Oh, what a beautiful morning! Early morning fog enveloped our harbor – not so thick that we couldn’t see th
e end of our boat or most of the other boats in the harbor, but thick enough that we couldn’t see the shoreline a couple hundred yards away. In the distance we could hear fog horns out in Rosario Strait, and although we couldn’t see the shore, we could see some hilltops that presumably descended to the shore. As the morning progressed the fog thinned somewhat, draping itself over hill and dale.
Ray prepared our breakfast this morning, using the potatoes c
ooked last night to make hash browns, along with sautéed onions and ham. He served us all generous portions, which we ate up on the bridge while watching the fog formations.
We planned to head up to Ganges today, so hoisted anchor about 10 o’clock to get started. I should say we hoisted anchor from 10 until about 10:20, as the chain was enveloped with kelp – the kind that had tendrils wrapped around the links. Erin had to work it off with the boat hook every few feet to keep it from feeding up the hawse pipe. When the anchor eventually broke the surface, it was encased in about a foot of mud, the kind that turns to concrete when it dries. Although we had our washdown hose at the ready, it was no match for the load on the anchor. We lowered it to just below the waterline and cruised around a bit until it was clean.
We headed out of Hunter Bay towards Spencer Spit. A solid wall of fog loomed ahead of us and I had the radar on, but as we approached the fog it thinned enough that we could see where we were going. Looking to the east out Thatcher Pass we could see that there was still plenty of fog in the straits, and we were glad we crossed over yesterday. We passed between the spit and Flower Island with no difficulty. Spencer Spit from a distance appears to reach out most of the way to the island, but there is plenty of room for boats to pass, even at low tide. The spit is triangular in shape, with a salt water lagoon in the center. As we passed, a perfect image of the spit, including the lagoon, appeared on the radar screen.
We passed the Lopez ferry landing and Upright Head before heading off between Shaw and Orcas Islands via Harney Chann
el. We saw quite a bit of ferry traffic, both heading for Lopez and coming through Wasp Passage. We chose to take Pole Pass, a small boat passage between Orcas and Crane Islands. We usually spend the night in Reid Harbour on Stuart Island when we’re headed for Canada. From there we can come around through the reef at the end of the Cactus Islands, cruise through John’s Pass and head for Bedwell Harbour. Today we passed Spieden Island along its northern shore, approaching the Cactus Islands reef from the opposite direction before turning into John’s Pass to join our customary route. By now the fog was long gone and we had beautiful cruising weather. We arrived at the Bedwell Harbour Customs dock about 2 o’clock, and we had it all to ourselves. The customs shack here has seldom been manned in recent years, and today was no exception. At the top of the dock next to the shack are three telephones. I picked one up and it rang a customs officer somewhere in the system. I provided the necessary info about our vessel and passengers, and offered up a bag of moldy cherries that we would be dumping anyway. They have a bin there for banned fruits and vegetables. I had our clearance numbers within 5 minutes and we were on our way.
As we left Bedwell we headed deeper into the harbor between North and South Pender Islands, intending to pass between them via the Pender Canal, a narrow passageway under a small bridge that leads to Shark Cove and then Port Browning. This channel can accommodate only one boat of our size and has a blind dogleg entrance – the perfect opportunity to use our air horns. I had Erin turn on the compressor a few minutes before we arrived. The air horn is one of my favorite parts of the boat, but Erin just rolls her eyes. In any regard, the appropriate signal when approaching a blind passage is one prolonged blast of 4 to 6 seconds, as I learned in captain school, and they are great sounding horns. Oncoming traffic consisted of a dinghy and a couple of wave runners, which all went to one side of the channel. A second blast just before the bridge came into view halted what appeared to be a group of 5 or 6 kayakers, who stayed to one side until we passed.
We continued around North Pender Island via Navy Channel, passing a beautiful schooner that was motoring slowly along in our direction. We enjoyed looking at the various homes and cabins along the shore, and passed a couple of seals who were cavorting in the channel.
We turned into Glenthorne Passage, a beautiful anchorage on Prevost Island, with the thought of anchoring there for the evening instead of continuing across the channel to Ganges. Although there was room, our favorite anchorage spots deep in the bay next to a passage that provides a nice view were taken. We decided to continue on with our original plan and head into Ganges, which was only another 30 minutes or so away.
Ganges is usually a pretty busy port, and we were thinking we’d be lucky if we could find a spot on the government dock in front of town. As we approached, we noticed that there were fewer boats at anchor than we usually see here, and we had our choice of 4 or 5 spots our size on the government docks – unheard of in our experience. We chose a spot on the dock behind the seaplane terminal and breakwater dock, and at the end for an easy exit when it comes time to leave. Erin and I went into town to the grocery store to pick up a few supplies. Afterwards, I strolled over to the moorage office at the other government dock across the way and found them already closed so we’ll settle up tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow we’ll spend the day and evening here, heading out to Telegraph Harbour Friday morning for the rendezvous. I’ve found that I have access to a wifi connection right here at the dock, so I’ll post this on the blog now, and follow up with an update of some photos tomorrow sometime.
