Victoria - The Final Stop: August 24 - August 27, 2010

Finally, the last place we visit is the first place I wanted to go, and the port I most wanted to spend time at.  This is the capital of British Columbia, a big city with a gritty, European feel that I love.  But...I've gone native and I miss the "real" islands, the small, quaint and picturesque places we've been.  This is too big, too much hustle and bustle - and too many tourists.

The view of Mt Baker on the trip over

We pull into the harbor along with float planes, water taxis, pleasure boats and commerical ships.  Our slip is right in front of the Fairmont Empress Hotel and a prime people watching spot as all the tourists pass  right by in front of us.  Next to us are fellow boaters whose cats fearlessly wander the dock.  In fact, when Jim got up Wednesday morning, he found one cat sitting on our swim platform.

Dock Cat

                  Sparky? Wiley?  This is how it's done!

Harbor Dodge-em

We walk to Fisherman's Wharf, the house boat area, dine out and sleep in - basically, all the same things we have been doing for the past three weeks.  At the eve of our adventure, Jim and I marvel - and are somewhat alarmed at -  the ease with which we have adapted to this vagabond life-style.  Even the cats have adjusted and freely roam the boat and run around the deck.  We are convinced this itinerant life is for us.  Alaska, here we come - next year.

The Fairmont Empress from our boat

Victoria Legislative Building

Sidney By the Sea: Friday August 20 - Tues August 24, 2010

Finally, we are going to a place originally on our itinerary - if two people with no jobs, no schedules and no deadlines are even capable of having an itinerary.  Sidney is close to our hearts because in 2001 we visited our role models for this cruising, live-aboard life-style here. 

Another short 2 hour cruise from Ganges and we are happily docked.  Even though Sidney is on Vancouver Island (and the city of Vancouver is not - go figure) it has more of a mainland feeling and less island vibe.  It has a Starbucks.

There is a beautiful, modern harbor where you can walk on the docks without them tipping and swaying as you take each step.   And best of all, Zippy loves it here because he has lots of grass to run on.

Our Dinner View

We rent a car and as part of the contract, the rental company requires us to sign a “Peace of Mind Waiver.” This clause is right after the “loss of damage” and “personal accident insurance” waivers. There is no explanation of what it means to decline “Peace of Mind” and there is no provision for accepting “Peace of Mind.” We sign, secure in the knowledge that we are only surrendering our peace for the 24 hour rental period and we've already lost our minds.


Butchart Gardens is our destination – a 100 year old, 50 acre historic garden. The grounds are spectacular and we spend the whole afternoon surrounded by indescribable beauty – just us and the 2 million other visitors.

The fountain

The Beauty

Peace of  Mind

Dinner is at the Deep Cove Chalet in Deep Cove, at the tip of Sidney By the Sea.  The wind is still howling and there are white caps in the cove.  The wine is better than the dinner and the view is best of all.

We leave Sidney Tuesday morning, August 24th with quite a splash! Backing out of the slip is not going as easily as usual, in fact, after reversing approximately 2 feet,  it's not really going any further at all.  A certain panic ensues and slowly,  I recall we had added an additional line to secure the boat during the howling wind the night before.  A line we usually do not add.   Did we release that line?  Jim?  Did we?  The answer is of course "no."

I race to the port bow amid much confusion and Jim yells to "get the line."   Well, I do get the line -  but attached to the line, and floating in the water alongside the boat,  is the cleat from the dock... as well as a section of the dock itself.  Nothing to do now but bring the whole thing aboard since we are swiftly moving back, now that we ripped the dock off.  I guess that's one way to release a line.  But no worries, this is actually a big plus for us since there are many docks that don't have cleats.  Now we can just bring our own.

                                                                            Our Customized Mobile Docking Unit

Did Someone Say Ganges? Tuesday Aug. 17 - Thursday Aug. 19, 2010

A fellow boater on our dock mentioned that they just got back from Ganges and SYC happens to have an outstation there.  We hit the charts, plot a NW course, past Snugglers Nook and Thieves Bay and two hours later we are entering Ganges Harbor on Salt Spring Island.  The cruise books caution that the harbor entrance is a "minefield" and we do have to dodge all the crab pot buoys in purple and yellow and green sprinkled willy-nilly, the float planes landing and all the boats coming and going.

