We left Port McNeill under clear skies as the sun rose in the east in the wee hours of the morning. Our original plan was to head west to the northern tip of Vancouver Island at Bull
Harbour. With the prevailing winds out of the northwest, this would give us the best chance of an extended sail north. However, a check of the weather forecast had changed, and the wind was now forecast to be relatively light and from the southwest. Hence, it would be ill advised to go the extra mileage to Bull Harbour simply to once again travel under motor. We then decided to head northwest around Cape Caution and on to an anchorage that we had never used before: Millbrook Cove. We briefly had an interim amount of wind out of the southwest to at least motorsail until we reached Cape Caution when the wind died. However, when we were about an hour north of the Cape, the winds began to fill in from the west, and we were able to transit the last two hours under full sail at about 7 knots, a very respectable speed. As we approached the Cove, we furled all sails and started to navigate the entry to the Cove. The charts showed a red marker which did not show up in real life. However, there was an uncharted red marker in a different location, which confused us. After taking this all into consideration, we decided to proceed using the depth chart and land marks to successfully weave our way into the Cove. We were the only boat there, and we set the anchor for a quiet night. Not long thereafter, we were joined by an American Tug, but the anchorage was more than big enough for the both of us. We did chat a bit via the VHF so that we were both comfortable with the situation.

We awoke this morning and decided not to rush out. Our next destination would be the Hakai Institute at Pruth Bay, and we had plenty of time to get there. We were once again under motor as there was a total lack of wind. About halfway to the southern tip of Calvert Island, we entered a fog bank. It was not particularly thick, and visibility was a good one half mile. Nevertheless, we turned on our radar. Once we reached Calvert Island, the fog lifted and we were in clear blue skies. We proceeded to the long entry into the anchorage when we experienced an unexpected problem with Lion’s Paw which was not dangerous but concerning. After reaching the anchorage, we decided that discretion was the better part of valor; Rather than proceeding north and at times in open waters, we decided that it was time to stop any further travel north and return back to Salt Spring Island, retracing our steps of getting to this point. We did, however, launch the dinghy and travel into the Institute where Bob was able to get us in so that I could see the humpback whale skeleton that his son, Mike, had constructed from a whale that had died and washed ashore on a beach close to the Institute on the Pacific Ocean side. Bob had helped with the installation at the Institute, so we were given full access. We even had a special treat when the benefactors of this facility came by to greet us and talk about the skeleton. We then took our traditional walk to the western beaches, walking along a path through the forest. As we cleared the forest and could see the beach, it was in a thick fog of limited visibility, so we sat on a beached log as we watched and listened to the small waves the reached the shore. It was then back to Lion’s Paw for dinner and another night at anchor.

Tomorrow we head south, retracing our path here, so there may be little or nothing new and interesting to justify further blogging. Hence, this could be the final blog of this trip unless something unusual and interesting is worth another blog. Thanks for following us on our annual maritime adventures. Debra and I do plan to make some relatively short trips out of Salt Spring Island for the balance of the summer, and if anything warrants blogging, I will make sure to do so.

Sorry for missing a scheduled blog yesterday, but we scheduled our departure today for 5am, so it was early to bed. Here is the latest:

We woke up on Monday morning to calm conditions as we weighed anchor from our secluded anchorage in order to catch the favorable current up Discovery Channel and Johnstone Strait. As we headed towards the channel, I observed a large trawler heading north. I checked it out on AIS, and it was a boat named Saltheart, not a very common one. What quickly came to mind was our trip in 2015 to Alaska where we hooked up with a boat of that name and shared dinner aboard their boat while we rafted up in an anchorage. I grabbed the VHF radio and called: "Saltheart, Saltheart, Saltheart, this is Lion's Paw." Lo and behold, it was the Dean and Theresa from Boise, Idaho! Dean immediately noted that he had seen us docked in Campbell River and then saw us at anchor in Kanish Bay as they headed north through Seymour Narrows. I confirmed that they were once again headed for an Alaskan summer which meant that we would be on similar tracks for at least a few days. They indicated that they would try to reach Port McNeill that day as they can go about 1 knot faster than Lion's Paw in cruising speed. We agreed to stay in touch if they decided to spend 2 days at Point McNeill, as we would be making an interim stop either in Port Neville or Port Harvey, depending upon the currents through Johnstone Strait.

