Another 0700 hours departure - I don't like getting up for anything except early morning get-aways. It is so peaceful in the morning when it's just us, the seals and the otters up and about. So I am ready to go at the scheduled time and we reluctantly leave Bowen Island where I could actually spend even more time. But beauty awaits us elsewhere and we heed it's calling.
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| Bowen Island to Pender Harbor |
We cruise north along the west coast of the BC mainland in the Straits of Georgia.
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| Just Us and Nature |
The weather is again warm and sunny and the waters are calm. For a Saturday in August, there are few other boats. In fact, the further north we get, the fewer there are and about 3 hours into our five hour run, we are the only boat at all. So imagine our surprise when another boat appears behind us and Jim says "I think that's Billy and Sally's boat." Billy and Sally are a couple we met last August in Victoria and we spent a fun couple of days with them. We have not seen them or talked to them since.
Jim hailed them on the radio and sure enough, not only was it them, but they were going to Garden Bay too. And this is one of the great things about cruising, catching up with other people you've met along the way.
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| Our Home in Garden Bay |
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| Ready for the summer cold |
We finally arrive at the SYC outstation in Pender Harbor, the "Sunshine Coast", so named for the dry, sunny and warm summers. As soon as we dock, clouds roll in and it starts to sprinkle. This is the first cloudy, wet weather we have had in four weeks. The drizzle stops and the next day a storm pushes through with 20 - 30 mph winds. The boat threatens to pull the cleats out of the dock and by the time it's all over, our boat is covered in timber and debri from the nearby forest.
Pender Harbor is called the Venice of the West Coast because it is full of small harbors and everything is accessed by dinghy. When it finally clears enough to launch the dinghy, we head out for dinner with Billy and Sally. Fifteen minutes and many twists and turns later, we arrive at The Painted Boat, an unexpected gourmet restaurant where we have fine wine, fabulous food and great conversation. The trip back in the pitch dark is a little challenging but after all the wine we've had, we are undeterred and confident of our navigation skills even though it takes us several false turns to get out of the tiny harbor.
Traveling to Dinner in Style with Our Friends
Traveling to Dinner in Style with Our Friends
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| Our dinner destination - The Painted Boat |
The weather finally lives up to it's name, the sun does make an appearance but so do the bees and mosquitos. Jim denies their presence - in spite of the fact that they have siphoned so much of my blood I look like Morticia. He claims they are carnivorous fruit flies, which have also been plaguing us.
We are adjacent to a park and nature is everywhere. Loons can be heard in the morning and of course there are bears on the mainland and daily we run into someone while we are out running who has seen the bear, that day. So now we are dodging stinging bees, biting mosquitoes, buzzing fruit flies and bears. This is a very dangerous place. But the view is great so I'll just stay locked in our boat and enjoy it.
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| Jim on Bee Patrol |
We are adjacent to a park and nature is everywhere. Loons can be heard in the morning and of course there are bears on the mainland and daily we run into someone while we are out running who has seen the bear, that day. So now we are dodging stinging bees, biting mosquitoes, buzzing fruit flies and bears. This is a very dangerous place. But the view is great so I'll just stay locked in our boat and enjoy it.
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| Sunset from our boat |
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