Our first stop is at the city dock for a pump out.  One Loonie and two Toonies gets you a four minute pump out.  How adorable, they have cute names for their money.  I think this could be the answer to the US stagnant economy and stalled spending.  We need to nickname our currency.  Instead of a twenty we could call it a "twipsy" and a fifty could be a "fipsy" - that way,  you don't actually have to deal with the amount you're spending - its like  monopoly money.  Much more fun to spend a couple of twipsies for that dinner out.  Someone call the Federal Reserve Chair.

Meanwhile, we still have to get to our slip and besides crab pots, there is the danger of rocks, reefs and shoals in the harbor.  In fact, our entrance to the marina is next to a reef called "Moneymaker".  As soon as we make the bend in the fairway we see a boat washed up on shore but Jim expertly docks us.  We have dinner on board our first night there.

YIKES!

                                                                            

The View from the Restaurant

Island Hopping: Friday Aug 13 - Monday Aug 16, 2010

The View from Henry Island

Reluctantly, very, v. reluctantly, we leave Orcas Island for our intended destination to Henry Island.  Sunny, 70 degrees and light winds for our cruise, another short hop  of 1 hr.  This is not even enough time to break out the chips and salsa.

The Seattle Yacht Club has an outstation at Henry Island and owns approximately 23 acres of the small, hilly island.  There are no retail establishments, no restaurants, no Starbucks - 10 days without... but who's counting?    There is no water and inadequate electricity but plenty of deer, raccoons and scenery.  We tuck into our slip and spend a quiet two days.  I read, accompanied to some beautiful Irish music coming from someones' boat.  We have our first dinner aboard Celestine in the moonlight.  Romantic,  but  where's my food - I must get candles.

On Sunday, we make another impetuous decision to go to Poet's Cove, on Pender Island in the Canadian Gulf Islands,a place we just heard about   The trip is again short - less than 2 hours -  but we have the added excitement of clearing customs.  I call when we cross the  boundary line as marked on the charts.  An officious agent takes all the expected information and then questions me about what fruit we have on board.  The answer being quite a bit.  He orders us to dispose of the blueberries, cherries, apples and raspberries.  The pears we can keep.   I have always found the pear to be mediocre and bland but now that it is not even "ban"  worthy I realize how ordinary they are.  I don't want my pears, give us our blueberries! 

But there is no time to beg or barter, I am being given instructions for going to the customs dock in Bedwell Harbor.  We must report at 13:00 hours - "exactly."  If we are going to be late, we  must call by 12:59 - "exactly."  If we are early, we wait.  If no customs agent approaches us by 13:01 - "exactly" - we are free to leave.  He does not even  have us synchronize our watches.  That is a 60 second margin of error.  No governmental body can run with that degree of precision.  Then he hangs up on me - exactly when I try to ask him a question.

We dock at customs, we wait, no agents appear, the building is locked.  We trash the fruit, we  leave, exactly as we were told.   

                                              Poet's Cove with Customs Building
                                                                       

Once docked at Poets Cove, we are just settling in when we hear the same violin music that we heard in Henry Island.  The couple on the boat next to us are on the dock  serenading us with classical music.  And yes, they did just come over from Henry Is.  It was a beautiful evening concert dockside.

   Playing for Chips & Salsa

Zippy & Jim enjoying the concert

We stay at Poet's Cove for 2 nights.  It is a great resort, but, by foot there is nothing else accessible.  It is too far to walk into  the nearest town, which isn't even on this island.  We do a little hiking and a lot of eating.

Falling in Love with Orcas Island: Tuesday Aug 10 - Thursday Aug 12

We altered our planned journey and impetuously decide to take a trip to Orcas Island.  I had been reading about it and we realized : we can go anywhere we want.  So we sailed out of Friday Harbor under sunny skies and in 1 hr and 15 min we were at Deer Harbor on Orcas Island.  We docked and I walked to the shack at the top of the harbor and went into the "General Store" to get some groceries.  It is smaller than the dinghys in the harbor, with less groceries.  I asked where the town grocery store (that I read about)  is and they said "You're in it."  Then I asked where the town of Deer Harbor is and they said "You're in it."

