Happy Canada Day!
10 July 2009 | Nanaimo, BC
Fraser and Jeff
Happy Canada Day! (July 1, 2009)
Canada Day is a national holiday to celebrate the unification of the provinces across the country. Similar to our Independence Day celebrations on July 4th, the holiday includes picnics, fairs, and a day off from work for many Canadians. We celebrated the day in Nanaimo, BC, on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Nanaimo is a colorful seaport, very clean with lots of flowers and a walkway along the waterfront. The harbor area is particularly pleasant; many fun shops and restaurants, very scenic and festive. We found a place at Cameron Island, a long finger pier for transient boats just inside the breakwater near the float plane terminal in the inner harbor. The entire time we were there the winds were blowing out of the NW at 20-30 knots. The wind sent spray against Storm Petrel's stern and whistled through the rigging. We rocked a bit but were well-fendered against the quay. It was a marvelous place to watch many different kinds of boats from ports near and far entering the harbor.
We left Sydney after enjoying hot showers and cinnamon rolls on Monday 29 June under beautiful blue skies, but no wind. We raised our mainsail and mizzen, hoping for some wind along the way, but we ended up motoring the entire way to Wallace Island, one of our favorite stops in the Gulf Islands. Wallace is a small island, long and narrow. It is mostly a provincial park, but there are a couple of private residences on the island. There are two very nice anchorages, but they are small and often fill with boats by late afternoon. Both coves were full by the time we arrived, so we just kept on going past Wallace and decided to try Telegraph Harbour, a secure cove between Thetis and Kuper Islands. This cove has two marinas and a slim anchorage between them. We looked for a spot among the many boats already anchored, but there was no place for us to stop without protruding into the narrow transit channel throughout the cove or being too close to another boat. As we were motoring back toward the outer, wider end of the cove where we had noticed a likely place to drop the hook, we were hailed on the VHF radio by Nan and Steve on our sister ship, Kairos, a beautifully maintained Fisher 37. We met Kairos and her crew at the Fisher Rendezvous in Deer Harbor. Nan and Steve had taken a slip in Telegraph Harbour Marina and reported there was room for us. A slip at the marina sounded enticing as strong NW winds were forecast for the region by morning.
Thetis Island is a beautiful island with several organic farms that produce vegetables and meat, which are available at a small, self-serve store with payment on the honor system. The store is in a picturesque, weathered blue cottage with shells and plants decorating the walkway to the entrance. We were looking forward to finding some fresh goodies there, but unfortunately, we arrived after the store closed and left before it opened the next morning. While Jeff cooked dinner, Fraser did a load of laundry in one of the two washers and dryers located in a little wooden structure just up the ramp from the docks on the marina property. The laundry house was adorable. A whimsical, brightly painted mural of a clothesline hung with island inspired garments ringed the single room (e.g., a polka dot bikini, jeans, flip-flops, flowery summer dress, patched shorts, socks with a smiling Corgi peaking over the top).
Telegraph Harbour is very well protected, as earlier mentioned, and the forecasted winds were only lightly felt at the marina. However, when we left the harbor on Tuesday morning and headed northwest we were immediately pummeled by the winds. Spray repeatedly coated the pilothouse windows as our bow plowed into the wind and waves through Stuart Channel on our way toward Dodd Narrows. Our one windshield wiper on the port side got quite a work-out.
Dodd Narrows, between Vancouver and Mudge Islands, is 250 feet wide and less than a half mile long. It is the gateway to Nanaimo from the Gulf Islands. Dodd Narrows is one of many narrows or passes between islands throughout the northwest cruising grounds, connecting one body of water to another. When the tides change there is a tremendous amount of water that moves through these restricted areas often causing turbulent rapids. They can all be traversed by a slow vessel like ours with careful planning and during slack water. Slack is the change-over period between ebb and flood currents when there is relatively little turbulence.
Fortunately, Dodd Narrows is well protected from the winds and we had an easy transit. We were one in a long line of vessel traffic ranging from working to pleasure boats of all sizes. As Fraser piloted Storm Petrel through the narrows, we both looked back for another look to see who was coming up behind us and were surprised to see the enormous bow of a motor yacht right on our tail. The bow was so large and close, it completely eclipsed our view of Stuart Channel. The waters of Northumberland Channel northwest of the narrows are much more open, especially as you approach Nanaimo. We encountered some pretty rough conditions as we approached Jack Point and the open water of the Strait of Georgia. The wind waves were not all that large, but they were close together. We had a rough, rolly ride for the last few miles into the harbor area of Nanaimo. Twice during this portion of the passage we had water that kissed the top of the pilothouse as we muscled into the waves.
We planned to anchor in Nanaimo Harbour behind Newcastle Island but the NW wind was not conducive to a secure night on the hook amidst the many other boats in the bay. We were concerned about the possibility of boats dragging their anchors in the strong gusting winds. The harbor is typically an excellent anchorage and offers a marvelous view of the Nanaimo waterfront in the daytime and skyline at night. Newcastle Island Marine Park is beautiful with forests, rocky shores, a lake, and several hiking trails. It also hosts albino raccoons, which are uncommon. Fraser saw them several times while visiting the park last year with friends. The Dinghy Dock Restaurant and Pub is close-by on Protection Island. The anchorage is supported by the green "pickle boat" water taxis that convey passengers back and forth between Nanaimo and the anchorage, but dogs are not permitted aboard the taxis. However, with the conditions as rough as they were, we decided to look for a slip in Nanaimo to preclude wet dinghy rides across the harbor and to get a good night's rest. Kairos, a faster boat, arrived ahead of us and took moorage at the Cameron Island docks, part of the Nanaimo Port Authority public marina. After a quick look at the windy conditions in the harbor, we too decided that we would be more comfortable securely tied to the stout transient pier at Cameron Island. Once again we were moored near Kairos and spent a couple of pleasant evenings with Nan and Steve going over charts, comparing notes, and planning our next few weeks' routes.
On Canada Day, we spent time catching up on some of our living-on-the-boat duties after first walking through the marina area to the Bastion (blockhouse) where an arts and crafts fair was held. Later, Fraser did the grocery shopping and a couple of loads of laundry, while Jeff overhauled the pump for the head and completed a few smaller tasks that had piled up. An invitation to "tea and crumpets" with Nan and Steve was a pleasant cap to the day.
We spent three days in Nanaimo waiting for conditions in the Strait of Georgia to improve before setting sail across the strait (28 nm) to Pender Harbor, our next stop on our way north. Meanwhile, it was fun to explore the city of Nanaimo. We walked along the waterfront promenade, visited several used bookstores and a chart store, and looked at intriguing masks and carvings at a First Canadian art gallery. Although we wanted to update the blog, we were thwarted in our efforts because of limited internet access. Our internet antenna did receive several networks, but most of these were secure networks. When we tried to access the few unsecured networks, all we got was local access without internet. An internet café was not to be found near the waterfront.
Finally, the weather conditions abated enough so that we, along with Kairos, were able to depart Nanaimo for the mainland side of the Strait of Georgia. Sea conditions were rough initially, but as we increased our distance from Vancouver Island, the conditions moderated until we finally had glassy seas on the east side of Texada Island and into Pender Harbor, where we got space at the dock at Madiera Park. Madiera Park is a quiet little community with close access to a grocery store and hardware store. We had invited the crew of Kairos over for dinner, so right after we walked the dogs Jeff got busy fixing a lamb tagine, one of Fraser's favorites. The company was enjoyable and dinner scrumptious as we ate al fresco in the coolness of the cockpit.