The Rapids Are Behind Us
02 July 2016
After leaving Ganges on Salt Spring Island, Father’s Day morning, our choices were to either head up near Ruxton Island to be in position for early slack the next day through Dodd Narrows and on to Nanaimo, or head over to Montague Harbour, put a few more things together, and have a leisurely, sunny Father’s Day. So we did the latter; ice cream at the marina, a trip to the park and a walk through the campground, and a lovely night at anchor with less than 20 boats in the bay. We assembled the dingy, took a great ride around the bay, proving that we had put all the pieces aboard.
Arriving at Nanaimo on Monday, we planned on a Wednesday getaway to cross Strait of Georgia and then up Malaspina Strait. Our cruising friends were in Desolation Sound and we wanted to join them for a few days if we could. We. Could. Not. Leave. Nanaimo. The winds were blowing 15-25 NW in the day, and calming at night, but the sea state was not tame. Finally, on Friday morning, we headed out across a lumpy Strait that blew about 15-20 the whole way across. Notes on Nanaimo: huge swathes of vacant storefronts greeted us across the entire old town. Restaurant s that were lunch/dinner previously, were only dinner this year. Café Frances was one of those, and the Nanaimo Books and Charts has been gone for nearly 2 years – this was an extraordinary independent bookseller and will be missed. The Acme Food Company that has been a stop every year for us since 2003, is gone as well. The newly expanded mall down by the Gabriola Ferry landing is a factor, we are sure.
What has struck us most is that in the last weeks of June, there are no boats yet. As we moved up Malaspina Strait from Garden Bay on the Sunshine Coast, to Desolation Sound on Saturday the 25th, the lack of boats making the journey was profoundly noticeable. We had everything with us on Saturday – the wind, tide and sun were all dandy. And as we passed Lund, prior to turning into Desolation Sound proper, who should we hear on the radio but Take 5! Calling out at the rapids that we plan to pass later this week! We find our other friends Leanne and Comador Stewart on Glider in Grace Harbor, and plan to cruise with them for the next several days.
On Sunday, the 25th, we introduce the Stewarts to one of our favorite places, the Laughing Oyster Restaurant, and all celebrate a belated Fathers Day. We anchored at the head of Penrose Bay, a vee-shaped cove with an outdoor camp for kayakers at the head. This way we could take our dingys to the restaurant and the public dock. Next day we try for Isabel Cove, and one boat and his stern tie have taken up space for several boats, so we move over to Susan Islets which we have never managed to find empty, and it WAS! This was a new anchorage for us so we are totally over the moon. Glider needs ice, as do we, and they need propane and to eliminate garbage so we head for Squirrel Cove, and Glider detours to Refuge Cove and meets us later. We are still agog about the lack of boats; to prove it, we enter in the afternoon, and still are able to anchor right in front of the reversing tidal rapids into the lagoon. Leanne counted 18 boats in Squirrel Cove, where I have personally counted over 70 at the same time 3 years ago.
On Wednesday the 29th, we move to the other side of Cortes Island, to spend the night in Von Donop Inlet, and then we leave from there to go through the Rapids and continue our journey north. Glider will stay in and around Desolation Sound and the Sunshine Coast for several more weeks. As we come out of Lewis Channel and head south down the nose of Cortez, we see a blow, and then another! We did it, we saw whales just outside of the entrance to Von Donop!! OK, it was just one, but it was very large with no dorsal; I think humpback, but could have missed a minke whales’ smaller dorsal. We had a good look before he dived deep, and then negotiated the tricky entrance to the inlet. It’s been more than 10 years since we have been here and have Glider to thank that we diverted in this direction before going through the rapids and heading north. After a wonderful evening visit that ended a great 5 days cruising together, Ral and I set out on the last of June for the rapids.
And we got it nearly right, considering that it was a flood (the water floods SOUTH here, not North as it does between Everett and Desolation Sound), which meant the water was against us slowing us down, and we were going in essence widdershins against the changing current and slack. See, because we are headed north, and the tide was headed south, the rapids, of which there are three, changed furthest first, and closest last. So we had to hit the first one very early, the second one early and the third, Dent, on time. Except our slow boat made sure that we hit Dent about 20 minutes late. This is not incredibly dangerous, but it is a bit of a roller coaster ride, and could have been very bad if we had been off by an hour.
We spent that night anchored in Shoal Bay setting in some of the thickest kelp we have ever set the hook in. Next day it was on to Blind Channel Resort and Marina, where we have wifi for the first time since the 24th. And, Happy Canada Day! We arrive on July 1, Canada’s independence day which is celebrated with fireworks on the beach. About 20 boats were on the dock for the festivities. This was a working stop for us – fuel for the diesel, the outboard, laundry, water for the tanks, propane, REAL SHOWERS!! And groceries and a liquor agency. And, frankly, the most dense ice on the whole west coast as far as I am concerned. Coming in to a dock is a ‘work’ day. We stay one more day; the weather is changeable. We plan to make small progress on Sunday the 3rd, and a bit more on the 4th, then may have to wait out a weather blast.
Slowly, slowly we go. We have not seen a bear yet, but there was one on the beach before the fireworks began. We expect to see them off Johnstone Strait in a few days at Port Harvey. But we have already seen one whale.