The weather continues to be beautiful and we’re looking forward to a day of exploration tomorrow. Tribble continues to be wary whenever the engines are running, preferring the safety of being under the couch, but can be coaxed out with a little prodding. Once we’re settled she’s out and about, and in the evening enjoys the run of the boat.
e end of our boat or most of the other boats in the harbor, but thick enough that we couldn’t see the shoreline a couple hundred yards away. In the distance we could hear fog horns out in Rosario Strait, and although we couldn’t see the shore, we could see some hilltops that presumably descended to the shore. As the morning progressed the fog thinned somewhat, draping itself over hill and dale.Ray prepared our breakfast this morning, using the potatoes c
ooked last night to make hash browns, along with sautéed onions and ham. He served us all generous portions, which we ate up on the bridge while watching the fog formations.We planned to head up to Ganges today, so hoisted anchor about 10 o’clock to get started. I should say we hoisted anchor from 10 until about 10:20, as the chain was enveloped with kelp – the kind that had tendrils wrapped around the links. Erin had to work it off with the boat hook every few feet to keep it from feeding up the hawse pipe. When the anchor eventually broke the surface, it was encased in about a foot of mud, the kind that turns to concrete when it dries. Although we had our washdown hose at the ready, it was no match for the load on the anchor. We lowered it to just below the waterline and cruised around a bit until it was clean.
We headed out of Hunter Bay towards Spencer Spit. A solid wall of fog loomed ahead of us and I had the radar on, but as we approached the fog it thinned enough that we could see where we were going. Looking to the east out Thatcher Pass we could see that there was still plenty of fog in the straits, and we were glad we crossed over yesterday. We passed between the spit and Flower Island with no difficulty. Spencer Spit from a distance appears to reach out most of the way to the island, but there is plenty of room for boats to pass, even at low tide. The spit is triangular in shape, with a salt water lagoon in the center. As we passed, a perfect image of the spit, including the lagoon, appeared on the radar screen.
We passed the Lopez ferry landing and Upright Head before heading off between Shaw and Orcas Islands via Harney Chann
el. We saw quite a bit of ferry traffic, both heading for Lopez and coming through Wasp Passage. We chose to take Pole Pass, a small boat passage between Orcas and Crane Islands. We usually spend the night in Reid Harbour on Stuart Island when we’re headed for Canada. From there we can come around through the reef at the end of the Cactus Islands, cruise through John’s Pass and head for Bedwell Harbour. Today we passed Spieden Island along its northern shore, approaching the Cactus Islands reef from the opposite direction before turning into John’s Pass to join our customary route. By now the fog was long gone and we had beautiful cruising weather. We arrived at the Bedwell Harbour Customs dock about 2 o’clock, and we had it all to ourselves. The customs shack here has seldom been manned in recent years, and today was no exception. At the top of the dock next to the shack are three telephones. I picked one up and it rang a customs officer somewhere in the system. I provided the necessary info about our vessel and passengers, and offered up a bag of moldy cherries that we would be dumping anyway. They have a bin there for banned fruits and vegetables. I had our clearance numbers within 5 minutes and we were on our way.As we left Bedwell we headed deeper into the harbor between North and South Pender Islands, intending to pass between them via the Pender Canal, a narrow passageway under a small bridge that leads to Shark Cove and then Port Browning. This channel can accommodate only one boat of our size and has a blind dogleg entrance – the perfect opportunity to use our air horns. I had Erin turn on the compressor a few minutes before we arrived. The air horn is one of my favorite parts of the boat, but Erin just rolls her eyes. In any regard, the appropriate signal when approaching a blind passage is one prolonged blast of 4 to 6 seconds, as I learned in captain school, and they are great sounding horns. Oncoming traffic consisted of a dinghy and a couple of wave runners, which all went to one side of the channel. A second blast just before the bridge came into view halted what appeared to be a group of 5 or 6 kayakers, who stayed to one side until we passed.
We continued around North Pender Island via Navy Channel, passing a beautiful schooner that was motoring slowly along in our direction. We enjoyed looking at the various homes and cabins along the shore, and passed a couple of seals who were cavorting in the channel.
We turned into Glenthorne Passage, a beautiful anchorage on Prevost Island, with the thought of anchoring there for the evening instead of continuing across the channel to Ganges. Although there was room, our favorite anchorage spots deep in the bay next to a passage that provides a nice view were taken. We decided to continue on with our original plan and head into Ganges, which was only another 30 minutes or so away.
Ganges is usually a pretty busy port, and we were thinking we’d be lucky if we could find a spot on the government dock in front of town. As we approached, we noticed that there were fewer boats at anchor than we usually see here, and we had our choice of 4 or 5 spots our size on the government docks – unheard of in our experience. We chose a spot on the dock behind the seaplane terminal and breakwater dock, and at the end for an easy exit when it comes time to leave. Erin and I went into town to the grocery store to pick up a few supplies. Afterwards, I strolled over to the moorage office at the other government dock across the way and found them already closed so we’ll settle up tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow we’ll spend the day and evening here, heading out to Telegraph Harbour Friday morning for the rendezvous. I’ve found that I have access to a wifi connection right here at the dock, so I’ll post this on the blog now, and follow up with an update of some photos tomorrow sometime.
The weather continues to be beautiful and we’re looking forward to a day of exploration tomorrow. Tribble continues to be wary whenever the engines are running, preferring the safety of being under the couch, but can be coaxed out with a little prodding. Once we’re settled she’s out and about, and in the evening enjoys the run of the boat.
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