North to Canada

Our plan for the summer of 2012 was to sail north through the Gulf Islands in the Straight of Georgia, on to Johnstone Straight and finally to the “The Broughtons.”  The Broughton Islands, located at the northern end of Vancouver Island, are internationally renowned for their spectacular beauty and abundant wildlife.

The Gulf Islands are similar in geology and climate to Washington’s San Juans. While there are literally hundreds of these islands, only a handful are inhabited. The Gulf islands have a great amount of public land; there are 60 marine parks compared to only 11 in the San Juans.

That was our plan - then we made an offer on Gitana, a boat in San Carlos, Mexico.

Our offer on Gitana was accepted at the end of April. We planned to drive back down to Mexico as soon as we had a bill of sale to get precise measurements, empty out excess tools and cover the dinghy to protect it from the Mexican summer sun.

We waited, and we waited and we waited. Finally in early June we were told by Marine Documentation Services (MDS) that the necessary signatures had been received and the bill of sale would be ready in a few weeks. When we called at the end of June, we were told that the paper work was a mess and we would have to start all over. This boat was an estate sale and there were several heirs. Totally disgusted, we decided to forget about driving to Mexico and readied for our northern adventure.

The day before we planned to leave I called MDS to notify them that we were leaving and would return in the fall. To our total surprise, we were told that the paperwork was all in order and signatures were being collected on the bill of sale. Wouldn’t ya know! Well, we weren’t going to change our plans again.

On August 4th we arrived in Alert Bay and had phone service. We had a message that the deal was done and Gitana was finally ours.

On July 17^th we cast off our lines and headed for Montague Harbor, on Galiano Island, where we checked into Canada. Love that Nexus status! Five minutes after arriving, our “appointment time” came and went and the Canadian Border Patrol folks never showed. The deal is that you go to the designated location at a specific time. If no one shows you are free to go.  

After Montague we went to Clam Bay on Thethis Island. Clam Bay straddles Thetis and adjacent Kuper Island. Kuper is entirely Native Reserve land and is off limits. After a pleasant dinner at anchor, two young First Nations people paddled over in their canoe and showed us items that one of their members had carved and they were selling. I just happened to be looking for a gift and chose a pretty little box with a bear on the lid.

Cinnamon enjoying the sun at Clam Bay.

Next stop Nanaimo on Vancouver Island for some more provisions and a fishing/shellfish license. Unfortunately, we had to motor the entire way since there wasn’t any wind. The next day we sailed the entire way to Lasqueti Island and put the spinnaker to work. Another good day of sailing followed as we continued on to beautiful Savory Island.  

Savory looks like it belongs in the South Pacific with its long white sand beaches. We threw out the crab trap the next morning and caught 2 Dungeness and 1 red rock crab that were keepers. And there was the oh so annoying and abundant sunflower sea star.

We had planned to spend two days at Savory but the wind shifted and we motored four miles to the southern shore of Hernando Island. We anchored behind Black Rock Point. We immediately threw out the crab trap and dinghied around to see the sites. Black rock still had some wildflowers and we were surprised to see a pair of mergansers and an oyster catcher. We surprised some seals that were relaxing on adjacent islet and they decided to take a swim. We dined on our crabs in the cockpit, sharing some with Cinnamon, as we watched a storm approach from the south.

Visited Rebecca Spit. What a difference from our fall visit. The Spit Park was lined with families picnicking and playing in the water. Our outboard had conked out on us and we got it repaired here. The mechanic picked up at 6pm and returned it next morning.

Headed on to the  Octopus Islands. Visited Waiatt Bay first because there was a the hike to Lake Newton that looked interesting. Great scenery but a tough climb for me. I'm so out of shape, it's embarrassing. Met a couple named Dan and Alice from Seattle that had cruised with Debby Morley (Blaine West Marine manager) to the South Pacific in the 80's. It continues to amaze us how small the world is.

 

While sitting at anchor we heard a very vocal bear on shore next to us.

Entering Waiatt Bay through narrow channel.

 

We walked along the creek through marshy areas where the creek disappeared underground.

There was a very nice waterfall, but the climb was a killer for me. When we reached the top we met Dan and Alice. They looked fresh as daisies while I was dripping in sweat and looked like crap. The insult was that they must have been at least 10 years older than I.

Lake Newton. A very large lake. A great place for a fresh water swim, but a little too cold today.

Waiatt Bay was so calm the reflections were amazing. This is were we heard the bear.

 There were lots of dead trees which supported an abundance of fungi. The shelf fungus was probably the most common. I discovered this yellow fungus that felt like heavy cream and "melted" when touched.

Decided to skip the rest of Octopus Island Marine Pk and head to Forward Harbour on BC mainland. Anchored in Douglas Bay at 8 feet. A little iffy but it turned out okay. Hiked the “Flotsam and Jetsam” trail to Bessbourgh Bay where we found a bear rummaging on the beach a few hundred feet away. The trail was more like an obstacle course, over trees, under trees but interesting.

Douglas Bay in Forward Harbor, BC 

Flotsam and Jetsam trail.
Can you see the trail?
On the way back we watched very carefully for bears.

Early the next day we motored to Boat Bay across from Robson Bight Ecological Reserve, a “rubbing beach” for orcas. Only the northern orcas have rubbing beaches. There weren’t any orcas in the reserve but we discovered that the whale boat guides used channel 7 to communicate. Right around the corner, basically, but out of our reach due to the tide, was an unusually large gathering of whales, including orcas, hump backs and minke. The guides excitedly described tail lobs, breaches and spy hoping. One guide described it as "whale soup". I pestered Greg to take me to the places that they had been on the following day. Unfortunately the action was over and the whales were going their separate ways.

Whale Soup

Take a very large amount of seawater

Add a couple dozen islands

Blend in a dozen whale watch boats

Stir in all of the northern resident Orca population

Throw in several hump back whales

Stand back in awe.

When we finally, I should say I finally accepted that I had missed the big event, we decided to anchor in a little group of islands called Pearse. A big storm was predicted and we needed a very protected anchorage. We were snugged in between two islands in less than 30 ft of water.

The view to the south, looking at Vancouver Island.

The view to the north. The opening is very narrow, shallow and filled with lots of kelp. Actually, the whole anchorage was filled with lots of kelp. When we backed down on the anchor we must have ripped up some and it floated back and wrapped around our keel. Greg struggled for an hour to work it loose and send it on its way.

Cinnamon was very ill just before we left Blaine. He has recovered and seems to be in his teenage years again. Cabin-bound for four years, he now wanders the deck, sits on the life raft and surveys the anchorage. When we arrived in the Pearse Islands he was very interested in sniffing the air.

 We rowed around the anchorage and Greg discovered this single clump of blue flowers (unidentified) growing out of ferns over orange lichen. Very beautiful, which my picture doesn't do justice.

Night settles over the entrance to Pearse Islands.