Hawk in Vancouver
23 April 2006 | Fisherman’s Wharf, False Creek, Vancouver, BC

We're in the big city, tied up among the fishing boats right in the heart of downtown. We've enjoyed a wonderful week wandering around nearby Granville Island, shopping at the incredible public market there, eating seafood fresh off the boat, and wandering around the streets agog at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. We've also been doing lots of socializing, catching up with old friends and with new acquaintances made when Beth did her presentation here for the Bluewater Cruising Association.
Last night one of those new friends, Don Brown, took Beth for a flight over Vancouver in a small four-seater aircraft (a Cessna 172 for those of you who know your aircraft). The pure blue sky was empty of clouds, and the weather was about as perfect as it could be. Vancouver seen from the air is even more beautiful than from the ground, for the perspective allows you to realize how forested and remote the mountains are that back the city, and to see how the small peninsula of land is cradled by the many inlets and tributaries surrounding it. It was late in the afternoon, and as the sun approached the horizon the slanting golden light turned the jagged mountains into dark silhouettes while shimmering red and gold on the waters of Georgia Strait. It touched the buildings of Vancouver and highlighted each one in bright light while creating long black shadows that increased the sense of depth. What an incredible treat!
Before arriving in Vancouver a week ago, we spent several weeks cruising the Gulf Islands. We're not entirely back into footloose and fancy-free mode as Evans continues to finish winter projects and Beth responds to various requests from her editors regarding the two books that are currently in production. That's just as well, as the weather has remained a bit winterish with frequent SE gales. We found ourselves in Pirate's Cove for Easter weekend, an almost-landlocked lagoon on DeCourcy Island in the Gulf Islands. Saturday, it was pouring down rain and about 45 degrees when someone knocked on the hull and invited us ashore for an Easter egg hunt and a wiener roast. Sure enough, a fire was roaring and a group of about 40 hearty Canadians were searching the brush for "brown eggs" when we got ashore - beer cans nestled under bushes, tucked into small holes or hidden under fallen logs. It turns out that the Pirate's Cove Easter event is a long-standing tradition for the Gulf Cruising Club, and they treated us to hot dogs and marshmallows while kids played with dogs and the adults joked around the fire.
Despite the inclement weather, we did manage to get in some wonderful sails and to get everything functioning again - including us! We all needed to work out some kinks, and HAWK needed a bit of tuning after having her rig out for the winter. Now we're all ready to head a bit further north and to once again enjoy wilderness areas and have anchorages all to ourselves.
This is the first time on HAWK when we have not had some definite plan in mind and some place we were aiming to be within two or three months. With Beth needing to be in communication to edit the books, we're not planning a major trip this summer, just some relaxing sailing in this large and well-protected cruising ground before we head down the west coast. After the fast pace of the last few months, we're both very much looking forward to some quite sailing in some truly magnificent country.
We'll be leaving Vancouver, somewhat reluctantly, tomorrow. We're heading up to Princess Louisa Inlet and Desolation Sound where there won't be any Internet cafes or DSL connections. So don't worry about us if you don't hear from us for a bit. We'll be back in touch when we come back south again in a month or six weeks.
Fair winds and full sails,
Beth and Evans
s/v HAWK