July 18 – Telegraph Harbour

Ray continues with his new duties as morning chef. We were all treated to scrambled eggs with bacon bits and toast this morning. We’re getting used to this.

After breakfast Erin and I went for a walk ashore and explored the boat passage canal a bit. It was low tide (the Potentate had 6 feet under it, and we’re out at the end of the dock), and the canal was completely dry at the entrance, with several starfish lining the bottom. The narrowest part is at the Telegraph Harbour end, and has a dogleg as well. We could see the rocks on either side that would be hidden at high tide. If we ever attempted a passage at high tide, we’d have to be doubly sure to stay centered, especially in the dogleg. We could look down the canal all the way to Clam Bay from the vantage point of a little lookout beyond the picnic shelter, and could see a few homes along the way as well. It was very scenic.

Later in the morning I lowered the dinghy, hooked up the tank of fresh gas to the outboard and pulled the rope. This was its first performance since last September or so, and it started on the first pull. Erin and I went for a morning dinghy ride around the harbor. We explored the entrance to the boat passage, but the tide was still fairly low so we weren’t able to go in very far. We continued on our dinghy ride around the harbor, heading out towards the Thetis Island Marina, which is halfway down the bay. They have a restaurant and a liquor store there. We saw Ross from the Gin Fizz there – he said he was resupplying his liquor cabinet after last night. A sailboat was intentionally beached there, sitting on its keel on the shore and tied to a single piling that kept it upright. The owner was working on recaulking the bottom. We opened up the throttle to clear our little Yamaha’s pipes after its long winter layover and headed out towards the mouth of the bay at about 20 mph. We turned around at the Kuper Island ferry landing and followed the shoreline back, pestering a few herons along the way.

By the time we came back to our marina, the entrance to the boat passage was a little deeper, and we saw a dinghy coming through. That was an invitation for exploration, so we headed in. Along either shore were drying mudflats, or grassy areas where the high tide didn’t quite reach. We could see an estuary that was totally dry, with the exception of a small area where it connected to the canal. Along the north side were a few homes, with floating docks resting on the bottom. This was definitely a high tide community as far as moving a boat goes. We continued on to Clam Bay, where there were some pilings marking the entrance. A small fishing boat was coming towards the entrance pilings at a pretty good clip, so we waited for him to pass before returning. He slowed to minimize his wake as he approached us, and then gunned it back to a plane to continue on through the canal. We followed shortly thereafter. Ray and I went out for a ride a couple hours later, and upon entering the canal I could see that the water was now much higher, with the floating docks floating and the estuary filled with water. Coming our way were three small cruisers, in the 24 foot range, headed across to Telegraph Harbour.

Later in the afternoon Craig and Kristine came motoring into the harbor aboard the Elsa, and chose an anchorage not far from the dock. As they headed towards the marina in their dinghy we turned our helm seat around to put the bridge area into the conversation pit configuration so we’d all have a comfortable place to chat. We had a great visit, trading boating stories and comparing notes on our experiences with clearing customs while boating. They plan on heading up to Nanaimo to anchor off Newcastle Island. They’ll be back to Samish Island where their summer home is around the end of the month to pick up their daughter and her boyfriend for a tour of some San Juan Island sites. We took photos of each other for our respective travel blogs. To see our photo, which was taken with their camera, I suppose you’d need to look at their blog, which you’ll find at http://elsacruise2009.blogspot.com/. You’ll see their photo right here, but only when we have a connection good enough to upload it.

We spent the evening up at the picnic shelter with the rest of the rendezvous contingency at a potluck barbecue. They had a large brick lined grill going for folks to barbecue their main dish, and we all brought side dishes for the potluck. Ray and I grilled our hamburgers; we filled our plates with a variety of salads and goodies and had a great meal. We shared our table with the crew of the Ocean Pearl and had a good time bantering with them. Between yesterday and today we had purchased quite a few raffle tickets, and the drawing was held following dessert. They had an assortment of prizes available, and when a winning ticket was selected, that person could choose any prize from what was left on the table. Our tickets weren’t among the first few drawn, so we weren’t able to snatch up the self inflating lifejacket there, but we did eventually have some winners. We came back with a spice rack, an LED flashlight, a toy bubble wand, which Erin presented to a little boy who had been telling us how much he like vegetables, and the last prize, an undisclosed amount of money, went to us as well. Ray and I split the 2 twenty dollar bills.

We haven’t settled on an itinerary for tomorrow, so for now our plan is to stay here up until checkout time at noon before getting underway. We’ll probably head over to Princess Bay or some other anchorage for some peaceful relaxation.

I may or may not get this posted to the blog tonight. I have photos as well, but I’ll add those later when I have access to a full connection.