We entered Discovery Channel and were immediately cruising at 8+ knots as we caught the favorable current, and our speed barely and briefly fell below that speed for the remainder on that leg of the journey. In fact, we hit briefly hit 12 knots along the way. The wind was calm, so there was little fetch (waves), but the winds were predicted to increase throughout the afternoon. We passed Port Neville with no problem and plenty of time before the wind would come up; We continued on to Port Harvey. Saltheart was a couple of miles ahead of us as we were nearing Port Harvey, and Saltheart called on the radio indicating that they, too, had decided to turn into Port Harvey for the night. It was before noon, but the winds were beginning to build on our nose, and the current would soon reverse to be against us. They suggested that we raft together (something that we had done with them in Alaska for a Dungeness Crab dinner), and we gladly accepted. We followed them into the harbour, and they picked out a suitable spot to anchor. They set out their fenders, and I gradually brought Lion's Paw aside where we tossed them our lines, and we were tied up securely. We boarded their trawler and caught up on the last 8 years, agreeing then to have dinner onboard Saltheart; I agreed to provide the main course of Thai Chicken Curry, and Theresa would provide the salad.

We returned to Lion's Paw for an afternoon of relaxation before cranking up the stove and preparing the curry. In the meantime, we confirmed that this was a wise decision to anchor there, as we could see the whitecapped waves out in the Strait which would have been an unpleasant journey for either vessel that afternoon. It also created a bit of a concern for our rafting; Waves were bouncing off the opposite shore of our harbour and hitting us broadside. This meant that the two boats would be moving up and down at different times, which was not a good situation, long term. We better secured the lines between the boats to minimize the effect, but we both agreed that separate anchorages were in order. Before we split up, we did have a great dinner aboard Saltheart, ending the meal with brownies a la mode freshly baked by Theresa. It then was time to separate, and we set our own anchor 100 meters or so from Saltheart for the night.

Things calmed down overnight, and we awoke for a 6am departure to once again take advantage of the favorable current. We entered into Johnstone Strait, and the winds began to increase. Before long, they were 15 knots on the nose, and the fetch became uncomfortable. Saltheart carried on, but we decided that setting the mainsail and motor sailing at an angle to the wind was a better choice. We zig-zagged from edge to edge of the strait as we made our way up to Port McNeill. Lion's Paw handled the conditions like a champion, and by the time that we reached Alert Bay, the winds began to subside, and the waves calmed down. We furled the mainsail and proceeded directly to Port McNeill where we had made a reservation, and they gave us our slip assignment. We easily tied up even with the strong wind and secured Lion's Paw for the night.

It was then time to take advantage of some amenities of Port McNeill which we may lose until we are on our way home from Haida Gwaii in about a month. The first stop was the laundromat. We then took advantage to stock up on a few perishables, and Bob demanded that we increase our stock of potato chips. We returned to Lion's Paw with our laundry and shopping bags full, packed everything away and settled in for the afternoon. We then ventured back ashore for dinner at the local brewpub before returning to Lion's Paw for a few games of all fives dominoes and an early bedtime.

I awoke this morning a 4:30am but as the sun was about to rise and prepared Lion's Paw for an early departure. We left the dock a little after 5am, and we are now heading north. Our hope was to head west along the shore of Vancouver Island to Bull Harbour at the northern tip of the island. By doing so, we would then have a good sailing angle to our next stop on Calvert Island and the Hakai Institute where Bob and his son Mike recently installed a whale skeleton. With a prevailing wind of 10-15 knots out of the northwest, the forecast that I checked yesterday, this was an ideal plan. However, as we entered Queen Charlotte Strait, I again checked the forecast, and it had totally changed. It called for extremely light, variable direction wind, even from the southwest at times. Hence, the extended distance that the original plan called for was no longer an option. We have changed course and are now heading for Allison Harbour, the more direct and better choice for those wind conditions.

I think that this is more than enough of a blog, so I am ending it here. We have several more hours motoring to Allison Harbour.

I am writing tonight because of everything that we experienced today and is worth sharing. We are now securely at anchor in Kanish Bay, just north of Seymour Narrows (more about that later). This is a well protected anchorage that Debra and I discovered on our way home last summer from our trip to the Central Coast of BC. It is perfect, as well lie in calm conditions after experiencing winds on our nose of 20-25 knots as we traveled north through Discovery Channel.

