All in a week's play

Ahoy!

     We are in a place called Port McNeil.  I am at the laundry and am kind of kicking myself for not bring along the log book.  There is so much activity every day that sometimes it all starts blending together.  I guess that might be a sign that this is not a vacation but rather becoming a way of life.  We left Alert Bay yesterday morning.  We will spend a couple of days here provisioning, cleaning the cabin, and doing laundry (yay! clean sheets!).  We have learned a couple of good lessons this week.  Rinse and save milk jugs (we have for empties on board).  Buy powdered milk for the times that fresh milk is not available.  We learned that we like milk and toilet paper.  Yep, we ran out of toilet paper.  Luckily, we had paper towels that we cut up into little squares and wipes.  We (well, I) ran out of beer. We got diesel at Lagoon Cove and Scott overfilled the tank.  For those of you who like to learn from the errors of others, this is a "don't do."  The boat smelled terribly of diesel for a day and was not fun to clean out of the bilge or from the top of the tank.  Here are a few photos from the week and then I am going to return to boat to get the log book, as I am relying on it to report some of the details.

Eagles seem to find the coolest places to perch

Below lies a plethora of prawns

Is this a plethora?

First time to stern tie....how are you going to get up that wall?

He did it 

Safe and secure (for a day)

We ran our of gas while dinghy-ing to our prawn trap...we ported the outboard and FRESH over a tombolo  of solid oysters

less than half way across

Second day, new stern tie

Let's go on an adventure.....

.....and see what we can find

They found Harry's Rock at Tenedos Bay

We also found a rushing stream....

Scott finds the stream a great place to wash his pants

Now...this is a plethora! At least to us.....17 prawns and one tiny crab....the crab goes back 

The prawns.....well....sweet and delicious

A pair of Ravens....little did we know that we would be venturing into the land of Ravens soon (also known as Alert Bay).   

And now....crab for dinner....8 of them equals

Four cups of meat after two hours of cleaning.....
We had crab and cream cheese on crackers, crab cakes, and buttery farfalle pasta topped with grated gouda and loaded with crab 

Octopus Islands welcoming committee, three happily waving seals

Welcoming committee at Port Harvey

Going on an adventure

Pictographs

And, now....the masterpiece, art made from driftwood, rope, and rocks gathered while exploring

Bucket had a "Great idea, let's use purple ink to write our initials on our feet."  And it was made so....

Next....Desolation Sound

Ahoy!

     We are in a town called Powell River at Westview Harbour.  We made the trip from Princess Louisa Inlet in one day.  It was a wet, wet, rainy, day.  Scott was at the helm for 10 hours.  Zayden and I were below, keeping ourselves entertained with books, pens, and toys.  Every now and then one of us would pop our heads out to check on the Captain.  He seemed to be enjoying every minute of the drippy weather.  Never a complain or a groan, just an occasional request for hot drink or water proofed snack. Hot mocha and an apple was his special request.  I relieved him twice in the 10 hours for a pee break, Although I would have been more than happy to have taken the wheel more, he said he was content and it showed.

    There have been days when I find myself just complaining about this being my new lifestyle.  Oh...the inconveniences of not having hot water on demand, the confined living space, the lack of ice cubes and a freezer, no television or internet, making three meals a day in small galley and the constant doing of dishes, not having a personal washer and dryer, no daily shower....sometimes the list goes on and I find myself dwelling on the 'lack of."  Then we experience something as miraculous as Princess Louisa Inlet.  I have everything I could possibly need or want.  This place can only be visited by boat or sea plane.  The waterfalls flowing from the rocky hills that seem to reach to the highest point of the Earth are countless.  The serenity and sounds of nature unsurpassable.  My Uncle Bub once described the air in heaven so pure that it never had to be exhaled.  I believe I have came as to breathing the air of heaven that I ever will as a human being.  Only by experience can this wonderment be absorbed into the soul.  I took photo after photo in hopes of capturing the work of God so that I may share it with my loved ones.  Malibu Falls is the gateway to Princess Louisa.

The Gateway to a heavenly place

Our first view of Chatterbox Falls

The air is cool crisp and wet at the base of the falls

What the Falls sees....happy boys

Just as I thought.....ICY! I should be numb enough soon to shave my legs....

He's going in!

He agrees....ICY!

