We’ve been patiently waiting for the Strait of Georgia to cooperate for several days now, and we’re finally ready to move into a position to seize the good weather that’s forecast for Thursday and Friday. Our plan is to put the Strait of Georgia behind us on Thursday, by running all the way from Nanaimo to Campbell River. Then, on Friday, we’ll (hopefully) hit the morning turn-to-ebb at Seymour Narrows … Read more
With Thursday (two days away) still looking like our best bet for the Strait of Georgia, we are still pacing ourselves while enjoying the beautiful Gulf Islands. We left Montague Harbour mid-morning for the short jaunt up to Clam Bay – a nice anchorage on the east side of Thetis Island. There is an intertidal passage between Clam Bay and Telegraph Harbour which can be traversed by dinghy at higher … Read more
With the weather still looking windy on the Strait of Georgia until Thursday, we didn’t have far to go today. Our goal is to meander through the Gulf Islands slowly, visiting new places while getting to know each other and providing an opportunity to shake down the boats. So today we made the long, eight mile trip from Ganges to Montague Harbour! Montague Harbour is huge, with room for hundreds … Read more
Our plan originally was to make a really quick trip to the north end of Vancouver Island, then slow down on the Central Coast. Today we were supposed to run through the Gulf Islands to Nanaimo, so we’d be in position to run up the Strait of Georgia to Campbell River the next day. The weather isn’t cooperating, though. The Strait looks too bumpy on Monday, Tuesday, and maybe Wednesday. … Read more
After wrapping up our last Vancouver Island flotilla, Kevin and I flew from Victoria to NY for some work and some fun, and then returned and met up with Kevin’s mom for some Gulf Island cruising. We went around from Sidney to Tod Inlet and anchored there for the night. The next day we dinghied in to Butchart Cove and spent most of the day exploring Butchart Gardens. Kevin and … Read more
The beautiful weather continues! We awoke this morning to bright sunshine and our group was so excited to get going that we left Roche Harbor by 8:00 a.m. — an hour earlier than originally scheduled. All but one of us has Nexus (the trusted traveler program that lets us clear Canadian customs by phone most of the time), so one boat had to stop and clear customs at Pender Harbour … Read more
Princess Louisa Inlet is iconic. It’s a “holy grail,” and with good reason. It’s not too far from the major population centers (200nm from Seattle, for instance), yet it is among the most scenic spots on the coast. Cliffs rise from the water all the way to peaks thousands of feet above. Waterfalls tumble down. Trees cling for dear life. A classic fjord. About 10 years ago, Princess Louisa was … Read more
The Strait of Georgia is one of the significant “gates” on the trip to Alaska. It’s a big body of water—20 miles wide and 150 miles long. When it’s windy, the Strait of Georgia gets rough. Today it was calm. Read more on samlandsman.com
Today was a short day—28 nautical miles of protected water from Ganges to Silva Bay. We left about 10:30 a.m., transited Gabriola Pass just before slack at 2:01 p.m., and arrived in Silva Bay soon after. Easy, smooth water along the way. A bit of drizzle, but very little wind. We had a relaxed afternoon at Silva Bay. Some folks dropped crab traps, others hung out on the docks. I … Read more
The last week has been super busy. Finalizing the watermaker install, tinkering with systems, provisioning, saying bye to friends and family… Yesterday I moved the boat around from Skyline Marina to Cap Sante Marina, fueled up, picked up Kevin Monahan (my crew to Alaska for the third year in a row), and met with the flotilla folks who are departing from Anacortes. A busy and productive day. Read more on … Read more