Now to recap the day: We started from Ford Cove on Hornby Island in perfectly calm conditions. As we cleared the island, a bit of a wind filled in from our starboard quarter (behind us), and we were able to raise the mainsail and gain a few tenths of a knot in boat speed as we headed to Campbell River. Along the way, I gazed off to our starboard across the Strait of Georgia, and watched as a humpback whale breached about 10 miles away. We both quickly grabbed our binoculars, and we were treated to a true spectacular: 2 or 3 humpbacks repeatedly breaching for about 10 minutes until we lost sight of them. Nothing would be more spectacular of a whale sighting except if we had been 9 miles closer.

We continued on through the morning as we approached the entrance to Discovery Channel where we planned to pull into an anchorage on the eastern shore about 2 miles into the channel. We were traveling at about 7 knots as we approached what was clearly a tide line indicating a change in current speed and direction. Before we knew it, our speed quickly dropped to 3 knots. We tried to catch a back eddy (reverse current) in the shallows near the eastern shore, but the current was unrelenting. We then tried to cross the channel to the shallows of the western shore to get out of the current. However, the current was so strong that we were going horizontally and slightly backwards as we tried to head north towards the far shore. The current was unrelenting, but we finally reached the shallows of the western shore. While it did reduce the current, we could only make headway at 3 knots under full power. The local marina was only about a half mile away, but progress was difficult, so we tried to set the anchor and hold our position near the shore until the current subsided in a few hours. That did not work; The current was so strong that the anchor windlass which raises and lowers the anchor could not hold, and the anchor chain continued to run out as we were pushed backwards. Bob was at the helm, and I was at the anchor. He quickly powered up Lion’s Paw to maximum power, and I was able to retrieve the anchor. Our only choice now was to slog forward and enter into the marina behind its breakwater and free of the strong current. It took us quite awhile to fight our way, but we successfully made it in. I called on the radio and explained our situation. They were extremely helpful and assigned us a slip just inside the entrance. After securing Lion’s Paw to the dock, I went into the office and asked how much to pay for temporary moorage, as we planned to proceed north once the current subsided and switched at about 6:30pm, and it was only 2:30. They said that there would be no charge, that we were free to stay on the dock until the current switched and even gave us the gate combination to allow us access to the shore and local stores/restaurants. We took advantage, doing a bit of grocery shopping and having dinner at the local pub before returning to Lion’s Paw.

Our plan was to proceed north to a bay just south of Seymour Narrows and anchor overnight, awaiting slack tide at the Narrows at 5:45am. We started north and were going at about 8 knots. Bob said: “Why don’t we just shoot the Narrows tonight and head north now?” After analyzing our options, the decision was: “Why not?” I knew of the anchorage at Kanish Bay which would be a good stopping point and a good start on our next day’s travel into Johnstone Strait. We proceeded to the Narrows, continuing to increase our speed to a point where, at the peak of the current, we were traveling at 14 knots! This was fairly brief, and we began to slow as the winds had been quite strong on our nose at 20+ knots. Before long, we were slogging through some aggressive wind waves which cut our speed back to under 7 knots. They lasted until we were finally able to turn into Kanish Bay and the shelter from the wind that it provides. We now sit in a bit of wind and are secure for the night. We will get an early start tomorrow to take advantage of the favorable current that starts here at about 5:30am. Hopefully, the winds will have calmed.

We have now completed our first two days of travel on this summer’s journey to Haida Gwaii. We timed our departure from Salt Spring Island according to our first challenge: timing the traverse of Dodd Narrows with its strong currents for a time when the water is calm: slack tide. The trip was smooth and uneventful due to a total lack of any wind, so it was motoring the entire first leg. However, we began to notice an unusual number of sailboats joining our timing of the Narrows, when Bob remembered that this weekend was the start of the Van Isle 360, a sailboat race that circumnavigates Vancouver Island. The start is tomorrow from Nanaimo, the same destination for leg one of our journey. This fact dashed any hopes of finding moorage at the Nanaimo Yacht Club where we had mooring privileges. As we approached the Narrows, there were four other sailboats, clearly entrants to the race, joining our uneventful traverse, having timed our arrival flawlessly. After that, we were about an hour away from Nanaimo, and as we approached, we could see through our binoculars that the yacht club dock was full. That meant that it called for anchoring at Newcastle Island, directly across from the town: an anchorage which I have used on several prior occasions as we have passed through this town on our way north. The harbour was quite crowded, but we were able to find an appropriate spot to anchor amongst the other moored vessels. I had hoped to have dinner at Astera, a local Greek restaurant that Debra and I had discovered last summer. A telephone call confirmed that it was quite busy but that they could accommodate us at 8pm. After settling in at our anchorage, we launched our dinghy and motored into town where we tied up at the government marina’s dinghy dock, a healthy walk to the restaurant. The restaurant was hopping as we had previously experienced, but we nevertheless were well treated by the excellent waitstaff. We were not disappointed in the food which was both tasty and filling. We ended the evening with a dinghy ride back to Lion’s Paw at dusk; the sun does not set at this latitude until well after 9pm, and we were treated to our first view of a full moon which we are again enjoying this evening at our second stop: Ford Cove on Hornby Island.

