Rafting Up in Nanaimo, BC

From Ganges to Nanaimo, we could choose to join one of the pods or cruise on our own.

After two days of socializing with other Ranger Tug owners at Ganges, the time came to organize the three-day cruise to our mutual destination of Gorge, BC. After that point, we will all be on our own to explore Desolation Sound and the surrounding areas. But first, we had to get our “gaggle” organized. This is the third year Ranger Tugs has organized this Desolation Sound Cruise for their owners, we think they have all their ducks all in a row.

Our first Captain’s Meeting was held during the second night at Ganges, on the dock just before happy hour. Jeff, V.P of Sales and Marketing at Ranger Tugs and the ringleader, had organized, along with key experienced boaters, a system for leaving the dock to leave for Nanaimo (Na-ni-mo) in the morning, which comprised of groups with a “lead boat” and a “sweeper boat,” especially helpful for the more novice boaters in attendance. You could choose to join one of the pods or cruise on your own. We decided to join one of the pods to see how it worked.

For cruising navigational purposes, three pods of boats were available to join, based on a predetermined pod speed. We joined 14 boats in the  “Circle T” group, the second group to leave late morning cruising at 10 knots (Jeff’s group left earlier that morning to catch the first slack tide). We signed up to be the relay boat (for communication purposes when radio signals didn’t quite reach the whole group, since we were in the middle we could hear most of the communications and relay them forward or backward) in the middle of the “Circle-T” group. From Ganges to Nanaimo is approximately 34NM (nautical miles) but the trick in this leg of the trip is that one needs to catch slack tide at the famously temperamental Dodd Narrows 30NM into the cruise, so timing is crucial. Trying to organize 14 boats to cruise in a single file, at a set speed can be likened to herding cats, however Tym, on Circle T, our leader did a great job. We departed Ganges at 11 a.m., giving our group enough time to get organized and idle out of the two-mile-long harbor so that we could all arrive at Dodd Narrows within a half hour of slack tide. At the Captain’s Meeting, we were instructed to keep about a football field’s length between boats. A faster cruising pod of 15 left after us but caught up to us so we could all transit Dodd Narrows single file as one group. We learned later that, Patrick, one of the organizers of the event, was able to have commercial traffic held at bay during our transit through the narrows, due to his connections in the area.

Two miles into our departure from the marina, one of our pod member’s engines started to overheat. Andrew and Kenny, Ranger Tugs Customer Service Reps were piloting a boat in the last pod when they heard, over the VHF, about the engine problem they sped up to be of assistance with the stranded tug. We heard later they found a nearby dock to tow them to and once secure Andrew dove under the boat to find something had clogged the sea strainer. With the debris removed and water flowing freely in the cooling system they were off and running. That’s what I’d call great customer service AND both boats made the slack water at Dodd Narrows passage on time.

In Nanaimo, we were joined by a group of Cutwater owners, also made by Fluid Motion, the parent company of Ranger Tugs. By this time we had a group of 68 boats, Cutwaters, and Ranger Tugs tied up at the Nanaimo Harbor Marina, prompting many to have to raft off so we could all fit in. The benefit of the rafting and mixing it up each night at a new marina is that we were all making new acquaintances, in Nanaimo, we rafted next to a very nice young family comprised of Todd, Connie, and their son Xavier, on Connie Marie (below).

The roof of the Port Authority building overlooks the harbor and provided the setting for the crew of 68 boats for an evening barbeque provided by the marina to celebrate our arrival. Two kinds of seasoned grilled salmon and barbeque chicken, along with a table full of side dishes whipped up in the galley of each boat along with two huge cakes to mark the occasion. What more could we ask for?

It will take two more days of hop-scotching up the coast of Vancouver Island, a total of about 130 miles from Ganges to get to our mutual destination of Gorge, BC. From there we will all go our separate ways to explore Desolation Sound and adjoining areas.