Around Vancouver Island 2013

Day 4 - July 8, 2013 Monday

We were up at about 5:00 a.m. this morning; I don't even get up this early to go to work! We decided last night that if our speed was a modest 3 - 4 knots that it would take us approximately 8 hours to get to our destination even though we didn't exactly know what our destination would be. We had a choice of Sturt Bay on the north end of Texada, Powell River or Lund. The plan was to get out early and see how far we got before making a firm decision. I once read that prudent sailors always register a sail plan. How about a sail idea, would that work?

I had a quick bowl of Corn Flakes and did my chores while Moe did his. We pulled up a very smelly and muddy anchor and were on our way out of Pender Harbour at 6:50 a.m. I cannot lie, mornings on the water really are quite nice!

As we were going directly into the wind we chose to motor for the day. As we travelled we weighed our options and decided that Westview in Powell River would be our final destination for the day. We called in to the Westview Marina and reserved a spot on the dock. The entrance into the marina is pretty narrow and we almost turned around thinking that such a small entrance couldn't possibly be right! Though we may be a little lax on registering sail plans, I think we're pretty good about making sure we follow our charts and, sure enough, the tiny little entrance was the way in. The spot we were assigned was also pretty tight so Moe had to do some tricky manoeuvers to get the boat in while I assisted with the pike pole, staving off the attack dock. But we made it and were tied up securely by 12:50 p.m.

Westview Marina is very well equipped and accommodating for boaters. The wharfinger let us know about the free shuttle van that would be by and take us to the mall. Lucky for us it arrived about five minutes after we began our wait and took us and a few other passengers to the mall. We picked up a few supplies but didn't want to wait until 4:00 when the shuttle would pick us up and return us to the dock so we took the opportunity to get some exercise and walked back to the marina. The walk was mostly downhill so our journey didn't last too long and gave us the chance to stop and check out the fabulous view. From Westview the view stretches from the top end of Texada to the south, across Georgia Strait to Vancouver Island to the west and past Savary Island to the northwest. The day was clear and sunny and the view was spectacular!

We got back to Reborn just in time for our afternoon nap. The day was pretty hot so it was quite nice to hide away and have a snooze until it cooled enough to make dinner. The company that we had the previous few days supplied us with lots of food so I tossed the remnants together and made us a delicious and saucy stir fry with couscous. Then it was shower time, quickly followed by charting and planning for the next day.

We have never sailed to Campbell River before. In fact, our tie up in Westview is the beginning of everything new. From here on we are in new waters, marinas and anchorages until we round the south end of Vancouver Island and reach Sydney. Then we get back into familiar waters.
Campbell River is at the entrance to Discovery Passage. Discovery Passage has quite strong currents in it and after reading and studying I admit I was a little nervous about going there. The Sailing Directions and our Dreamspeaker book both warned us of the strong currents running out of Discovery Passage by Cape Mudge. Our plan was to get there when the current wasn't our enemy but our friend.

Plans made, it was time to retire for the night!