We left Decatur Island under clear skies and light winds, so it was a day of motoring. We wound our way through the San Juan Islands, passing by Friday Harbor before entering Speiden Channel as at least 4 knots of current pushed us along towards our final U.S. destination of Reid Harbor on Stuart Island. We had been there in the past, so we knew the layout. There is a small dock which shows adequate water depth on the chart, and we could see an open spot for Lion's Paw, so we headed there. As we approached the dock, we made a u-turn and headed at the dock. Before we realized it, we were stopped in about 6 feet of water (we draw 6.5 feet). Fortunately, the bottom was soft, and we were able to go into reverse and free ourselves, so it was off to a spot to anchor for the night. I launched the dinghy and went ashore while Debra relaxed onboard. I hiked across the island to Turn Point Lighthouse in hopes of seeing some freighters or maybe even a pod of Orcas but no such luck. I returned to Lion's Paw, and we had a nice dinner and night aboard before weighing anchor early the next morning.

The Canadian Border is only a few miles from Stuart Island and marks the middle of the shipping channel from the Strait of Georgia to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. With our Nexus cards, it was a matter of a telephone call to check into Canada, and we continued on to our first Canadian destination, Ganges on Salt Spring Island. We had hoped to hook up with Brenda and Bob DeRoos, but they were off on their sailboat in Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, so we docked at the marina. I launched my electric bike and road the 5 or so miles to Salt Spring Cheese Company to stock up on goat cheese for our upcoming travels. Although the route was quite hilly, the extra power provided by the electric hub motor made the trip very manageable. There were only a couple of short, steep hills which required a fair amount of pedaling effort. Upon my return, it was time for some laundry before we head up to Desolation Sound, and we ended the day with dinner on a patio overlooking the harbor.

Our next destination was Nanaimo where we are currently at anchor. We had to time our transit of Dodd Narrows, so we timed our departure and monitored our speed to arrive just at slack tide. The transit was dead calm, and we were through without incident. We continued on to the anchorage just inside Newcastle Island where I had soloed last year on my trip to Comox (See the lead picture). It has been another sunny, warm day with a decent sunset.

We are expecting continued good weather when we transit the Strait of Georgia on our way to our next destination at Westview Marina in Powell River where we will get to see Debra's Uncle Neil. I have secured the kayaks on deck in hopes of some good sailing across the strait.

We arose early this morning to a beautiful sunrise.

We exited the harbour and found good wind in the 12 to 15 knot range, so we set sail spending the first two hours crossing the Strait of Georgia before the wind decided to subside. As you can see from the smile on Debra's face, it was quite a pleasant sail.

We motored the last few miles into the Malaspina Strait on the east side of Texada Island and spent the last few hours reaching our destination at Westview Marina in Powell River. The marina is quite narrow, so I backed in the entire way to our slip using Trent's advice of treating the back of the boat as the bow. It really works! After docking, it was time for a thorough washing of Lion's Paw as this was the first marina that had no problem with water consumption, being on the mainland. She is now bright and clean for our continued venture north to Desolation Sound where marinas are few and far between. The weather forecast is for continue sunshine, and but for a touch of overheating in the direct sun, we are not complaining.