We dined lunch in the dinghy while Mama Bear and her 2 cubs dined on the bank.
We enjoyed left over pancakes topped with peanut butter and cinnamon and sugar along with cheese sticks and a shared bottle of water, while the bears crunched on mussels from the branches.....A delightful show!
(Uncle Craig....we thought of you....these guys were so darn cute!)

     Little did we know that within the same 24 hours we would view a Killer Whale and cub traveling through the Jervis Inlet.

     I am here doing laundry and the dryer is in cool down.  I have to cut this short, and I have so much to share.  We gathered mussels and oysters and ate them fresh while in the inlet.  We have met a lot of nice nice people.  Garden Bay, I know, has the friendliest people on the planet.  like I said, I am keeping a handwritten journal and will hopefully pass along some of the entries.  For now....I will fold the laundry, the fuel dock opens in a half an hour when we will fill up and make our way to Desolation Sound.  Maybe I can get a few more photos downloaded while I fold....

We did some fantasy real estate shopping....we though we could live here in Garden bay

or Here

Fishing for crab bait in Egmont.....will this work?

Pull it up, Bucket...let's see if we got any
(Yes, Shawn  =)    we purchased a crab/prawn trap.  I will let you know of the deliciousness when we get some.)

Sewing machine broken :(   (clutch washer needed)

In transit via Canadian Post...

Minor repair...less expensive to hire a diver than to haul out.  Bucket is in awe....he may be a diver someday.

Replacing the sacrificial zinc on the prop shaft....fell off somewhere around Egmont

The guys....ready for yet another hiking adventure....life is good!

     I am 3 minutes late to the set off for the fuel dock.....TTFN


Until next time....
Fair Winds and Oceans of Love

Mother's Day

     Today is Mother's Day in the States.  I feel pretty blessed to have the ability to post......

Happy Mother's Day

     To Every Every Beautiful Woman in my life.  My Mom(s), My Sisters, My Friends, My Daughter, My Aunts, My Grandmother(s), My Nieces, My Cousins, Mentors and Teachers.  Life is a wonderful thing with you in it, I am truly blessed. Thank you for the loving support, encouragement, and reality checks.  Thank you for the laughter, sharing the tears, for always welcoming me with an open heart and open arms, for providing me with a safe and comfortable place to "just be," without the concern of judgement or being shut out.  Thank you for your honesty and letting me know you.  You are with me always, you are at times my conscious, and here to give advice even when you don't know it. 

                       Thank You....I Appreciate You....I Admire You.....I Love You.....

Everyday. 

Up Up and North We Go

Ahoy!

     We are in Pender Harbour, anchored in Garden Bay yesterday afternoon around 2:30.  There is a little grocery here along with fuel and propane.  We are in a small restaurant having breakfast and using the internet.  I have been advised several times just in the last two days that communication with the outside world is going to become more difficult and perhaps at some point not at all the farther north we go.  So, it is probable that we will be invisible for the next couple of weeks, or until we get back into the States, no need to send out the Search and Rescue =)  Our phone service is now out of reach as well.  I have started keeping a handwritten journal in hopes to transfer our adventure onto the blog.  We will take lots of photos.

The approach to Pender Harbour

Taking the bridge to the grocery....soon to find that a gallon of milk is a mere $7.49
I am sure it came from a HOLY COW!

Until next time.....
Love to All!

Cindy, Scott and Bucket

P.S.  Our next stop...Egmont for a day, then up Jervis Inlet and onto the beautiful, Princess Louisa Inlet....

Canada or Bust, cont.

     We left Sidney Marina at 10:05 am.  Our next stop and planned anchorage....Ganges, on Salt Spring Island.  A waitress in Sidney told us that this was a cool place to visit.  The people are hippy-ish and it is a real laid back place.  We pulled into the marina and on to the fuel dock where, as we were just to secure the lines we were approached by a local who politely said, "Didn't you call in first? The marina is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday as of yet."  Hmmm....the sign DID say call in on VHF 67A before entry.  Okay, from here forward we will do as the signs advise and for today we will anchor in Ganges Marina along with the other 20 or so boats.  From the looks of some of those old boats this was their safe place, their home spot, and they didn't get out much.

