the wind is from the SE we are in the flight path. Not so good when the first plane arrives at 0700 in the morning!
And one more thought on why we like Canada. REAL CUBAN RUM!!!
Catch Up In Nanaimo
OK, some catching up.
Starting with yesterday (Tuesday), we went for a hike on the lovely Newcastle Island where we are/were anchored. We ended up doing a 7 mile hike around the outside of the island. Really lovely! The trees!! There were maples, pines, firs, redwoods, all kinds and they were old. Some huge trees. Reminded us of Muir Woods in California.
Then…after some “hammock time” and etc, we went to the Dinghy Bar where we met up with some friends we met last year (Morgan and Douglas on Tumbleweed) and some friends we met last week (Phil and Betty on Pilgrim).
And dumb-us for not getting actual pictures of us with the crews of these yachts. Damn! Maybe we’ll catch them and get pics.
But we did have a get together at the “Dinghy Dock”. A well known local “floating” establishment where you tie up your dinghy and stop in for a beer and some – as it turns out – really good food! Music as well! Much fun was had by all.
So, we’re now up to today; Wednesday. We moved over to the Nanaimo Yacht Club transient slip where we got a pretty good deal ($20 Canadian/day) to tie up. More importantly we can use their showers and laundry!! One of us – no names now – was getting a little ripe! We also did some provisioning as we’re close to “jumping” to the other side – the BC coast where we’ll head up into the wilderness. First stop is Princess Louisa, then on to Desolation Sound and up to the Broughtons (for those who know). The only downside is the slip we are in is 1/4 mile from the showers/laundry! Oh, well it’s good exercise, except when it’s raining (like now!)
But for now – we’re staying here for a bit since literally a couple hours ago, Ann broke her tooth! It doesn’t hurt, but the whole corner of a molar is gone. We’re going to scramble to find a dentist tomorrow and see what can be done. Bummer.
OK, and here’s today’s Mystery Message Contest! What does the following message mean?
Nanaimo
We made it through the “dreaded” Dodd Narrows and are now in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. Dodd Narrows is one of those places that is a “constriction” in the passage in more ways than one. Because it goes from hundreds of feet deep to 40 feet and half mile wide to a hundred yards, the current can be ferocious and scary. This contributes to the second “narrowing”; that of the narrowing of the crowds. A lot of people just don’t want to deal with doing it, so once past it, the crowd thins. It’s called one of the “Gateways” heading north. The reality is, if you hit it near slack tide, it’s not so bad (of course if you don’t, really bad things can happen side the tidal speeds can hit 9 knots!
Today, we came through on the flood heading northbound and the tide at the narrows shot us though at a leisurely 4 knots plus our 6, meaning 10 knots. And that’s near slack water. OK, glad to have that one behind us. Coming up in the weeks ahead are some spots that they call the rapids. I hate to think of 13 ton Charisma going through rapids, but that’s a story for a future day.
Once through Dodd Narrows it was a pretty straightforward couple miles up to the second largest city on Vancouver Island, Nanaimo. On the way in though we saw our friends from Tumbleweed on the AIS. They were leaving. We called them on the VHF to find they were heading north. Sad. But, as our luck (not theirs) would have it, they had a problem with their raw water pump and had to turn back. We’re anchored next to each other and got together for sundowners this evening. Great to catch up with a fellow cruiser. We met them in Port Townsend. They gave us their cruising guides to BC and we gave them our PDFs of cruising guides for the South Pacific which is where they are headed a little later this season (via the west coast and Mexico). They sourced a new water pump today which they will install tomorrow, so all’s good.
Pirate Cove!
ARGHHH MATEY’S. We’re at Pirate Cove! On DeCourcy Island, about 15 miles SE of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
It’s a lovely spot. Here’s a few pictures to describe it.
The Great Bread Caper
We had a great couple days catching up with John and Lisa – formerly of Orcinius, that they still own – but now in the PNW of the M/V Figaro. They are heading up to Juneau, Alaska and our paths crossed for one night at Telegraph Harbor, Thetis Island. How great to see them, except…well, see below for more on that!
So about that Bread Caper. Well sneaky buggers that John and Lisa are, they finally “aced” us with the infamous “forever” bread. When we were in Hawaii last year provisioning for the final three week leg back to the US, Lisa convinced Ann to buy some bread that was supposed to stay “fresh” for months. OK, we bought two loaves. Three days into the trip, John posted an urgent message via email to say it was the worst bread he had ever tasted and not to open it. We didn’t. But…we saved it and hid our two loaves in their house after we got back and were on our way back to the Bay Area. Sort of a “back-atcha” for Lisa recommending it. In the last year, those loaves have been hidden and re-hidden back and forth several times as our paths have crossed. Sometimes to be found in a suitcase, sometimes left in the top shelf of a pantry, etc, etc.
Well, they finally topped us and “got” us. Having stashed both loaves in Lisa’s backpack at their house months ago on our way up to Port Townsend, Ann and I completely forgot about them. John and Lisa had not. We cheerfully helped them leave the dock in the morning on their way north. An hour later we sauntered out of Charisma to loose our lines for our 10 mile jaunt to the next little anchorage. As Ann went to unclear the bow-line, she got a panicked look on her face. I heard a; “Bob, quick come here there’s a problem, the line’s caught on something!” I went up to check it out and sure enough the end of the bow line was straight down in the water and seemed jammed. I was able to pull on it though and pretty quickly realized “something” was tied to the end of the line. Oh crap! It was the bread!! Weighted down in a grocery bag with a huge rock! Rats! They got us. And the bread is so water logged it can’t be saved.
Oh well, the end of a year long adventure. We’ll have to figure out a new one. In the mean time it’s John and Lisa 4, Ann and Bob 3.
Still In Clam Bay
Yup, just chillin’.
It’s nice here and John and Lisa (of sailing vessel Orcinius and on this trip, their new motor vessel, Figaro) are going to be in the area tomorrow on their way north, so we’re hanging here. Tomorrow we will go around to the other side of this small island and meet them in Telegraph Harbor (still Thetis Island). As John put it; “There’s a pub there!” Then they are moving on a mission to get up to Alaska in the next couple weeks, whereas our mission for now is…very slow, so we can see all the sights. After tomorrow we’ll go to Pirate Cove the next island north of here (DeCourcy Island) and spend a day or two hiking. And so on.
So, without further delay, here’s todays EagleCam!
We had an amazing event that happened too fast to get on camera. While we were eating lunch in the cockpit we heard a loud; “Whoooosh” almost overhead. Jumping up we just caught two mature Bald Eagles locked in what looked to be a death grip, talon to talon and spinning down toward the water. I thought for sure they were going to splash, but at the last possible second they let go and swooped away, talons just skimming the surface. I don’t know if it was an argument over a piece of food – we didn’t see anything hit the water – or an aggression display, but it was breathtaking. So that’s why we’re taking our time. So much to see.