Small but not without its charm.  We walked to the only restaurant in town, down a dusty road for 1/2 mile, up a hill covered in dry grass, and there, in the middle of a meadow of yellow crunchy grass was the Deer Harbor Inn restaurant - part of a resort complex.  We decided to dine on the boat. Which we did for the next two nights.

The next morning we woke up to...fog!  But it cleared and we went kayaking.  Jim and Zippy paddled under a bridge at flood tide riding the rapids but  the current was so strong they could not paddle back against it so Jim had to get out and drag the kayak over the rocks near shore.

On Thursday we rented a car and drove Orcas Island, to the town of Eastsound.  It was love at first sight!  Then to the state park and up to Mt. Constitution, over 2,ooo+ feet elevation with a 360 degree view of Canada, the San Juan Islands, Mt. Rainer and  Bellingham.  It was stunning.  We ended the day at a waterside bar that allowed pets on their deck and served Mac &; Jacs.  Jim was in heaven!

Man's Best Friends:  A Mac & Jack And Zippy 

For dinner we went to the most romantic and picturesque place we have dined to date.  The Inn at Ship's Inn on Eastsound on Orcas Island.  We ate outside overlooking the bay with Bald Eagles keeping us company and deer meandering by.  And the food!

The San Juan Island Days: Days Three (Aug 7) - Five ( Aug 9)

Foggy, misty, drizzly, rainy, foggy.  Temperatures are in the mid-50s.  It's winter in August in Friday Harbor.  But we don't huddle in the boat, well maybe for a few hours we do - no we head for town, a 10-15 minute walk from our marina at the Seattle Yacht Club outstation.  We shop at the Farmers Market on Saturday and once totally drenched, we search for a Starbucks.  We head down every alley, side street and and dead end avenue for naught.  This is a "no" Starbucks town.  We have a mocha  from a coffee shop the size of a phone booth - the non-Starbucks - and head back to the boat for an afternoon of napping.

                                                           The Fog


And napping is what we proceed to do exceedingly well for the next few days.  We rise for dining and snuggle back in until the sun breaks - which it finally does on Sunday.  Dinghy rides and harbor explorations commence and the day ends with dinner at the harbor.

Friday Harbor - in the sun!!

the view of the ferry from our table at the restaurant

We leave Friday Harbor on Monday, August 9th, heading for Deer Harbor on Orcas Island - our great voyage across the San Juan Channael takes all of an hour, just enough time for the cats to get seasick.  I try for one last picture on our way out and drop the camera in the salt water.  Jim rushes to the rescue and saves the camera but it is fried.  No more photos.

Friday, Aug 6: Day Two

Another night of no sleep.  The cats used our bodies as human trampolines all night long and we are groggy and bruised. Jim claims that we actually got negative sleep as they sucked any rest right  out of us.

 But there is no time to idle as today we are sailing to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.  Our course is across the Straits of Juan de Fuca.  Much has been written about how to do this.  Entire books in fact.  Seminars are held at all the boat shows about the dangers, the right conditions in which to cruise and the weather conditions to avoid.  There can be gale force winds, eddies and rip tides. We have made this crossing several times before in sunny calm waters.  Not today.

We walk out onto the dock to fog and mist.  The weather report says something about gale force winds in the very spot we are crossing.  In addition, we have low tide, thick fog and a strong current against us. Our decision: lets go!  And we do.

Radar guides us until the weather clears somewhat but it is a rough, rough ride.  Yesterday was a hobbyhorse ride - today, we're riding the wild steer at the rodeo and he is determined to whip  us off.  I get seasick for the first time ever.  We take water on the bow and  rain into the guest state room as someone forgot to close the hatch.  I'm not naming names.

But gradually, 3 hours later, things calm down and we see 3 Orca whales.  We stop the boat, three other vessels come in close too but the Orcas dive down and out of sight  just as I get my  camera.  Later we see dolphins.  And of course seals. We also spot some unsual looking vessels and two large navy ships.  

We arrive in Friday Harbor at noon and all of us take a long nap.  We are done for the day.

The Ferry Leaving Friday Harbor

Sailboat Race in Friday Harbor