We left Nanaimo this morning under clear blue skies. As we entered the Strait of Georgia, our pathway north, the winds began to fill in from the southeast-We were heading north west. Much to our delight, we were able to set sail and experience a mostly engine free leg. With the wind directly behind us, we had to sail wing-on-wing: the mainsail set to one side of Lion’s Paw and the headsail to the other. To stabilize the headsail, we used our whisker pole which holds the bottom corner of the headsail away from the boat to better catch the wind. Our 6+ hour journey was mostly under this sail configuration, but we did have to reverse the positions of the two sails, a complicated task requiring a lot of coordination, when we changed course slightly to head to our intended destination: Tribune Bay, which I have enjoyed on several occasions. It is extremely protected from winds from the north: something that we had experienced last summer when there were strong northerly winds. However, when the wind is from the south, the bay is exposed to swell and what is known as a lee shore, which is disfavored. Fortunately, by slipping around the southwest corner of Hornby Island, we were able to find a place on a government dock in Ford Cove, which is protected from a southerly swell. We secured ourselves inside the floating breakwater where we are spending the night before heading further north tomorrow. Our goal is to set up for a traverse of our next challenge: Seymour Narrows, which is the gateway to the north. We will have a 7+ hour journey tomorrow where we will anchor in a bay just south of the Narrows. We would have preferred a berth at the marina in Campbell River, about 7 miles south of the Narrows, but slack tide is scheduled for 5:45am. This timing is crucial because that day may require our longest travel distance of this adventure, and the forecast is for a strong headwind as we tranverse Johnstone Strait on our way to the jumping off point to Queen Charlotte Strait-Port McNeill. This will require 2 days travel, and, depending upon availability of dock space at the half way point of Port Neville, we may have to continue on to the shelter of Port Harvey several more hours of travel. The good news is that, with the Van Isle starting tomorrow, we will not have to compete with mooring facilities from the raceboats, as we will have a one day headstart. They will not reach Campbell River on their second leg until after we have already traversed Seymour Narrows, and this will be true for our journey to Port McNeill where we turn north as the race heads further west and then south along the west coast of Vancouver Island. I may not be able to keep to a blog every 2 days during our traverse of Johnstone Strait, so do not panic if you do not hear from me again until we reach Port McNeill

Well, it has been 2 days, so it is time to blog again. Unfortunately, there is no earth shattering news (my apologies for so much about our meals), but here goes:

Woke up yesterday morning for a trip to Barb’s Buns and one of my favorite pastries. We then took a walk up to the top of Mouat Park, returning down through the frisbee golf course amongst the woods. At one point on the path, we discovered these two large evergreens virtually joined at the base; One was a cypress and the other a fir. To me, this reminded me of an interracial marriage of a sort and posted a picture to Facebook with a sarcastic note on the Republican race for the presidency. After returning, it was time for lunch at Buzzy’s Luncheonette, another of our favorite spots. Buzzy is a jew from Montreal who opened a Montreal smoked meat sandwich shop. Colin went for the “Hungry Jew” (Montreal meat and cole slaw topped with a potato latke on rye), and I settled for their special grilled cheese on challah with a side of latkes. Neither one of us could finish them! It was back to the townhouse for an afternoon of relaxation and recovery from lunch. For dinner, it was wood fired pizza from the food truck before Bob and Brenda, our neighbors, joined us for a round of all 5s dominoes. I played Brenda, and she asked for a handicap, so I obliged. She won, but I would have won by 4 points had I not been handicapped. Colin did not fare well with Bob, and we called it a night. I have started reading “The Wager,” a book about an ill fated British warship which did not fare well on its journey around Cape Horn. It is interesting to learn just how awful conditions were for sailors in the 1700s and how poorly the ships were constructed and needed constant repairs of hull, rigging and sails. Medical care was virtually untreatable other than to have a limb amputated following a battle or falling to one’s death from the heights of these square riggers. I have a long way to go, but it has already been quite an education, evaporating long held myths of sailing on the high seas in those days.