     We released FRESH from her binding harness atop Velvet Sky and set her free to once again be rowed to shore where she would share parking with other dinghies of all shapes and sizes at the local "Dinghy Dock."  I have not taken enough pictures because I am not kidding about the several varieties of dinghies.  There was a homemade batman style dinghy and an old school graffitied up dinghy (love, peace, hope, hearts, and rainbows), definitely photo worthy.  We did purchase new point and shoot camera for the ease and convenience of always having a camera on hand, so no excuses on missing a good shot.  The Nikon is pretty bulky and gets cumbersome after a while.  Here is the one picture that got captured in Ganges.

     We wandered aimlessly around Ganges, in and out of stores, stopping for the usual ice-cream treat.  We wandered into the playground of the elementary school and watched the Bucket make new play pals and utilize the equipment. We stayed here through Thursday because Wednesday was close to an end and we wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything.  We found the lumber store and bought a 3 foot piece of teak for stern reinforcement on FRESH.  She was close to getting a 2.5 horse power Yamaha outboard to help her move along the water.  We would pick it up in Nanaimo.  Little did we know, this small piece of $30.00 wood would end up costing us double because some screwball stole it right from under our nose while we were in the cell phone store, unbelievable!  I don't imagine we will return to Ganges anytime in the near future, the thievery left a bad taste.

     Thursday was a travel day that was carefully planned out according to the tide and currents chart.  We were going through Dodd Narrows, a devilish short but fierce narrow.  I didn't even imagine.  In my mind it was going to be something like a short ride on a smooth flowing river with a little jolt of a thrill.  I am so glad that Scott put so much time, and thought into making this pass.  Sometimes I make myself feel so naive and oblivious to the dangers of nature.  This was a crazy (and fun) ride, though looking back I can see how it could so easily go wrong.  Bucket and I went to the bow sprit and planted our bottoms near the anchor rollers.  This was such an awesome view.

Aprox. 4:34 pm approaching Dodd Narrows two miles away

     There was such a peaceful easy feeling, as the cool wind kissed and brushed across our faces.  We watched the jelly fish swish by the boat in the depths of the salty water as we motored forward into the unexpected.

A shot of the churning action in Dodd

     A video camera is really the appropriate thing to have here.....why oh why did I not have the Go Cam?  I have so much to learn.  Land seemed to be within arms length and the water was churning in every direction.  I thought I was dreaming about the rafting trip we never took.  This could easily be described as being similar to the rapids in a river.  We flew through at a whopping 10.6 knots at precisely 5:00 pm ( and 49 seconds), Scott reckoned we would cross through at 5:00.  The hull speed of the Velvet Sky 8.2 knots.  Wow! I say! And remember, Bucket and I were on the sprit....ooooh!  We have crowned ourselves "Adventure-ests" And Scott, well, he totally rocked the ride!

Rockin' the Narrow

FRESH tags along,  gleefully

     Forward to Nanaimo!  Docked at 6:10 pm.  Life is good!
   

Canada or Bust

Ahoy!  from Nanaimo, BC.


     We left Roche Harbor on Tuesday he 29th at 10:35 am, crossed into Canadian waters at 11:25, and raised our courtesy Canadian flag at precisely noon.

Approaching Port Sidney Marina, approx. 1:00 pm

Clearing in

Waiting to be cleared in.  Bucket and I are instructed to remain aboard.

     We were assigned guest moorage on Dock D space 40.  We were in a double space with a huge motor yacht.  At this point, with our novice level of experience, every docking, anchoring, mooring ball encounter is new and for me challenging.  I would guess Scott gets a pretty good rush out of the daily challenges too, he just keeps his cool so much better than I.

     We see our slip and this gigantic motor boat with which we are going to be crowding in with and I take a deep breath and try to conceal the fact that my heart is pounding out of my chest.  The wind was against us, meaning it wanted to blow us right into the yacht.  I looked to Scott for assurance....he provided it, and slid in like he had done it a million times. Success! Still the rush of adrenaline made me sweat and I was quick to admit my fear.  Little did I know that there was yet another and more challenging docking marina maneuver to come.

     We had showers, wandered through town, and got groceries and had dinner back on the boat.

     We left Sidney at 10:05 am.  I have found 10:00 in the morning is the perfect time for getting underway.  We wake between 6:00 and 7:00, have breakfast, get cleaned up, dress, prep for getting underway, start the motor and viola!  We have lunch while underway and arrive at our next destination just in time for a nap.  We explore our environment a bit after nap and decide if we want to spend the entire next day at this spot or if we want to move on.  If the latter is the case then we use a couple of hours looking at possible destinations, the weather, tides and currents, and times of departure.