Day 2 and we’ve already resorted to a Plan B. Originally our plan this morning was to leave Ganges around 7:30am to make Dodd Narrows by noon, just prior to slack, and then continue on up to Tribune Bay on Hornby Island — a long day (67nm). However, the forecast looked like we might very likely get beat up a bit from Nanaimo north. We’ve learned from experience that if the Environment Canada forecast for Strait of Georgia North of Nanaimo calls out the conditions and then adds “except off of Qualicum Beach,” it’s often even worse there than the forecast promises. We made a last minute call this morning to head 16nm up to Clam Bay (southeast corner of Thetis Island) instead. No sense starting out with any more drama than we need to!
The forecast right now is a little frustrating, with a low pressure system causing increased winds (and not moving through the area very fast), and it seems like the forecast is different every time it refreshes, which is making long term plans tricky, so we’ll just take it day by day and adjust along the way. Last night in Ganges the wind picked up to 30+kts at the dock, which was not in the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast) at all, but the NAM forecast (North American Mesoscale Forecast System from NOAA) was spot on. A reminder to take into account multiple models when trying to assess the situation, even though sometimes it just makes it all that much harder to make a decision. 🙂
As we got closer to Clam Bay, the wind picked up and we saw 30kt gusts and a lot of whitecaps, but inside the bay it’s less choppy, and the wind is supposed to mellow out this evening. Fingers crossed. Still, it’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and we’re on our way north. All good!
We got together on Airship this evening for happy hour (and to discuss the weather and options). It was a really fun visit, and everyone is chill and great just going with the flow. After happy hour (also occasionally known as “dinner”), we took the dinghy through the cut and over to Telegraph Harbour. What a gorgeous evening!
Kali, lit very nicely while at anchor in Clam Bay:
Tomorrow the plan is all the way to Comox. Will see how things pan out!