Today was preparation day for our trip to Haida Gwaii, as we depart tomorrow morning at 11am for what should take us well over a month. It was laundry in the townhouse to have a full set of clean clothes, as well as making up the aft cabin for Bob’s stay aboard Lion’s Paw. Today also involved work on the proposal being made to the local government to address the awful conditions of Ganges Harbour. Colin was off on his return to Colorado aboard a seaplane to Vancouver where he was scheduled to catch a non-stop that will not get him to Denver International Airport until after midnight tonight. The day ended with a meeting of about a dozen supporters of the Clean Harbour Bylaw to agree upon the final proposal to be presented to the Trustees of the Island Trust. The presentation to the Trustees was scheduled for May 18th, but it has been postponed until June 22nd, when Bob and I should be exploring Haida Gwaii. I finished the day with dinner at the Cider Mill with Bob and Brenda, and I am about to retire and read more of The Wager. Once more, it is time to bring this blog to a close.

We left Oak Bay this morning headed for our next stop: the Sidney Spit. The first half of the journey was in calm winds, but they began building about half way there. The wind was coming from directly behind us so it was not suitable for only sails. We set the Genoa headsail to give the engine a bit of a boost and completed the journey having to dodge a few boats under full sail since they had the right of way. Upon arriving at the Spit, our usual spot from past trips was taken, but we were able to find a suitable spot close by. We set the anchor and prepared for our dinghy ride to the island dock. We had been traveling without the outboard engine mounted on the dinghy, so it was time to remove it from the safety railing and mount it on the transom of the dinghy. Lowering the engine to the dinghy went without a hitch, and we were quickly able to head for shore. We started up the engine and reached the dock on short order. After securing it, we were off to explore the island. Our first walking loop headed south to the site of the long abandoned brick factory. As I expected, we found a few small piles of brick pieces, and someone had used them to actually spell out their name on the ground. We completed the 1 kilometer loop along the eastern edge of the island where we were treated to some good views of the U.S. The primary island is Stuart Island which is the location of a famous lighthouse that still works today and is at the end of a nice hike on the island. It is not visible from Sidney Island, but you do get an understanding of its location on the island from this vantage point. After completing the loop, it was time to walk out to the end of the Spit, a long and narrow strand of beach which extends out to the northernmost point of the island. At times, there are places where you have to traverse shallow water from tide pools or even walk through shallow ocean water when the tides are high. We timed our walk for relatively low tide, so it was a dry walk through very fine, dark sand, interspersed with small rocks. It is a fairly long spit about a kilometer+ round trip. I stopped just short of the end so that Colin could claim the one to have reached it on that day (I had done it several times in the past). Upon return to the dock, we hopped in the dinghy and returned to Lion’s Paw for dinner and a good night’s sleep after our physical exertion (It is always a bit difficult walking along a sandy beach as one sinks slightly into the sand).

We awoke this morning to clear skies and no wind. Our first destination was Vector Marine to have them diagnose and fix the counter for the anchor control at the helm. After docking at their facility, they gave us the keys to one of their trucks, and we were off to the town of Sidney, a place that Debra have enjoyed on many occasions (Lion’s Paw was docked at a marina near the town center for its first 2 years). My hope was that we could have lunch at my favorite pizza restaurant, 900 Degrees. However, we were disappointed to discover that it is closed on Mondays. Our next stop was my favorite Greek restaurant, but it, too, was closed on Mondays. We therefore had to settle for brunch at a local café. Colin was treated to crab cake Benedict that he thoroughly enjoyed, and I settled for a simple omelet. After brunch, we stopped at the local grocery store to fill in some of the missing foodstuffs that you are not allowed to bring across the border (some produce items). Upon returning to Vector, they had diagnosed and fixed the chain counter (It was a faulty sensor). We untied from the dock and headed out for our final stop of the first leg of this journey; Ganges on Salt Spring Island where we have our townhouse. The trip was uneventful, and we were able to easily tie up to the private dock. After securing Lion’s Paw, we went up and spent the remainder of the afternoon in our townhouse, just relaxing. We then walked to Moby’s, one of our favorite restaurants, for dinner. We returned to Lion’s Paw for a round of All 5s Dominoes before I have now sat down to write this blog. We spend
2 more full days before Bob DeRoos becomes the crew for my trip to Haida Gwaii. Colin leaves by float plane on the afternoon of the 31st. Bob and I depart for parts far north on June 1st.

That is all for now.